The Starbucks manager who called police on two black men inside a Center City store, sparking a wave of controversy, protests and calls for a national boycott, has left the company, executive chairman Howard Schultz said during an interview with CBS News.

Schultz traveled to Philadelphia Wednesday and along with Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson, met with members of POWER, an interfaith group who took part in protests earlier this week outside the Starbucks on 18th and Spruce streets where the incident occurred.

Schultz also spoke with Gayle King of CBS News inside the 18th and Spruce Starbucks, saying he was “embarrassed” and “ashamed” by the incident.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that the reason that [the police] were called was because they were African American,” Schultz told King. “That’s not who Starbucks is.”

The men were arrested by as many as seven Philadelphia police officers Thursday afternoon while waiting for another person to arrive at the Starbucks at 1801 Spruce Street. The store manager called police on them after they asked to use the bathroom, were denied because they hadn't bought anything, then sat at a table.

That other person they were waiting for, Andrew Yaffe, who works in real estate in Philadelphia, arrived as the two men were being hauled off in handcuffs. They were released hours later without being charged. Starbucks declined to press trespassing charges.

Video of police officers leading the two men away in handcuffs went viral and sparked national outrage as well as protests and calls to boycott the chain of 28,000 Starbucks stores across the country.

During his interview, Schultz said the manager has received death threats and there’s a concern for her safety. He also said he’s arranging a meeting between the manager and the two men, claiming they would like to meet each other.

Schultz said he doesn’t believe Thursday’s incident was an isolated one and Starbucks is reviewing all of their policies in its aftermath.

Starbucks plans to close all of its more than 8,000 US stores on May 29 for racial bias training.

A Philadelphia family got the surprise of a lifetime when Jimmy Fallon and Black Thought of the Roots showed up at their door for dinner. Take a look at the night of food, fun and singing!

A father and his 1-year-old son are both fighting for their lives after they were shot by a gunman in Southwest Philadelphia Wednesday night.

The 21-year-old man and his 18-month-old son were both in a car on 67th and Trinity streets shortly before 9 p.m. when a gunman fired several shots. Neighbors say they thought the gunshots sounded like firecrackers.

The father was shot at least eight times while his son was shot at least twice. The father drove two blocks to a nearby police station at 67th Street and Woodland Avenue for help. 

The father and son were taken to the hospital and both are in critical condition.

"A year and a half old kid with his father, getting into a car, and it looks like the shooter just walked right up on the car so they knew that kid was in that car and just opened fire so it's just unacceptable behavior," Philadelphia Police Lt. John Walker said.

Tracy Gordon, a block captain in the neighborhood, told NBC10 the area isn't known for violence.

"It's very quiet," Gordon said. "It's very community-oriented."

No arrests have been made and police have not released a description of any suspects.

Philadelphia Police are investigating the “suspicious” death of the father of former National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster.

Herbert McMaster died Friday at the Cathedral Village home on the 600 block of Cathedral Road in the Roxborough section of Philadelphia. He was 84.

Law enforcement sources told NBC10 McMaster's death is being investigated as suspicious due to allegations of neglect and dereliction of duty.

According to the sources, McMaster fell and hit his head and was placed in a recliner but was not treated or monitored. He later died from blunt impact to the head and his death was ruled accidental by the Medical Examiner.

Investigators are currently looking into whether workers at the home falsified paperwork and gave the McMaster family misleading information, according to sources.

Philadelphia Police, the Attorney General's Office, District Attorney's Office and the Health Department are all investigating.

NBC10 reached out to Cathedral Village for comment. We have not yet heard back from them.

AAA issued a statement that gas prices in our area are on the rise. The average price for a gallon is expected to break $3 in the Philadelphia region.

