Twelve years after a couple disappeared after leaving a South Street bar, the search continues.

Danielle Imbo and Richard Petrone, Jr. were last seen enjoying a night out on Philadelphia's South Street on Feb. 19, 2005.

The investigation that followed involved officials from two states and the FBI, but after more than a decade no one has been able to answer the question of what happened to the New Jersey couple.

Sunday marked the somber anniversary of the cold case missing persons case.

Imbo, 34, and Petrone, 35, were old friends who once dated who went to Abilene's -- a now defunct bar and restaurant along South Street -- on that February evening. It would be the last time anyone saw them.

Their cellphones and credit cards weren't used after the disappearance, said investigators.

Family and investigators describe the couple as stable. Both have children from previous relationships and held good jobs.

Family members believe the duo were killed. Officials have said the two may have been the victims of a murder-for-hire plot, but will not say why. The couple has been pronounced dead but it's not clear how they died.

Authorities have pursued hundreds of leads and listened to thousands of tip calls. Searches were conducted on the ground and by air, and waterways were combed. The nature of the crime has led investigators to conclude it was a planned attack acted out by more than one person.

Petrone’s black 2001 Dodge Dakota pickup truck was also never found.

The FBI offered a $50,000 reward for information. Anyone with information is asked to call the Citizens Crime Commission tipline at 215-546-TIPS (8477). Tipsters can remain anonymous. [[238427591, C]]

Attorney Tariq El-Shabazz is hoping to transition from a role in the district attorney's office into being DA.

The longtime Philadelphia attorney announced Monday at a Chestnut Hill restaurant that he is running to replace his former boss, embattled District Attorney Seth Williams.

El-Shabazz served as an assistant district attorney from 1988 to 1993 before transitioning into a defense attorney for some high-profile cases. He most recently served about a year at first assistant district attorney and deputy for investigations int he DA's office. He resigned from the DA's office last week.

"In almost 30 years of practice, I've tried cases in both Federal and State court -- from Virginia to Massachusetts, I have worked as an assistant district attorney, I was deputy of investigations, first assistant district attorney and I am a veteran defense attorney," El-Shabazz said. "I have put policies and protocol in place and currently have as many as seven programs that will aid in the ending of mass incarceration, while  increasing transparency, fairness, and public trust."

Shabazz's voice rose as he answered a question about having tax debt. Shabazz admitted he is dealing with tax problems for a second time but that since tax debt is a civil matter it doesn't impact his ability to criminally prosecute and doesn't impact his qualifications to be district attorney.

"The voters deserve to know I have debt... I'm not running from it," he said.

He joins a crowded field of Democrats in May's primary, joining Judge Teresa Carr Deni, Joe Khan, Lawrence Krasner, Rich Negrin and Michael Untermeyer. Republican Beth Grossman also has announced her candidacy.

The candidates hope to replace Williams, who announced earlier this month that he would not seek a third term amid a federal ethics violation probe. [[238427591, C]]

The green rush has officially started in Pennsylvania after applications opened Monday morning for medical marijuana operations in the Keystone State.

People interested in becoming growers, processors or dispensary owners can submit applications through the Pennsylvania Department of Health Medical Marijuana Program website now through March 20.

Cultivator and processing applicants are required to pay a nonrefundable $10,000 fee and a refundable $200,000 permit fee. People interested in opening a licensed dispensary should be prepared to pay a $5,000 nonrefundable fee and a $30,000 refundable permit fee.

The department of health will issue no more than 25 growing/processing permits and no more than 50 dispensary permits. The dispensaries and cultivation sites will be spread throughout the state according to zones.

Full implementation of Pennsylvania’s medical pot program is expected to take between 18 and 24 months, the health department said. It will be available for patients with one of 17 serious medical conditions, including autism, cancer, Crohn’s Disease, epilepsy, HIV/AIDS and multiple sclerosis. See the full list here.

Both medical and recreational cannabis remains illegal at the federal level. Medical patients are advised not to cross state borders with their prescriptions and not to provide cannabis to non-patients. [[238427591, C]]

“Happy” singer and mega producer Pharrell Williams headlines this summer’s Roots picnic on Penns Landing.

