More than 5,000 young people in Philadelphia live in foster care, and there is a constant need for loving foster families for these children.

Meanwhile, being a foster family is easier than you might think – as well as one of the most rewarding ways that you can make a difference in a young person’s life.

On March 18, NBC10 and Telemundo62 are hosting an informational phone bank so that Philadelphia families who are interested in learning more about providing foster care can have all their questions answered.

Starting at 4 p.m. we will reveal the phone number to get in touch with recruiting experts who will be in our studio to talk with anyone who wants more information. 

We will be able to provide information in English and Spanish; there’s a deep need for Spanish-speaking families involved in the foster care system.

Our phone bank is sponsored by our partners at the Philadelphia Department of Human Services and its provider agencies.

If you want further information about fostering, please contact the Philadelphia Department of Human Services by emailing Dhs.fosteringphilly@phila.gov or calling 215-683-5709.

Hawk Hill needs a new men’s basketball coach. 

After 24 years, including a magical undefeated regular season and Elite 8 run, Phil Martelli is out as coach of the Hawks.

“Athletics and @SJUHawks_MBB thank @PhilMartelliSJU for his long service, dedication and stewardship,” the university said in a series of tweets Tuesday morning.

• Temple Men’s Basketball Team Starts the Madness

(2/4) @SaintJosephs, Athletics and @SJUHawks_MBB thank @PhilMartelliSJU for his long service, dedication and stewardship. #THWND

— Saint Joseph's (@saintjosephs) March 19, 2019

Martelli, 64, has coached St. Joe’s since 1995. He best season came in 2003-04 when he was named AP Coach of the Year after leading Jameer Nelson and the Hawks to an undefeated regular season. The Hawks that season lost in the Atlantic 10 Tournament then lost again in the Elite 8 of the NCAA Tournament that season.

“Martelli stands out among his peers in college basketball on the court, in the community and as an ambassador for SJU,” the university tweeted.

Martelli's Hawks struggled to a 14-19 record this season. The last Hawks team with a winning record was in the 2015-2016 season.

Details of Martelli's departure weren't immediately available but a tweet makes it seem the recent subpar seasons played a role.

"As we move forward, we intend to build upon basketball’s storied history and important strategic value at SJU, instill a culture of excellence, and consistently compete for championships," the university tweeted.

(4/4) As we move forward, we intend to build upon basketball’s storied history and important strategic value at SJU, instill a culture of excellence, and consistently compete for championships. pic.twitter.com/p1Bj0Dc9YG

— Saint Joseph's (@saintjosephs) March 19, 2019

St. Joe’s said the search for a new coach is immediately getting underway.

When reached by NBC Sports Philadelphia Tuesday, Martelli declined comment.

Warning: The details of this story are extremely graphic and could be disturbing to some readers.

The jury in Jacob Sullivan's murder sentencing heard Sullivan's own words confessing to raping and killing 14-year-old Grace Packer. The teen's adoptive mother Sara Packer is expected to testify during the sentencing phase.

The Four Seasons Hotel is opening a new location above the Comcast Technology Center in Center City Philadelphia. The hotel is hosting a job fair on March 25 and 26 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.

Despite internal bickering, New Jersey is on the verge of becoming the 11th state to legalize adult-use recreational cannabis.

Lawmakers in the state Senate and General Assembly could vote as early as next week. If the bill gets enough votes in both chambers, it will then go to Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy for signing, making New Jersey the first state to pass a recreational marijuana bill through the legislative branch rather than at the polls.

With legalization all but certain, here’s what you need to know about New Jersey’s plan.

Who can use cannabis?

Anyone over the age of 21.

How much will it be taxed?

There will be a $42 per ounce tax on wholesalers. Local municipalities can also impose additional taxes on cannabis businesses, including a 4 percent tax on dispensaries, 2 percent tax on growers and processors and 1 percent tax on wholesalers. 

Tax revenue will go towards a Cannabis Regulatory fund to develop, regulate and enforce cannabis industry standards and help balance the state’s general fund.

