Aaron Robinson is a foster parent in Philadelphia. He accepts all children, especially children who are overlooked because of their sexual orientation. His goal is to make sure his foster children become positive members of society.
Robinson Fredenthal's 40-foot long stainless steel sculpture "White Water" slowly made the trek from Philadelphia's Old City to the Woodmere Art Museum in Chestnut Hill early Monday morning.
A Philadelphia family mourns the death of their loved one after he was gunned down at his Logan neighborhood home Sunday night. Eric Perry's family says he was a hard-working college graduate, who never got in any trouble, and had no known enemies.
A Ventnor City employee was arrested after he allegedly shared child pornography through Instagram.
Mark McGurk, Jr., 25, of Ventnor City, was arrested Thursday and charged with possession and distribution of child pornography.
The investigation began in January when police received a tip reporting suspected child abuse and exploitation images associated with an Instagram account, according to court documents obtained by NBC10. Investigators determined the images were of child porn and they identified the person behind the account as McGurk.
Officials say McGurk shared around 1,000 images of children engaged in sex acts.
“It’s very disturbing as the mayor of the city as well as a mother and a parent,” Ventnor City Mayor Beth Holtzman said.
McGurk was a laborer with Ventnor’s public works department and has worked for the city since 2013. Holtzman told NBC10 he was immediately suspended without pay when they learned of the charges.
“I have grandchildren myself and it’s a little scary,” she said.
Holtzman said there’s no indication that McGurk used any city-owned equipment while sharing the child porn. He’s scheduled to appear in court for a detention hearing on Wednesday.
The firearms are assembled through parts bought, then received by mail, through separate purchases online.
Their untraceability gives these firearms their moniker: "ghost guns."
And they are illegal in New Jersey under a law passed last fall.
The first arrests for buying and possessing ghost guns in the Garden State were announced Monday by the state Attorney General.
The guns at the center of the investigation called Operation Stone Wall, which resulted in charges against 14 people in and around Lindenwold and Camden, were not small.
They allegedly are designed after semi-automatic rifles called AR-15s, notorious firearms used in some of the country's recent mass killings.
Six AR-15 ghost guns were confiscated as part of Operation Stone Wall, which began as a cocaine investigation but evolved to involve gun trafficking, according to the Attorney General's office.
"This case starkly illustrates why ghost guns are so dangerous, because drug dealers and other criminals can easily acquire them and traffic them into our communities, where they will be virtually untraceable if used in a crime,” Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said in a statement. "Assault rifles like these pose an especially deadly threat to law enforcement, innocent bystanders, and others when placed in the wrong hands, and suffice it to say no one conducted any background checks here."
Two Lindenwold men, Paul Corum and Marc Freeman, allegedly conspired with two other men, Christopher Stoner of Lindenwold and Nicholas Cilien of Mount Ephraim, to acquire the ghost guns.
Freeman allegedly assembled the guns he and Corum bought online. Each firearm was then sold for $1,100 to $1,300.
Corum allegedly told Cilien that the new criminal law had been passed barring ghost guns in New Jersey, and that the guns needed to be shipped to Pennsylvania.
"(We) just gotta go out of state now. You know what I’m saying? And then we gotta go across the border to go get it ... but it’s not a problem. ... Put it together and then, you know what I’m saying, give you a call and let you know," Corum allegedly told Cilien Feb. 8, three days before the sale of two AR-15 ghost guns, according to the Attorney General's office.
Corum was ordered detained until trial at a detention hearing held March 15. Stoner, Cilien and Freeman were being held in jail pending detention hearings.
Attorneys for Corum and Freeman were not immediately known. A message left for Stoner's attorney was not returned early Monday afternoon. Cilien's attorney declined to comment.
Vandals targeted Philadelphia Parking Authority signs and kiosks. NBC10 has spent the day on South Street near the vandalism and are looking into this further investigation.
A mumps outbreak continues to grow at Temple University as public health officials now suspect 54 people have come down with the viral infection.
Testing confirmed that 12 people contracted the disease and 42 others are considered probable cases, a spokesman for the Philadelphia Department of Health said Monday.
The tally of cases jumped significantly in the past week. A count last Wednesday sat at 28.