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

TODAY'S TOP STORY 

Pa. Pushes Anti-Hazing Bill Named for PSU Student: Criminal penalties for hazing would become more severe under a bill — approved Wednesday by the Pennsylvania Senate — that was inspired by the death last year of a Penn State pledge after a night of heavy drinking. Senators voted unanimously to send the House a proposal that would make the most severe hazing a felony and permit confiscation of frat houses where hazing has occurred. The bill also would impose new reporting requirements by schools of all violations of anti-hazing laws. Sophomore engineering student Tim Piazza of Lebanon, New Jersey, suffered a series of falls at the Beta Theta Pi house the night of Feb. 2, 2017, and subsequently died of severe head and abdominal injuries. The bill is titled the Timothy J. Piazza Antihazing Law.

• MORE ON THE BILL
  

WHAT YOU MISSED YESTERDAY

Starbucks Manager Left Co. But Wants to Meet 2 Men: The Starbucks manager who called police on two black men inside a Center City store, sparking a wave of controversy, protests and calls for a national boycott, has left the company, executive chairman Howard Schultz said during an interview with CBS News. Schultz traveled to Philadelphia Wednesday and along with Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson, met with members of POWER, an interfaith group who took part in protests earlier this week outside the Starbucks on 18th and Spruce streets where the incident occurred. Schultz also spoke with Gayle King of CBS News inside the 18th and Spruce Starbucks, saying he was “embarrassed” and “ashamed” by the incident. “There’s no doubt in my mind that the reason that [the police] were called was because they were African American,” Schultz told King. “That’s not who Starbucks is.” The men were arrested by as many as seven Philadelphia police officers Thursday afternoon while waiting for another person to arrive at the Starbucks at 1801 Spruce Street. The store manager called police on them after they asked to use the bathroom, were denied because they hadn't bought anything, then sat at a table. During his interview, Schultz said the manager has received death threats and there’s a concern for her safety. He also said he’s arranging a meeting between the manager and the two men, claiming they would like to meet each other.

• MORE ON THE MEETING
  

YOUR FIRST ALERT FORECAST  

There's a chance of showers and temperatures are expected to be in the 50s for Thursday. Gusty winds are also expected for Thursday. Friday is expected to be partly sunny with temperatures in the 50s. Saturday and Sunday could see some sunshine and temperatures in the 60s. Monday and Tuesday are also expected to see some sun with temperatures in the 60s.  Get your full NBC10 First Alert forecast here.

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Philly's Oldest Jail to Close by 2020: Philadelphia's oldest continually operating jail will close within the next two years, city officials announced Wednesday.  Opened in 1927, the House of Correction on State Road in the city's Holmesburg section will be shuttered by 2020 due to its age and lack of modern security and public safety features, Mayor Jim Kenney and Prisons Commissioner Blanche Carney said in a statement. Much of the facility is built with original materials from an older jail dating back to the 1800s. Also, officials say the jail was not built to accommodate programming such as education and job training. A decreasing prison population was also cited as a reason for the closure. The total number of inmates stands at 5,436, which officials say is a 20 year low. The city credits a $3.5 million grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation’s Safety and Justice Challenge with reducing the inmate population.

• MORE ON THE JAIL
  

AROUND THE WORLD

'Hero' Southwest Pilot Praised for 'Nerves of Steel': A Southwest Airlines pilot who made an emergency landing Tuesday after the jet apparently blew an engine, got hit by shrapnel and lost a window, is being praised for her "nerves of steel" in helping to prevent a far worse tragedy after the catastrophe killed one passenger and left seven others hurt. Tammie Jo Shults was at the controls of the Dallas-bound Flight 1380 when it made an emergency landing in Philadelphia, Shults' brother-in-law, Gary Shults, told the Associated Press the pilot's husband told him. The twin-engine Boeing 737 that left New York with 149 people board was hit by shrapnel that smashed a window and damaged the fuselage, killing a passenger and injuring seven others, authorities said. The pilot took the plane into a rapid descent as passengers using oxygen masks that dropped from the ceiling braced for impact. Shults was among the first female fighter pilots in the U.S. military, according to friends and the alumni group at Shults' alma mater, MidAmerica Nazarene. Shults was a 1983 graduate of the university in Olathe, Kansas, where she earned degrees in biology and agribusiness, said Carol Best, a university spokeswoman told The Kansas City Star. Schults and first officer Darren Ellisor said in a statement released by Southwest Airlines "we all feel we were simply doing our jobs" and asked for some privacy.

