NBC10 was there for a heartwarming reunion between an elderly man and the local college students who saved his life after his Camden, New Jersey home caught fire.

“You saved my life,” 90-year-old Albert Parker said to Rutgers-Camden student Jonathan Perez on Monday. “Thank you.”

The fire started around midnight Thursday in Parker’s home on Cooper Street, right across from Rutgers-Camden University housing. Perez, Matteo Resanovic and other students spotted the flames and called 911. They then tried to alert people inside and around the burning home.

“It was just a rush,” Perez said. “Our first reaction was to go and help. We didn’t think much of it. Just to get people out safe.”

The front door of the burning home was locked. Resanovic says he broke the glass with his elbow and his fist to get inside.

“I went through the building, searched through the building,” Resanovic said.

Resanovic, Perez and a third student, Corey Zytko, rushed to the second floor of the home and found Parker in bed. They managed to get Parker outside to safety. Parker’s 62-year-old son John died in the blaze however.

While Albert’s family continues to mourn, they remain grateful to his heroes.

“We had one tragedy,” said Jamie Parker, Albert Parker’s son. “Thank God the other one didn’t happen and my father was saved. We want everybody to know how thankful we are for what they did.”

As a lieutenant with Plymouth ambulance and a volunteer firefighter with several fire companies, Zac Santiago is used to receiving life-saving calls. On Thursday however, Santiago himself made a call to save a very important life. His own.

“I need an ambulance,” Santiago told the dispatcher. “I’ve just been stabbed.”

Santiago, 30, first noticed a group of teens in the back of his Norristown home Thursday afternoon and believed they were using drugs.

“He suspected that they were back there getting high and he had asked them to leave the property,” said Santiago’s father, Benjamin Santiago. “The second person came out and stepped towards him and then stepped aside and the third person came out and stabbed him in the stomach.”

Even after Norristown Police and the Plymouth ambulance arrived at the scene, Santiago continued to give updates about where his attackers fled. Santiago was eventually flown to Jefferson University Hospital where he underwent two successful surgeries for his injuries. He’s currently recovering and doing well. On Monday he called his father and told him he was being moved from ICU.

Police say they’ve identified persons of interest in the stabbing, all juveniles. No arrests have been made however.

A LONG COLD STRETCH IN MARCH
After Monday the 26th, we have now reached 22 STRAIGHT days with below “normal” temperatures in Philadelphia. That’s an incredible streak, especially considering that only two of those days were REALLY cold. It takes a consistent type of weather pattern to accomplish this. And, in an era of overall warming, that makes it even more impressive.

Below is a map showing average temperatures compared to normal for just the past week alone:
 

COLD APRIL-AT LEAST TO START
We surely will see temperatures warm during April, right? After all, the sun angle is so much higher than in February or March. But, how did March end up colder than February? And that happened for the 2nd year in a row!

Here is the temperature pattern based on an “ensemble average” for next Friday, April 8th. That looks even colder (compared to normal) than the current pattern!
 

That is a huge area with below normal temperatures. There may be a warm day or two in the first half of April, but the overall picture is a cold one.

Here is the comparison of February and March (so far), along with the averages for April:
            

              Average temp    “Normal”    Snow    “Normal”
February        41.6            35.7        1.4”       8.8”    
March            38.3            43.5        15.2       2.9”
April                ???            54.0        ???        0.5”

So, even if April averages waaaaay below normal temperatures, it still has to be a LOT warmer than March has been. But notice that our “normal” April has 0.5” of snow. It’s not that unusual to get some flakes. Just 2 years ago, we had 0.3” on April 9th. Our record for April is an incredible 19.4” on Easter Sunday, April 3, 1915. Can you imagine that? The latest date of measurable snow on record was April 27, 1967. And the latest date with even a trace of snow was May 8, 1947.