A rumor was also spreading among students that the North Philadelphia university was considering a temporary closure because of the outbreak. Temple spokesman Christopher Vito shot down the suggestion saying in an email Monday evening that "no conversations regarding university closure have taken place."
Mumps can be easily spread among people in close quarters through kissing, the sharing of cups and fluids or competing in sports, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle aches, tiredness, and loss of appetite. Swelling in a person's salivary glands causes puffy cheeks, a signature feature of the disease.
The outbreak prompted Temple University to change its immunization policy for incoming students by requiring them to have received two doses of the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine before entering school. The vaccine decreases your risk of contracting the virus by about 88 percent, the CDC said.
The vaccine's effectiveness can wane over time, however, meaning a booster shot may be necessary to keep up the body's defenses against the virus. City health officials previously said that may be why the number of cases is blooming.
Health officials recommend students who may be infected limit contact with others.
"Gracie was a nightmare. It's not like we could return her. We needed her for the money." That was part of the chilling confession that hospital staff said in court Monday that they heard from Jacob Sullivan, Grace Packer's adoptive father. Sullivan has pleaded guilty in Grace's rape and murder, and he now faces sentencing. Sullivan's defense attorneys say the 14-year-old girl's adoptive mother, Sara Packer, actually orchestrated the slaying.
They change lives, even if they're in it for a short time. NBC10's Tracy Davidson shows us how you can be a respite foster parent and provide help for those who need it the most.
This week NBC10 is shining a light on local foster families. NBC10's own Vai Sikahema introduces us to one local mother who explains her experiences of how rewarding it is to help foster children.
It’s hard to miss the colorful bottles, tiles and glass of the Magic Gardens when you’re walking down South Street.
Isaiah Zagar, the creator of the iconic mosaic art environment, turned 80 on Monday -- and the Gardens made sure to celebrate the big milestone.
Dozens of friends and art enthusiasts showed up at the birthday bash to celebrate and enjoy cake with Zagar including Golden Sunrise NYA Captain Michael Carwile, who was dressed in his spectacular mosaicked Mummer’s costume.
The Magic Gardens also raffled off an original mosaic created by Zagar to one attendee.
The Magic Gardens of South Street have been a beloved spot for Philadelphians since the 90s when Zagar created his installation.
He has been creating art installations in Philadelphia for more than 50 years and transformed 200 public walls throughout the city.
His unique mosaic creations often included different objects like tires, glass bottles, bikes and colored glass.
His mosaics helped the art community thrive in South Street and his supporters continue to regard him as a legend.
William Perry became overwhelmed with emotion as he spoke about his son Eric, who was gunned down just feet away from his home in Philadelphia’s Logan neighborhood.
“He truly didn’t deserve this,” Perry said while fighting back tears. “He truly didn’t. He was not that kind of kid.”
Ambition and hardworking was the kind of kid Eric Perry was. He recently graduated from Post University in Connecticut with a degree in sports management after earning an academic scholarship.
“We never had a problem with him at all,” his father told NBC10. “All through school, everything. Even through high school, never.”
Eric, 22, had left a bar early Monday morning and was ready to meet up with his girlfriend who was waiting at his house. As he arrived in the driveway of his home on the 5300 block of North 6th Street around 2 a.m., a gunman opened fire. Perry was struck multiple times.
“I just looked out the window and I seen him laying on the ground and he wasn’t moving,” Tim Montgomery, a neighbor, told NBC10. “And they were trying to resuscitate him.”
Neighbors found Eric suffering from gunshot wounds to his back in the driveway. They tried saving him but he later died from his injuries.
“I appreciate them for doing what they did and tried to do,” William Perry said. “You can’t ask for more. They did all they could do.”
The young man’s killer remains on the loose and police have not released a description.
William Perry believes the gunman targeted his son but doesn’t think robbery was a motive. Eric’s new car, wallet and cellphone were not taken during the shooting.
Police continue to investigate. Meanwhile, all Eric’s family can do is hold onto the memories and hope for justice.
“I can’t believe I won’t see my son no more,” he said.
If you have any information on the shooting, please call Philadelphia Police.
A store in Philadelphia's Roxborough section sold a $1 million Powerball ticket. Now local customers are buying tickets to see if they can hit the next big jackpot.