• MORE ON THE PILOT
  

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. 

Atlantic City is holding a casinos job fair Thursday with efforts focused on hiring veterans.

The Museum of the American Revolution in Old City Philadelphia is celebrating its first anniversary by offering free admission.

An E. coli outbreak that health investigators believe is linked to chopped romaine lettuce has expanded, with 53 cases now reported in 16 states, and nearly three dozen hospitalized, at least five of whom suffered kidney failure.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention added 18 more cases to the total in its update Wednesday, a marked increase since the prior update less than a week earlier, and said five more states reported sick people: Alaska, Arizona, California, Louisiana and Montana.

Officials believe the contaminated lettuce was grown in Yuma, Arizona, though they have not identified a grower, supplier, distributor or brand.

Cases have been reported across the tri-state area, the most in New Jersey (7); New York and Connecticut have three cases each. Pennsylvania has the most (12) in this outbreak, followed by Idaho (10). Check the CDC's case count map.

The CDC added nine more hospitalizations to its count from last week, bringing the total in this outbreak to 31. Five of those cases involved a type of kidney failure called hemolytic uremic syndrome, a serious condition caused by the abnormal destruction of red blood cells. No one has died.

Consumers who have bought romaine lettuce - including salads and salad mixes containing romaine lettuce - are advised to throw it away, even if some of it was eaten and no one has gotten sick.

Before purchasing romaine lettuce at a grocery store or eating it at a restaurant, confirm with the store or restaurant that it is not chopped romaine lettuce from the Yuma, Arizona growing region. If you cannot confirm the source of the romaine lettuce, do not buy it or eat it.

Restaurants and retailers are advised to take similar precautions.

Health officials say the outbreak started in late March. Symptoms vary and can range from mild to severe diarrhea to nausea and vomiting. Usually there is little or no fever present. E. coli can spread from an infected person, contaminated food or water, or by touching contaminated surfaces, the CDC says. It is very contagious and can spread quickly in places such as daycare centers and cruise ships.

“Individuals with this infection usually get better within about 5 to 7 days, however some illnesses can be serious or even life-threatening,” New Jersey Health Commissioner Dr. Shereef Elnahal said in a statement last week. “Anyone experiencing symptoms of this illness should see a healthcare provider.”

NBC10 is one of 19 news organizations producing BROKE in Philly, a collaborative reporting project on solutions to poverty and the city’s push towards economic justice. Follow us at @BrokeInPhilly.

Philadelphia is the poorest large city in America.

For the past decade, Philadelphia has been unable to shake its notorious distinction despite population and job growth. More than a quarter of the city’s residents live in poverty, meaning a family of four earns less than $25,100 per year, according to the 2018 State of the City report.

Forty percent of those are struggling to break out of deep poverty, with half that income.

These statistics are not new. This has been Philadelphia’s economic reality for so long that the data tends to provoke numbness in place of anguish.

But the frightening truth is that these numbers aren’t the full extent of our problem.

The federal poverty line — which dictates official poverty rates—is based on a 1963 algorithm, adjusted yearly for inflation. Over the last 55 years across the United States, this line has dropped so far below cost of living that many economists now use an alternative baseline, set at approximately twice the federal line. Below that, it’s virtually impossible to make ends meet without external assistance.

What this means for Philadelphia is staggering: according to calculations by the local research and analysis group the Economy League, 48 percent of the city’s residents — almost half of us — cannot provide basic subsistence for our families.

This reflects a societal failure of epidemic proportions. For those of you still feeling numb, think of two Philadelphians you love. Imagine that one of them will no longer be able to put food on the table while also making rent. They face mountains of debt, possibly choosing between school supplies or medical care.

