Advocates for immigrants rallied outside of city hall Wednesday morning, calling on the city to stop honoring immigration holds on those in police custody.

Issued by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement office, these administrative holds request local police to keep someone up to 48 additional hours to facilitate transfer to federal custody.

City council held a public hearing on the city's compliance with the ICE holds on Wednesday. During the hearing, Michael Resnick, the city's public safety director, announced that Mayor Nutter plans to sign an executive order that would, in its current draft, end ICE detainers except for people convicted of first or second degree felonies, such as murder.

"Individuals who have committed minor offenses, summary offenses, or traffic offenses will no longer find themselves facing deportation proceedings, ultimate removal and separation from families," Resnick said.

The order is considered a loss for ICE advocates who argue that undocumented immigrants are breaking the law.

"Accommodating those who violate our laws only encourage more lawlessness," said John Ryan of Southampton, Pennsylvania.

Blanca Pacheco, an organizer with the immigrant advocacy group New Sanctuary Movement, said people are already going through the criminal justice system before they're detained and even deported for immigration reasons.

"At this point, not only the individual is being punished, but also the family members who are left behind when they are deported," she said.

It's a federal matter, according to Ubon Mendie, a spokesman for ICE.

"The federal government alone sets these priorities and places detainers on individuals arrested on criminal charges to ensure that dangerous criminal aliens and other priority individuals are not released from prisons and jails into our communities,” Mendie said.

But City Councilman Jim Kenney echoed Pacheco, saying Philadelphia can do its own public safety enforcement.

"We have a great police department. We have a great district attorney. He has a great charging unit. We have great judges and a great court system," Kenney said. "And I think we ought to be able to sort it out ourselves without involving any other governmental entity."

Advocates say immigrants will still fear going to the police as long as officers cooperate with ICE.

At a community meeting a few weeks ago in the basement of a Catholic church in South Philadelphia, a precinct captain told a roomful of immigrants they might want to look at alternatives to calling the police over domestic violence if they're worried about deportation of their partners.

"ICE holds are not a public safety issue," said Villanova University visiting law professor Caitlin Barry. "ICE holds determine whether that person is turned over to immigration for a second level of punishment."

On Wednesday an ICE spokesperson told NBC10 that they don't comment on pending issues but said that their highest priority is to "maintain public safety." 

This story is reported through a newsgathering partnership between NBC10.com and NewsWorks.org.

A strong form of heroin being sold in Camden led to more than a dozen overdoses in less than 24 hours. Now police and emergency responders are worried that there may be more to come.

“Right now we know that there is something out there that’s putting people in near death situations,” said Camden Metro Police Chief Scott Thompson.

Thompson says heroin at its purest form being sold in Camden caused 15 overdoses in several surrounding towns since Tuesday, 14 of those cases being young people.

“Generally young 20’s,” Thompson said. “We’re talking Washington Township, Cherry Hill and Haddonfield. Heroin doesn’t discriminate who it hooks into.”

Investigators say the bags of heroin are marked with specific labels.

‘The bags are branded,” Thompson said. “That’s part of the marketing scheme of the drug dealer. If you were to walk into the community of drug users and start to talk about bags, you’re talking about locations.”

Police are stepping up patrols and have placed Cooper University Hospital on alert. If you have any information on the overdoses, please call the Camden County Police Department’s anonymous tip line at 856-757-7042.
 

Cabs for a local taxi company in trouble with the PPA are still roaming the streets of Philly, despite a ruling that called for a shutdown.

Last week, a PPA judge told officials with the Germantown Cab Company that it could no longer operate in Philadelphia because they failed to turn over proper documentation and background checks for their drivers. Prior to the decision, PPA officials say they had been in a long court fight with the company, trying to get them to comply with regulations.

“We want every member of the riding public to be able to enter a cab and feel confident that they are stepping into a safe cab,” said PPA Attorney Michael Casey last Friday.

Michael Henry, an attorney for Germantown Cab, claimed the PPA didn’t give the company a fair chance before shutting them down however.

“The PPA shut us down without a hearing,” Henry said last Friday. “Basically they just declared that we were out of service and didn’t give us an opportunity to defend ourselves.”

