One woman was taken to Episcopal Hospital and listed in stable condition after a Hair Salon and apartment caught fire Friday morning.
A building fire started around 3:40 a.m at 1811 East Somerset Avenue. The first floor of the building housed Martha Beauty Salon and Boutique while apartments were on the second floor.
Firefighters reported that the fire was in the walls.
The grip of the powerful drug Fentanyl has taken twice as many lives in Delaware this year with a few months to spare.
Through the first nine months of 2016 90 people died from overdoses of the synthetic painkiller, said the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services and Delaware Department of Safety and Homeland Security in a joint news release.
The total more than doubles the total of 42 fentanyl deaths in 2015, said the groups.
"The fentanyl on our streets is so toxic that it greatly decreases the chance of survival," said DSHS Secretary James Mosley.
The agencies say that drug dealers are lacing heroin or cocaine with fentanyl or selling the drug on its own. [[373570681, C]]
"The dramatic increase in overdose deaths related to fentanyl is heartbreaking," said DHSS Secretary Rita Landgraf. "We urge people to seek treatment for addiction rather than face an increasing risk of death from an overdose of fentanyl, heroin, cocaine or some combination of drugs. One use of any drug can be deadly, but with fentanyl, the risk too often is tragically greater. For individuals suffering from addiction or families worried about a loved one, my department can connect people to treatment. While relapse is part of this disease, we also know that treatment does work and people do recover."
DHSS said people battling addiction could contact the department’s 24/7 Crisis Service Helpline at 1-800-652-2929 in New Castle County and 1-800-345-6785 in Kent and Sussex counties. DHSS has also launched a website to help with addiction.
"Dude, where’s my car," a question that Philadelphia City Council hopes fewer residents will have to ask come 2017.
In their last council meeting of the year, the Philadelphia City Council passed a "Ticket-to-Tow" bill, 15 to 1. Bill No. 160682 requires cars to be ticketed by one of nine law enforcement agencies before it could be towed by a private company.
"If your car is being towed without a ticket, you have the ability to call the company and we will go after the company and they have to give you your car back," the bill’s sponsor Councilwoman Maria Quinones Sanchez told NBC10.
Many tow truck companies are not happy with the passing of the new bill and protested at City Hall Thursday claiming a few rogue towers shouldn’t result in industry wide regulations.
Tow truck drivers claim that they don’t know who to call to determine if a car is parked illegally and these delays will cost them time and money.
"That’s when Licenses and Inspections needs to step in," said David Wienckowski of Supreme Auto Services. "That’s their job. That’s what they get paid to do. If somebody is overcharging, doing something wrong, you take their license."
Licenses and Inspections doesn’t currently have the means to handle the oversight which is why the city will seek help from a third party.
The bill even had some initial opponents before a 30-day delay before the law goes into effect was added to the bill.
"The negative few should not put into bankruptcy the legitimate many," Councilman Curtis Jones Jr., an initial opponent, stated.
One of northwest Philadelphia's major arteries will be closed Saturday for repairs, the Philadelphia Streets Department announced Friday morning.
The full-closure on Lincoln Drive -- between Wissahickon Avenue and Ridge Avenue/ Kelly Drive -- is scheduled to be in effect from about 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Northbound traffic will be blocked at all entrances to the south end of Lincoln Drive. The Streets Department suggests Walnut or Schoolhouse Lane as possible detours.
Southbound traffic will be blocked to Wissahickon Drive. Instead, a marked detour will take them to the end of Lincoln Drive at Ridge Avenue via Walnut Lane. Pedestrians and bicyclists won’t have access to the roadway due to the volume of workers and equipment.
Crews plan to conduct rail repairs, inlet cleaning, pothole repairs, tree cutting/pruning and other maintenance work.
Police will be on site to help maintain traffic flow in the area.
Christmas arrived early this year for shoppers at a western Pennsylvania Wal-Mart when a "Secret Santa" paid off 194 layaway accounts worth more than $46,000.
The discount chain said a woman walked into the store in Everett, Bedford County, on behalf of a "Secret Santa" with a check to pay off the accounts, NBC affiliate WJAC reported. Everett is about 100 miles southeast of Pittsburgh.
“When customers quietly pay off others’ layaway items, we’re reminded how good people can be," a company spokesman said in a statement Friday. "The joy that comes from these transactions extends well beyond dollars and cents."
