Power outages knocked out classes from some Delaware students Tuesday.
The Smyrna School District closed the middle and high schools on Duck Creek Parkway due to a lack of power, said the district.
No word yet on when power will be restored.
Strong storms moved through the area overnight knocking out power to some customers. The district didn't reveal what was to blame for the outages at the schools.
The hero is coming back to the Main Line.
Kris Jenkins on Monday night withdrew his name from the NBA draft and will return to Villanova for his senior season.
"It was a great experience for me to go through this process,” Jenkins said in a release by the school. “I’m looking forward to concentrating on graduating next year and getting back to work with my teammates at Villanova.” [[377934941, C]]
Jenkins, of course, hit the shot that will forever go down in college basketball history when he sank a buzzer-beating three-pointer on April 4 to lift Villanova to a national title with a 77-74 win over North Carolina.
Jenkins started 38 of 40 games played as a junior, scoring 13.6 points per game and connecting on 100 of his 259 three-point attempts (38.6 percent). [[374618351, C]]
In nine March games, the 6-foot-6 forward averaged a team-best 18.7 points per game and shot 47.1 percent from three-point range and 55.2 percent from the field.
Police say they arrested Philly Jesus Monday after he allegedly refused to leave the Center City Apple Store.
Philly Jesus, born Michael Grant, was inside the Apple Store on 1607 Walnut Street around 6:15 p.m. Monday. Investigators say employees asked him to remove a cross he had taken inside the store because it was blocking an aisle. Grant refused to remove the cross and he was then asked to leave the store, according to police. Investigators say Grant refused to leave after being asked three times. The store manager then contacted police.
Grant was arrested and charged with defiant trespassing and disorderly conduct.
After a night behind bars, Grant tweeted "I'm free at Last!! Thank God almighty!!!"
A judge arraigned Grant early Tuesday then released him on his own recognizance. He is due back in court May 17.
Grant, a recovering heroin addict, is a popular figure among tourists and Philadelphia residents alike. In an interview with NBC10 last year, Grant says he has spent the past few years spreading the message of Christ through his “Philly Jesus Ministry.” During his ministry, Grant has preached his message to whoever is willing to listen and has even performed park fountain baptisms in Center City’s Love Park area.
"I plan on doing this for the rest of my life. And, as I age, and probably when I start to get white hairs and start to get gray hairs on my face, I'll morph into Philly Moses," Grant told NBC10 two years ago.
A politically-motivated billboard campaign in New Jersey pulls no punches in attacks on Gov. Chris Christie for his allegiance to Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump, and the group behind the provocative messages say they don't plan on stopping anytime soon.
The 18 billboards, and countless online social media advertisements, call on Christie to "Speak out against racism, sexism and bigotry, don't stand behind it."
The campaign, which has spent at least $200,000 so far, is being paid for by a non-profit dark money group called Bridges Over Politics.
Its evocative imagery takes advantage of Christie's now-infamous appearance behind Trump when the New Jersey governor first endorsed the New York City businessman Feb. 26.
A spokesman for the group declined to say who is funding the campaign, which began in mid-April, but he did say the group would continue buying billboards and online ads "for however long it takes for the governor to speak out" against Trump's stances, like his hardline approach to immigration and asylum for Middle Eastern refugees.
Bridges Over Politics is run by Aaron Keyak, a political aide with ties to North Jersey and New York City. He formerly worked for U.S. Rep. Steve Rothman, a Bergen County Democrat.
On its website, the group states: "Stand with New Jersey. Stand Against Hate."
Bridges Over Politics will continue to buy billboards and online ads, the spokesman said, and it could increase its spending in the coming months.
The group may be willing to end its campaign if Christie drops his support for Trump, but that may not happen any time soon. A report Sunday in The New York Times indicated Christie would be one of a few Republicans willing to run on Trump's ticket as a vice presidential candidate.
Sam Lamar didn't just take one date to his prom on April 30, he showed up with 37. The 21-year-old student with special needs at Penn Cambria High School in Cresson, Pennsylvania, was also crowned prom king.
Karingtin Sklodowski was behind the the epic prom-posal — in which the girls surprised Lamar in the school's gym with signs that read, "Will you go to prom with us?"