Henry filed an emergency injunction to fight the PPA's ruling and a hearing was set for Thursday. However, PPA officials claimed the cabs were supposed to remain out of service until then.

That wasn't the case however. After NBC10 aired and published the original story on Friday, we immediately received emails from viewers who claimed the cab company was still in service.

NBC10 confirmed Germantown Cab was in service after we called a dispatcher for the company on Saturday. Those cabs were also still in service on Wednesday when NBC10's Harry Hairston went out into Center City.

Hairston got rides from two cab drivers with the company. The first cab driver, who recognized Harry, even turned off the meter and insisted on not charging him for the ride.

"This ride is going to be a compliment of me," the driver said.

When asked about the ruling, the second driver told Harry the PPA didn't have any authority over the company.

NBC10 reached out to Henry again on Wednesday to ask why the cabs were still in service. According to Henry, the PPA agreed to let the 150 cabs in the company stay on the road until Thursday's hearing.

"We contacted them and told them we had a hearing," Henry said. "The enforcement department told us they would not shut us down prior to the hearing."

Officials with the PPA denied this however. According to a PPA spokesman, they already cited three Germantown cabs for allegedly operating illegally.

Stay with NBC10.com for more details on this developing story.

Firefighters not only battled flames but high winds overnight in South Jersey. 

Flames broke out at a home converted into apartments along the 100 block of Cedar Street in Millville, Cumberland County around 2:30 a.m. Thursday.

Heavy smoke and flames poured from the home when crews arrived on the scene, reported NBC40.net. The fire quickly spread to two alarms.

No one was hurt but one woman was unaccounted for following the blaze.

"We have one resident unaccounted for," said Millville Fire Chief Kurt Hess. "She's an older female. Some of the residents tell us they haven't seen her for a couple days."

Firefighters later located the woman, who was at work at the time of the fire.

Hess said the home, which was divided into four apartments, possibly housed up to 10 total residents. The American Red Cross assisted those people.

A Wind Advisory was in effect in the area as winds gusted near 40 mph as firefighters battled the flames. Wind chills even dropped into the single digits.

Those heavy winds fanned the flames causing thick smoke to rise almost sideways from the burning home.

"When you have strong winds like you have our streams aren't effective so we had to battle that," said Hess.

It took firefighters nearly two hours to bring the blaze under control.

The cause of the blaze remained under investigation Thursday morning but Hess said a pot left on the stove possibly caused the blaze.

Hess said Cedar would remained closed through the morning as firefighters test the stability of the home and get in road crews to salt the roadway.

An 8,500-gallon tanker truck hauling gasoline crashed and burst into flames near train tracks on a New Jersey highway Thursday morning, briefly snarling several rail lines and closing streets, officials say.

The truck caught fire on McCarter Highway at Astor Street in Newark about 1:30 a.m., police say. The blaze was brought under control by about 3:30 a.m. and no one was seriously injured.

The fire shut down several NJ Transit and Amtrak lines between Elizabeth Station and New York Penn Station for several hours overnight, authorities say. Service was restored within a few hours, but residual delays are expected as crews repair the rails.

System-wide cross-honoring is in effect. Click here for the latest updates on specific lines. 

McCarter Highway was also closed between Emmet and South streets following the fire.

Photo credit: Shawn Hagal

Friends and family will gather Thursday to remember the pregnant wife of a Pennsylvania State Trooper who was shot and killed in Montgomery County.

A viewing will be held for JoAnna Miller from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday at the Moore, Snear and Ruggiero Funeral Home along Fayette Street in Conshohocken, Pa. Miller will be laid to rest at the Church Interment Calvery Cemetery following her funeral mass Friday morning at 11 a.m. at St. Titus Roman Catholic Church on Kenwood Road in East Norriton.

Miller, a mother of four, was killed in her East Norriton Township home last Friday. Officials say the 34-year-old died from a single gunshot wound to the head.

Police responded to Miller's home on the 3000 block of Stoney Creek Road around 2:25 p.m. on Friday for a report of a shooting. When they arrived, they found Miller unresponsive. She was taken to Mercy Suburban Hospital where she was pronounced dead.

