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PHOTOS: Flooding Causes Dangerous Conditions


Flood Waters Pour Into King of Prussia Mall

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At least one woman had to be rescued from her SUV at King of Prussia Mall Monday after heavy rains flooded a parking garage and portions of the mall itself.

Rain water poured into the mall’s first floor and food court. A spokesperson for the mall estimated that approximately 55 of 450 stores on the lower plaza experienced some flooding, but the extent of damage remains unclear. 

"Even of [those stores], we’re not sure who is going to be able to be open," spokesman Mike McGrath said, adding that customers should call ahead before visiting the mall. 

Despite some closures, customers continued to pack into the mall, McGrath said. With 2.9 million square feet available for leasing, the King of Prussia Mall is the largest mall in the United States.

Video shared with NBC10 showed water pouring into the food court as customers splashed by. 

Outside, cars became stranded in rising water along Allendale Road and even inside the mall's garage. Rescue crews shut down the street as they attempted to remove vehicles and their passengers.

One car was nearly submerged as it drove down the street.

The storms also affected travelers in surrounding areas, and caused several water rescues in Montgomery, Chester and Delaware counties.

Despite the flooding, King of Prussia Mall will operate on normal hours Monday.



Photo Credit: Courtesy Twitter User @23dawit

NBC10 Responds Tips on Dealing With Damaged Deliveries

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You may have experienced buying an item that's delivered damaged. A viewer says when that happened to him he thought it would be easy to get a replacement or a refund. When that wasn't the case, he called NBC10 Responds.

Clear the Shelters: Rescued Dog Gets a New Chance

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We continue our commitment to clear the shelters this week! This Saturday shelters from across the country will join us in this effort with tons of discounts. One of those shelters, the Brandywine Valley SPCA, recently introduced a very special dog into the lives of a Chester County family.

Kendrick Lamar Added to Made in America Lineup

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Grammy Award and Pulitzer Prize winning rapper Kendrick Lamar has been added to the list of headliners for this year's Made in America Festival on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia.



Photo Credit: Getty Images for Coachella

Dramatic Images: Massive Building Fire in Frenchtown, NJ

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Firefighters battled a massive building fire in Frenchtown, New Jersey late Monday night into Tuesday. A witness took these photos of the fiery scene.

Photo Credit: Robert Haver

Keith Jones Takes Another Shot at American Ninja Warrior Course

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American Ninja Warrior is back in Philadelphia. And after a humbling moment a few years ago, NBC10's Keith Jones took another shot at the course, although he may or may not have had a little help.

Boy Rescued From Middle of Raging Phoenixville Creek

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A boy is safely back on dry land Monday evening after being stranded in the middle of a raging Chester County, Pennsylvania, creek.

The 13-year-old boy was playing with two friends in the Pickering Creek near Pickering Dam Road in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, Monday afternoon. Suddenly the boy was swept a few hundred feet by raging high water, officials said.

The boy managed to grab onto a tree root and pulled himself up onto an outcropping of branches and rocks in the middle of the creek. His two other friends got out on their own.

Angry waters tinged with brown sediment raged around the makeshift shelter as responding crews from the Kimberton Fire Company staged a rescue effort. (You can watch video of the harrowing rescue above.)

Using a blue raft, crews tried several times to safely take the boy to shore, but the waters proved to be too treacherous. They instead sent the empty raft over to the boy who, donning a life vest, was forced to take a leap of faith into the bobbing raft.

Luckily, he landed square in the center of the rectangular life boat and was safely pulled ashore.

"We were able to get some ropes to him," Tyler Frees, of the Friendship Diving Rescue Unit, said. "He was very cooperative and helpful and kept catching ropes and tying knots. We were walking him through. Otherwise, not sure what we would've done."

Medics checked on the boy at the scene and he went home with his family.

"He was scared," Doug Gable, of the Kimberton Fire Department, said. "He knows he made a mistake. He was out clowning around on the water and learned a hard lesson."

