Hundreds attend the memorial service for Philadelphia co-owner Lewis Katz at Temple University today. Katz died tragically in a fiery plane crash Saturday night. The private jet was flying from Beford, Massachusetts to Atlantic City but never made it off the runway before it erupted in flames. All 7 passengers died. 

• Clinton, Cosby Remember Lewis Katz

Among the diginitaries who spoke at and attended the service were: President Bill Clinton, Bill Cosby, Shane Victorino, Ed Rendell and George Norcross. 

"He was a great man," said an emotional Governor Ed Rendell. "Lewis is a great man for things that never made the newspaper. The world will never be as much fun for us. He was incredible with his spontaneity."

• Philanthropist, Businessman Lewis Katz Dead at 72

The remembrances shared on social media included images from inside the memorial service and thoughts about how Katz impacted the Philadelphia region. 

A college student shot a man who allegedly broke into a row home shared by a group of undergrads in West Philadelphia Wednesday morning.

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The incident occurred on the 3700 block of Brandywine Avenue in the Mantua neighborhood around 7 a.m., according to Philadelphia Police.

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Investigators said the thief broke into the home while the residents -- it's not clear which universities they attend -- were home. One of the students pulled a gun and shot the robber, according to officials.

Police Capt. John Przepiorka said the suspect broke into the home through a rear bathroom window, causing a resident to wake up.

"He was taking item from the property and a resident from the property woke up startled," said Przepiorka. "A struggled started at that point, the resident screamed for help."

A second roommate then shot the suspect multiple times, said Przepiorka.

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Officers rushed the suspect to the Hospital of University of Pennsylvania where he remained in critical but stable condition.

Przepiorka said investigators were trying to find out if the suspect was armed.

He said it appeared the suspect was trying to take cash, laptops and an Xbox from the residents. Investigators found some of the items including one of the resident's wallets outside the home.

The third roommate living in the home slept through the shooting.

No charges were immediately filed.

Philadelphia's next fire commissioner is Derrick Sawyer.

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Mayor Michael Nutter announced the appointment during a press conference inside City Hall on Wednesday.

Currently the Deputy Commissioner of Operations for the Philadelphia Fire Department, Sawyer has been a city firefighter for 29 years. He has served in a number of roles within the department including as a Lieutenant in the Technical Support Unit and Battallion Chief in the Fire Prevention Division.

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Sawyer will be taking over for current Fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers, who is retiring after 40 years of service with the department.

The appointment will be confirmed on June 14.

Since the rise of Facebook, Twitter and other forms of social media, firing employees for inappropriate comments or photos online has become more common among companies. Yet one local man claims that not only is this wrong, but that he’s also willing to die in order to stop “social media firings” from continuing.

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Brian Zulberti, a Delaware native, Villanova law school graduate and self-described “fulltime advocate” has been staging a hunger strike outside the Supreme Court building in Washington, DC since Sunday. Sitting in a lawn chair with an umbrella over him to protect him from the sun, Zulberti said he was fighting for his right to post whatever he wants to on social media without the fear of getting fired for it. According to Zulberti, it’s a matter of personal freedom and privacy.

“In the lifetimes of our children there’s going to be no privacy,” Zulberti said. “Everyone's neighbor, everyone's boss, we'll know everything about them. I like to call this the transition between the Information Age and the Total Information Age. In the Total Information Age, under most laws and most states today, employers can, with some caveats, fire you for almost anything. In the Total Information Age, if these employers know everything, that means they can fire us for literally anything. That’s an Orwellian nightmare, self-imposed, 1984 George Orwell-style, and not a world I want to live in. It’s a world I will gladly die to prevent.”

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Zulberti told the Washington Post he was fired when he worked as a high school tennis coach for posting comments on a website about an opposing player. He also gained attention last year when he applied for jobs by sending a picture of himself in a sleeveless shirt flexing his muscles. He followed that up by posting a Facebook photo of himself shirtless while holding up a sign that read “Hire Me! No…as a lawyer, damn, not an escort…wait is it something I’m wearing?”