Miller was 23 weeks pregnant at the time of her death. While her baby girl was delivered, she did not survive, according to investigators. Officials say the child never had a heartbeat and never took a breath after the delivery.

While it is unclear exactly how the shooting occurred, authorities say a handgun being handled by Miller's husband Joseph, a state trooper, somehow went off inside the home, striking her in the head.

"There is some indication at this point that it was an accidental discharge of the gun," said Montgomery County Assistant District Attorney Kevin Steele. "But that's under investigation at this point. I can't go any further than that."

Steele says the gun that discharged was not a service weapon.

He added that two other children were inside the home at the time.

No charges have been filed. Officials say Miller's husband was the one who reported the shooting. They also say he has remained cooperative with the investigation.

Neighbors told NBC10 that Miller worked as a civilian dispatcher for the Pennsylvania State Police but was laid off last year. Friends of the couple say they never saw signs of any trouble with the family.

"They were always together," said Patty Evanik. "Always spending time with the family. Always doing things with their kids. I'm very upset because they are good people."

The Montgomery County District Attorney's Office and the East Norriton Township Police Department continue to investigate.

A Delaware grandfather “is now exploring the universe” but not before leaving his family with a pre-written obituary.

Walter (Walt) George Bruhl, Jr., a native of Newark & Dewey Beach, Del., died March 9 at the age of 81 in Punta Garda, Fla.

But, before he went, Walter left a gift for his descendants -- his own witty death notice.

“He drifted off this mortal coil… His spirit was released from his worn out shell of a body and is now exploring the universe," wrote Walt.

“There will be no viewing since his wife refuses to honor his request to have him standing in the corner of the room with a glass of Jack Daniels in his hand so that he would appear natural to visitors," he wrote. "Cremation will take place at the family’s convenience and his ashes will be kept in an urn until they get tired of having it around. What’s a Grecian Urn? Oh, about 200 drachmas a week."

Bruhl, who was born in Philadelphia on April 20, 1933, surprised his family with the eulogy.

“It was a complete surprise to me,” Bruhl’s grandson Sam told BuzzFeed. “I couldn’t help but cry and laugh hysterically through the whole thing.”

Sam uploaded the whole thing to Reddit and from there it took off. Since landing on the Internet, Walt’s obit has been read by tens of thousands of people.

“I knew immediately that it needed to be shared,” Sam told BuzzFeed. “People need those little bits of inspiration each day, and I know my PopPop would love to be that for people.”

Walt served as a U.S. Marine in the Korean War and then worked as an electronics apprentice at Philadelphia’s Naval Yard before carrying on a 31-year career with DuPont.

“…After 31 years with The Co., he was given a fine anniversary dinner and a token gift and then ‘downsized’ in Dec. of 1993. He was rehired as a contract employee in June of 1994, doing the same job that he had been ‘downsized’ from, and stayed until July of 1995."

A truncated (and edited) version of Walt’s ode to himself appeared on Delaware Online that focused more on Bruhl’s accomplishments and less on his musings.

The printed obit kept Walt’s own words at the end:

"Everyone who remembers him is asked to celebrate Walt's life in their own way, raising a glass of their favorite drink in his memory would be quite appropriate. Instead of flowers, Walt would hope that you will do an unexpected and unsolicited act of kindness for some poor unfortunate soul in his name."

A memorial luncheon is planned for Saturday at 1 p.m. at Deerfield in Newark, Del.

A former treasurer of a Montgomery County fire company has pleaded guilty to taking about $250,000 from the nonprofit for personal expenses including his daughter's Las Vegas wedding.

Sixty-two-year-old Ronald “Ken” Nolan of Schwenksville entered the plea Wednesday in Montgomery County Court to four of the seven counts against him, including three theft charges.

Defense attorney Timothy Woodward said the pleas weren't part of a deal with prosecutors, who plan to seek a state prison term for Nolan.

Nolan was treasurer of the Upper Gwynedd Township fire company for 24 years and township fire marshal for about two decades. He was accused of stealing the money over the course of six years -- from 2006 until 2012.

