An underground fire led to power outages and street closures in Center City Wednesday evening.

The fire was reported in the area of 16th and Cherry streets around 6:30 p.m. Smoke and sparks could be seen coming from a manhole at the location.

Officials have not revealed the cause of the fire but say it's related to an underground piece of equipment.

A spokesman from PECO told NBC10 86 customers are without power and traffic lights are also out in the surrounding area. He also said 16th Street is closed between Ben Franklin Parkway and Race Street as crews investigate the issue and work to restore power.

No injuries have been reported.

This story is developing. Check back for updates.

An employee has been charged with multiple attacks on students inside a Chester County behavioral health center, authorities said, including an assault that left a 16-year-old girl with a broken arm.

Christina Borden, of Yeadon, allegedly threw the unidentified student at Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health’s Leo Kanner Learning Center in West Whiteland Township, Pennsylvania, to the ground, then struck the girl multiple times with her knee on Sept. 30, West Whiteland Township police said Wednesday.

The school serves children with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

The victim managed to get to her feet, but Borden, 27, then allegedly struck again, investigators said.

Two other school employees, Monique Scott, 25, of Pomeroy, and Solgie Barbar, 38, of Upper Darby, have been charged with failure to report the incident, police said.

Borden is also accused of attacking two juveniles and one adult with a cellphone cord on Sept. 30, causing arm injuries, police said. Scott is also facing charges for those three incidents after police say she failed to report those alleged attacks as well.

Borden was arrested earlier in November and charged with aggravated assault, simple assault, child endangerment and harassment. She remains free on bail. Her attorney, Todd Fiore, declined to comment.

Scott and Barbar each face failure to report and child endangerment charges. Each is out on bail. No phone number is listed for Scott and a message to Barbar wasn’t immediately returned.

The three employees join two other Devereux employees recently arrest: A 25-year-old man was accused of simple assault and harassment after he allegedly struck an 18-year-old client in October. And, a 32-year-old woman also faces simple assault and harassment charges for allegedly hitting a 17-year-old.

The Kanner facility touts its work caring “children and youth with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities.”

“The Leo Kanner Learning Center offers individualized academic instruction, as well as social and emotional supports tailored to the needs of each student,” Devereux says on its website. “Our wonderful teaching staff provides caring, personalized attention and purposeful learning opportunities, with a strong focus on the transition from school to working in the community. The goal of this Approved Private School is to create educational opportunities that enable each student to live as a positive, healthy and socially connected individual in his or her community.”

The Pennsylvania Department of Health annually inspects the Kanner facility. The most recent inspection completed in September 2017 found the facility in violation of freezer and water temps. Each violation was rectified and the state found the facility in compliance.

In a statement sent to NBC10, Devereux's executive director wrote that they immediately reported the incident to all authorities, including the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services and local law enforcement.

"Nothing is more important to us than the safe and effective care of children, and we have absolutely zero tolerance, none, for anyone who does not strictly adhere to Devereux’s quality of care standards," she wrote.

"We use the best pre-employment safety clearance tools available – from FBI clearances to police background checks – to screen potential employees. When we hire new staff, we provide exhaustive training before they meet or work with a single child to help ensure safe and therapeutic care. And we provide continuous training to all staff regarding compliance with care and safety standards."

Rapper Meek Mill spoke about his upbringing in South Philadelphia and his status as a symbol of criminal justice reform when he sat for an interview on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show."

Mill described the area where he grew up as a "ruthless environment" where young people living in poverty can get caught up in drugs in violence. He said people don't realize probation violations can be for something as minor at "loitering at a Starbucks."

Mill is currently out on unsupervised bail after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled in April that he be released. The higher court ruling followed Judge Genece Brinkley sentencing the rapper to two to four years in prison in 2017 for violating his probation in a nearly decade-old gun and drug case.

Mill served five months in state prison for his latest probation violation.

Mill told DeGeneres that he was eating in his cell, watching her show, when the news came on and he learned about his release through the television set.

"I'm watching the news and 'Meek Mill is up for bail.' I dropped my food, jumped up in the air and I was leaving 10 minutes later," the rapper said.

Since his initial arrest in 2007, Mill's arresting officer, Reginald Graham, has been identified on a list of so-called dirty cops by the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office. Prosecutors have tried to keep officers on that list off the witness stand due to wrongdoing that includes lying, racial bias and brutality.