Yet while he found himself the subject of plenty of criticism and ridicule for his pictures, Zulberti says his experiences inspired him to fight for the cause of other people who have been fired for what they say or share online. He began posting nude pictures of himself on the Internet, launched a blog and YouTube channel and began going on a speaking tour across the country explaining his philosophy. The ongoing hunger strike is just the latest part of his campaign.

• Bear in Ocean County

So when will the hunger strike stop? According to Zulberti, he’ll end it once he gets coverage from a “major national television network.” And it’s not online coverage that he’s talking about. Instead he says he wants “90 seconds of prime time, weeknight coverage.”

Only time will tell if he’ll get the coverage he desires to spread his message or, as he claims he’s willing to do, die trying.

Authorities are advising Ocean County residents to take precautions after a black bear was spotted near homes Wednesday morning.

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The bear wandered into Manchester Township's Roosevelt City section, according to officials.

Police and the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife responded to the sighting and relocated the bear to the Pasadena Wildlife Management Area, which is a tract of preserved land located in Ocean and Burlington counties, according to reports.

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Even though the bear was moved without incident and authorities say attacks by black bears are extremely rare, officials still warned the community to take caution should they spot the animal again.

Families who live in areas black bears may frequent should have a safety plan in place so both children and adults are familiar with an escape route, according to the state's Division of Fish and Wildlife.

Other tips include:

-Never feed or approach a bear.

-Remain calm if you encounter a bear.

-Make a bear aware of your presence by speaking in an assertive voice, singing or clapping your hands.

-If a bear enters your home, provide it with an escape route by propping all doors open.

-Avoid direct eye contact, which may be perceived by a bear as a challenge.

-Never run from a bear. Instead slowly back away.

-To scare the bear off, make loud noises by yelling, banging pots and pans, or using an air horn. Make yourself appear as large as possible by waving your arms. If you are with someone else, stnad close together with your arms raised above your head.

-If the bear utters a series of huffs, makes popping sounds by snapping its jaws, or swats the ground, consider those warning signs that you are too close.

-If the bear does not leave, move to a secure area.

Anyone who spots a black bear or damage it caused should contact the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection at 1-877-WARN-DEP.

Both tears and laughter filled the Temple Performing Arts Center as nearly 1,400 mourners gathered for an emotional memorial service honoring philanthropist and Philadelphia Inquirer co-owner Lewis Katz.

Heartfelt memories from family members and recollections of a benevolent and determined leader from dignitaries, like former President Bill Clinton, shed light on the life of the successful businessman who overcame a childhood spent living in poverty. 

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“Once in awhile, altogether too rarely in life, someone lives and just exudes…such good will and energy and joy that they create this magnetic field that draws all the rest of us in,” Clinton said, describing 72-year-old Katz, who died after his private jet crashed during takeoff in Bedford, Mass. late Saturday night.

• IMAGES: Lewis Katz Memorial Service at Temple

Clinton was one of more than a dozen speakers who honored Katz during the approximately two-hour long ceremony at Temple University, the man’s alma mater, in North Philadelphia on Wednesday, revealing a portrait of a good-humored and ambitious man who led by example.  

His children, Melissa Silver and Drew Katz, reminisced about their father, often holding back tears while addressing the crowd.

• WATCH: Katz's Grandson Ethan Silver's Full Speech | Katz's Daughter on 'My Daddy'

“He would kiss me goodbye through the spokes of our staircase,” said Melissa, recalling her earliest memory of her dad. “I would climb step by step to kiss my daddy goodbye.”

Katz’s 14-year-old grandson, Ethan Silver – his hands buried in the pockets of his gray suit – also took to the stage to describe his “best friend” as he swayed back and forth behind the podium.

“A couple years ago, my Poppy walked into a pet shop and he walked out with a chocolate-covered dog bone,” said Ethan, recounting a light-hearted family moment. “Of course, he thought it was a delicious Italian bakery. My Poppy loved to cheat on his diet. He ate the whole bone.”