Authorities said he used cash advances from the nonprofit to pay for jewelry, computers, clothing, sporting events and trips to Miami, Jamaica and China as well as his daughter's Las Vegas wedding.

Investigators say that Nolan took $116,000 in cash from the nonprofit fire company's bank accounts and the rest of the stolen funds were linked to two department credit cards that Nolan used to buy trips to Miami, Reno, Jamaica and 15 trips to Vegas. He's accused of buying those Vegas trips for his daughter's wedding guests.

He also used fire company money to purchase jewelry, computers and other luxuries, according to Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman.

Nolan was voted out as treasurer in December 2012. It was then that the new treasurer began to look into the department's finances. He quickly discovered inconsistencies and alerted the proper authorities who have been investigating Mr. Nolan since last summer. 

The Upper Gwynedd Fire Department is nonprofit, funded by both tax dollars and donations from residents. Township leaders say there is no way to know how much of Nolan's thefts came from either source. 

U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah, a Philadelphia Democrat, said a subpoena seeking documents from his congressional offices encroaches on the constitutional and legal rights of a congressman and he will fight it.

Fattah submitted a letter Tuesday to the Congressional Record informing House Speaker John Boehner of the subpoena issued by the U.S. District Court in Philadelphia. Under the U.S. House's internal rules, members are required to promptly inform the House speaker of any subpoena they receive.

In the three-sentence letter, Fattah did not describe the documents that are being sought by the subpoena or whether it is related to a criminal investigation.

He said he will try to quash the subpoena's request for documents that he believes are not "material and relevant," and that are not "consistent with the privileges and rights of the House."

Otherwise, he said he would comply with the subpoena's other requests that meet those thresholds.

A spokeswoman for U.S. Attorney Zane David Memeger in Philadelphia said Thursday that the office does not confirm or deny the existence of any investigation.

Fattah's lawyer, Luther E. Weaver III of Philadelphia, declined to comment Thursday on the subpoena.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that, last fall, Memeger's office requested records of city property taxes and utility bills for Fattah's home in the East Falls section of Philadelphia. Weaver said at the time that the subpoenas were part of an investigation that had begun about seven years ago, the Inquirer reported.

On Thursday, Weaver declined comment on those subpoenas or any broader investigation of Fattah. He also declined to comment on whether the latest subpoena of congressional records is related to an investigation of Fattah.

Fattah, 57, entered Congress in 1995 and is a member of the powerful House Appropriations Committee. He is running for an 11th term in the U.S. House this year.

The Inquirer has reported that federal investigators in recent years have focused on grants, or earmarks, that Fattah sponsored for nonprofit organizations run by his former congressional staff aides. Some officials from those groups have told the Inquirer that investigators interviewed them.

Fattah is the husband of NBC10 Philadelphia anchor Renee Chenault-Fattah.

The planned demoliton of a building in the Old City section of Philadelphia Thursday afternoon led to a partial collapse that shocked public saftey officials and local employees who were unaware of the project.

"Today's demolition of 257-259 Market Streets was done in accordance with a plan approved by L&I and with all necessary permits and precautions in place," according to a statement released on behalf of Philadelphia-based Alterra Property Group, which is developing the corner property commonly referred to as Shirt Corner.

Yet as a crew worked to take down several adjoining structures at the corner of 3rd and Market streets, a portion of the building came crashing down shortly after 1 p.m.

"While this controlled collapse was not planned, its possibility had been anticipated due to the building's instability, and necessary precautions were taken," Alterra's statment said.

The Department of Licenses and Inspections issued a demolition permit to Mlavern-based Constructure Management Inc. on Feb. 12, according to the L&I website.

But a policeman on the scene told the Philadelphia Business Journal that Police and Fire Departments were not informed of the planned demolition.

Employees and passers-by in the area were also shocked by the crash despite the precautions taken by Alterra and Constructure.

"I looked outside and there's a bunch of construction workers -- panicked construction workers," said Jim Coughlin, who was working at the Artists and Craftsman Supply store at 307 Market St. when the incident occurred. "We could just hear the giant rumble in the store. And it didn't stop."

"We thought maybe it was a truck accident or something," he added. "And it still didn't stop. Then I just saw a big cloud of brown smoke."