The rapper's legal team has also since asked that Judge Brinkley be removed from the case, but that motion was denied.

Mill has earned support from members of the public as well as high-profile public figures like Jay-Z and the Rev. Al Sharpton and has become a symbol for prison and criminal justice reform around the country.

In a New York Times op-ed published Monday, Mill called for a change in the "broken" criminal justice system. 

'We all need to hold our lawmakers accountable for supporting unfair or inhumane policies and all practices that perpetuate injustice, especially for the blacks and Latinos who fall prey to them most frequently," he said in the op-ed.

Residents of Whitemarsh Township and Springfield in Montgomery County are speaking out and fighting back after finding racist fliers outside their homes.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety says headlights on many base model 2018 vehicles don't shine enough light for drivers.

Disgraced former Pennsylvania attorney general Kathleen Kane is now behind bars in Montgomery county after surrendering Thursday morning.

USA250 celebrates America's 250th birthday in 2026. The bipartisan U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission has already began planning for the event. Dan DiLella, Pennsylvania chairperson of the commission, and David L. Cohen, senior executive president of Comcast and commission member, talk about the preparations and celebration.

Michelle Obama will be making an appearance at the Wells Fargo Center Thursday night as she promotes her new memoir, "Becoming."

A new study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that headlights on nearly half of 2018 model cars tested by the group do not adequately light the road, and most “good-rated” headlights only come with optional packages or an upgraded trim.

According to the IIHS, out of 424 headlight possibilities across trims on 2018 models tested by the group, 67 percent earned a "marginal" or "poor" rating because of inadequate visibility for drivers, excessive glare from low beams for oncoming drivers, or both.

The IIHS, an insurance industry-funded organization that evaluates automotive safety, said that 32 of 165 models tested earned the highest rating of good for their best-available headlights, while 58 models earned the second-highest rating of "acceptable" on their best-available lights.

The study also found that many base-line models have lower-than-average quality headlights, with good-quality lights only available on certain trims or as an optional feature that can often cost consumers a lot more.

The Kia Soul, for instance, earned a good rating for its best-available headlights, but consumers must pay an additional $3,000 to $6,000 for a package on one of the top two trim lines to get them. This increases the Soul’s base model — and it’s poor-rated headlights — from $16,000 to nearly $26,000.

"Consumers shouldn't have to buy a fully loaded vehicle to get the headlights they need to safely drive at night," said IIHS spokesman David Aylor. "All new vehicles should come with good headlights."

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The only 2018 models that the IIHS found to come with good-rated headlights, no matter the trim line or options package, are the Genesis G90 and the Lexus NX.

The Chevrolet Volt, Mercedes Benz E class, Genesis G80 and Toyota Camry had "good" best-available headlights while its less expensive trims still earned an "acceptable" rating, the IIHS said.

Meanwhile, some manufacturers are leaving drivers in the dark. Poor-rated headlights are the only ones available on 43 models evaluated by the IIHS.

"Headlights are essential crash avoidance technology," IIHS said in a news release announcing the study's findings. "About half of all fatal crashes in the U.S. occur in the dark, and more than a quarter occur on unlit roads. Headlights have an obvious role to play in preventing nighttime crashes, but not all headlights perform their job equally."

Engineers at IIHS measure how far light is projected from the low beams and the high beams as the vehicle travels straight and around curves. They also consider the amount of visibility provided by both high and low beams and whether they are creating excessive glare for oncoming drivers.

In its evaluations, IIHS engineers found LEDs or high-intensity discharge (HID) lamps, scored better than halogen projector headlights. They are also more expensive.

The IIHS says since it started grading headlights two years ago, manufacturers have made improvements to improve ratings. That’s because good-rated headlights are required to qualify for a Top Safety Pick award.

A full list of tested vehicles and their rating is available here.

The homeless man who became famous, and then notorious, for allegedly fabricating a story in order to raise money for himself and his conspirators is headed back to New Jersey.

Johnny Bobbitt waived extradition back to Burlington County, New Jersey, at a brief hearing in Philadelphia Thursday morning.

Bobbitt will be sent back to New Jersey once his pending legal matters in Pennsylvania are resolved.

Bail has also been revoked for Bobbitt who has remained behind bars since his Nov. 14 arrest.