• WATCH: Rendell Remembers Katz | Ed Snider on His Best Friend

The well-spoken teen's heartfelt speech brought about the only standing ovation from the packed house, who heard more playful memories about Katz from speakers like former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell and Democratic U.S. Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey.

Wearing a kippuh in Katz’s honor, Booker described the businessman’s mischievous side.

“One of my favorite stories is how Lewis Katz on a receiving line for a president of the United States,” he continued, “made a bet with his friend that he could tell the president a dirty joke and get away with it.”

• Lewis Katz Remembered on Social Media

“He whispered it into Jimmy Carter’s ear, at which point, the Secret Service grabbed him and very unceremoniously kicked him out,” he said. “I don’t think there has ever been in the history of the United States, someone who was grabbed by the Secret Service and kicked out of an establishment who was laughing and smiling the entire way.”

An emotional Rendell, who spent many Sunday mornings with Katz at Bob’s Grill along the Ocean City, N.J. boardwalk, recalled Katz’s generosity.

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“After we finished, they’d give us a check and Lewis would put a $100 bill on the check,” he said. “But they never knew his name and they never knew whether the check came from him or me.”

“He was a champion for thousands who never knew his name, doing things that would never make the paper,” continued Rendell, who highlighted times that Katz gave money to a disabled person on the streets of New York, provided financial aid to a student unable to pay for her final year of college, and presented gifts to a cancer patient and his family, among others instances of kindess. “He was all our champions.”

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Rabbi Aaron Krupnick, who is the current leader of Congregation Beth El where Katz was a member since childhood, explained that following the Camden native’s example was the best way to honor his life.

“Temple took a chance on Lewis and that inspired him to take a chance on a lot more people,” said Rabbi Krupnick, who called a scholarship that led Katz to attend Temple as “dollar for dollar…probably the best investment Temple has ever made.”

• WATCH: Gov. Corbett Remembers Katz | Bill Clinton on Katz's Legacy

“Do what he did and promise yourself here and now that you’ll take a chance on someone else,” Rabbi Krupnick said. “Extend a helping hand to somebody who is forgotten and disillusioned and living without hope because those people are around us all the time and the problem is we don’t see them. But Lewis did.”

Booker reiterated the religious leader’s sentiments. “Something about the pain of his childhood, something about the death and struggle that he faced did not reduce him to be selfish and angry or full of spite,” he said. “It made him more magnanimous and loving.”

• Bill Cosby to Katz Mourners: Ask and Give

Clinton and comedian Bill Cosby, a fellow Temple University trustee and Katz's undergrad classmate, also implored the audience to take action in their own communities.

“If more of us acted on our better impulses and then kept our commitments on our better impulses,” Clinton said, “think what a different world we’d be living in today.”

• WATCH: Booker Recalls Katz's Mischievous Side

“You don’t wait for people to come along and do it,” added Cosby, who donned sweatpants and a T-shirt that harkened to Katz's "self made, Philly made, Temple made" success. “You do it.”

His own relatives vowed to live up to the example the family patriarch set.

“I will do everything I can to teach you everything he taught me,” Drew told his nephew Ethan.

The 14-year-old made his own pledge.

“For as long as I live, Poppy Lewis will be in my heart,” Ethan said. “I know life without him won’t be the same, but I promise his legacy will live forever.”

Contact Alison Burdo at 610.668.5635, alison.burdo@nbcuni.com or follow @NewsBurd on Twitter.

Police are on the hunt for robbers who they say stole tens of thousands of dollars in expensive merchandise from two local RadioShack stores.

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The suspects first struck the RadioShack on 24th and Oregon in South Philadelphia back on May 19, stealing $35,000 in phones, headphones and cash. They then targeted a RadioShack on Sackett Street in the Mayfair shopping center in Northeast Philly last Saturday, stealing $31,000 in electronics and cash.