The Philadelphia Fire Department was on the scene within minutes of the collapse.

Officials say no one was trapped by the rubble and there are no reports of injuries.

The unexpected crash harkens back to the deadly collapse of a Salvation Army store at 22nd and Market streets in Center City in June 2012. That fatal incident, which killed six people and injured 13 others, led Mayor Michael Nutter to appoint an independent, blue-ribbon commission to investigate L&I.

In the wake of Thursday's collapse, Glenn Corbett, head of the commission, said, "We are very cognizant of the demolition and vacant building issues around the city. This is high on our priority list."

"The commission is looking at all parts of L&I," he added. "The ultimate goal of all of this is to provide the city and the mayor with a plan to address these issues."

Constructure was demolishing the building to make way for the 54,000-square-foot mixed-use property that Alterra has planned.

The real estate development firm assembled ten different addresses for the retail and residential building, which is scheduled to be complete in early 2015.

A CVS pharmacy is set to occupy 10,000-square-feet of ground floor retail space and another 2,500-square-feet in the basement. The developer plans to build 59 apartments in the upper floors of the four-story property, according to the Alterra website.

A former medical technician at a Philadelphia abortion clinic that authorities called a "house of horrors" was sentenced to five to 10 years in prison for her role in the 2009 overdose death of a patient.

The Philadelphia Inquirer (http://bit.ly/1oQzbYH) said 54-year-old Sherry West sat sobbing, head down on the defense table, after Common Pleas Judge Benjamin Lerner imposed the sentence on Thursday.

West pleaded guilty to third-degree murder and other charges, admitting that on Nov. 19, 2009, she administered some of the overdose of Demerol that killed 41-year-old patient Karnamaya (kar-nuh-MAY'-uh) Mongar during an abortion at the clinic run by Dr. Kermit Gosnell.

Gosnell is serving three consecutive life sentences after being convicted of murder in the killing of babies born alive and viable during illegal late-term abortions.

___

Information from: The Philadelphia Inquirer, http://www.inquirer.com

Water flowing from above and crumbling wall tiles on a Philadelphia subway concourse have a local commuter group raising concerns about safety.

Since late January, water has been steadily leaking from the ceiling above the east corner of the transit concourse under Broad Street near Sansom Street. The concourse, which is owned by the City of Philadelphia, connects SEPTA’s Broad Street Subway, Market-Frankford El and the PATCO High-Speed Line.

A video posted to the Delaware Valley Association of Rail Passengers Facebook page on January 26 shows the water falling, part of the ceiling missing and ‘danger’ tape telling riders to avoid the area.

"It was just this cascade of water coming down and even more worrisome was that it looked like there were numerous tiles missing. So it looked like this leak was not just confined to the area where there was yellow tape, it looked like there was damage being caused elsewhere," said Andy Sharpe, the organization’s communications director. The group has been around since 1971 and advocates for passenger’s rights on the region’s rail lines.

Sharpe says he reached out to the Mayor’s Office of Transportation and Utilities (MOTU) to alert them of the issue and was told officials asked the Philadelphia Water Department (PWD) to fix the leak.

However, a month later, on February 26, the water was still flowing. Sharpe snapped a still photo of more tiles missing from the wall. Officials said they were indeed working on the issue, but were having trouble locating the leak.

Earlier this week, NBC10.com went to the concourse to investigate the issue. The water was still flowing – not only from the holes in the ceiling, but also into an adjacent room. Several feet away, sheets of tile were separating from the wall, tiles had fallen away and pieces of the wall behind had crumbled to the floor.

"There is a little bit of a safety issue, but even more so we’re concerned about the integrity of the concourse. When you’ve got that much water raining down from the ceiling, you worry about the effects," Sharpe said. “If you continue to have the volume of water coming down, it’s not hard to imagine that there is lasting damage.”

NBC10.com reached out to city officials, asking why it was taking crews so long to find the leak. Andrew Stober, MOTU’s Chief of Staff, said the water department has been performing surveys to try and find the water source.

“For the past few months the Water Department has been tracking down an elusive leak, but so far have had no luck finding it,” he said. “The most recent leak survey was performed last week. PWD is evaluating performing a test shut down of some mains which requires coordination with businesses and customers.”

