Firefighters were called to Independence Hall early Sunday morning after smoke was found inside the basement.
Officials say the smoke was spotted shortly after 5 a.m. at the historic building on the 500 block of Chestnut Street. Firefighters were able to place the small fire under control around 5:30 a.m.
No one was injured during the incident.
No damage was reported.
Officials have not yet revealed the cause of the fire.
This story is developing. Stay with NBC10.com for updates.
A US Airways flight traveling from Venice to Philadelphia was forced to make an emergency landing in Ireland on Saturday.
Officials say US Airways Flight 715 was traveling from Venice to Philly when nine flight attendants began to complain of nausea, running eyes and dizziness.
The flight switched directions and landed at Dublin Airport in Ireland around 3:15 p.m.
The diverted plane is an Airbus A330-200, according to officials. Officials also say 185 passengers were on board at the time though none of them were injured or sickened.
"US Airways flight 715 from Venice to Philadelphia diverted to Dublin because several of our flight attendants reported medical issues,” a US Airways spokesperson said in an official statement. “Medical professionals are evaluating our flight attendants and we are re-accommodating our customers on other flights to Philadelphia."
Officials have not yet revealed what caused the sickness among the flight attendants.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the incident.
Last week, another US Airways Flight that took off from Philly International and was heading to Orlando was forced to land after it hit turbulence. Six people were injured in the incident.
A man is fighting for his life after police say he was stabbed several times in the Port Richmond section of the city.
Investigators say the unidentified man was involved in a fight with at least one other person on Allegheny Avenue and Cedar Street around 2:30 a.m. on Sunday. During the fight, police say the man was stabbed multiple times. He was taken to Temple University Hospital where he is in critical condition.
Police are currently searching for three suspects who they say were involved. They have not yet released detailed descriptions of them however.
This story is developing. Stay with NBC10.com for more details.
Police are on the hunt for a suspect who they say fired shots at a car with two women and a baby inside during a road rage incident in Center City.
Police say a woman was driving with a female passenger and a baby on 4th and Lombard Streets around 7:30 p.m. on Saturday when another driver inside a Red Chevy Cobalt began to harass them.
The unidentified driver allegedly followed the women for six blocks until they arrived at Broad and Lombard Streets.
Police say the driver then pulled out a gun and fired two shots at the women, striking their car, before fleeing the scene.
No one was injured during the incident. Detectives are currently gathering surveillance video.
They have not yet released a description of the suspect.
Police are searching for a teenager who allegedly tried to rob an 11-year-old boy.
The 11-year-old boy told police he was walking home on the unit block of Auckland Drive in Newark, Delaware after playing a game of tag with friends.
As he was walking, the boy says he was approached by a teen boy who appeared to be pointing a handgun. The teen demanded that he give up his property, according to police.
The teen then allegedly forced the boy to the ground as he tried to rob him. Police say the boy managed to break free. As he fled on foot, police say the teen was able to catch up to him and tackle him to the ground a second time.
After a brief struggle, police say the teen fled once again without taking anything.
The 11-year-old boy was not seriously hurt during the incident.
The suspect is described as a dark skinned boy between the ages of 14 and 15 and standing between 5-foot-4 and 5-foot-6 with short black hair. He was last seen wearing a red and white shirt with blue jeans.
If you have any information on his whereabouts, please call New Castle County Police at (302) 395-8110.
Tears filled Kathy Yonkers’ eyes when she listened to her daughter Erin read the essay that she wrote for her.
“My mom is really brave because five years ago, my dad was diagnosed with cancer,” wrote Erin, a 4th grade student at Saint James Regional School in Ridley Park. “Unfortunately, he got a really rare cancer and died on February 19, 2014. During that rough time, my mom stayed brave for me.”
Those words touched Marc Voci, as well. The owner of the Marc Voci Salon in Folsom, Pa. and creator of Style Me Hired was reading through essays written by students at Saint James, explaining why their moms deserved a free Mother’s Day makeover. Ever since he began the competition three years ago, Voci has gone through numerous essays. Yet few have touched him as much as Erin’s.
“I really believe in my heart that God brought us together to shine the light that she needs this weekend,” Voci said. “I just said to myself this would be a wonderful experience for Kathy on Mother’s Day. We would shine some light on her life and her children’s life.”
Kathy, who works full time and is a mother of two, was shocked when Voci knocked on her door on Saturday, announcing that she had won a free makeover thanks to her daughter’s winning essay.
“I didn’t know she even entered anything,” Kathy said while laughing. “She usually can’t keep a secret from me.”
Kathy received a free makeover, lunch, Macy’s gift card, and flowers. Yet she was most grateful for her daughter’s words, which acknowledged her strength during a time of incredible hardship.