During both robberies, investigators say the suspects initially came in acting like customers before pulling out their weapons. Police also say they destroyed the surveillance cameras inside both stores.

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“What really struck me was how calm everything was and I guess the only time I noticed something was wrong was when all the cop cars jetted down the parking lot and they came out with their guns drawn,” said Fabio Berdu of Northeast Philly.

The manager of one of the targeted stores told NBC10 she and another worker were forced to the floor in a backroom and even stepped on as the robbers spent 20 minutes grabbing expensive merchandise.

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While the surveillance videos inside the stores were destroyed, police were able to obtain surveillance footage of the suspects running outside into a getaway vehicle.

Police believe the suspects were driving in either a maroon Chevy Impala or Chevy Malibu during both robberies.

“I hope that they find these people,” said Monica Criniti of South Philadelphia. “I feel bad for the workers because it’s devastating to them, trying to make a living and being put on the ground like that. I would be devastated.”

If you have any information on the identities of the suspects, please call Philadelphia Police.

 

Drivers who often use bridges in our area could be in for a big break once again.

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Officials with the Delaware River Port Authority say they’re considering restoring the toll discount for drivers who frequently use the Ben Franklin, Walt Whitman, Betsy Ross and Commodore Barry bridges.

The DRPA ordered a traffic study needed to authorize toll reductions on the bridges. The reductions would amount to an $18 monthly discount for drivers who use a bridge at least 18 times a month.

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The Philadelphia Inquirer reports the studies will likely take several months and end with a vote from the DRPA board on whether or not a toll discount should be implemented.

The DRPA ended commuter discounts back in July of 2011.

The only discount currently available is a 50 percent one for senior citizens who use a NJ-issued E-ZPass and have proof of age.
 

Crews worked through the early hours Thursday to stop a large gas leak at a shopping center in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.

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Officials say an underground gas main near the Montgomery Commons Shopping Center on the 1200 block of Welsh Road in North Wales somehow broke late Wednesday night.

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The incident began when a local pizza shop owner reported problems with his lights. As crews arrived on the scene, an underground fire broke out.

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"Even though we secured, or shut off, the gas services and electric services to the interior of the building we couldn't control the gas leak because it was underground," said Montgomery County Township Fire Chief Bill Wegman. 

Crews quickly set up a perimeter around the shopping center as they prepared to fix the damaged main outside Redner's Warehouse Market near Freedom Drive.

The shopping center remained closed as PECO crews continued to work as the sun came up.

Officials have not yet determined the exact cause of the leak.

A jackknifed tractor-trailer closed one of Philadelphia’s busiest roads for nearly two hours this morning.

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The big rig and a car collided along the Roosevelt Boulevard (U.S. Route 1) northbound at Southampton Road near Benjamin Rush State Park shortly before 4:30 a.m.

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The tractor-trailer jackknifed across the northbound lanes causing police to close the roadway from Southampton Road to the Bucks County line.

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One person was taken to Aria Health - Torresdale Campus with undisclosed injuries.

Police on the scene said dozens of gallon of fuel spilled from the truck onto the roadway.

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Knights Road could be used as an alternate route but long delays should be expected.

Tow trucks got the damaged vehicles out of the way and the road reopened around 6:15 a.m.

Janice Murphy has been living in Center City for more than 13 years. Like many other residents and workers in the downtown neighborhood, the 76-year-old says time has not yet healed the emotional wounds that the June 2013 deadly building collapse at 22nd and Market Streets left behind.

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It was one year ago today, at 10:41 a.m., when the outer wall of a building under demolition at 2136 Market Street toppled over onto the Salvation Army Thrift Store beside it, leaving six people dead and injuring 13 others.

Murphy remembers feeling her building shake, hearing a loud boom and seeing plumes of dust billowing outside the windows of her apartment building just across the street from the site of the deadly collapse.

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The woman and her boyfriend came to the south corner of Market Street that morning and watched in horror as police and fire rescue units began digging through debris in search of survivors. She was still there watching 13 hours later, when a firefighter pulled Mary Plekan out of the building's remnants. Plekan had been trapped, her legs pinned beneath a beam and debris.