"I think other parents with special needs kids understand that your biggest fear when they start school is that they're going to be picked on or made fun of or bullied," Lamar's mom Diana Lamar told Today.com. "For us to get that from them, that letter inviting him, just proves how much they included him. It shows how much they like him and how much he's a part of their group."
Sklodowski said Lamar, who spent 16 years in the district, has changed students' lives and taught them "how to be patient and live life to the fullest."
Eagles fans are getting their first look at new QB Carson Wentz in an Eagles uniform thanks to a new Sports Illustrated cover.
The Eagles No. 1 pick (second overall) joins fellow NFL Draft first-rounders Jared Goff (No. 1 overall to the Los Angeles Rams) and Paxton Lynch (No. 26 overall to the Denver Broncos) in a series of covers for the iconic sports magazine.
The Wentz cover reads, "The Bull’s Eye: The QB is out of Fargo into the Philly fire." How the North Dakota State signal-caller adjusts to the scrutiny in Philadelphia could go a long way in determining his success in the NFL.
How do you think Wentz will do as an Eagle?
Walmart is recalling 1.2 million Rival brand electric water kettles due to potential burn and shock hazards.
According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, the recall involves Rival electric water kettles with the model numbers WK8283CU and WK8283CUY. The white plastic kettles were sold with a warming base and pitcher.
Walmart has reportedly received 80 reports of incidents involving the pitchers, including seven burns. Consumers are asked to stop using the recalled kettles immediately.
The kettles can be returned to any Walmart store for a full refund. Consumers can also call Walmart at 1-800-925-6278 or visit the company's website at www.Walmart.com and click "Product Recalls."
An improptu game of basketball was all it took for two Allentown police officers and a group of kids to have some fun last weekend.
Miriam Matos was out at Cedar Beach Park in Allentown for a community event when she saw the officers playing a game of basketball with a group of kids. She decided to record the game to share the moment and explained the officers looked like they were playing on different teams and were helping the kids make baskets.
"Most people think cops are bad, but forget their job is to help our community" says Matos, "It was awesome to see them playing together."
NBC10 tracked down the two Allentown officers -- partners Bryan Guzley and Nicholas Lerch -- who have been working together since February, 2016.
"Not all kids view us in a good way, but we want to have a good presence in the community" said Guzley.
Guzley told NBC10 he and Lerch decided to start the game after walking around the park while greeting residents and seeing a few kids on the court.
"After shooting some baskets with four kids, about five more showed up and we just thought we would start a game," said Lerch. "It's our way to give back and get involved with the community."
Both officers enjoyed getting a chance to share the great day with the kids and agreed it was a fun experience for everyone.
If you see an armed jogger in Mount Airy, Pennsylvania, these days, it's not a "run-by" in progress.
He's trying to make a point.
James Moody, 49, who lives in the neighborhood and comes from a self-described "firearms family," said he began jogging with a handgun at his hip a couple months ago.
He admits a jogger with a gun in plain view on Vernon Road may be a bit "eye-opening," but Moody, a truck driver and city native who became Pennsylvania's Golden Gloves superheavyweight boxing champion in 1988, said he's doing it to raise awareness about gun rights.
One police officer walking the beat in the 14th District thought it jarring enough to stop Moody mid-run Monday — and the first 15 minutes of the encounter were caught on video shot by Moody's Go-Pro.
In it, which Moody posted to YouTube Tuesday, the officer, who identifies himself as Officer Cave, crosses Vernon Road to ask Moody about the handgun. Cave approaches with a coffee in one hand and asks Moody if he has a license to carry. Moody refuses to answer the officer's questions about a firearms license.
As other officers arrive, they too ask Moody about a license to carry or another form of identification. Cave, a sergeant and two other officers all in turn ask Moody as the group discusses the legality of carrying a firearm in public.
None of the officers nor Moody become angry, but at least one of the officers points to her phone and tells Moody he is not allowed to carry a firearm openly.
In Pennsylvania, Moody argued in the video and then in a subsequent phone interview Tuesday, gun owners with a license to carry firearms are free to "open carry" anywhere in the state — even Philadelphia.
"Clearly, the officers don’t know the laws that Philadelphia is governed by. They had no clue about what is lawful and unlawful," said Moody. "You can, under Title 18 Section 6108, open carry a firearm."