Now, a critical mass of the city’s general interest, ethnic and community newsrooms have come together to say "enough." This group has been reporting on poverty for years, but NBC10 and Telemundo62, along with 18 other local news organizations, have decided to take a more direct, and collective, approach.

We are launching BROKE in Philly / Sin Dinero en Filadelfia, an ambitious, year-long initiative that will provide in-depth, nuanced and solutions-oriented reporting on the issues of poverty and the push for economic justice in Philadelphia.

This is not the first time NBC10 has explored solutions to some of the city's most complicated problems. Last year, we reported on suicide prevention through our groundbreaking series Preventing Suicide: Breaking the Silence. The year before that, we dove into the opioid crisis through Generation Addicted. We also investigated child exploitation in Protecting Innocence and housing insecurity in Faces of Homeless Youth.

Like those initiatives, BROKE will take a clear, hard look at what works to help ensure greater economic security for residents of our region, and what doesn’t. We aim to explore poverty’s complex causes and highlight creative approaches that show promise in its alleviation. We will ask questions such as: What’s working in Philly to alleviate poverty and further economic security for all? What has been tried and failed — and what can we learn from that? How are other cities increasing economic equity and what are some lessons for Philadelphia?

Our reporting aims to, piece by piece, examine what it would take to bring about economic justice in Philadelphia, which we broadly define as our city being a place in which a greater number of people are economically secure and thriving.

The best solutions reporting comes from a solid understanding of the roots of a problem. As a start, we have created a graphic breaking down the major factors that have led to Philadelphia being the poorest big city in America.

We also aim to be helpful and have compiled an interactive map to locate resources that are critical for those struggling the most.

BROKE is led by Resolve Philadelphia, a reporting project that also includes Philadelphia Media Network, WHYY, The Philadelphia Tribune, El Zol, Philatinos Radio and WURD, among other organizations. Resolve is supported by the Lenfest Institute, Klein College of Media and Communications at Temple, the Wyncote Foundation and the Solutions Journalism Network.

In December, we asked for your input to decide our 2018 topic — receiving hundreds of responses, suggesting more than 30 lines of inquiry. From these, we picked the one where it seemed like we could have the most impact.

We hope you’ll continue to help us craft the project. What should we report on? What questions do you have about our city’s economic reality? What else can we as media do to change how we understand and talk about these issues? Drop us a line here or text us at 215-772-3212.

Philadelphia is not alone facing its economic obstacles. Our nation is now so vastly unequal that its founding vision — and one that continues to inspire residents and attract immigrants from around the globe — has become a myth. In January, the U.S. partnership on Mobility from Poverty, a project of the Urban Institute, summed up our national crisis: “For many people, [the American Dream] is the idea that if you work hard, you can get ahead. For others — particularly people who are struggling economically — it is the idea that even if you make little progress, your children will have a chance to do better. Unfortunately, reality no longer lives up to that dream.”

Philadelphia could be unique in how we deal with this challenge. Many other large cities have seen targeted displacement and rising costs of living push those with the lowest incomes out to the suburbs. They got rid of their large-scale poverty problem without fixing it.

Is that us? We are Philadelphia: a city of underdogs that make miracles happen. If we can’t use our ingenuity to tackle our biggest collective problem, we’re not living up to our name. Let’s do this, Philly. Let’s win this one.

Jean Friedman-Rudovsky is the Executive Director of Resolve Philadelphia. Follow her on twitter at @jeannyfr

[[480275613, L,200,74]]NBC10 is one of 19 news organizations producing BROKE in Philly, a collaborative reporting project on solutions to poverty and the city’s push towards economic justice. Follow us at @BrokeInPhilly.

Don't come to Philadelphia, activist Charito Morales told Puerto Rican families hoping to resettle in Pennsylvania.

It's an unexpected message from a woman who has dedicated her life to helping the Puerto Rican community in Philadelphia. But Hurricane Maria and the subequent flood of evacuees to Pennsylvania further exacerbated a problem that has long plagued impoverished Puerto Ricans. There are not enough resources to go around.