Bobbitt was charged in Burlington County with conspiracy and theft by deception for an alleged GoFundMe scheme that "hoodwinked an awful lot of people," authorities said.

The so-called plot involved South Jersey couple Kate McClure and Mark D'Amico. A photo circulated on the internet showing McClure and Bobbitt on the side of Interstate 95 last year after Bobbitt had supposedly used his last $20 to help the woman fill her gas tank.

Soon, the heartwarming story landed on a GoFundMe campaign that went viral and raised raised more than $400,000 from thousands of people.

But once the relationship soured, law enforcement officials investigating the case stumbled on a 2012 Facebook post from Bobbitt. It was of a photo, very similar to the one of Bobbitt and McClure, featuring the homeless man with a different woman in North Carolina. That woman had apparently run out of gas and had a flat tire in a Walmart parking lot, prosecutors said.

Bobbitt claimed to have used the last of his “supper money” to help her out, Burlington County prosecutor Scott Coffina said.

“I don’t think that’s a coincidence,” he said.

The accusation is part of an ongoing investigation into Bobbitt, McClure and D’Amico. Prosecutors contend that the trio conspired to create a fraudulent GoFundMe campaign and keep the money for themselves.

The scheme could have worked had the couple not kept more than agreed for themselves, fraud and forensic expert Howard Silverstone said.

“If the three of them would have … divvied up the money and gone about their business, no one would have any reason to question it,” he said.

Instead, the group became entangled in a bitter court battle that has led investigators to charge all of them for fraud.

The discovery of a hidden drug stash led to the execution killing of a teenage girl and three adults in the basement of a Southwest Philadelphia home, police said.

Philadelphia police on Thursday implicated three people in the fatal Thanksgiving week shooting that shocked the community and veteran police officers.

Jahil Porter, 32, is charged with four counts of murder and related offenses in the deaths of Maurice Taylor, 31; his half-brother 28-year-old Akeem Mattox; Tiyaniah Hopkins, 20; and 17-year-old Yaleah Hall.

Charges are pending against a second man who police did not name at a news conference Thursday afternoon. They said a warrant is also out for a third man who is also unnamed.

Ross called the men "very violent, vicious individuals."

Taylor and Mattox were renovating the home where they were killed. Homicide Capt. John Ryan said the men discovered illegal drugs hidden in either that home or another property they were renovating.

The men apparently tried to broker a deal with Porter and the others to sell the drugs back. Ryan said the suspects were planning to rob the victims, but it escalated into an execution.

"It was terrible. They were all laid on the ground and they were basically executed," the captain said.

All four victims were shot in the head. At least one victim knew one of the accused, Ryan said.

The female victims, Hopkins and Hall, weren't aware of the drug sell-back and became innocent bystanders, according to Ryan.

The night of the killings a neighbor heard loud bangs, but didn't call police because they thought it was construction work, police said. Investigators believe those sounds were the fatal gunshots. 

A portion of the drug stash has been recovered. 

Porter was arrested Wednesday, Ryan said. The second suspect was taken into custody Thursday morning.

Jersey shore homes went up in flames Thursday.

Fire broke out shortly before noon at Landis Avenue and 54th Street, about two blocks from the Sea Isle City Promenade.

At least three structures became involved, Sea Isle City Police said.

Firefighters could be seen dousing the flames as thick smoke poured into the air.

No word yet if anyone was hurt.

This story is developing and will be updated.

New Jersey Assemblywoman Holly Schepisi for three years pushed legislative bills to exempt children under 6 years old from being required to get the Hepatitis B vaccine.

The Republican says she is "not an anti-vaxxer" and that all her children are fully vaccinated. The bills she introduced in 2012, 2015 and again 2016, Schepisi said, were initially introduced by a predecessor, but through her own research, she came to believe newborns in New Jersey don't need a Hep B vaccine immediately.

"I tested negative for Hep B. My husband tested negative. Why does my son, who would not engage in any sort of behaviors at that age, why do we need to give him that vaccination now?" she said. "There was no medical reason to give it to him. On that particular one, I felt strongly that of all the vaccinations we give at an early age, that is a no brainer."

The Centers for Disease Control recommend that "infants should get their first dose of hepatitis B vaccine at birth and will usually complete the series at six months of age."