An official with the Kimberton Fire Company told NBC10 it was the third rescue made in the area Monday. Powerful storms swept through the area, causing flooding throughout the region. 



Photo Credit: NBC10

Rafters Found Safe After Multi-County Search Along River

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Rafters who rented from a Pennsylvania company were found safe Monday night following an extensive, multi-county search, state police said.

An empty raft was found in the Lehigh River around 6:40 p.m. in Bowmanstown which raised concerns that rafters were missing. Officials then checked with a company that rented the rafts out of Nesquehoning, Carbon County, and were told that 30 who went out on the river Monday morning were still unaccounted for.

Crews searched along the Lehigh River in Carbon, Lehigh and Northampton counties and rescued stranded rafters in the process. 

Officials later confirmed that all of the more than 200 people who rented from the company were accounted for and safe.


Former NJ Police Officer Convicted of Weapons Charges

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A former police officer in New Jersey’s largest city was found guilty of weapons charges Monday, authorities announced.

According to Essex County Prosecutor Robert D. Laurino, Eddie Gonzalez, 39, of Newark, was convicted of illegally possessing two weapons.

Prosecutors say, on March 12, the Essex County Prosecutors Office Domestic Violence Unit, the Newark Police Tactical Response Team and the Essex County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant at Gonzalez’s home after allegedly receiving information that he may still have been in possession of two handguns after being served with a family court domestic violence restraining order.

According to authorities, when someone is served with a domestic violence restraining order, he or she is barred from having any contact with the victim or possessing weapons.

The temporary restraining stemmed from an allegation of harassment and stalking, filed against him by a former girlfriend, prosecutors say.

Gonzalez is facing three to five years in New Jersey State Prison on both counts of these weapons convictions.

Prosecutors say they will be asking for Gonzalez be sentenced to consecutive jail sentences.

After the verdict was returned, prosecutors made an application to have Gonzalez’s bail revoked. A judge granted the application and Gonzalez was taken into custody immediately.

The former Newark Police officer, who was terminated from the force, was out on bail after having been convicted in April of 2018 on four counts of false swearing and of one count of impersonating an officer, according to prosecutors.

According to the Associated Press, Gonzalez was forced to resign from the Newark police force in 2008 after police said he assaulted a 14-year-old neighbor by forcing his tongue into her mouth.

His sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 7.

Gonzalez also has two more pending indictments one for two counts of stalking and one for six count of contempt of court, prosecutors say.

Information regarding Gonzalez's defense attorney could not immediately be located.



Photo Credit: Essex County Prosecutor's Office

Truck Crash Sparks 'Terrible Fire', Levels Pizza Place

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A massive fire ripped through a New Jersey town late Monday, turning a neighborhood favorite pizzeria to rubble and severely damaging a local cafe, officials say. 

Frenchtown Mayor Brad Myhre‎ said on Facebook early Tuesday that the fire was caused by a truck "plowing through the front of Galasso’s Pizzeria" on Bridge Street. "Most of the Galasso’s building is now rubble," Myhre said.

Myhre‎ added the Frenchtown Cafe, which is next to the pizzeria, was also significantly damaged by the "terrible fire."

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Firefighters were still at the scene of the three-alarm blaze early Tuesday. Myhre‎ said in addition to the local businesses being damaged, people have been displaced from their homes, but the exact number left homeless was not immediately clear. 

It appeared no one inside the buildings was hurt, witnesses said. Any other injuries weren't immediately known. 

Video and pictures from the scene show huge flames shooting into the night sky as firefighters frantically work to douse the fire. 

The Hunterdon County Prosecutor’s Office said the fire is under investigation and more details will be released later Tuesday.

The Frenchtown United Methodist Church on Third Street remained open overnight to help anyone displaced by the blaze or anyone looking to pray, Pastor Peter Mantell said.

This story is developing. Check back for updates.

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Photo Credit: Robert Haver

Most Roads Reopen as Water Recedes

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As the water receded early Tuesday, many major roadways in Pennsylvania reopened while a handful remained closed.