“We want the city to tell the truth,” she said during a Thursday news conference outside of the Federal Emergency Management Agency offices in Center City. “They don’t have resources. They don’t have a place for you to live. Stay home, ask people to help you on the island.”

Nearly 40 percent of Hispanics already residing in Philly live below the federal poverty line, accoridng to the 2018 State of the City report by Pew Charitable Trusts.

Despite scrant resources, Philadelphia was quick to open its doors after Hurricane Maria struck the island in September. Mayor Jim Kenney, Councilwoman Maria Quinoñes-Sanchez and others called on the federal and local government to extend the same amount of aid to Puerto Rico as was given to Houston following Hurricane Harvey. 

But Puerto Ricans living in Philadelphia claim that not enough has been done to help their relatives on the island or even those living here. 

Community organizer Tania Rios Marrero moved back to Philadelphia just four months before devastation struck her native Puerto Rico. She has spent her entire life traveling between the two places and has many relatives who continue to struggle on the island. Her 85-year-old grandmother didn’t have power or running water for six months, she said.

“I talk to her when there’s service,” Marrero told NBC10.

When asked how the elderly woman survived without utilities, Marrero said: “She believes in God.”

Earlier this week, Marrero joined a handful of volunteers to distribute fresh fruits and vegetables to anyone who lined up outside the Lillian Marrero Branch of Philadelphia’s Free Library in North Philadelphia. The building, with its Grecian columns and white limestone, was dedicated to Marrero’s mother in 2005 after the beloved community activist and librarian died. Like her mother, Marrero dedicates her days to helping others. On this particular day, more than 230 people received free food.

Marrero describes both her native island and her adopted community as colonies. People in Puerto Rico are dependent on the federal government for resources, yet that aid has been scarce since Hurricane Maria, she said. Food and other supplies arrive to the city of San Juan, but people, like her grandmother, who live in the rural countryside have no way to access it. Roads remain impassible and many residents can’t afford to buy or rent cars.

Likewise, the poorest of the poor in Philadelphia are Puerto Ricans, she said. They live separated from the rest of the city and rely on each other to get by, Marrero added.

“People are tremendously resilient,” she said. “They are providing for themselves.”

Several blocks away from the Lillian Marrero library, a giant yellow and blue orb greets visitors at Taller Puertorriqueño, a gallery and sanctuary for the Puerto Rican community in North Philadelphia.

That orb is called “The Mirror” and was hand-drawn by Baez for an ongoing exhibit called “Extension or Communication: Puerto Rico.” The multimedia exhibit is part of a larger effort to engage with the local community and highlight grassroots efforts that emerged in the wake of Hurricane Maria.

Most of the artists and people associated with the exhibit visited the island after the destruction. Some of their relatives remain there, but others, including Baez’s, fled Puerto Rico for the mainland. 

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Baez’s own work resembles a hurricane. Its circular pattern is dotted with what appears to be bits of debris floating through the chaos. The drawing is massive - much taller and wider than any one person. The physical discomfort Baez experienced creating it parallels the pain he witnessed in Puerto Rico, he said.

“I came to understand how trauma works. How trauma is held in the body,” he said. “For me, the space between things is very important because it’s a space of agency. It’s a space where we have a choice.”

Both Marrero and Baez are part of a movement in North Philadelphia to fill the space between here and Puerto Rico. They are activists, organizers and artists who fight on behalf of Philly’s most marginalized community. As Baez and Marrero explain it, they do what the federal and city governments frequently fail to do: help Puerto Ricans drowning in poverty. 

“This is the poorest zip code in Philadelphia,” Marrero said. “19133.”

Baez has visited his native Puerto Rico twice since the storm first hit in September. He was struck by the generosity of the people there, who fed him whatever they grew in their own backyards. Despite their poverty, Baez said he ate more in Puerto Rico than he does on any given day in Philadelphia. It’s a choice, he said, to look after one another despite whatever hardships people are enduring.