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"The last woman they got out, we saw them pull her out," Murphy said. "And we watched, me and my boyfriend. I said, 'Oh my god, they’re bringing a woman up from in the basement.' I couldn’t believe she was alive."

"She wound up losing both her legs. It was just so tragic. That’s the most tragic thing I’ve ever seen. I'll never forget it."

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Today, the collapse site is a mere plot of dirt surrounded by chainlink perimeter fencing. Tied to the fences are flowers, miniature American flags, and a 'Coming Soon' banner announcing the creation of a memorial park, which some residents say, may not necessarily be a good idea.

The idea for the park was fueled by an online petition and fundraising campaign created by Nancy Winkler. The city treasurer and bereaved mother of collapse victim Anne Bryan, garnered more than 6,200 petition signatures and raised more than $26,000 toward construction costs for the park.

The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS) is among members of the newly formed 22nd & Market Memorial Committee, an all-volunteer group dedicated to funding the creation of the park.

PHS chief of staff Nancy Goldenberg said the nonprofit organization is helping the committee with both conceptual design and fundraising efforts with hopes of having the park completed by spring 2015.

"We’re intending to create a contemplative park using high quality elements, blue stone paving, some large benches, as well as living elements such as flowers and trees" Goldenberg said.

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Thursday, Mayor Michael Nutter, victims' family members, and members of the 22nd & Market Memorial Committee hosted an event at the future park site to commemorate the one year anniversary of the collapse.

On Wednesday, passersby could be seen taking photos and looking on as city workers prepped the site for the event, which included a ceremonial tree planting.

While she's all for honoring the victims of the collapse, clothing store manager Jennifer Schwartz says she doesn't think a memorial park will be good for the neighborhood.

"I think it's an odd location for a park. Not to say the memorial isn’t a nice thing to do but maybe they could’ve done something on the sidewalk or made something else prominent to remember them by," Schwartz said. "That’s a big lot and I think they could've done something really great with it. I just don’t think it’s the greatest idea."

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Karim Sariahmed, who also works in Center City, said people he's talked to are just relieved that the site is not being used for a new development.

"I think there’s definitely a sentiment among people who were like, 'Oh, god, they're gonna put a 7/11 in there or something like that.' So I think people are glad that it won't be becoming just another site for development because it was pretty traumatic for a lot of people," he said.

West Philadelphia resident Cindy Miller says she walks dogs in Center City all of the time. In her opinion, the memorial park is a great idea.

"I think its an excellent idea," Miller said. "I support it. It's the least that the city can do."

Murphy, who frequently comes to the corner of 22nd and Ludlow Streets to feed birds outside of the Mutter Museum, said she hopes she'll be able to do the same at the new memorial park when it opens.

"I think it's a good idea, to remember those people,"  she said. "If they allow it, yeah, I'll probably go there, feed my birds and just think."

One of Philly’s greatest horses -- in classic city sports fashion -- came up short 10 years ago Thursday.

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It was June 5, 2004 when Smarty Jones, the Chestnut colt born in Chester County and owned by area car dealership owners Roy and Patty Chapman, took the starting gate at the Belmont Stakes with a chance to make sports history by becoming the first horse to win racing’s Triple Crown in decades.

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A record crowd of more than 120,000 racing fans packed into Belmont Park in hopes of seeing history.

They got their wish for most of the 1-1/2 mile course as fans hooted and cheered watching on television as undefeated Smarty Jones -- the winner of the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes -- ran towards the homestretch with a length-and-a-half lead.

• A Statue to Barbaro

But, instead, they experienced a letdown that Philadelphia sports fans have become all too accustomed to as Smarty Jones faded down the home stretch of the longest race in the Triple Crown – being caught by 36:1 long shot Birdstone with only a handful of gallops left to go.