The MLK and Kelly drives in Philadelphia, Route 113 in Hilltown Township, Bucks County, and Conshohocken Road in Plymouth Township, Montgomery County, were among the roads that reopened overnight. Parts of the Schuylkill Expressway (Interstate 76) and U.S. Route 202 Interchange in Montgomery County already reopened late Monday. (The full list of reopened PennDOT roads is below.)

Route 320 (South Gulph Road) between between Upper Gulph Road/Old Gulph Road and Arden Road in Upper Merion Township, Montgomery County, remained closed as the morning rush began.

If you see a flooded road, don't try to drive through it. Detours are posted along major roads that are closed.

Waves of blinding downpours inundated highways across the region and prompted dozens of car rescues in Montgomery, Chester and Delaware counties, officials said.

An Upper Darby police officer responding to flash floods in the area was almost swept away by water. Fortunately he wasn't seriously hurt and was treated at the hospital.

Several cars parked along Marshall Road in Upper Darby were covered in water up to their windshields, NBC10 footage showed. Police there fished out passengers trapped inside vehicles.

A 13-year-old boy who was swept away by raging water in a Chester County creek had to be rescued by responding crews but also wasn't seriously hurt.

Darby Borough declared a state of emergency due to the flooding which prompted evacuations and closures on 13th, 14th and Tyler streets as well as 896 Marin St. and Springfield Road. The Red Cross set up an area for evacuees in the Borough Hall on 1020 Ridge Ave. in Darby.

As a result of these dangerous water levels, authorities forced drivers off Interstate 76 at the Route 202 interchange in King of Prussia. Drivers were forced onto emergency access roads.

Flood waters also poured into the King of Prussia Mall, closing stores and stranding drivers in the parking garage. I-276 was also closed near Valley Forge.

Rainfall rates during Monday's sudden downpours ranged from 1 to 4 inches per hour. 

A flood warning remains in effect for the Schuylkill River from Pottstown to Norristown in Montgomery County. Other flood prone areas could see more flooding Tuesday.

These roads have reopened:

Bucks County

• Route 113 in both directions between the intersection with Souderton Square and Mall Road and Bethlehem Pike in Hilltown Township; and

• Limeport Road between Allentown Road and the Lehigh County line.

Chester County

• Lower Pine Creek Road between Route 401 (Conestoga Road) and Yellow Springs Road in West Pikeland Township;

• Wagontown Road/Cedar Knoll Road/Reeceville Road/Caln Road between Hibernia Road and Wagontown-Martins Road in West Brandywine Township;

• Clover Mill Road/Pikeland Road between Kimberton Road and Merlin Road in Charlestown Township;

• Route 345 (Bulltown Road) at Route 23 (Ridge Road) in East Nantmeal Township;

• Route 724 (Schuylkill Road) between Scholl Road and Catfish Lane in North Coventry Township;

• Pottstown Pike/Chadds Ford Road/Creek Road/High Street between Street Road and Creek Road in Birmingham Township; and

• Swan Road/Upper Valley Road/Main Street between Green Street and Swan Road in Atglen Borough.

Delaware County

• Crum Creek Road between Farnum Road and State Road in Upper Providence Township;

• Darby Paoli Road between Bryn Mawr Avenue and Goshen Road in Radnor Township;

• Eagle Road/Glendale Road between Warrior Road and Burmont Road in Haverford Township; and

• Lansdowne Avenue/Darby Road/Main Street between U.S. 13 (Chester Pike), MacDade Boulevard and 11th Street in Darby Township.

Montgomery County

• Conshohocken Road/Fairfield Road/Elm Street at Diamond Avenue in Plymouth Township;

• Croton Road/Radnor Road between the Chester County line and Gulph Road in Upper Merion Township;

• Water Street Road/Mill Road between Grange Avenue and Skippack Creek Road in Skippack Township;

• Henderson Road/Beidler Road/Abrams Road at Beidler Road in Upper Merion Township;

• Trinity Lane between Holstein Road and Swedeland Road in Upper Merion Township; and

• Butler Pike/Matsonford Road/Fayette Street between Hillside Avenue and the Interstate 476 Interchange in Lower Merion Township.