Wal-Mart said it's "honored to be a small part of these random acts of kindness."
Layaway is a popular way for financially strapped shoppers to put a deposit on their merchandise, and pay off the balance over a period of time. It's used at retailers including Wal-Mart and Kmart.
Pamela Foor said she was one of the shoppers employees called with the good news.
"Some people really needed that this Christmas and I'm just grateful and thankful that they can do that," Foor said.
Sandy Terry told CNBC her account was also paid off by the anonymous donor. Terry, who recently quit her job due to surgery complications, had put an Xbox on layaway for her 6-year-old grandson and had a $75 balance on her account. She says she was worried about not being able to pay off the balance.
"I'm just so thankful that he's going to get it this year," she said. "Thank you so much to [the person who] paid it off for me."
A Hatboro woman who allegedly delivered the drugs that killed a man in his Upper Moreland home has been charged with involuntary manslaughter, the Montgomery County District Attorney said Friday.
Michael Pastorino, 32, of Willow Grove, died Nov. 6, after using drugs he believed to be heroin, the district attorney's office said. The drugs, however, turned out to be a much more potent opioid called fentanyl, according to the DA.
The doses were allegedly provided by Gwendolyn Marie Prebish, 27, according to text messages discovered after Pastorino's death, the DA said.
"The investigation ... revealed that the night before Mr. Pastorino was found dead in his bedroom, he had sent and received drug-related text messages with his heroin supplier," the district attorney's office said in a statement.
The heroin was actually fentanyl, a synthetic opioid 40 to 50 times stronger than street-level heroin, according to the DA.
District Attorney Kevin Steele said Prebish is being charged with drug delivery resulting in death, in addition to the involuntary manslaughter charge.
"You give a drug to someone and they die as a result of the drug, you are on the hook," Steele said in the statement. "Drug dealers need to know that they are killing people, and they will be held criminally responsible."
Prebish was arraigned on $1 million bail and sent to Montgomery County Correctional Facility. A preliminary hearing will be Dec. 21.
BobbiGail Lipton's father, Morris, bought the Zerns Farmers Market in 1949 when the eclectic country bazaar was already well-established in far western Montgomery County.
"We didn't build Zerns. Zerns built itself. It has a magnetism," said Lipton, who has long gone only by her first name.
She grew up in nearby Boyertown, Berks County, just a short distance from the 24-acre plot of land where Zerns sits in Gilbertsville, along the well-traveled Route 73.
"My very strong desire is to see this continue in operation well past 100 years," Lipton said in a phone interview. "There are so few places like this in the country."
Lipton, who has long lived in Hawaii, has put the market up for sale with an asking price of $7 million. It is listed by Kurfiss Sotherby's International of Philadelphia.
The longtime owner who's ready to retire said she loves the nostalgia that comes with a farmers' market that has vendors dating back 70 years. More than 100 vendors are part of the weekend bazaar that also includes events car auctions on Friday nights and wrestling matches on Saturdays.
"Founded in 1922, Zerns draws hundreds of thousands of consumers each year to its myriad of vendors," according to the listing. "These merchants are spread throughout a 200,000-square-foot area under roof, with plenty of additional space outdoors for seasonal offerings."
Lipton said the the location's commercial ways date to 1752, when a local farmer sold "potatoes by the edge of the road."
A fire in the 1960s destroyed much of the commercial space, but the large main structure and surrounding facilities were rebuilt.
"To me, she's a lady, a 95-year-old lady who's sort of graceful and in the past went through an awful lot," Lipton said.
Interest in the property by prospective buyers has been fierce since the listing was posted last week, realtor Ryan Cortez said.
Neither he nor Lipton said what types of prospective buyers showed interest, but both said the hope was the next owner would keep Zerns intact.
"I don't want to see it become a Target," Lipton said.
She added, "I know people's shopping habits have changed and eventually people will be shopping by drones. But the people watching, the vendors, those are the invaluable parts of Zerns that makes our loyal customers returning every week, and new people coming to see the market all the time."
The family of a young Marine veteran who went missing on a walk to a South Jersey bar last week is asking for the public's help in finding him.
Lance James disappeared last Saturday evening after leaving his Clementon, New Jersey apartment, his sister, Jessica Hassan, tells NBC10.