“My mom doesn’t need a makeover because she is beautiful just the way she is,” Erin wrote. “But she deserves one.”
Kathy held her daughter close after she finished reading her essay.
“She’s amazing,” Kathy said. “Just like her dad.”
One of the area’s busiest roads will get a much needed makeover starting this week.
On Monday, a $2.8 million project to repair and resurface nearly five miles of Route 1 (City Ave) in Philadelphia and Lower Merion Township will begin.
PennDOT officials say the project will be the first to make use of the state’s new transportation funding. Earlier this year, Governor Tom Corbett announced that more than $2.1 billion in highway and bridge projects would begin in 2014 through Act 89, the state’s new transportation funding law.
The project is financed with 100 percent state funds from Act 89, which PennDOT officials say has increased their construction budget by $600 million.
According to PennDOT spokesman Charles Metzger, the stretch of City Avenue wasn’t initially on the list for re-paving. That soon changed however after the brutal winter littered the road with potholes, causing headaches and plenty of flat tires for thousands of drivers.
“It’s horrific,” said Jameela Bynum of Overbrook. “Weaving in and out, trying not to have an accident or cause an accident and miss a pothole.”
Through the project, travel will be improved between Haverford Avenue and the bridge over the Schuylkill River on I-76.
Crews will repair the road base, remove the deteriorated riding surface, and repave the road with fresh asphalt. The project will also include new pavement markings and new curb ramps at four intersections.
Drivers should expect lane closures and slowdowns during construction, which will take place on weeknights from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. and weekdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Bynum says the construction delays and lane closures are prices she’s willing to pay for better roads.
“I think we’ll have to put up with a little discomfort to get a safe traveling road,” she said.
The resurfacing of City Avenue is expected to finish in August while all improvements are scheduled for completion in June of 2015.
There’s no better way to kick off Mother’s Day weekend than at a toss your cap ceremony next to your daughter. At least that’s the case for Raye Goldsborough.
Raye and her daughter Shiela Goldsborough were chosen by Peirce College, where they’re both enrolled, to partake in the annual toss your cap ceremony Friday at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. It’s a celebration of the city’s soon-to-be college graduates.
It was extra special for Raye and her daughter, who will walk across the graduation stage together on June 9 at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts. Raye is getting her bachelor’s in business administration and Shiela is getting her associate degree in paralegal studies.
“Being part of this together is something I will treasure the rest of my life,” Raye said. Read more about this story on PBJ.com.
For more breaking business news go to PBJ.com
Marc Segal still remembers how difficult it was to be both a gay person and a football fan less than half a century ago.
“Forty-five years ago, when I was 18-years-old and became a gay activist, if you went to a football game and they knew you were gay, you could’ve been killed,” Segal said. “And here I am being applauded by the crowd.”
Segal, a gay activist, journalist and publisher at Philadelphia Gay News, was chosen to perform the coin toss during Saturday night’s Arena Football game between the Philadelphia Soul and New Orleans VooDoo at the Wells Fargo Center.
“It was the first time an openly gay person did a coin toss on national television,” Segal said.
The event, sponsored by AMTRAK, was also the nation’s first pro-football LGBT-awareness game.
"AMTRAK, a proud sponsor of "Out with the Soul", understands that diversity not only begins with respect for our customer, but for a social responsibility that extends into the community,” said Kecia Babb-Jordan, director of Sales and Marketing for AMTRAK’s Northeast Corridor. “Amtrak's belief in corporate citizenship begins at the top and filters through our organization. When put in perspective, its communities define us as a company. That is one reason we came on board to support the SOUL's LGBTQ night.”
Free tickets were given to residents of the John C. Anderson LGBT-friendly Senior apartments and the Attic LGBT Youth Organization. Leaders of the LGBT community made several appearances, rainbow colors were painted on the arena, and there were even LGBT-themed touchdown celebrations.
“Every time the Soul made a touchdown, a guy came out with a huge rainbow flag and ran around the arena,” Segal said.
For Segal, one of the most memorable moments occurred during and after the singing of the National Anthem.
“The Gay Men’s Chorus did the Star Spangled Banner,” Segal said. “As the members were leaving, the Philly Soul players lined up to thank each and every one of them. To stand there on the field and watch a professional football team thanking members of the gay community was a little overwhelming.”
Segal believes the event was especially relevant in light of recent events in the football world.
“As you know, Michael Sam was drafted into the NFL,” Segal said. “It was an appropriate night to have a gay equality night at a football event. Gay people are everywhere, and that includes sports.”
The Philly Soul ended up winning the game by a final score of 79 to 60. But for Segal, who has dedicated his life to fighting for LGBT rights, the team achieved an even greater victory beyond the scoreboard.