An unsettling silence greeted Philadelphia artist Grimaldi Baez when he first arrived in Puerto Rico. It was 90 days after Hurricane Maria devastated the U.S. territory and the lush canopy that once covered much of the island had been replaced with new foliage. It was just starting to take root amid the rubble and debris.

“There was a weight in people’s bodies that I could see,” Baez said. “Especially in older people - you could tell they were more affected.”

That same weight can be felt in Philadelphia, he said. Baez was one of several Philadelphia activists protesting outside of FEMA's Center City this week. He wants to see a longterm solution for these evacuees and Philadelphia, with its high Puerto Rican population, felt like a natural ally. But Baez said he hasn't seen the kind of aid he would expect from the City of Brotherly Love. 

“The hurricane is not the problem,” Baez said. “It’s the response.”

Baez’s work is currently on display at Taller Puertorriqueño. To learn more about the exhibit and upcoming workshops, click here.

Atlantic City is holding a job fair along the iconic boardwalk Thursday with an emphasis on hiring veterans. With two casino resorts scheduled to open this year, thousands of jobs are up for grabs.

As the investigation into the deadly Southwest plane malfunction, one survivor from that plane says he believes he was put on that plane for a reason.

As some online retailers consider making online shoppers pay their home-state's sales tax, online shoppers are reacting. That means some of us might do more shopping in the First State. NBC10's Tim Furlong explains why.

It may be April, but it definitely doesn't feel like it outside. Thursday night will see near freezing temperatures, but the good news? The weekend is shaping up to be a nice one.

A Delaware County, Pennsylvania, businessman has been sentenced to 30 years in prison after a federal court found he lied about his past as a Liberian warlord known for murdering his enemies -- and having their hearts cooked and eaten.

Mohammed Jabbateh took part in atrocities during a civil war in the 1990s in the west African country. Prosecutors say he was known as "Jungle Jabbah," a feared commander in one of two warring military factions.

He "committed various acts of shocking brutality including rapes, sexual enslavement, slave labor, murder, mutilation and ritual cannibalism. He also used children as soldiers," according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office Thursday.

Jabbateh once ordered a captive's heart be cooked and fed to his fighters, according to the press release. He also ordered his fighters to murder a villager, removed his heart and forced the town chief's wife to cook it.

He later had the town chief murdered -- and ordered his widow to cook her husband's heart.

“This defendant committed acts of such violence and depravity that they are almost beyond belief,” said U.S. Attorney William M. McSwain. “This man is responsible for atrocities that will ripple for generations in Liberia. He thought he could hide here but thanks to the determination and creativity of our prosecutors and investigators, he couldn’t."

Jabbateh was living in Lansdowne. He was charged with two counts of perjury for lying about his past to U.S. prosecutors, who could not charge him for the Liberian crimes. But he was sentenced to far more than the five years that each count carries.

He is likely to be deported after he serves his sentence, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania said.

Some in greater Philadelphia's close-knit Liberian community know Jabbateh as a hard-working businessman. They had no idea that he was a man that prosecutors now link to the bloody war that left 200,000 dead and many thousands more maimed, raped and displaced.

The backdrop for such violence was a country divided by both military coups and ethnic hatred.

"Chaos is too kind a word," said Maghan Keita, professor of history at Villanova University.

He said very few Liberians escaped the war either as an aggressor or victim. Battlefields didn't exist and the brutality played on in villages and towns.

“The main target becomes the coercion of civilian populations, as opposed to engagement with other combatants who are as heavily armed as you are," Keita said.

Philadelphia is America's poorest big city; one quarter of its residents live in poverty. NBC10 is highlighting the situation in the collaborative reporting project "BROKE in Philly."

In Philadelphia, one in four people earns less than $20,000 per year. Now, community leaders including Otis Bullock are working to solve the problems that come along with economic insecurity. This is part of our "BROKE in Philly" collaborative reporting partnership.

As the investigation continues into a deadly plane malfunction, new details show that Southwest wanted more time for inspections. Now, the NTSB continues to investigate.