COULD WE EVEN SEE FLAKES THIS APRIL?
We could, especially with the upcoming pattern. Take a look at the upper-air pattern predicted by the European model (the world’s best overall)

 
Those areas of dark blue in Southern Canada represent pressures Waaaaay below normal. And the red and purple colors in Alaska and Northern Canada show above normal pressures. Those blues mean another visit by the dreaded “Polar Vortex” close to the Canadian border. It is very unusual to have a pattern this extreme in April.

Any snow would not come this Easter Sunday, but the pattern later next week could be more favorable. At least we know it’s not unprecedented.

Glenn “Hurricane” Schwartz
NBC10

"This Is Us" star Chrissy Metz visited Philadelphia to promote her new memoir, "This Is Me."

The Facebook privacy scandal has users demanding to see how much the social media giant knows about them and how they can limit the amount of data they're giving out.

The bad news is that your data may already be out in the wild and in the hands of third party advertisers.

The good news is that you can download a copy of your data and prevent its future spread in just a few clicks.

NBC News has tips for how to retrieve your data.

A man died in his girlfriend’s arms after he was stabbed with a sword by another man following an argument in a boarding house in Philadelphia’s Chinatown, investigators said. 

Kamisha White, 28, told NBC10 the ordeal began Monday around 5:30 a.m. inside a boarding house on 10th and Appletree streets where she, her boyfriend Tirus Kitchen, 21, and Tony Wu, 23, all lived. According to White, the men were arguing in the stairway leading to the basement of the building when Wu allegedly took out a 12-inch sword and stabbed Kitchen twice in the chest.

“Basically, I opened the door and they were tussling and he asked to talk to him,” White said. “After that I thought he punched him, but he actually stabbed him.”

White told NBC10 Kitchen died in her arms.

“I’m upset,” White said. “I’m not angry. Just hurt. He didn’t deserve it.”

Kitchen worked as a cook as well as in maintenance in the past, according to White.

“He was hardworking, determined,” White said. “He had a future.”

Wu, a Chinese National who previously worked on a cruise ship, according to sources, fled the scene and is considered armed and dangerous, police said. He is described as an Asian man standing between 5-foot-8 and 5-foot-11 and weighing between 200 and 230 pounds.

L & I officials are also investigating the boarding house where the deadly stabbing took place. According to investigators, the boarding house is illegal.

If you have any information on Wu’s whereabouts, please call Philadelphia Police.

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Here are the top news stories you need to know to start your day from your friends at NBC10.

TODAY'S TOP STORY 

Suspect Kills Man with Sword After Argument: A man died in his girlfriend’s arms after he was stabbed with a sword by another man following an argument in a boarding house in Philadelphia’s Chinatown, investigators said. Kamisha White, 28, told NBC10 the ordeal began Monday around 5:30 a.m. inside a boarding house on 10th and Appletree streets where she, her boyfriend Tirus Kitchen, 21, and Tony Wu, 23, all lived. According to White, the men were arguing in the stairway leading to the basement of the building when Wu allegedly took out a 12-inch sword and stabbed Kitchen twice in the chest. Wu, a Chinese National who previously worked on a cruise ship, according to sources, fled the scene and is considered armed and dangerous, police said. He is described as an Asian man standing between 5-foot-8 and 5-foot-11 and weighing between 200 and 230 pounds.

• MORE ON THE STABBING
  

WHAT YOU MISSED YESTERDAY

Holocaust Memorial Again Defaced with Anti-Semitic Graffiti: A New Jersey synagogue's Holocaust memorial has been vandalized for the second time in less than a year. Lakewood police say someone spray-painted several anti-Semitic words and phrases — some misspelled — on the memorial at Congregation Sons of Israel. Similar graffiti was also found on the synagogue, while a swastika was spray-painted on a pickup truck parked outside the building. The vandalism was reported around 11:45 a.m. Saturday and apparently occurred sometime during the previous evening. No one has claimed responsibility for the vandalism. No arrests have been made. A similar act occurred at the site last July, when vandals posted a banner containing an anti-Jewish slur on the Holocaust memorial.