Photo Credit: NBC10 - Matt DeLucia
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Clear the Shelters: Adopting Georgia

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Last year Paige Muldoon, from Trainer, Pennsylvania, adopted Georgia, a dog that had been abandoned in a box with four puppies. The Providence Animal Center will waive adoption fees again this weekend for the national Clear the Shelters campaign.

Comcast Program Gives Low-Cost, High-Speed Internet to Vets

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On Monday, Comcast announced it's expanding its Internet Essentials Program to about a million low-income veterans.

Under the new program, low-income veterans will have access to the internet for $10 a month. The program also allows the veterans to purchase computers at a quarter price of what they cost in the store.

“These are people who stood up for our country,” David L. Cohen, the executive vice president of Comcast, said. “They put their lives on the line for America and we think it’s time that we stand up for them.”

Internet Essentials has already connected more than six million people with low-cost, high-speed internet.

Comcast is the parent company of NBC10.

New Jersey Man Says His Invention Repels Greenhead Flies

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Greenhead flies, also known as Tabanus nigrovittatus, can make a day at the Jersey Shore miserable with the biting females being a major pest to humans and animals.

“They’re awful,” Evan Klein of Glen Rock, New Jersey, said. “We actually left the beach a little early to get away from that.”

But Scott Macom, a lawyer from Galloway Township, New Jersey, says he has the solution. It’s the Greenhead Greenaid, Macom’s invention which he claims repels the big bloodthirsty bugs within three feet of where it’s placed in the sun.

“It chases away greenheads by the refraction of light that comes from the tube and the sun,” Macom said.

Macom told NBC10 it took him about two years to perfect the combination of copper tape, water, two non-toxic compounds he won’t reveal, and gold dust to create the product. 

“When I first saw it I was like, ‘Is this going to work?’ And actually it does. It really does work,” Phil Kraus of the Smithville Community Association said.

Other members of the Smithville Community Association, including Dawn Rado, also insist the invention works.

“They have not disturbed me or bothered me since he put it down,” Rado said.

Chestnut Neck Boat Yard, a bait and tackle store in Port Republic, New Jersey, is among the businesses selling the Greenhead Greenaid for $20 each.

“We’ve sold quite a few of them,” Mitch Brown of Chestnut Neck Boat Yard said. “If you can keep that thing in the bright sunlight and close to your body, they definitely do deflect away from it.”

Macom said he’s in the process of getting a patent for his product and is also working on other versions, including ones that are wearable.

“The girls want bracelets,” Macom said. “I’ve had a lot of requests for anklets.”

For more information on the Greenhead Greenaid, follow its Instagram account.


Germantown Boys and Girls Club Compromise

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The Boys and Girls Club is willing to preserve and renovate the existing building in Philadelphia's Germantown location if it is not designated a historic building. A contract has been reached and will be discussed during a public meeting.

You (Or Will Smith) Could Be the New Voice of SEPTA

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SEPTA wants you to be hearing voices when you ride.

And, you can help the transit agency pick its newest (celebrity) announcer.

“Who do you think would be the best voice for SEPTA?” the agency asked on its contest page. “Will Smith? Kevin Hart? Jill Scott? Sly Stallone? Pink? The Ben Franklin impersonator? You?”

Currently Phillies slugger Rhys Hoskins reminds riders to "play it safe and watch your step." In the past former Eagle Connor Barwin reminded riders to recycle. What might the next announcer say?

“Yo, this is Sly Stallone and this train is headed to Frankford” and “Will Smith here, next stop is Belmont Plateau” sure would be fun to hear.

SEPTA is open to suggestions on its next announcer through Aug. 26. The Top 11 “most thoughtful entries" will get prizes, SEPTA said. The grand prize is an Anywhere TrailPass (a $204 value) for September with the other 10 winners getting a SEPTA T-shirt.

