Justin Robinson admitted in court Wednesday that he murdered 12-year-old Autumn Pasquale inside his family's home in Clayton, N.J.

Robinson was 15 years old when he was arrested for her murder along with his older brother Dante, who was 17 at the time.

Police say Autumn was riding her bike on her way to a friend's house on Oct. 20, 2012, when the Robinson brothers allegedly lured the girl into their home with the promise of trading bike parts.

Two days after her disappearance, the girl's body was found stuffed into a recycling bin a few blocks away from her home.

In court Wednesday, the now 16-year-old Justin Robinson pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter and took sole responsibility for her murder.

Camden County Prosecutor Warren W. Faulk said about 25 members of Autumn's family were in Superior Court today, as Justin admitted to choking Autumn in the basement of his family's home.

Prosecutors say Robinson's mother and stepfather were not home at the time.

"Autumn's death was senseless and it shook the community to its core. There will never be punishment commensurate with her brutal killing," said Faulk.

The 16-year-old entered his plea today as an adult. "In our opinion, the nature of the crime demanded that Justin Robinson be sentenced as a adult and face adult penalties," said Faulk.

Robinson's plea carries a 17-year sentence, Faulk said, and requires that he serves at least 85 percent of that time before he's eligible for parole.

The case against his brother, Dante, is still pending in Juvenile Court. Faulk couldn't comment on that case.

A construction worker was rushed to the hospital after falling this morning while on the job at the future site of a court.

The man, who authorities didn’t immediately identify, fell through a hole in the floor while working on the courthouse at the northwest corner of 15th and Arch Streets in Philadelphia, Pa. just before 9 a.m., according to Philadelphia Fire Deparment Executive Chief Richard Davison.

Davison says the worker was rushed to an area hospital where his condition wasn't known.

The $160 million project is intended to be the future home of the city's family court and is expected to open in June 2014, according to a post on AECOM's website. AECOM is the parent company of Tishman Constrction, the company working on the building. 

Officials topped off the 14-story, 510,000-square-foot building that will hold 29 court rooms in May, according to the Philadelphia Business Journal.

This project marks the second time Tishman is building a Pennsylvania of General Serivces project.

"Following completion of the Pennsylvania Convention Center expansion three months early, we are proud to be building the new, landmark Family Courthouse in the heart of Philadelphia," first vice president of Tishman Construction Mike Siciliano said at the time the project was announced. "We are honored to have been chosen..."

When contacted by NBC10, an AECOM Spokesman forwarded all comments about the fall to the PGS. A PGS spokesman says he is looking into the incident.

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A man, wanted in the attempted abduction of a 3-year-old girl in Upper Darby, is found by police naked and rolling in the grass.

Upper Darby police Superintendent Michael Chitwood says Daniel Johnson, 27, tried to pull a little girl away from her parents around 7:30 last night as they walked from a nearby park to their home on the 6500 block of Marshall Road.

"Mom and Dad fought for their child and they won," said Chitwood. The parents were both holding the girl's hand, when Johnson came walking down the street wearing jeans and no shirt.

Police believe Johnson may have been on drugs, when he allegedly grabbed the little girl away from her parents.

"Mom and Dad walking with their child, what better protection can you have? And then this nut comes along and almost abducts the child and he's totally whacked out, who knows what could have happened to that child?" said Chitwood, who added that Johnson has a long criminal record involving drugs.

Johnson was arrested by Philadelphia Police in Cobbs Creek. "For police to arrest him rolling around in the grass stone naked, he ain't dealing with a straight deck," said Chitwood.

Johnson is charged with attempted kidnapping, reckless endangerment and assault.

Time is running out for the Philadelphia School District as officials now only have four weeks to secure the money they say they need to deal with devastating budget cuts.

A $304 million budget deficit led to dramatic cuts to programs and extracurricular activities as well as the layoff of nearly 4,000 teachers, administrators and support staff. District officials say if they don’t get at least $50 million by end of this week, they won’t be able to rehire some of the laid off employees.

“When you gut a school building and you take away that you’re setting your school up for chaos,” said Anissa Weinraub, one of the laid off teachers.

A small group of concerned parents of Philadelphia students met with City Council President Darrell Clarke on Wednesday to discuss the budget crisis.

“We have 30 days and I cannot tell you how much fear there is as a parent,” Helen Gym said.

The State gave the city approval to continue levying a one percent sales tax. A spokesman for Clarke says the council will pass a sales tax extension, which will allow the city to borrow $50 million right away. However, council members say they can't move forward until state legislation on the sales tax extension is reworded.