The 10th edition of the festival hosted by Philadelphia’s own The Roots will also feature Lil Wayne, Solange, 21 Savage, Kimbra, Michael Kiwanuka, Fat Joe, Mobb Deep, Scott Storch and others across three stages.

The festival, where artists often join the Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon's house band, returns to Festival Pier at Penn’s Landing on Saturday, June 3.

“Ten years ago this started as a concept, an idea, a conversation between me, Tarik (Black Thought), Ahmir (Questlove) and Rich (Nichols),” Shawn Gee, Roots longtime manager and partner in Maverick Management, said. “It’s amazing that it has grown into such a valued piece of the cultural landscape of our hometown of Philadelphia.”

Tickets to the Philly show went on sale Monday for $75.

For the second-straight year, The Roots plan on holding a second festival in New York – a two-day festival in October in Bryant Park that features John Mayer, D’Angelo, Wu-Tang Clan, David Byrne and others.

“We were blessed to expand the Picnic to NYC last year, and the brand will continue to grow and evolve, but Philly will ALWAYS be the home, the birthplace of the Roots Picnic,” Gee said. “We are super excited to bring a packed lineup to celebrate our 10th anniversary, and as always there will be plenty of surprises and special guests.” [[238904721, C]]

The St. Mary Polish American Society is trying to save its church with the Osttaki Mardi Gras celebration, David Swedkowski said.

It might not seem like it to regular drivers of the Schuylkill Expressway but Philadelphia is nowhere near the worst city when it comes to time wasted sitting in traffic even if the Schuylkill is one of the worst roads, a new traffic study found.

Philadelphia ranked 51st out of 1,064 cities examined in transportation analytics firm Inrix’s 2016 Global Traffic Scorecard's most congested cities. Philadelphia placed 51st on the Traffic Scorecard -- up from 71st last year) and 93rd on Inrix’s list of city congestion – up from 145th last year – as drivers spent almost 38 hours in rush hour congestion last year.

Los Angles, California, where drivers spent 104 hours stuck in rush hour traffic, topped the list with Moscow, Russia and New York, New York rounding out the list.

Philly might not make the top of the congestion list but the Schuylkill Expressway (Interstate 76) from Exit 332 (West Conshohocken) to Exit 343 (Spring Garden Street) is the ninth worst stretch of highway in America, featuring 58 total hours of delays for drivers during the evening rush.

Feel free to complain about your least favorite area roadway in the comments section below.

A New Jersey seventh grader made a triumphant return to the hardwood with her school's boys basketball team Sunday after her parents won a court case against the 12-year-old's school on her right to play.

Sydney Phillips was told by St. Theresa's School in Kenilworth, New Jersey, that she could not play on the boys basketball team even though the girls team had been dropped for the season.

After her parents sued the school over the decision, Sydney and her younger sister arrived at school in early February to find they had been expelled.

A judge ruled that the girls should not be prevented from going to school, and then Sydney also won the right to play ball with the boys.

St. Theresa's played St. Genevieve Sunday and made two baskets, to rapturous applause from the watching crowds.

Despite her hard work on the court, St Theresa's lost the game.

Westminster College student Conner Cox learned a tough lesson when his mother mailed him a box full of garbage that he forgot to take out during a visit home.

After winning an Emmy and an Edward R. Murrow award, NBC10’s Keith Jones can now add another accolade to his journalism career: one of the hottest news anchors in the world.

Keith landed at number 42 on Buzzfeed’s list of the “50 hottest local news anchors in the world.” Members of the BuzzFeed community submitted the names while staff members for the website ranked them in a list with a not very safe for work headline. Keith, who was one of five Philadelphia-area anchors selected for the list, was chosen in part because he “plays the guitar,” according to Buzzfeed.

“A big THANK YOU to those who nominated me for this BuzzFeed list of the "50 Hottest in the WORLD," which sounds ridiculous (because it is),” Keith wrote on his Facebook page. “I’m a bit embarrassed, but it’s very flattering.”

A group of college roommates used a barricade and brooms to force a rat out of their home in a video that has now gone viral.

Jody Mackin, a senior at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, said she and her three roommates Logan, Briana and Meg, found a rat upstairs in their home. After failing to catch the rat in a trap, the students decided to force the rodent out. They used a mop, a bucket, garbage can and Swiffer to create a barricade in the bathroom.