Of course, SEPTA would still need to convince their next voice to take the gig. They hope the local pride will swell like it did for Vancouver, Canada, native Seth Rogan who recently became the voice of his hometown TransLink.



Photo Credit: Getty Images

Black Girls Asked to Leave Jersey Shore Gift Shop in Alleged Racist Incident

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A group of black girls from a summer camp were told they weren’t welcome in an aquarium gift shop in an incident one of the women who runs the camp claims was racially motivated.

Attiyya Barrett, who helps runs a program called Princess to Queenz, told News 4 New York seven girls from the program went into the gift shop at Jenkinson’s Aquarium, in Point Pleasant Beach, on Friday and were told by an employee that they couldn’t be there without a chaperone.

When the girls came back with a 32-year-old chaperone, the employee allegedly asked them to leave because the chaperone “looked like one of them,” Barrett said.

In a now-viral video taken by Barrett, the employee says she “didn’t think [the person the kids came back with] was a chaperone.”

“They’re not welcome in here,” the employee says on camera.

The girls who were asked to leave the shop ranged in age from 7 to 14, Barrett said.

“THE CONSTRAINT I had to exhibit in front of them leaves a horrible taste in my mouth,” Barrett wrote in a Facebook post. “I had to explain to 40 girls that they are still valuable and that [their] green dollars still spends even if racist folks try to hurt them!”

“She won. TODAY! But FYI our black dollars aren’t welcome in the Jenkinson’s Aquarium Gift Shop!” Barrett added in her post.

Barrett said she and her group left contact information with the aquarium’s manager. Later, the director and marketing director of the aquarium called her and apologized, she said.

Jenkinson’s Pavilion has suspended the employee who asked the girls to leave, pending an investigation, a spokesperson told News 4 in a statement.

"We strive to provide all of our customers with an enjoyable experience and we clearly missed the mark this time," the statement said. "We sincerely apologize to the girls from the camp group for the way they felt upon leaving."



Photo Credit: Getty Images

N. Philly Camel Prom Mom Charged With Social Security Fraud

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A North Philadelphia restaurateur, who gained local fame last year for spending $25,000 on her son's prom that included camels, has been charged with allegedly defrauding the Social Security Administration.

Saudia Shuler was indicted for allegedly collecting nearly $37,000 in government benefits by claiming she was disabled yet continuing to work, according to the U.S. Attorney for Eastern Pennsylvania.

"The defendant applied for benefits from the Social Security Administration, claiming she was disabled and unable to work. After Social Security approved benefits, the defendant continued working, including the operation of her own restaurant," a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's office said in an email Tuesday. "This work and income was never reported to Social Security, in violation of program rules."

The fraud charges come in the aftermath of a momentous year for Shuler, 44, who twice made headlines for lavish spending.

In the spring of 2017, Shuler spent $25,000 on a camel, three tons of sand and exotic cars for a massive event in her neighborhood celebrating her son’s prom.

It was dubbed "Dubai to Philly."

Months later, at Christmas time, the North Philly restaurant owner held another big party in her neighborhood. It featured hundreds of gifts and two reindeer.

“I know what hard time is,” Saudia Shuler told the crowd of hundreds who gathered along North 22nd Street. “Because I come from hard times.”

The event was held at "Country Cookin'," the restaurant Shuler owns. She put her role as a business owner aside for the night however and became ‘Saudia Claus,’ handing out hundreds of gifts to excited children.

“We gave them 140 bikes,” she said. “We gave out over 50 scooters. We gave out ‘Batman’ cars, like the remote-controlled cars you put your feet on and then drive.”

Shuler told NBC10 that she used the chances to celebrate her good fortunes after dealing with tragedies, including the murder of her son's father and multiple health scares over the past decade.

“I had a stroke. I had seizures. I had cancer,” she said. “All within the last three years.”

At the time, Shuler said she’s received donations from all over the country to help pay for the outsize events.

She faces six counts of wire fraud, one count of theft of government funds and two counts of Social Security fraud.