"We also don’t live in a stop-and-identify state. Do they stop everyone in a motor vehicle just because they’re driving? No, you need probable cause," he added. "You have no reason to detain me and question me. It may be a little eye opening, but it is not unlawful."
Moody's video of the encounter ends after about 15 minutes because his Go-Pro battery died, but he said police continued to question him about the gun and why he wouldn't show any identification. He said they handcuffed him briefly, searched him and found his license to carry inside his wallet. He was then let go.
"I love the idea of open carry. It’s our constitutional right. I do it all the time," Moody said. "I don’t see why anyone would impede my right to do so."
An attorney who has wrangled with the city of Philadelphia for decades over citizens' gun rights, Jon Mirowitz, said the law doesn't prohibit Moody from openly carrying his gun.
But, Mirowitz said, everyone, whether you're a cop or a civilian, should adhere to a simple rule: Act civil.
"In this sort of a confrontation, there is nobody that’s right or nobody that’s wrong," Mirowitz said. "Being civil is the key. All the guy has to do is say, 'Here's my ID.' All the cop has to do is say, 'I’m not giving you a hard time. I just want to see some ID.'"
The Philadelphia Police Department did not respond to requests for comment about the incident.
It occurred near April 24 shootings on Vernon Road that left two men dead, including one who had just been talking with a state House candidate. The shootings were related to one another.
Officers in the 14th should take heed: Moody said he doesn't plan to quit armed jogging anytime soon — even if his wife said she isn't happy about it.
"My wife is upset with me now because I put myself at risk," he said. "But I told her freedom isn’t free. I call it my exercising my mind, my body, and my Second Amendment rights."
A police officer was injured in a crash in North Philadelphia Tuesday afternoon.
Officials say the officer was attempting to pull over a vehicle on 25th and Diamond streets. Suddenly the police cruiser was hit from behind by another vehicle causing the officer to crash into the car he was pulling over.
The officer was not seriously hurt in the crash but was still taken to the hospital for observation.
Funeral arrangements have been released for Willie Williams, the first African-American to lead the Philadelphia Police Department and the Los Angeles Police Department, who died at the age of 72 last week.
A public viewing will be held Friday, May 6, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Baker Funeral Home on 2008 North Broad Street in Philadelphia. Another viewing will be held Saturday, May 7 from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. at Zion Baptist Church on 3600 North Broad Street. A funeral service will immediately follow at the church at 11 a.m.
Philadelphia Mayor W. Wilson Goode Sr. appointed Williams the Philadelphia Police Department's first black commissioner in 1988. He succeeded Kevin Tucker and paved the way for many other African-American leaders in the department, including current Commissioner Richard Ross and his predecessor, Commissioner Charles Ramsey.
"I remember most about his tenure that it was a historic appointment," former Mayor Goode told NBC10 on Wednesday. "He was the perfect person to be in that position as the first African-American police commissioner of the city."
[[377311961, C]]
Goode, who said he was so close with Williams that he considered him to be like family, recalled Williams as humble and soft-spoken, but forceful. He said a hallmark of Williams' tenure as the leader of the Philadelphia department was his ability to bring the police and community together.
"When other cities were experiencing differences between police and the community, Philadelphia was kind of calm," Goode said. "I think it was due to the leadership of Willie Williams, being in control and having that kind of interpersonal skill to talk to neighborhood leaders throughout the city."
That skill caught eyes on the West Coast, and in the wake of the Rodney King riots in 1992, the Los Angeles Police Department recruited Williams to become commissioner there. Williams spent half a decade leading the LAPD. In 2002, he became head of federal security at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and settled in Atlanta.
Williams' daughter-in-law Valerie told the Associated Press that he died Tuesday night at his home in Fayettevelle, Georgia. She said he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
Ross, Philadelphia's current leader, joined the force a year before Williams took over the department and was patrol partners with Williams' son, also named Willie Williams, who is now a lieutenant in the Philadelphia Police Department working in Mayor Jim Kenney's security detail. Ross echoed Goode's sentiments about Williams, saying he was fair, charismatic and committed to community policing.
Kenney in a statement on Wednesday said he was "deeply saddened" by Williams' death.