“We had to act fast,” Mackin said. “We barricaded it so it couldn’t stay upstairs.”

With help from Logan’s boyfriend, the girls put the plan into action. After they used the barricade to force it out of their bathroom, the rodent tumbled downstairs. Logan’s boyfriend then used a broom to slap it out of the house. Video of the roommates forcing out their unwanted guest quickly went viral and has been retweeted over 122,000 times since it was first posted on twitter on Friday.

“Being known as the rat girls isn’t something we’re too happy about,” Mackin said while laughing. “But it’s definitely pretty cool.”

It turns out however, the girls’ rat problems didn’t end with the dramatic slap shot.  The next day they found what they believed to be the same rat dead inside a trap they had forgotten to throw away.

“It was the next morning and it was downstairs in the kitchen,” Mackin said. “Either it was the same rat or it was a different one. We’re just going to go ahead and say it was the same rat.”

Take a look at the rat eviction video below:

Mild temperatures and dry forests are sparking concerns about a busy wildfire season in New Jersey. NBC10 Jersey Shore Bureau Reporter Ted Greenberg shows us how firefighters are working to make conditions safer.

Val DiGiorgio is the newly elected chair of the Pennsylvania Republican Party. NBC10’s Lauren Mayk sat down with him and found out how the GOP will vie for your vote.

Cooper River Park is undergoing a 12 million dollar makeover. NBC10 South Jersey Bureau Reporter Cydney Long has the details.

The NBC10 Investigators found Philadelphia’s hit-and-run problem is as lethal as ever. NBC10 Investigative Reporter Mitch Blacher shows us intersections that have been deadly over and over again.

Three teenagers are in the hospital following a shooting in the Olney section of Philadelphia.

A 19-year-old man, 16-year-old boy and 17-year-old boy were on the 5500 block of North American Street Monday shortly before 8 p.m. when an unidentified gunman opened fire.

The 19-year-old was shot in the right arm, the 16-year-old was shot in the buttocks and the 17-year-old was grazed in his arm and shoulder area. All three victims were taken to the Einstein Medical Center and are currently in stable condition.

No arrests have been made and police have not yet released a description of the gunman.

This story is developing. Check back for updates.

Police say a gunman fired shots at officers in the Olney section of Philadelphia Monday night.

Officers were on 5th and Champlost streets around 10 p.m. when a suspect fired shots, according to officials. None of the officers were injured during the shooting. A SWAT team is currently searching for the suspect in a nearby park.

Investigators have not yet revealed what led to the shooting.

This story is developing. Stay with NBC10.com for updates.

A suspect stole a vehicle with a young child inside in Philadelphia late Monday night, according to investigators.

Police say the suspect stole the vehicle on the 4600 block of Sydenham Street around 10:40 p.m. A 4-year-old boy was inside the car at the time.

Police later found the vehicle a few blocks away on the 1600 block of Saint Paul Street. Neither the boy nor the suspect were inside, according to police. Officers continue to search the area.

This story is developing. Check back for updates.

A self-described “bike lane vigilante” released a video showing him placing tow-away stickers on vehicles that he says were illegally parked in bike lanes in Philadelphia. Throughout the 3-minute, 20-second long video, the cyclist places the stickers on the vehicles and tells drivers who are illegally parked to move.

“What I’ve noticed is that once one vehicle is blocking the bike lane, other drivers seem to think it is more acceptable to also block the bike lane in front or behind the first vehicle,” he said. “I often see clusters of two to four vehicles blocking the bike lanes.”

The man, who wanted to remain anonymous, told NBC10 he was motivated by several incidents.

“Seeing many of the same vehicles constantly blocking the bike lanes, lack of enforcement, seeing a cyclist fall after getting their wheel stuck in trolley tracks when they were avoiding a stopped vehicle in the bike lane, and a hypocritical driver both blocking the bike lane and then aggressively driving and honking at me when I had to avoid a second vehicle in the bike lane,” the man said.

In recent years, the Philadelphia Parking Authority has encouraged city bike riders to report cars or trucks that are parked in bike lanes.

It is illegal for a vehicle to stop or park in a bike lane with a "No Stopping" sign. Vehicles may load or unload in a bike lane with a "No Parking" sign but can't stay for more than 20 minutes.