• MORE ON THE VANDALISM
  

YOUR FIRST ALERT FORECAST  

Tuesday is expected to be partly sunny with temperatures nearing 50 degrees. Tuesday night could see some showers which could continue through most of Wednesday. Wednesday could see some rain but temperatures are expected to remain in the 50s. Thursday could also see some rain with temperatures in the 60s. Rain is also expected for Friday with temperatures in the 60s. The showers could linger into Saturday. Get your full NBC10 First Alert forecast here.

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Aer Lingus Connects Philly with Ireland: Philadelphia is getting a little bit closer to Ireland. Aer Lingus, Ireland’s flag-carrying airline, is now Philadelphia Airport’s newest nonstop carrier. The first Aer Lingus flight arrived from Dublin at Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) on Sunday. The aircraft passed under a traditional water cannon salute as it taxied to its gate after the inaugural flight. City and airport officials including Mayor Jim Kenney, airport CEO Chellie Cameron and local elected officials greeted the first flight while passengers awaiting to board the flight back to Ireland enjoyed music, shepherd’s pie, Philly cheesesteaks and cake to celebrate the event. Aer Lingus is the second foreign flag carrier to introduce service at PHL within the past year and sixth foreign airline overall.

• MORE ON THE AIRLINE
  

AROUND THE WORLD

Stormy Daniels Sues Trump Lawyer: Stormy Daniels filed an amended lawsuit Monday that alleges Donald Trump's personal lawyer defamed her and violated campaign finance law by brokering a "hush agreement" just before the 2016 election. The new filing in federal court in Los Angeles comes less than 24 hours after a television interview in which Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, said she had unprotected sex with Trump in 2006 and was later threatened for telling her story. Clifford filed suit in state court earlier this month, arguing that the $130,000 hush agreement brokered by Cohen was invalid because Trump never signed it. Cohen, joined by Trump, then had the case moved to federal court with an eye toward pushing it into private arbitration. The amended complaint alleges that Trump and Cohen "aggressively sought to silence Ms. Clifford as part of an effort to avoid her telling the truth,  thus helping to ensure he won the Presidential Election." It goes on to say, "the Hush Agreement was entered with the illegal aim, design, and purpose of circumventing federal campaign finance law."

• MORE ON THE LAWSUIT
  

That's what you need to know to Catch Up Quickly, but we've got more stories worthy of your time. Click here to check them out. 

Facebook is in the midst of a privacy investigation after it was revealed that they have been storing users text messaging and call records. You can check how much information Facebook is keeping on you.

An Old City Philadelphia building will finally be coming down more than a month after a four-alarm fire gutted the historic structure.

Two cranes — one to remove debris and the other to lower workers using a construction basket — will be used to systemically take down 239 Chestnut Street starting Tuesday morning. As of 9 a.m., the work had yet to begin.

The building, which housed residences and businesses, was gutted by an aggressive fire on Feb. 18. The blaze left residents out of their homes and some businesses closed. No people were hurt in the fire but some pets died.

The demolition was put on a hold for weeks due to structural concerns, causing trouble for surrounding businesses and residents. The demolition is an important step forward for people in the neighborhood who can start to look at rebuilding and getting back to a sense of normal. 

The city's Department of Licenses and Inspections said demolition would take at least a week for construction crews to knock down what's left of the six-story building, built in the 19th-century.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has yet to reveal a cause for the fire. The ATF's hope to enter the damaged structure caused demolition delays.

L&I deemed the building imminently dangerous in the wake of the fire, but retained outside engineers to see if the building's brownstone, plaster and cast-iron façade could be salvaged.

An analysis determined the upper floor façade of brownstone and plaster was beyond repair, an L&I spokeswoman said, but the first floor cast-iron façade will be saved.

During the demolition Chestnut Street will be closed between 4th and Bank streets and 3rd Street will be closed between Walnut and Chestnut streets. People accessing museums in the area can do so on 4th Street, L&I said.

Chestnut Street from 235 Chestnut to 3rd Street will be closed to pedestrians as well.

A 3D laser scan of the building's remaining structure will help inform architects designing a new building for the site, L&I said.