Roosevelt Boulevard remains one of the most dangerous roads in Philadelphia. A Philadelphia councilwoman introduced a bill that would authorize speed cameras along a portion of the Boulevard. But are they necessary? Local drivers weigh in.
Temple University’s men’s basketball team is ready to take on Belmont in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament Tuesday night. This is head coach Fran Dunphy's final season coaching the Owls.
Recently declared Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke is headed to Penn State to continue his tour across the country to meet with voters. He will meet and greet with the students on the college campus and members of the central Pennsylvania community.
Two barns on the property of a farm in Salem County went up in flames late Monday night. Animals were killed in the fire, but no people were hurt.
A warning for drivers who go above the speed limit on Philadelphia’s busy Roosevelt Boulevard, you could soon be nabbed by technology.
Philadelphia Councilwoman Cherelle Parker, D-9th District, introduced a bill last week that would authorize the installation of speed cameras along a stretch of Route 1 in Northeast Philadelphia where 8 percent of all Philadelphia crashes involving death or serious injury occurred.
The cams, which would automatically take photos of speeding vehicles, would be placed at seven to 11 locations along the nearly 12-mile stretch of road from 9th Street to the Bucks County line, according to Parker’s office.
Fines would start at $100 for any driver going 11 mph over the 45 mph posted speed limit. The fine increases to $125 for 21 to 30 mph over the limit and $150 for 31 mph or more over the limit.
The hope is that the camera-enforced ticketing will make the Boulevard safer as part of the city’s Vision Zero plan to reduced traffic deaths by 2030. The boulevard is one of the “most dangerous” roads, Parker’s office said while referencing PennDOT stats of 139 people killed or seriously injured in nearly 2,700 crashes from 2013 to 2017.
“The tragic stories of people being killed or seriously injured on Roosevelt Boulevard have become all too common, but this doesn’t have to be the case,” Parker, whose district includes two miles of the Boulevard, said. “We know that speed is especially deadly for people walking and biking, and that if we can get motorists to change their behavior and slow down, we can reduce crashes and save lives.”
Once implemented, speeders would only get warnings during a 60-day grace period. Warnings signs would be installed in the vicinity of the cameras to warn drivers.
The council bill comes on the heels of Pennsylvania Senate Bill 172, which allows for speed cameras along the Boulevard. House Transportation Committee Chair Rep. John Taylor, R-Philadelphia, helped get the legislation passed in the State House last year.
Parker’s council bill, which is co-sponsored by Council President Darrell Clarke and members Maria Quinones-Sanchez and Cindy Bass, is to be considered in the coming weeks. It calls for installation of the cameras before the end of the year.
Warmer weather and daylight saving time mean that spring is right around the corner — and there are plenty of things to get excited about.
Wednesday, March 20, you can celebrate the beginning of spring with free treats at some of your local ice cream shops.
Rita’s Water Ice and Dairy Queen will be offering their annual freebies with the addition of some new promotions.
Here are some of the deals you can find on the first day of spring and after:
Rita’s is continuing its tradition offering free cups of regular water ice to customers on the first day of spring, regardless of the weather. This year, Rita’s is giving customers the chance to win free water ice for a year. To enter, post a picture on March 20 of your first day of spring at Rita’s with the hashtag #RitasFirstDayofSpringContest.
Find your local Rita’s here.
Dairy Queen is giving out small vanilla soft-serve cones for free Wednesday on their annual “Free Cone Day.” After March 20, DQ is offering small regular or dipped soft serve cone for $.50 through their app until March 31.
Find your closest Dairy Queen here.
Not exactly free, but to “Celebrate 31,” Baskin Robbins is holding a promotion where customers can get any size scoop of ice cream for $1.70 or two pre-packaged quarts of ice cream for $7.99 on Sunday, March 31.
You can find your local shop here.
It isn't free but it sure is springlike. Chick-fil-A is celebrating spring with its Frosted Key Lime treat (the chicken giant claims it's lighter than a milkshake) starting at $3.25 for a 16-ounce cup. It's only available for a limited time.
You can find your local restaurant here.
“Free Cone Day” at Ben & Jerry’s is Tuesday, April 9. Dessert lovers can grab a free cone of ice cream, including vegan ice cream, from noon to 8 p.m.
You can find your closest Ben & Jerry’s here.