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The letdown sent a deflating feeling throughout the Delaware Valley. It also made the area horse racing crazy as later Philly horses like Afleet Alex and Barbaro also came up short as they ran for the Triple Crown.

Ten years after his only loss, Smarty Jones remains out to stud -- some reports put his syndication fee upwards of $39 million. Maybe one day one of the great horse’s offspring will finally win the crown Smarty Jones couldn’t.

• FULL COVERAGE: Building Collapse

One year ago today a large wall made of brick and masonry collapsed at 22nd and Market Streets in Center City Philadelphia. It was a disaster unlike the city had seen in recent memory. An event that has led to death, hurt, anger, grief, reform and healing.

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Today we look back at what took place in the first 24 hours leading up to and following the collapse. This timeline has been compiled from a year’s worth of reporting by NBC10 and NBC10.com, the findings of an investigating grand jury, law enforcement documents and eyewitness accounts.

• IMAGES: Deadly Collapse in Pictures

Bright sun flooded westward down Market Street as a light 6 mph breeze cooled the 78 degree air that Wednesday. Under blue skies, workers begin to arrive at the Salvation Army Thrift Shop and construction site next door.

• Building Collapse Memorial Moving Forward

9:14 a.m.

Demolition work begins for the day on the former Hoagie City building at 2136 Market Streets. The 100-year-old brick building, which stood four stories tall, had already been partially demolished. However, the building’s western wall loomed freely, without bracing, over the site and Salvation Army Thrift Shop next door.

Contractor Griffin Campbell directed backhoe operator Sean Benschop to hop into his 18 ton Caterpillar excavator. Several workers at the site told a grand jury that Benschop used the machine’s metal claw to pull beams and other rubble from the building’s basement as Campbell looked on. The vibrations from the excavator’s movements traveling through the free-standing wall.

10:41 a.m.

The 3 story high western wall tumbles downward toward 22nd Street. The fall’s force crushes the roof and outer walls of the one-story Salvation Army Thrift Shop below. Inside that building, nearly two dozen workers and customers are buried under brick, wood, glass and metal.

Large dust plumes billow out in all directions as the entire western side of the thrift shop collapses. Passersby run and tumble into the street as they try to avoid getting struck by falling debris.

Thrift shop employee Felicia Hill was looking down an aisle at co-worker Kimberly Finnegan when their world fell apart.

"The whole entire wall had fell down and buried her, and then I ran for my life," Hill said. "I was just standing there, covering, shielding my head, trying to protect anything from falling on my head.”

Outside of the building, Bernie Ditomo, a building contractor, was waiting at a stoplight along 22nd Street when the thrift shop’s walls collapsed onto his white Ford F-150. A traffic light was flung across his windshield, bricks thrown into the passenger seat and wall leaning on his flatbed. Luckily, Ditmo was not trapped.

“It felt like an earthquake," Ditomo told NBC10.com. "I said, 'What the hell is going on?' My truck is totaled. I am a little dusty and dirty, but I’m alright. I am one of the lucky ones. I made it."

10:41:39 a.m.

Two calls are simultaneously placed to 911. One caller likened the scene to the September 11th terrorist attacks.

“I think this building here that was under demolishing collapsed at 22nd and Market…it’s a tremendous amount of dust and I think you might have to send some…the ambulances over there…it looks like 9/11…unbelievable,” the caller told a Philadelphia Police operator.

Nearly a dozen similar calls were made over the span of a few minutes.

10:42 a.m.

Construction workers from the adjacent job site as well as roofers working at the Mutter Museum next door run over and jump into the rubble to try and rescue those trapped. Roofers Bill Roam and Brian Mullins were one of the first people there to help.

“You really couldn’t see your hand in front of your face. We freed up as many people as we could while waiting for the authorities to get there. Everybody chipped in. We got as many people out as we could,” Roam said.

10:43 a.m.

The Philadelphia Fire Department dispatches the first crews to the scene. The closest firehouse, Engine 43 and Ladder 9, is 200 feet away. They arrive on scene within two minutes.

10:45 a.m.