I have a marijuana charge on my criminal record. Will it be expunged?

Yes. the bill would dismiss all pending cannabis charges and convictions for possessing up to five pounds. Also, employers, licensing boards and other institutions would be banned from considering past convictions.

An “expedited expungement” process will be put in place to accelerate applications to the Superior Court.

Can I be turned away from a job because I use cannabis legally?

No. Employers cannot use your cannabis habits against you during the hiring process. The legislation does not say anything, however, about whether someone can be fired for using on the job.

I want to start a cannabis business but I don’t have the capital. Will my application still be considered?

Yes. New Jersey will issue conditional licenses to allow extra time for people and start-ups to accrue cash and insurance. To receive one of these licenses, you must be a resident of New Jersey for at least two consecutive years and have an adjusted gross income of no more than $200,000 for one person and $400,000 for two people.

Can I drive and smoke pot once it’s legal in New Jersey?

No, impaired driving remains illegal. Plus, the bill sets up a task force to study the influence of cannabis on the ability to drive.

How much control will local municipalities?

Cities and jurisdictions will maintain the option to prohibit the operation of a cannabis business and can put caps on licenses within their borders.

Who will oversee the program?

A commission comprising five full-time members. Three of the members will be appointed by the governor, one by the senate president and one by the assembly speaker. The chair of the commission will be selected by the governor and the vice chairs will be chosen by state legislators.

The commissioners will determine the number of licenses, provide a biannual report to the state and conduct a study three years into the program to determine continued rate of taxation and the future of the commission itself.

In its medical marijuana bill, Pennsylvania encouraged diversity of race and gender among cannabis business applicants. Will New Jersey do the same?

Yes. Thirty percent of adult-use and 30 percent of medical-use licenses should go towards women, veterans and ethnic minorities, according to the bill.

Scammers are targeting people by pretending to be a longtime friend of the person they are leaving a voicemail for and directing them to a website that requests personal information. NBC10 Responds' Harry Hairston explains how you can avoid bceoming a victim of fraud.

For the first time, sports betting is legal in New Jersey during March Madness. We find out how Atlantic City is taking advantage with the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament set to begin.

More than 2,500 children in Philadelphia are living in houses with lead and parents are demanding answers from the Philadelphia Housing Authority. The NBC10 Investigators find out how the city is working to stop lead poisoning.

Philadelphia health officials believe 13 additional people have contracted the mumps at Temple University sending the new tally from the outbreak to a new high.

The total number of cases now stands at 67, James Garrow, spokesman for the Philadelphia Department of Health, said Tuesday. A day before there were 54 cases.

Health officials confirmed 12 cases through laboratory testing while 55 others were listed as probable. The university has more than 40,000 students enrolled and 4,500 staff members, according to school data.

Probable diagnoses are used in cases where a person in the community experiencing the outbreak shows mumps-like symptoms. Garrow said since the viral infection can't be cured, there's no reason to spend money to carry out confirmatory testing.

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 for at least five days and seek medical care.

In the courtroom, the jury in Jacob Sullivan's murder sentencing listened to recordings of him confessing to raping and killing 14-year-old Grace Packer. Warning: The details of this story are extremely graphic and could be disturbing to some viewers.

Hundreds of kilos of cocaine were found in a shipping container at the Port of Philadelphia during a massive drug bust Tuesday morning. 

The shipment was on board the MSC Desiree, a container ship that was traveling from Colombia to Europe, according to law enforcement sources.

The container was brought to the Port of Philadelphia on North Delaware Avenue. Multiple agencies, including Philadelphia Police, Pennsylvania State Police, Delaware State Police, Homeland Security, the DEA, the U.S. Coast Guard and Customs and Border Protection, inspected it around 10:30 a.m. Tuesday and found 450 kilograms of cocaine with a street value of $18 million, sources said.

The case was turned over to Homeland Security Investigations.

This story is developing. Check back for updates.

A woman struck another woman in the head with a tire iron inside an Upper Darby Wawa following a fight over a parking spot, according to police.