“I just kept thinking when I started all this activity 45 years ago,” Segal said. “A gay person wouldn’t even stick their head up at a football game. And here I was on the field doing the coin toss. That was a proud moment.”
The first time it happened was a rare evening in those long, sleep-deprived months following childbirth, when I was actually feeling rather confident about my looks. I had given birth to my second child a few months earlier, and I was thrilled to be out and about for a bit.
Sure, I was still carrying 15 extra pounds, and sure, the umbilical hernia I had sustained during pregnancy had changed the shape of my belly forever, but I was wearing a pretty tunic, slim black pants, and even high heels!
I was attending some kind of art event, and I had just grabbed a drink when I ran into an acquaintance. We chatted for a moment before she dropped the bomb.
"I didn't know you were pregnant again," she said with a smile.
"I'm not," I managed to say, stunned, immediately attempting to suck in my hernia-torn gut.
She looked appropriately mortified. I made some lame small talk and then left the party, completely deflated.
A target for unwanted shame, sadness and anger
I'm not sure what exactly I felt as I went home — shame, perhaps, that I was not one of those moms who seem to bounce back from childbirth skinny as ever, with a flat stomach? Sadness, over the fact that I was looking different now? And anger. I was definitely angry that this woman had felt that she had the right to bring up a very personal topic.
At home I told my husband, who reassured me that I didn't look pregnant. I didn't believe him of course. I mean, what else was he going to say?
The moment stuck with me for several days, replaying in my mind. I looked at myself in the mirror every chance I got. I sucked in my belly. I wore black. I bought a hernia belt to push in my protruding belly button, which left me breathless and highly uncomfortable. I did lose weight and started going to the gym again, but I had to accept that my physique was forever altered by two pregnancies.
With that, I learned, I had become a target for unwanted comments. Many people have made the same blunder since that evening — and it saddens me to say that every last one of them was a woman.
How I have reacted has depended on my state of mind on any given day.
Shouldn't a woman know better?
One time, a publicist who had worked really hard to get me to report on an event, greeted me with a cheerful "Oh, you are having another baby!"
"Oh, no. It's just a hernia," I answered equally cheerfully. And I must say that her face, contorted in embarrassment, was priceless. And guess what: There is no comeback from this faux pas.
Other times were not so gleeful. Last spring I stood in line at a conference to grab a cup of coffee, and another attendee turned to me and said: "So, what's the story — is there a baby in there, or what?"
Again, I said, "No, just a hernia," but I felt so stung that I almost started to cry.
I couldn't help but wonder why she thought it would be appropriate to ask a complete stranger this question. I later found out that she was a physician. What could have been the intended outcome?
I memorized her name tag and later wrote her an email (which I never sent, of course) asking her to think through the following scenarios:
What if I was indeed pregnant but hadn't told anybody yet? Did she want to "out" me in the coffee line?
What if I had just suffered a miscarriage?
What if I was desperately trying to have children but couldn't?
What if I just had some extra belly fat?
In each case, the only thing the question could possibly achieve is to make the other person feel uncomfortable, violated, ashamed of her body.
Is that what we as women want to do to each other?
Before you ask, check your motives
When I was six years old, I was pretty sure that my piano teacher was pregnant. I remember really, really wanting to ask her, but I knew that one shouldn't pose such questions. It turns out she was pregnant, but we didn't talk about it until it was time for her to plan her maternity leave. I don't know who taught me that it's not okay to ask. Likely it was my mom, and I thank her for that, because not everyone learns this.
Recently, a co-worker stopped me in the hallway and said at the top of her lungs, pointing at my belly, "I know you are not supposed to ask, but what is going on there?"
I told her it was a hernia, then added a fierce "— and no. You are not supposed to ask." With that, I walked away.
To ask, or not to ask
So, is it okay to ask, ever? I'd say no, not really, especially if you don't know the other woman very well. Before you ask, question your motives. Why do you need to know? Does your curiosity — and frankly, your nosiness — trump the other woman's right to privacy, to not feel fat and unattractive?
If you must ask, wait until there can absolutely be no doubt that the woman is indeed pregnant! Most women who are pregnant will eventually tell you themselves, so you could also just wait for that.
It is surprising to me that the only people who have asked me this dreaded question were women, who should really know better. Let's not do this to each other. Please remember this simple guideline:
When it comes to women's bellies, the rule is "Don't ask. DON'T ASK."
This story is reported through a newsgathering partnership between NBC10.com and NewsWorks.org.
Philadelphia's Fourth of July celebration is bringing some familiar big-name celebrities to town.
And there will be some additions as well.