Asked whether officials have concerns about the structural integrity of the concourse due to the ongoing leak, Stober said officials believe the damage is superficial.

“It looks dramatic because there was an escalator there at some point in the past and when it was removed a false ceiling was installed. That ceiling came down with the leak,” he said.

While the city currently handles maintenance for the concourse, which stretches several city blocks from City Hall to Walnut Street, they hope to soon transfer the responsibility to SEPTA.

SEPTA spokeswoman Jerri Williams says while there’s no firm date as to when the transit authority would take over control of the underground concourse, their engineers are already putting together an action plan to address problems like this leak.

“We’re already reviewing issues and making ourselves familiar with projects,” she said. “We’re partnering together with the city to address this issue and help to resolve it.”

Williams said SEPTA engineers have also done an inspection of the area and are also working with PWD.

But after several months of waiting, Sharpe feels there’s not a sense of urgency to address the problem which not only could be unsafe, but is an eyesore.

“It’s like the broken window theory. When you let a situation like a leak continue unabated, gradually other things go downhill,” he said. “Beyond the safety, it just goes to show that the concourse is being neglected.”

Contact Vince Lattanzio at 610.668.5532, vince.lattanzio@nbcuni.com or follow @VinceLattanzio on Twitter.

Tests confirm a rare meningitis strain that hit Princeton University in 2013 caused the death of a Drexel University student Monday.

Stephanie Ross, a mechanical engineering major, died at the Penn Presbyterian Medical Center after her sorority sisters found her unresponsive at the Phi Mu (Beta Tau) house along Powelton Avenue, according to an official statement from Drexel.

Officials initially suspected Ross had been infected with the "serogroup B" strain of meningitis and test results from the Pennsylvania Department of Health Thursday confirmed the rare form was the culprit.

The Medical Examiner's office told NBC10 Wednesday that Ross died from bacterial meningitis, but it was not clear at the time if it was the same strain that affected the Princeton community.

"Regardless of serogroup, the recommended course of action remains the same," Drexel University said in a statement. "The University and the Philadelphia Department of Public Health are continuing to identify those who may have had contact with the infected students to provide them with prophylactic antibiotics as well as educate students of precautions they can take to protect themselves against the infection."

Meningitis symptoms are similar to flu-like symptoms including nausea, vomiting, and light sensitivity. Other symptoms like confusion and a stiff neck could also be a sign of meningitis.

Members of Ross' sorority say she attended a regional officer training conference on March 1 and came into contact with several sorority sisters, including some from outside of our area.

The university offered prophylactic antibiotics at the student health center on Market Street for any students who were in close contact with Ross.

Any students feeling meningitis-like symptoms are asked to contact the Student Health Center at 215-220-4700.

Most colleges, including Drexel, require meningitis vaccinations for students. But the rare "serogroup B" that hit Princeton is not covered by American vaccines.

After eight meningitis B infections at Princeton, officials brought in a European version of the vaccine.

The same day as Ross' post-mortem diagnosis, NBC10.com learned an 8-year-old from Montgomery County, Pa. has been hospitalized meningococcal infection, the bacteria which can lead to meningitis.

A 3rd grade student at Skippack Elementary School, officials said the child's infection has prompted them to disinfect the entire 775 student school in Collegeville, Pa. They're also working with county health officials to identify students and staff who may have come in close contact with the 8-year-old.

• CDC's signs of meningitis

Ross' death hit Drexel's Greek Life community hard. An email announcing her death was first shared through a Greek Life email chain shortly after 11 p.m. Monday.

Our deepest condolences and prayers are with Stephanie Ross's family, friends, and the sisters of @PhiMuDrexel tonight.

— Drexel Phi Psi (@duphipsi) March 11, 2014

Ross' sorority big sister Kris Trina turned to Facebook to remember her friend.

"I don't have any words to describe what I am feeling right now, but know that I love you and I hope that you are in heaven filled with cats and all of the other weird things that we love."

Ross graduated from Upper St. Clair High School outside Pittsburgh where she played softball.

Pictured: Stephanie Ross