Police say Aretha Robinson, 51, began arguing with another woman over a parking space outside the Wawa on 460 South 69th Street back on March 10 shortly before 7 p.m. The woman told police she walked away and entered the store while Robinson followed her inside and threatened her.

Robinson then left the store and returned a few moments later with a tire iron in her hand, police said. She then allegedly followed the woman while her back was turned and struck her in the side of the head with the tire iron.

Police arrived at the store and found Robinson standing inside while holding the tire iron, investigators said. She was taken into custody and the woman identified her as the person who attacked her, according to police.

The victim suffered a concussion and had a large contusion on the right side of her head.

“She could’ve killed the lady that she hit with the tire iron,” Upper Darby Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood said. “I mean you hit somebody in the head with a tire iron, it’s gonna have an impact.”

Robinson is charged with aggravated assault. She posted bail on March 15 and is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on March 22.

Former U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke is making an early impression in Pennsylvania, a late-voting state that may yet play a role in the crowded 2020 Democratic presidential primary contest.

An animated O'Rourke spoke Tuesday for 50 minutes to a crowd of hundreds in a Penn State auditorium, promising a grassroots campaign and, speaking to reporters later, suggesting that he'd support doing away with the Electoral College.

The Texan's appearance was easily the splashiest of any Democratic presidential hopeful who has ventured into Pennsylvania this year. He attracted a bank of TV cameras and waded patiently through a crowd of hundreds of fans in Penn State's student union who shouted questions or sought autographs, selfies and handshakes.

The Keystone State appears ready to be part of a rising millennial movement, if an analysis of the 2018 midterm elections released in February is any indication.

Three in 10 of Pennsylvania's youth voters (18-to-29 years old) cast a ballot last November, according to a Tufts University Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement study. That was an increase from 13 percent turnout in the 2014 midterm elections, making it one of the largest upticks among young voters in the country.

Many who came to see him said they were drawn by his youth — he is 46 —and his rising star reputation after he narrowly lost his bid for U.S. Senate in Texas in November's election. They didn't leave disappointed, struck by his willingness to drive his own car, mingle with crowds and answer questions, including one criticizing him for spouting platitudes.

Later, on his way out, he told reporters that "there's a lot of wisdom" in scrapping the Electoral College system, saying it puts some states out of play in presidential elections. O'Rourke suggested that changing the Constitution to adopt a popular vote for president would ensure that every voter counts.

The idea has traction among Democrats, since Hillary Clinton netted nearly 3 million more votes in 2016 than Republican Donald Trump, yet lost the Electoral College and therefore the White House.

Pennsylvania was one of the states that swung narrowly to Trump, helping deliver his victory.

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts also reiterated her support for eliminating the Electoral College while on her Democratic presidential campaign swing through Selma, Alabama.

O'Rourke made his stop in Pennsylvania on a seven-day, six-state tour before he climbed into a minivan and, taking the wheel, headed to the early voting state of New Hampshire.

Onstage in Pennsylvania, he fended off a question suggesting his voting record in Congress didn't reflect his "big ideas," echoing criticism from some that he was too moderate in Congress.

He disagreed with another questioner that he speaks in platitudes, insisting he is specific about where he stands, whether advocating for universal pre-kindergarten, legalizing marijuana, arresting pharmaceutical executives instead of people with addiction, or backing universal health care legislation in Congress named "Medicare for America."

"In every single policy area, I'm trying to describe not just the goal and the aspiration, but the path that we will take to get there,'' O'Rourke responded onstage. "I understand if we disagree or come to different conclusions. That's the genius of our democracy."

That democracy, he said at another point while transitioning from the urgent need to fight climate change to the influence of corporate campaign contributions, "is as broken as it's been in our lifetimes."

"It is captured, it is corrupted, it is being attacked from without, it is being attacked from within," he said.

He spoke at length about humankind having just 12 more years to combat climate change and supporting the Green New Deal, a sweeping environmental plan backed by liberal Democrats. If the planet warms just another degree Celsius, he said, "we are screwed."