"He served this city with greatness, improving community police relations and breaking down barriers at Philadelphia's first African-American commissioner," Kenney said.
Ross said Williams served as an inspiration to him to rise through the ranks of the department.
"I'd seen that someone else had reached that pinnacle," Ross, who took over the department after Commissioner Charles Ramsey retired in January, said. "It was possible for me and others to do it as well. When you reach a milestone like that ... that just makes the barriers crumble for others as well."
IT’S OUR TURN, NOW (WITHOUT THE FLOODS)
Remember when we had those ten straight dry, sunny days last month? While many of us were enjoying that stretch of weather, it was day after day of rain in Louisiana and surrounding states, causing record flooding. It’s known as a Blocking Pattern, and it’s our turn to get stuck in the cool, cloudy, and damp part of one.
IS THIS UNUSUAL?
No. We have seen blocking patterns in the upper atmosphere as long as we’ve seen maps of the upper atmosphere. They are more common in some parts of the year and more common in certain parts of the world. If we didn’t have blocking patterns, that would be unusual.
WHAT IT MEANS FOR US
In this case, the cool, cloudy, damp weather will continue through at least Friday. Temperatures may not even reach 60 in many parts of the area (our normal high is 70). I don’t expect a lot of rain to fall-no flood threat or anything close to it. But we will see fog and some drizzle at times during the next two days. By Friday, the center of the upper-air low will be right over us, so that may be the day when we see more hours of rain. There could even be some coastal flooding, due to the persistent wind off the ocean plus the new moon (which raises tides all by itself).
Here is that upper-air map for Friday. That’s pretty extreme for May.
The blue areas are below normal pressures, with the center of the upper low right over Delaware Bay. And here’s the surface map for the same time:
That’s a map that shows a rainy and chilly pattern, especially for May.
WHEN IS THIS BLOCKING PATTERN GOING TO BREAK UP?
It takes a while for blocking this strong to break up, and that’s been the case this spring. Look at the upper-air pattern for Thursday:
Not only is there a strong LOW in the Eastern U.S., there’s another one along the California coast. And then there’s a HIGH pressure ridge in-between. Does the U.S. pattern look familiar? It looks like the Greek letter Omega:
OK, it may not look exactly like an Omega to some of you, but meteorologists have been using the term for ages.
This particular Omega Block will be breaking up over the weekend, just in time to allow for some sunshine and mild temperatures to return. And the pattern by the middle of next week will look much different than it does now.
That’s a more “normal” pattern, which will allow much warmer air to move in. And lo and behold: temperatures near 80 are in the forecast by Wednesday.
A woman fought off a man who was trying to sexually assault her in South Philadelphia last month, according to police.
A 19-year-old woman told police she was walking on the 1300 block of Wharton Street at 1:30 a.m. back on April 20 when she was approached from behind by an unidentified man. Investigators say the man forced the woman to the ground and pulled the top of her dress down, exposing her breast. The woman managed to fight back however and sprayed him in the face with mace, police said.
The suspect then fled northbound on the 1200 block of South Clarion Street.
"It's pretty horrifying," said Laura Chance, who told NBC10 she heard and saw the struggle outside her apartment. "I wasn't sure what was going on until I heard the woman scream, 'fire,' which I know to be code for sexual assault. I ran to my window to find out where she was."
Police released surveillance video of the attack. The suspect is described as a 37-year-old man standing 5-foot-7 and weighing 225 pounds. He was last seen wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and black pants.
If you have any information on his identity, please call the Special Victims Unit at 215-685-3251/52 or call 911.
A tip led the NBC 10 Investigators to an unlicensed funeral home in Chester, Pennsylvania. When our cameras captured bodies prepped for burial it led to questions [of oversight and enforcement] for those watching Pennsylvania’s funeral industry.
We met Leychawne Johns inside an unlicensed funeral home. He was standing over a body in a casket. Another corpse lay in a back room. According to state records Leychawne Johns is a licensed funeral trainee, meaning he can only practice under the supervision of a licensed funeral director.
“There are two bodies in the process of being prepared for viewing,” Deputy Chester Police Commissioner Otis Blair said.
Police arrived when the building’s owner, licensed funeral director Louis Hunt, called them. Hunt rents an upstairs apartment to Johns.