Fire and water also damaged two attached historic buildings. One neighboring business, The Little Lion restaurant, has been closed since the fire. 

After a six-month replacement project for the Basin Road Bridge on Route 141, commuters can stop taking the detour. The bridge is reopened after an extended construction period that was initially scheduled to last 45 days.

Manischewitz really wants Adam Sandler to write a Passover song, and the Jewish food giant says it's prepared a "suite" offer to get him inspired — a hotel room in New Jersey stacked with gefilte fish, matzo and other unleavened things to nosh. 

Not only that. The company offered to give Sandler its product free for life if he would once again put on his yarmulke and compose a follow-up to his hit Hanukkah song for Passover. 

Manischewitz's food-for-song marketing stunt offer is "absolutely for real," according to Nicholas Gustaitis with the public relations firm BML. Gustaitis said a letter outlining the offer was sent to Sandler's representative and should have arrived this week.

"We know it got to their office building," he said. 

Sandler’s representative Cindy Guagenti said they haven’t received any correspondence from Manischewitz. She did not answer emailed questions about whether her client would consider the offer.

In the letter, Manischewitz President and CEO David Sugarman boasts the hotel room is "not too shabby." 

It's "fully equipped with musical equipment and packed with delicious Manischewitz products including our famous Matzo Ball soup, all the gefilte fish you can eat and plenty of matzo." 

Manischewitz's classic concord grape wine is not part of the offer, Gustaitis said. 

The hotel room in Parsippany would probably be available as long as Sandler needed it, should he get writer's block. He'd also have a "fairly short commute into New York City," Gustaitis said.

Passover is celebrated this year from sundown on March 30 through April 7. According to Jewish tradition, families eat unleavened bread called matzo during the holiday to remember that their ancestors did not have time for their bread to rise when the ancient Israelites fled slavery in Egypt. 

How many boxes of matzo constitute a lifetime supply? Gustaitis said he'd have to look into that. 

Of course, Manischewitz is not the only Jewish food king that makes matzo and other Kosher food for the holiday. 

There's also Streit's. No word yet on if Streit's was prepared to make a counteroffer to Sandler for a Passover song. Or if they'd have someone else in mind for a parody, perhaps Weird Al.

A renaissance is coming to New Jersey’s long embattled medical marijuana program.

Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy announced a long list of reforms Tuesday morning, including lowering fees for patients and caregivers, adding five approved medical conditions and proposing legislation to increase monthly product limit for patients.

Patients receiving hospice care would be eligible for an unlimited supply of cannabis.

“We are changing the restrictive culture of our medical marijuana program,” he said. “Some of these changes will take time, but we are committed to getting it done for all New Jersey residents who can be helped by access to medical marijuana.”

Effective immediately, patients suffering from anxiety, migraines, Tourette’s syndrome, chronic pain related to musculoskeletal disorders, and chronic visceral pain will be eligible for the pot program.

The registration fee is also being lowered from $200 to $100 as of Tuesday. Veterans and people 65 years and older will be eligible for a $20 discount.

The governor is also allowing doctors who prescribe marijuana not to appear on a public registry. Murphy says there was a sense that doctors who prescribed the drug faced a stigma.

Murphy's decision comes roughly a decade after the state implemented its medical marijuana program, enacted under Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine, but slowly implemented under Republican Chris Christie, who had a skeptical view of marijuana.

In January, Murphy signed an executive order calling on the New Jersey Department of Health to review the existing program. Almost exactly two months later, the department's recommendations are now being implemented, Murphy said.

The announcement comes as the new governor pushes for legalized recreational marijuana in New Jersey.

“We will have a program that is compassionate, progressive and, at long last, meets the needs of patients,” he said. “We’re going to make it easier for patients.”

Murphy added that he would like to eventually see opioid addiction added to the growing list of approved conditions. He called cannabis “an offensive weapon” to the growing crisis.

Currently, 18,574 patients, 536 physicians, and 869 caregivers participate in the program.