Photo Credit: Saudia Shuler instagram

Archbishop Defends Self Ahead of Pa. Child Sex Abuse Report

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Cardinal Donald Wuerl, the archbishop of Washington, says he expects a grand jury report being released Tuesday on the sexual abuse of children by clergy in six Pennsylvania Roman Catholic dioceses to be critical of his actions as the former longtime bishop of Pittsburgh.

Wuerl, one of the highest-profile cardinals in the United States, wrote to priests in the Washington Archdiocese late Monday, defending himself ahead of the release of a roughly 900-page report that victim advocates call the largest and most exhaustive such review by any U.S. state.

Wuerl contended that he acted diligently to protect children after learning about incidents of abuse in Pittsburgh's diocese when he became bishop in 1988, holding the post for 18 years through 2006.

"It moved me not simply to address these acts, but to be fully engaged, to meet with survivors and their families, and to do what I could to bring them comfort and try to begin a process for healing," Wuerl wrote.

He said he imposed a "zero tolerance" policy for clergy who committed abuse and a process to address allegations.

Wuerl said he hopes "a just assessment of my actions, past and present, and my continuing commitment to the protection of children will dispel any notions otherwise made by this report."

Court records in a largely secret, months-long legal fight over the report say that it identifies more than 300 "predator priests." The grand jury concluded that a succession of Catholic bishops and other diocesan leaders tried to shield the church from bad publicity and financial liability by covering up abuse, failing to report accused clergy to police and discouraging victims from going to law enforcement.

The Pennsylvania report echoes the findings of many earlier church investigations around the country — and in other Pennsylvania dioceses — in its description of widespread sexual abuse by clergy and church officials' concealment of it.

What distinguished this probe was its extraordinary scope: The grand jury scrutinized abuse allegations in six of Pennsylvania's eight dioceses that, collectively, minister to more than half the state's 3.2 million Catholics.

Wuerl said he expects the grand jury's findings from the 70 years it explored will be "profoundly disturbing."

Yet the grand jury's work might not result in justice for Catholics who say they were molested as children. While the nearly two-year probe has yielded charges against two clergymen — including a priest who has since pleaded guilty, and another who allegedly forced his accuser to say confession after each sex assault — the vast majority of priests already identified as perpetrators are either dead or are likely to avoid arrest because their alleged crimes are too old to prosecute under state law.

The document comes at a time of renewed scrutiny and fresh scandal at the highest levels of the U.S. Catholic Church. Pope Francis stripped 88-year-old Cardinal Theodore McCarrick of his title and ordered him to a lifetime of prayer and penance amid allegations that McCarrick had for years sexually abused boys and had sexual misconduct with adult seminarians.

Wuerl has come under harsh criticism over his response to the McCarrick scandal, with some commentators questioning his claims of surprise and ignorance over allegations that McCarrick molested and harassed young seminarians.

Wuerl replaced McCarrick as Washington's archbishop after McCarrick retired in 2006.

The Pennsylvania grand jury, convened by the state attorney general's office in 2016, heard from dozens of witnesses and reviewed more than a half-million pages of internal documents from the Allentown, Erie, Greensburg, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh and Scranton dioceses.

Some current and former clergy named in the report went to court to prevent its release, arguing it violated their constitutional rights to reputation and due process of law. The state Supreme Court said the public had a right to see it, but ruled the names of priests and others who objected to the findings would be blacked out pending a September hearing on their claims.

The identities of those clergy members remain under court seal.

A couple dioceses decided to strip the accused of their anonymity ahead of the report and released the names of clergy members who were accused of sexual misconduct. On Friday, the bishop of Pittsburgh's diocese said a few priests named in the report are still in ministry because the diocese determined allegations against them were unsubstantiated.

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Associated Press reporters Nicole Winfield in Vatican City and Michael Rubinkam in Pennsylvania contributed to this report.

NBC10 and Telemundo 62 are among the news organizations that have joined a court case pressing for the release of a grand jury report into clergy sex abuse.



Photo Credit: Susan Walsh/AP
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