Schepisi's bills, along with 21 others by fellow New Jersey lawmakers, including fellow Republican John DiMaio and Democrats Ralph Caputo and Sen. Shirley Turner, put the Garden State at the top of all 50 states in anti-vaccination legislation between 2011 and 2017, according to a new study by Drexel University researchers.

New Jersey was followed by New York, West Virginia and Mississippi, the study published in the American Journal of Public Health's December issue found.

All but one of the 92 anti-vaccine bills introduced across the country during that period were eventually shot down, but the study found that those types of bills increased in more recent years.

"It is reassuring to know that the legislative process is working in favor of public health," the study's principal author, Neal Goldstein, said.

Still, he added, "It is concerning that there are so many anti-vaccination bills introduced."

Overwhelming evidence from medical experts has proven how important immunization is to both individuals and communities, yet some claims that vaccinations can cause long-lasting side effects persist.

"Vaccines are tested to ensure that they are safe and effective for children to receive at the recommended ages," the CDC writes on its website.

In the seven years surveyed for the Drexel study, 83 bills proposed were pro-vaccine compared to the 92 that proposed limiting or restricting vaccinations.

Both pro-and anti-vaccination bills increased from 2011 to 2017.

Goldstein said social media, as it has affected other public debates, is one of the biggest reasons for increased interest in vaccinations.

"The reality is the overwhelming majority vaccinate themselves and their children," he said. "You have this small, but vocal, minority that permeates social media, in particular."

His research didn't delve into why states like New Jersey and New York would lead the nation in vaccination legislation.

"I wish I had some insight into that," he said. "If I had guessed in advance, it would have been southern states where I expected the most anti-vaccination bills. The fact we saw it was mid-Atlantic and New England states pop up was fascinating."

New Jersey lawmakers DiMaio, Caputo and Turner did not return calls seeking comment. They were responsible for 13 of the 22 bills proposed in New Jersey, 

Caputo's bills sought "exemptions from mandatory immunization for any reason."

Turner and DiMaio repeatedly sought to allow "philosophical exemptions" to mandatory vaccinations.

New Jersey, Schepisi said, has some of the strictest requirements for vaccinations, especially for school-age children. That, she said, may explain why the state led the way in proposed pushbacks against immunization.

"Your children can't attend school without the flu vaccine. It’s stuff that goes beyond measles and mumps," Schepisi said. "We have a very, very broad vaccine policy in this state."

New Jersey's attorney general announced new rules Thursday restricting how law enforcement officers across the state interact with federal immigration authorities.

The "Immigrant Trust Directive" limits the type of voluntary assistance that law enforcement agencies provide to immigration authorities, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The new rules are meant to strengthen the trust between law enforcement and immigrants in the state, Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said.

Flanked by police officers, including Jersey City Police Chief Michael Kelly, as well as state Director of Criminal Justice Veronica Allende, Grewal highlighted the Trump administration's crackdown on undocumented immigrants.

The White House's policies have "cultivated a culture of fear" that drives some of the state's "most vulnerable residents deeper into the shadows," Grewal said. Due to that fear, crimes go unreported and people refuse to testify at trials, allowing criminals to remain on the streets, the attorney general added.

New Jersey has one of the highest undocumented immigrant populations in the nation, with an estimated 500,000 people living without legal citizenship as of 2014, according to the Pew Research Center.

The new rules, the attorney general added, will encourage immigrants to come forward when crimes are committed.

"With this directive, we hope to draw immigrants out of the shadows and into our communities. We hope to create an environment where residents feel safe around our officers, whether they're reporting a crime or simply striking up a conversation," he said.

Officially known as Attorney General Directive 2018-6, the rules apply to all state, county and local law enforcement agencies, including police, prosecutors, county detectives, sheriff's officers, and correction officers.

With the change in policies, New Jersey joins a number of cities and states that have moved to limit cooperation with federal law enforcement since President Donald Trump took office.

In California, lawmakers passed SB-54, known as the "California Values Act." Among other things, the California bill prevents local law enforcement officers from transferring people into ICE custody unless presented with a judicial warrant.

As part of the New Jersey directive, police departments and corrections officers will not be allowed to continue to hold those arrested for minor offenses past their original release dates, even if ICE submits an immigration detainer request.

However, officers must still comply with valid court orders, including warrants signed by federal judges.