First firefighters arrive at the scene. 125 firefighters and 35 pieces of equipment will eventually descend on the scene. First responders set up a five block perimeter around the site from the Benjamin Franklin Parkway to Walnut Street and 18th Street to the Schuylkill River.

Meanwhile, Campbell frantically calls demolition architect Platos Marinakos pleading him to come to the site. When asked how the collapse happened, the contractor tells Marinakos he had previously lied about the wall having been demolished and said the excavator was “yanking on something” when the wall fell, according to the grand jury report.

11:30 a.m.

Eight victims removed from the rubble and taken to three downtown trauma centers -- Hahnemann University Hospital, The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. Hill is one of them.

"Somebody from the outside grabbed me, another fireman grabbed me and pulled me out," she recalled.

Other co-workers and patrons remain trapped -- some pinned down by their head or limbs in the debris.

12:32 p.m.

12 people trapped in the collapse are removed and taken to hospitals. Fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers says two others had been located, but remain trapped.

“We’ve had our technical team as well as other pieces of commercial equipment that have come in to assist us,” Ayers said at a press conference across the street from the scene. “Right now, we’re continuing in that searching operation.”

Several people remain trapped in the rubble, but rescuers had yet to learn that.

“We have a significant number of personnel on the scene that trying to see whether or not there are any other individuals in this building,” Mayor Michael Nutter said. “We do not know whether there are or are not.”

1:51 p.m.

Fire crews bring in large steel bracing to hold up the remaining facade of the Salvation Army Thrift Shop, which still partially stands on the corner. Inside the building, clothes still hang on racks as rescuers slowly move through the rubble.

2:16 p.m.

Philadelphia Police at the scene confirm the first fatality: Kimberly Finnegan.

It was her first day on the job at the Center City thrift shop. The 35-year-old cashier had just gotten engaged two weeks before.

2:32 p.m

Fire Commissioner Ayers confirms confirms a total of 13 people had been rescued from the disaster. The department begins to cycle in new firefighters and brings in two search and rescue K9s.

“We have two dogs that have come out to work the pile to locate others so we can know exactly where to dig,” Ayers said. “We’re preparing for a 12 to 24 hour operation.”

Mayor Nutter says officials are still working to determine how many people were in the thrift shop when the collapse happened.

6:00 p.m.

As the search continues, officials bring in seismic and sound equipment to add to the search and rescue operation.

“It’s a tedious operation,” said Ayers. “Our hope is that anyone that is inside is in a void that we can have a live rescue. If not, then we’ll just take this apart a little at a time."

11:10 p.m.

Under gasoline powered flight lights, a small crew of rescuers continue to piece through the rubble. But the mood turns somber as officials confirm six people were killed. Along with Finnegan, five others were killed in the collapse: Borbor Davis, Juanita Harmin, Mary Simpson, Anne Bryan and Roseline Conteh.

“Our thoughts and our prayers go out to those who lost their lives and their families and at the same time we hope that those who survived recover, not only physically, but also mentally from being in a building and then it suddenly collapses,” Nutter said.

11:45 p.m.

35 minutes after confirming the deaths of six people, a K9 picks up the scent of another person trapped below the rubble. It’s Mariya Plekan. The 61-year-old had her lower body crushed beneath a beam and heavy wall.

Plekan spent hours screaming for help from under the rubble pile, but no one came.

“It was a little crack there, a blue little crack, and through that crack the light and the air was coming in,” Plekan said during a videotaped testimony last year. “I had a hope that they would save me shortly. But it didn’t happen. And I was there for a long time. I was screaming, 'Help, help.' But nobody heard me.”

That’s until 13 hours later, when a dog finally located her.

"I heard the dog was barking and coming up. And I started to scream 'Help' again, and the dog followed my yell," Plekan said. "And they started pulling things apart and they pulled me out."

Firefighters carefully extract her fragile body and rush her to a nearby hospital. The damage to her lower body so severe, doctors are forced to cut off both legs at the hip. Despite numerous challenges, she has survived.