Ken Wolski, the executive director of the Coalition for Medical Marijuana New Jersey, welcomed the program's expansion because it isn't currently meeting the state's needs. He says supply of medical cannabis continues to be a problem that the Department of Health will have to address.

Murphy said to address supply, he's proposing changing regulations to let treatment centers specialize in specific areas, like cultivating, dispensing or manufacturing.

Wolski says the potential for demand in New Jersey could be about 1 million patients.

The announcement comes as Murphy pushes for legalized recreational marijuana in New Jersey. He said Tuesday he views the medical program's expansion as strictly a health issue not affecting his efforts at recreational legalization.

Fresh off Stormy Daniels' nationally-televised interview about her relationship with President Donald Trump, a Philadelphia area strip club has announced that the adult film star and exotic dancer is coming to Philadelphia.

The adult film star who is making headlines after claiming to have had sex with Trump before he became president will be appearing at three Club Risque locations in November, the gentlemen's club announced on its website.

Daniels will appear at Club Risque’s Northeast Philly location on Thursday, Nov. 8 (one show); at Club Risque along Columbus Boulevard in South Philly (two shows) on Friday, Nov. 9 and at Club Risque in Bristol, Bucks County (two shows) on Saturday, Nov. 10.

A Club Risque spokeswoman didn’t immediately reveal further details about the appearance when reached for comment by NBC10.

The adult film actress, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, spoke March 26 to "60 Minutes" about her alleged 2006 affair with the president. She said she was threatened to stay quiet and paid $130,000 to sign a nondisclosure agreement just days before the 2016 election.

Trump, through his representatives, has denied the allegations.

A Bucks County man with schizophrenia, who pleaded guilty to beating and stabbing his mother to death in the house they shared, was sentenced Monday to 10 to 40 years in prison.

Zachary Cope, 32, admitted at his plea hearing Jan. 22 to killing his mother, Rebecca Cope, 52, in their Lower Makefield home in December 2016, the Bucks County District Attorney's office said.

Cope admitted to striking his mother with a cutting board and a frying pan, then stabbing her in the kitchen of the home on Lower Hilltop Road, the DA's office said in a statement. 

"He told police he had attacked an 'imposter' after she ordered him to rub olive oil into the new cutting board — something he said his real mother would never tell him to do," the DA's statement said.

Shortly after the slaying, police found Cope several blocks away on Taylorsville Road in a driveway wearing only his underwear, one flip-flop and a small blanket, authorities said.

An autopsy found that Rebecca Cope's body had more than 70 stab wounds.

Judge Raymond F. McHugh, in approving the sentence, called it "very appropriate."

A beloved Delaware principal has been reinstated after hundreds of her students and their families staged a protest in her honor.

Cindy Mann was fired from Padua Academy in Wilmington last week for “insubordination,” according to school officials. But her supporters claimed Mann was let go for refusing to hike tuition to support the adjoining St. Anthony of Padua Parish.

When news of her termination spread, so did the protests.

Students wearing pink in Mann’s honor lined the streets and blocked traffic.

In a statement issued Tuesday, Padua Academy said Father Nicholas F. Waseline, pastor of St. Anthony parish, reinstated Mann “in the best interests” of the school and its students.

Mann could be eligible for a two-year contract, according to the statement.

Watch the press conference live in the video embedded above starting at 4:30 p.m.

As the loved ones of three family members who were found dead nearly three days after a fire tore through their home continue to demand answers, city officials plan to reveal what they know so far.

Philadelphia Fire Commissioner Adam Thiel and Licenses & Inspections Commissioner David Perri will speak on the investigation at a press conference at fire headquarters Tuesday at 4:30 p.m.

The fire started at a home, described by officials as an illegal boarding house, along the 1800 block of N. 21st Street near Berk Street around midnight Wednesday during a lull in the major nor'easter that battered the region. That night, a man was found dead inside the home shortly after firefighters arrived. During the firefight, the home's second floor collapsed. Two firefighters were injured and had to be taken to the hospital.