"If you break the law in New Jersey, we will go after you no matter your immigration status. No one gets a free pass," Grewal said.

Agencies will still be allowed to notify ICE of inmates' pending release if they have committed a serious crime like murder, rape, arson, assault or domestic violence, but officers will only be allowed to keep those inmates in custody until 11:59 p.m. the day of their scheduled release.

Unless granted permission by the state attorney general, however, law enforcement agencies are also prevented from entering into or renewing Section 287(g) agreements with federal authorities, which allow state local agencies to enforce federal civil immigration laws.

Officers also cannot stop, question, arrest, search, or detain a person simply because they believe that person may be undocumented.

Officers are also barred from asking people about their immigration status unless doing so is necessary while investigating a serious crime, a change from a 2007 directive passed by then-Attorney General Anne Milgram.

That directive said that local law enforcement officials must ask about a person's immigration status if that person was arrested for "serious" crimes, and directed them to notify federal immigration officials about the person's status.

The new directive says ICE agents will also be prevented from questioning anyone who has been arrested unless that individual has signed a written document informing him or her that he or she has a right to a lawyer, nor will agents be allowed to use things like law enforcement equipment or office space unless they are also "readily available" to the public.

Immigrants' rights groups immediately hailed the attorney general's announcement as a positive development for local communities.

In a statement, Alexander Shalom, the supervising attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union's New Jersey Branch, said, "Because of this directive, everyone in our state can feel more secure in their rights and safer in their communities."

Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The directive goes into effect March 15, 2019.

Police are searching for a woman who was caught on video torching items inside a Philadelphia store.

The unidentified woman was inside a business on the 2100 block of West 65th Avenue back on Nov. 20 shortly after 10:30 a.m. when she became frustrated with the service, according to investigators.

The woman then took out a can of hairspray from her pocketbook and ignited it with a lighter, police said. Surveillance video shows her burning items on the front counter of the store.

The suspect is described as a black female in her mid-30s to early-40s, standing 5-foot-5 with short, red hair and a thin to medium build. She was last seen wearing flower-designed gray pants with a white stripe down the outer leg, a black jacket, black boots and round earrings.

If you have any information on her whereabouts, please call the Arson Task Force at 215-446-7874. To submit a tip, call 215-686-TIPS (8477) or text a tip to PPD TIP or 773847.

A former General Motors plant has been closed in Delaware for years, but now new signs of life are making neighbors hopeful.

Former First Lady Michelle Obama is in the City of Brotherly Love on Thursday bringing her book tour to the city. Before the book event, though, Obama gave some young girls the surprise of a lifetime.

Love beer, coffee and Wawa? Then Christmas is coming early for you. Wawa and 2SP Brewing Company, a brewery based in Aston, Pennsylvania, announced the release of their limited edition Winter Reserve Coffee Stout.

The oatmeal stout beer is steeped with Wawa’s new limited edition Winter Blend coffee and features flavors of sweet clove, dark chocolate and graham crackers.

So where can you get it? A Firkin Tapping event will take place on Dec. 6 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Wawa on 721 Naamans Creek Rd. in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. The location is the only Wawa in Pennsylvania to sell beer.

During the event, the first 50 cases of the beer will be available for purchase on a first come, first serve basis. It will be limited to two four packs per person. The event will also feature complimentary beer tastings.

If you miss the event, 1,000 cases of the beer will officially be available for purchase during the week of Dec. 10 through Origlio beverage at neighborhood bars, bottle shops and distributors in Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties in Pennsylvania.

“At Wawa, supporting our local neighbors is at the heart of everything we do, which makes our special partnership with 2SP so crucial at our Chadds Ford store, our only Pennsylvania store to sell beer,” Mike Sherlock, Chief Product Marketing Officer for Wawa, Inc., wrote in a press release.

“We are both happy to call Delaware County our hometown and we’re excited to team up to create a Winter Reserve Coffee Stout using our new limited-edition Wawa Reserve Winter Blend allowing us to add even more value to our customer experience just in time for the holidays.”

President Donald Trump is responding after his former lawyer Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to lying about statements Cohen made to Congress about a Russia development plan.

Former First Lady Michelle Obama's book tour came to Philadelphia Thursday night. We get an inside look at the big event at the Wells Fargo Center.