The man said all the vehicles he placed the stickers on were either blocking a bike lane while double parking other vehicles in or parked in “No Stopping” zones. He also told NBC10 drivers have at times reacted to him aggressively or violently.

“I’ve been threatened, swerved into and hit by a vehicle’s mirror,” he said. “I filed a police report. The police recommended aggravated assault and lesser charges but the DA refused to press the case. The message the DA is sending to cyclists is that they are on their own.”

The man told NBC10 he’s not just trying to help cyclists but drivers as well.

“I both drive and bike in Philly and it is to both drivers' and cyclists’ advantage to keep the bike lanes clear,” he said. “When cyclists are forced into traffic, it is not only dangerous to cyclists but it also often upsets any drivers that are now stuck behind that cyclist. I try my best to stay out of the way of other drivers but blocked bike lanes prevent me from doing that. All for the convenience of a single driver.”

MILD FEBRUARY GETTING EVEN MILDER
After a “cooldown” Monday (still WAAAAY above normal), Philadelphia temperatures are running 6.5 degrees above normal for February. With another unseasonably warm week ahead, it looks like we'll end the month as either the warmest or 2nd warmest February on record (going back to 1884).

Here is the “meteorological winter season” stats (as of the 20th):
December 2016     1.3 degrees above normal
January 2017          5.5 degrees above normal
February 2017        6.5 degrees above normal (may end up around +9)

That would make it one of the warmest winters on record.

OTHER AREAS EVEN MORE EXTREME
You would think that record warmth along the U.S. East Coast would be a fairly localized thing-it can’t be unseasonably warm all over, can it? Historically, that has been the case. Warm in the East, Cold in the West, and near normal in the middle of the country-that would be a typical winter pattern.

But take a look at U.S. temperatures so far this February (compared to normal):

That is virtually the ENTIRE continental U.S. above normal. And we’re closer to normal than practically any other area! All-time February records are about to be set across numerous states.

How about January 2017? It doesn’t look a whole lot different:

Look at how warm Southern Canada was compared to normal. That means that even when air was coming from Canada into the U.S. it wasn’t as cold as in “normal” years.

SO WHAT’S COMING NEXT?
Considering that February will be our 22nd month of above normal temperatures in the past 23, we should probably expect another mild month-or two-or three ahead. Allentown has had 23 straight months of above normal temperatures! When we say “normal”, we’re talking about the traditional last 30 year period, 1981-2010. Remember, those decades were the warmest already! If we used the period 1971-2000, for example, there would be even more yellow and reddish colors on the above maps.

We’re breaking records that, in many cases, weren’t set that long ago. This is because the clear warming trend since the 1970s has continued. If anything, it’s been accelerating. Here are some temperature records set in just this decade in Philadelphia:
            *2nd warmest year on record (2016)
            *Warmest December on record (2015-by far!)
            *Warmest November on record (2015)
            *Warmest year on record (2012)
            *Warmest spring on record (2012)
            *Warmest July (2011)
            *Warmest summer (2010)
            *Warmest June (2010)
            *Most 90 degree days (2010)

HOW ABOUT MARCH?
As we’ve seen, odds favor a warmer than normal month. But how warm? Are there any signs of a significant pattern change? Not really. Here are the maps of temperatures around 5000 feet compared to normal from the main U.S. model (GFS) for March 1 and March 8. That level in the atmosphere gives us a general idea of the basic low-level temperatures:

You see plenty of cold air in Canada and the western half of the U.S (blue and purple). But it doesn’t seem to move our way. We may see a bit of that colder pattern by the middle of the month, but here is a climate model’s overall prediction for March 2017:

And it’s not as if the U.S. is alone in having unseasonable warmth. Take a looks at Europe this week! That’s a lot of red (WAAAY above normal)!

Yes, we’ve had some cold months and even cold winters in the past decade. We’ve also had our snowiest and second snowiest winters. But the real cold we’ve seen in the past seems to be a thing of the past-so far. For example, the last time we got below zero in Philadelphia was so long ago it happened before even I started working here: 1994!

President Donald Trump selected Army Lt. General H.R. McMaster as the new national security adviser. McMaster grew up in the Roxborough section of Philadelphia. NBC10's Keith Jones spoke to his family members.