"That is the term the scientists use," he said.

Loved ones are mourning a 5-year-old girl who died after falling out of an apartment building in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

The girl fell out of a window on the fourth floor of the Livingston Apartments on the 1400 block of West Hamilton Street around 7 p.m. Tuesday. The girl was taken to St. Luke’s Hospital and then transferred to Lehigh Valley Cedar Crest where she died from her injuries.

Police believe the girl’s death was accidental but are still investigating.

An investigation is underway after a Penn Police officer used a taser on a man in front of a Drexel University library following a traffic stop.

The unidentified man, who is in his 60s, was pulled over Monday around noon near 33rd and Market streets.

A woman recorded as an officer used a taser on the man while he was getting out of his vehicle. Another video shows the man lying face down on the ground and repeatedly asking the officer, "What did I do to you?"

The man was eventually arrested and charged with driving under the influence. 

“The guy got out of the car and asked, ‘What did I do?’ He wasn’t aggressive with the officer or nothing,” the woman who recorded the incident told NBC10.

Penn Police say they are investigating. 

“As in any case in which our officers use physical contact with a person during an arrest, we take this case seriously,” a spokesperson wrote. “We are reviewing all video recordings and other evidence from the arrest to ensure that our officer followed our policies and procedures.”

Penn Police did not confirm whether or not the officer in the video is still on the job.

Philadelphia police are asking for the public's help in identifying two suspects who vandalized dozens of cars in Southwest Philadelphia.

Police say 47 vehicles were found with their tires slashed Tuesday morning. The cars were parked along Media Street between 51st and 61st streets. 

The suspects were caught on surveillance video walking down the 5900 block of Media Street around 1 a.m. Tuesday.

Officials are asking anyone with information about the suspects to contact the Southwest Detective Division of the Philadelphia Police Department at 215-686-3183 or 215-686-3184.

Tips can also be submitted on the police department's website. Any tips provided to authorities will remain confidential.

A fourth child has died from flu complications in New Jersey, health officials say. 

The toddler from northern New Jersey died in a hospital in early March, Health Commissioner Shereef Elnahal said in a statement Tuesday. 

The toddler, whose age wasn't released, had "several underlying medical conditions," health officials said.

“I am deeply saddened for the family of this young child,” Elnahal said in a statement. “We are still seeing high flu activity across the state. It’s not too late to get a flu shot to protect yourself and others who may not be able to get vaccinated for medical reasons.”

Health officials recommend that people take the necessary precautions during the influenza season, including washing or disinfecting your hands frequently; covering your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing; and staying home and calling your health care provider if you are sick — particularly if you have a fever.

A gunman killed an 18-year old man and 26- year old man at E and Ontario streets in Philadelphia’s Kensington neighborhood late Tuesday night. Their deaths add to Philly's growing number of homicides.

Warning: The details of this story are extremely graphic and could be disturbing to some readers. 

After a chilling confession and vivid description of what happened when Grace Packer was murdered, jurors will be back in court Wednesday as the focus could turn from admitted killer Jacob Sullivan to Grace's mother Sara Packer.

No winners emerged Saturday night after numbers for the Powerball jackpot were drawn, pushing the jackpot for Wednesday's drawing over the half-billion mark.

The $550 million prize is the eighth largest Powerball jackpot in the game's history. 

The winner could choose to receive the $550 million prize in annuity payments over 29 years or take the lump sum of $335 million before taxes. 

The Powerball jackpot was last hit in New York in the Dec. 26 drawing. Since then, there have been 23 drawings in a row without a jackpot winner.

Powerball is played in 44 states plus Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, all of which collectively oversee the game. Drawings are held twice a week. Five white balls are drawn from a drum containing 69 balls and one red ball is selected from a drum with 26 balls. Players can choose their numbers or let a computer make a random choice.

The odds of winning are one in 292.2 million.

The winning numbers Saturday night were: 42, 39, 18, 2 and 37. The Powerball number was 12 and the multiplier was 3.