6:30 a.m.

Having searched for more than 19 hours, fire crews call off the rescue mission and pull back from the scene.

In the hours, days and months following, a number of developments emerged. Six investigations were launched by numerous agencies including the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office and OSHA. The City of Philadelphia revised building demolition practices and protocols -- twice.

The building inspector assigned to the demolition took his own life. Benschop and Campbell were implicated and charged with third degree murder, involuntary manslaughter, reckless endangerment and conspiracy. Both are fighting the charges and deny wrongdoing.

Police put a Delaware community on alert after two juvenile girls told police they saw the same man expose himself in the same area on back-to-back days.

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New Castle County Police said the incidents occurred during the afternoon hours Sunday and Monday along the 300 block of Wren Court in the Raven Glen community of Newark.

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According to police, the girls were sitting on the front steps of a home when they observed a muscular man standing about 5-foot-10-inches tall with short or no hair sitting on top of an electrical box while touching his genitals.

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After the second alleged exposure, the girls alerted police.

Investigators said that a reverse 911 went out to people in the community urging neighbors to keep an eye out for anything strange.

Anyone with information or possibly surveillance video is asked to contact police Detective Rhonda Cras at 302-395-8110 or by email.

An accident in Philadelphia turns deadly after two vehicles collide during the late morning rush hour.

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A van and a Toyota Corolla collided around 9:20 a.m. near the intersection of Tabor and East Godfrey avenues in the Lawncrest section of the city, according to reports.

Rescue crews arrived on the scene minutes later and began working to remove some of the victims who were trapped in their vehicles, according to authorities.

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At least one person is dead, according to officials.

Stay with NBC10.Com for more on this developing story.

A Florida inmate is facing additional charges after authorities say he received a marijuana delivery while working on a roadside work crew.

Parell Seay, 22, was working with other prisoners just north of Fort Pierce Tuesday when someone drove by and tossed him a small bag of marijuana, the St. Lucie Sheriff's Office said.

Authorities say the driver of a black Dodge Charger drove by and tossed the packet, containing one gram of marijuana, which was picked up by Seay.

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As officers approached Seay, he tried to toss the bag, but it hit a deputy, authorities said. It later tested positive for marijuana.

Seay, from Tampa, had been assigned to a Florida Department of Corrections work camp from Martin County.

Seay claimed he didn't know who tossed the drugs but admitted he was going to bring it back to the Martin County facility where he is being held, the sheriff's office said.

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He called it "a D.O.C. thing," meaning that someone previously in state custody tossed the item to someone currently in state custody, the sheriff's office said.

Now Seay is facing charges of resisting an officer with violence, evidence tampering, smuggling contraband and possession of less than 20 grams of marijuana.

An Ocean County, N.J. resident is headed back to court after her pet bobcat escaped for the third time this weekend.

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The 38-pound domesticated bobcat "Rocky" is the infamous pet of Stafford Township resident Virginia (Ginny) Fine.

This is the third time the bobcat has escaped his owner’s home since September 2013.

Rocky went missing for twelve days in late March. When the bobcat was found in the woods near the Jersey Shore town on April 8, township officials temporarily seized the animal and sent it to Associated Humane Societies’ Popcorn Park Zoo in Lacey Township.

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In May, Fine was summoned to court and ordered to pay $1,000 fine and more than $200 in restitution for her failure to keep the animal in her home. After the hearing, Fine guaranteed that the pet would never get loose again.

Stafford Township Police, however, confirm the bobcat escaped again on Saturday morning. This time, police say, the animal was loose for about an hour.

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The township’s Animal Control was alerted of the roaming bobcat by a neighbor who filed a complaint about the pet. Animal Control issued a summons to Fine for the animal “running at large.” She is scheduled to appear in Stafford Township Municipal Court on June 13.

A DNA test revealed that Rocky is not a purebred bobcat, which is illegal to own as a pet in N.J.

A phone call to Fine for comment Thursday morning was not immediately returned.