The seven-day Welcome America celebration begins June 28 with a new event, the Liberty Block Party, scheduled for inside and outside Liberty Place.
"There will be a diverse number of food options from many of Philadelphia's restaurants and favorite food trucks, a kids' craft corner, music from Philly's hottest DJs along with live music performances and special guest appearances," said Desiree Peterkin Bell, a spokeswoman for Mayor Michael Nutter.
The mayor is hoping this year's events will include new "Tonight Show" host Jimmy Fallon.
"We're trying to get Jimmy to do one week of shows in Philadelphia around the Fourth of July here in the city," Nutter said.
The Roots, the house band for Fallon's show, will play that role for the fourth annual 4th of July Jam concert and fireworks show on the Parkway.
Other headliners include Vicci Martinez, Nicki Minaj and Jennifer Hudson.This story is reported through a newsgathering partnership between NBC10.com and NewsWorks.org.
Picture man's best friend enjoying Memorial Day Weekend, the unofficial start of summer, on the beach with you. It just may happen at Wildwood beach.
Town officials will decide whether to allow canines on the beach on a specific stretch of oceanfront for dogs and owners. Many New Jersey beaches, like Wildwood, allow dogs on their beaches from October to mid-May but ban dogs during the summer season, according to the Inquirer.
"Wildwood is not a fly-to, it's a drive-to place. And people really want to be able to travel with the pets these days," Commissioner Peter Byron told the Inquirer. "We think this will be a huge boost for tourism because visitors will have the chance to do that if they come to Wildwood."
The Wildwood City Commission will vote Wednesday on whether to amend the current ordinance. Dogs would be able to bask at the Jersey Shore year round in a specific area to be determined.
If passed, Wildwood may bring new meaning to the "dog days of summer."
The stormy Saturday weather interrupted a picture-perfect moment for West Chester University business school graduates and their families. The wind knocked down a speaker as senior Gabrielle Saitto stood in line to get her diploma Saturday afternoon. Eventhough the Kennett Square native didn't want to walk, she decided to do so for her family.
Saitto's mother Betsy Ballard heard a voice from the podium say, "Sorry, due to weather graduation has been canceled and it's over."
After four years of college study at West Chester University, 200 business graduates were supposed to end it all with a graduation ceremony. It's a tradition for most college graduates -- with a cap and gown and family and friends looking on as one walks across the stage to receive a diploma.
Mary Missanelli felt a sense of panic watching her daughter Susan's graduation day cut short. The family returned to campus Sunday to take graduation photos.
"It was frustrating I didn't get to experience walking across the stage, cheering for my friends that I had been in classes with for years," Saitto said. "It felt like a lot of poor planning on the university's part to not to take into account the weather that had showed on the radar and the weather reports that it was coming."
Saitto and other graduates will receive their diplomas in the mail. NBC10 reached out to West Chester University for comment but did not receive an official response.
"They are kind dismissing two hundred kids and what was supposed to be their big day," said Ballard.
A group of New Jersey Boy Scouts visiting an upstate New York park rescued NBC News journalist Ann Curry after she broke her leg on a hike, making a splint and carrying the Emmy-winning broadcaster down a steep trail in a makeshift stretcher.
The Scouts, from Troop 368 in Berkeley Heights, were hiking on a rocky trail in Harriman State Park on April 4 when they came across Curry, who was sitting on the ground with one leg out and appeared to be in pain, according to Scouting magazine.
They didn’t initially recognize the former “Today” anchor, but asked if she needed help.
“She said, ‘No, not really. I think I broke my ankle,’” said scouter Rick Jurgens. “She told us to keep going, but the guys refused.”
The Scouts splinted Curry’s leg and tried to carry her down the steep incline. When they realized that wouldn’t work, they made a makeshift stretcher out of sticks and a tarp and tested it to make sure it could bear weight.
Then, according to Scouting, they picked up Curry, put her in the stretcher and carried her to the trail head, where her husband was waiting.
The boys didn’t realize who they had helped until after Curry left, when Jurgens told them that it was the famous journalist.
A couple of weeks later, Curry sent a letter to each of the Scouts thanking them, saying they went “above the call of duty.” In the letter, she said her leg was broken so severely that it would take 10 to 12 weeks to heal.
“I feel enormously lucky you came along at just the right moment, and were so willing to help a stranger in need,” Curry wrote.
On Friday, she thanked the troop again in a tweet.
“If you break a leg on a mountain, I hope Boy Scout Troop 368 finds you,” she said. “Boy am I glad they found me.”
If you break a leg on on a mountain, I hope Boy Scout Troop 368 finds you. Boy am I glad they found me. http://t.co/AzTWlFzNcz
— Ann Curry (@AnnCurry) May 9, 2014