Friday night, nearly 72 hours after the fire, the bodies of 64-year-old Horace McOuellem, his 25-year-old step daughter Alita Johnson, and her 3-year-old son Haashim Johnson were recovered from inside the home.

Family members told NBC10 they called the Philadelphia Fire Department and reported that all three relatives were missing prior to the discovery Friday night. They asked that firefighters go back to the home and search for their bodies.

"I want to know why they waited all this time to go in there and find my granddaughter on the step with her son," Herman Fripp, a family member, said Friday night.

Loved ones also expressed their frustrations during a vigil for the victims Saturday night.

"They took their time just to come out here," said Laleeha, Johnson's cousin. "I had to call 10 different people just for them to do another search."

Thiel said the collapsed floor blocked access to the 3rd floor room where the bodies were found. He also said firefighters were unaware that three other people were in the home during the initial entry and investigation.

"This is the worst thing possible for us. Every fire death is tragic. This is worse than that," Thiel said.

Thiel told NBC10 they'll review the entire response to the fire.

The medical examiner will perform autopsies to determine the cause of death for all three victims.

Loved ones created a gofundme page for funeral expenses.

One person has died in a crash at a toll booth on the Garden State Parkway, state police say. 

The car was going northbound on the highway when it crashed at the Union Toll Plaza, near mile marker 142, according to police. 

Chopper 4 over the scene shows several cars smashed in one toll booth lane, with one apparently spun so violently it was facing the opposite direction. The cars ahead of it in the lane had apparently been rear-ended in the chain-reaction crash.

It's not clear what caused the driver to crash or how many vehicles were involved.

The investigation is causing bumper-to-bumper traffic. 

The victim has not been identified. 

A New Jersey store owner is recovering after he was caught on camera fighting back against a robber armed with a knife.

The 58-year-old clerk was behind the counter of his store on Route 130 in Burlington City, New Jersey shortly after 2:30 p.m. back on March 19. That’s when a robber dressed in black and carrying a knife walked in and confronted him, police said.

Surveillance video shows the clerk kicking the robber but losing his balance and falling to the floor.

“You can see that his foot comes up, almost like a defensive gesture and then he falls back off of his chair,” said Burlington City Police Captain John Fine.

The suspect then jumped on top of the victim and stabbed him in the back of the neck and shoulder and stole an undetermined amount of cash. Despite his stab wounds, the clerk still managed to chase the suspect out of the store. Investigators are unsure whether the suspect fled on foot or in a vehicle.

The clerk was taken to the hospital where he was treated for life-threatening injuries and later released.

Surveillance video also showed another person who tried to enter the store during the altercation but turned around and left.

Numerous advertisements cover almost every inch of the convenience store where the attack and robbery took place.

“The windows are great advertising but also by blocking that, you’re blocking people from the outside looking in and unfortunately it could create a dangerous scenario,” Captain Fine said.

While the clerk managed to survive the incident, Burlington City Police Captain John Fine advised against trying to fight off a robber.

“Do not fight the attacker,” Captain Fine said. “That little bit of money, that little bit of merchandise is not worth your life." 

If you have any information on the suspect, please call Burlington City Police.

Two of Philadelphia's well-known healthcare systems have plans to merge, officials with both organizations will announce Wednesday.

Einstein Healthcare Network and Jefferson, which oversees hospitals, universities and clinics, would combine under the plan, according to a statement.

Officials with Einstein and Jefferson will discuss the details at a press conference at Einstein Medical Center in the Logan section of North Philadelphia.

Einstein is made up of four entities: the Logan location as well as medical facilities in Elkins Park and Montgomery Township and MossRehab.

Earlier in March, its credit was downgraded to junk rating, Philly.com reported. That followed an earlier downgrading in October last year after reports that Einstein lost $23 million in the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2017.

Jefferson has 13 area hospitals, two universities, and numerous outpatient clinics.

NBC10 is partnering with the Philadelphia Eagles for the Eagles Autism Challenge. We sat down with a teenager who has made it his mission to help others like him with autism.