“For months now I’ve been trying to let the board know that there’s unlicensed activity going on in the building,” Hunt said.
“I’m calling my attorney,” Johns said when asked about his license status.
Johns did not provide his attorney’s name or contact number.
It is not the first time recently we’ve seen unlicensed funeral activity in a Pennsylvania funeral home.
Last summer, we saw it twice in one week in Philadelphia.
First police discovered decomposing bodies in Blair Hawkins’ unlicensed funeral home. Days later they found three decomposing in an unrefrigerated Philadelphia garage. State records show Janet Powell-Dailey ran an unlicensed funeral home for three years. Both Powell-Daily and Hawkins were charged with abuse of a corpse and are awaiting trial. Hawkins said he won’t talk to us until his trial ends. Powell-Dailey and her lawyer haven’t returned our calls for comment.
“You know what, this is a tough industry,” former state funeral board chairman Gregory Burrell said.
Burrell has been a member of the state funeral board for six years. As chairman he was in charge of overseeing the industry. When the NBC10 Investigators went to Harrisburg to see how the board enforces unlicensed activity – we watched them remove Burrell as chairman.
State records show he allowed his West Philadelphia funeral home’s license to lapse for four days in February.
“I think it’s a technicality because the license was gone for three days and I mean the checks and the applications were in the mail to get there on time so we would not be late,” Burrell said.
According to the Department of State, Burrell ran the Terry Funeral Home in West Philadelphia without a license from February 1, 2016 to February 5, 2016. The Terry Funeral Home’s website shows two funerals performed during that time.
Burrell said he thought the license was active.
“It is just baffling to me because I know we wrote the checks way in advance. Way in advance,” he said.
The funeral board can issue fines and revoke licenses but whether it’s the board chairman or someone, such as Leychawen Johns, our investigation found the state powerless to stop the unlicensed from performing funerals.
“We do not have the statutory authority to actually stop a person from practicing,” Deputy Secretary Peter Speaks said.
Speaks is in charge of Pennsylvania’s professional licensing.
Court records show the state regulator tried to shut down Powell’s funeral home last fall in Philadelphia but couldn’t. State law requires “proof of immediate and irreparable harm” to the living.
“We can be effective to the extent that we are bringing attention to the fact that they are practicing without a license,” Speaks said.
A pool of 255 potential jurors that arrived Monday at the federal courthouse in Philadelphia for the trial of U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah was whittled down by Tuesday evening to the final 18.
That number includes the 12 jurors and six alternates in a case that will begin May 16 with opening arguments and is expected to take several weeks.
Various motions by both Fattah's defense and federal prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney's Office in Philadelphia are also expected between now and the beginning of the trial in two weeks.
Fattah, 58, is charged with bribery, racketeering, money laundering, and other charges in an alleged scheme that dates back to a $1 million loan during his failed 2007 run for mayor.
"It's a great day," Fattah said as he left the courthouse at 601 Market St. "I can't really comment."
Four others, including a wealthy longtime political supporter, are also charged.
The congressman, who hails from West Philadelphia and has represented the city-based 2nd Congressional District for 22 years, lost his re-election bid last Tuesday to state Rep. Dwight Evans.
Officials released video of two men who they say attacked a student as well as two school police officers outside of a Northeast Philadelphia high school.
On Monday around 3:30 p.m., two school police officers were escorting students outside Northeast High School on Cottman Avenue after dismissal. Suddenly the officers spotted two men who were assaulting another student, investigators say. The officers separated the student from the two men in order to stop the attack, according to officials. The officers and the two men then began to argue which escalated into a physical confrontation. The men allegedly began pushing and shoving the two officers who then defended themselves, according to officials.
One of the suspects threw an officer to the ground while another suspect punched the second officer, police say. A third male suspect then joined in and all three began to attack the school officers, according to officials. Philadelphia police officers then arrived at the scene and the suspects fled east on Cottman Avenue.
One of the school officers suffered a broken jaw during the fight and was taken to Temple University Hospital to undergo surgery. The second school officer suffered a sprained ankle and some bruises.
So far police have only released a description of one of the suspects, describing him as a muscular African-American man in his mid-20s weighing 185 pounds with dreadlocks who was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and gray sweatpants.
If you have any information on the incident, please call Philadelphia Police.