James, who turns 29 this Saturday, was taking about a mile trek to the Hide-A-Way Tavern along White Horse Avenue to pick up his cellphone and jacket. He had forgotten them at the bar the night before, Hassan said.
But he never made it to the bar.
"It is not like him to not check in, especially with our mother, and [for] this long," Hassan said.
James spent five years as an active duty Marine, completing one-year tours in Iraq and Afghanistan as a Field Radio Technician. He suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and battles severe depression, the sister said.
"He has a big heart but he wears it on his sleeve. He will make you laugh and he is by far one of the most loyal people you will meet. When you befriend him you have a friend for life," Hassan said of James adding that he's a father to a 5-year-old girl.
James, who doesn't have a car, frequents Cherry Hill where he donates blood, Hassan said. He stands 5-feet-8-inches tall with a lean build and has brown hair.
Hassan said police and local veterans groups have searched the woods near his home and around the bar, but so far haven't uncovered any leads. A call to Clementon Police went unanswered Friday night.
The man's family are asking people to be on the lookout for him and call investigators with any information on his whereabouts. Anyone with information is asked to contact Clementon Police Sgt. Boyle at 856.783.2759.
A South Jersey anti-fascist group is planning to protest Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway's leading of a Christmas parade in Atlantic County on Saturday night.
South Jersey Antifa is organizing the peaceful demonstration at Hammonton Fire Department's Christmas parade in downtown Hammonton, according to posts on the group's social media accounts.
Conway, a South Jersey native who went to St. Joseph's High School in the town, is set to serve as grand marshal. The 49-year-old is credited with playing a pivotal role in navigating President-elect Donald Trump to The White House in this year's election.
South Jersey Antifa says Conway is not an acceptable role model citing Trump and the campaign's history with xenophobic and sexist statements and policies.
The Trump campaign has been accused of fueling a resurgence of white nationalism and for being slow to respond to hate speech. Talking to MSNBC's Chris Matthews on "Hardball" Thursday, Conway said she's been receiving death threats recently for defending the incoming administration.
The group has asked protesters to wear Santa hats and post to social media with the hashtag #SantaHatesFacists.
A request for comment from the Hammonton Fire Department was not immediately returned.
A Temple University student says she's anxious and can't sleep at her North Philadelphia apartment after she saw a peeping Tom outside her bedroom.
Philadelphia Police released surveillance video of the incident on Friday, four days after it happened on Monday.
The video shows a man climbing on the balcony of the off-campus apartment where the 20-year-old woman lived. Police said the man took photos while looking through her window. The victim asked to have her identity shielded when speaking about what happened.
"I don't know who he is. I don't think he's directly targeting me. I think it's just a fascination with girls in general," the student said.
The young woman said her boyfriend tried to chase the suspect, but he got away. A new lock is now in place outside the gate where the suspect entered.
Police said the suspect appears to be 20 years old, is 6-foot-2-inches tall with long brown hair and about 170 lbs. He was wearing a black North Face jacket.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Philadelphia Police tipline at 215.686.TIPS.
Two of Philadelphia's youth football teams were playing in Pop Warner championship games in Orlando, Florida, on Saturday.
In the morning title game of the junior varsity division, the North Philly Aztecs lost to the Richmond-Perrine Giants, 20-6.
The Northwest Raiders (D1 Varsity) will play at 4:30 p.m. The game broadcast on ESPN3 and ESPNU.
In the semi-finals of the ages 10 to 13 division, the Aztecs beat the Virginia youth football team, Churchland Tigers, 45-7, to advance to the Super Bowl.
NBC10 visited with the Aztecs last month as they prepared for the big trip to Florida. Watch the video of their practices and some interviews here.
The Raiders will try to win their third consecutive Pop Warner title in the ages 12 to 15 division. They cruised by Florida’s Palmetto Raiders in a 30-6 blowout to reach the championship game. The Germantown-based team will play the Santa Clara, California, Lions.
Both championship games will be held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Disney World's Walt Disney Resort.
Pop Warner is the oldest and largest football, cheer and dance organization in the nation -- serving about 325,000 youths in 42 states. The non-profit, founded in 1929, is the only national youth sports organization that requires academic proficiency as a prerequisite to participate. The requirement speaks to their mission, which is to promote hard work, persistence, and leadership in its young athlete.