“Council president is working hard,” said Terrilyn McCormick, another parent. “But at this point there are no commitments.”

The governor has the authority to give the school district $45 million to help. That money comes with string’s attached however. A spokesman for the governor’s office says in order for the district to get the money, they’ll have to come up with some reform measures to ensure that a budget crisis like the one they’re currently in never happens again.

It was a day that the family and friends of Sarah Murnaghan feared would never come. On Wednesday, the young girl celebrated her 11th birthday.

Murnaghan is recovering from two double lung transplants. The Newtown Square girl, who has end-stage cystic fibrosis, received a pair of adult-lung transplant after a federal judge ruled in favor of her parents' lawsuit challenging national rules regarding organ donations.

Sarah's first set of adult lungs, transplanted June 12, failed. A second set was transplanted three days later.

On July 12, Sarah underwent surgery for a tracheostomy. A week later, she underwent her first Trach change, had her last chest tube removed and was moved back to a traditional ventilator. On July 22, she stood up for the first time in months during physical therapy. Last Wednesday, she was moved to another unit of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia where she has received her treatment.

On Wednesday, Sarah had her 11th birthday party in the PCU playroom with her siblings, cousins, aunts, uncle and grandparents. According to her mother Janet, the party was the first time since her transplant that Sarah has seen her siblings. Janet also says the day marked another important milestone for the young girl.

“Sarah walked 10 feet with her walker for the first time,” her mother wrote on her Facebook page. “She actually made it out the room!”

Officials at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, where Sarah is being treated, have declined to comment on her case.
 

Emergency crews are at the scene of a fire at a local college.

Firefighters and PECO officials were called to Rosemont College on the 1400 block of Montgomery Avenue in Bryn Mawr. According to a PECO spokesman, non-PECO workers were using a drill at a construction site when they accidentally struck the gas main, causing it to burst into flames.

The flames injured three people. Two of the victims suffered minor burns and were taken to the hospital for non-life threatening injuries. The third victim refused treatment at the scene.
Crews were able to put out the flames and shut off the gas main shortly before 5:30 p.m.

According to a Rosemont College Public Relations rep, the fire started at the site where the dugout and walkway are being built for a new turf soccer field and natural grass softball field.

Stay with NBC10.com for more details on this developing story.

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Teen Admits to Choking Autumn Pasquale

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A woman is recovering after a car accident in Levittown. 

Police say a woman was driving her car on Route 13 and Lower Morrisville Road when she collided with a truck.

The woman was trapped inside her vehicle for over half an hour until she was finally extricated. She was taken to the hospital and treated for serious injuries. She is expected to survive. The truck driver was not injured in the crash.

Police have not yet revealed the cause of the collision. They continue to investigate.

Stay with NBC10.com for more details on this developing story.

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Gas Main Fire Injures 3 at Local College

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O.C. Lifeguard Arrested for Smoke Grenade: Police

When Jonathan Papelbon signed with the Phillies prior to the 2012 season, it appeared to be the next logical step in Ruben Amaro's master plan of acquiring as many elite pitchers as possible. After all, when you have three marquee starting pitchers and are riding a streak of five consecutive National League east titles, you need to make a big splash if you want to get the job done, even if it flies in the face of any sort of logic, at least from a cost and personnel standpoint.

The signing had plenty of critics early on, mostly because Papelbon, for all his talent, is a relief pitcher who isn't likely to see more than 70 innings of work over a given season. Despite his pedigree of success with the Boston Red Sox, paying $13 million a season for a closer was not a prudent investment, especially when there were other areas in need of improvement.

Bad signing or not, Papelbon was aces in his first season with the Phillies, when he made 70 appearances and logged 38 saves to go along with a 2.44 ERA and 11.8 strikeouts per nine innings. He was as advertised, and despite a disappointing season from the Phils, Papelbon stood out as one of the few bright spots on the roster. He chased that success with with 13 straight saves to kick off this season, a span where he had a 1.46 ERA in and 23 strikeouts in 24.2 innings. He was about as good as a closer could be.

And then, inexplicably, the wheels started to fall off. He blew his first save on June 17. Then another on June 19. Then another on June 22. Again, on June 24. Four blown saves in a matter of a week. And while some of them can be written off as bad luck, it was tough to ignore, especially when he blew another save on July 14, and then another on August 1. And despite the Phillies walking away with the win on Tuesday night against the Chicago Cubs, Papelbon entered the game with a four run cushion, and just barely escaped with the 9-8 win. He allowed three runs (two earned) on three hits and a walk in what was nothing short of a nerve-wracking outing from the 32-year-old closer.

Diagnosing a player's performance from your couch is never a wise, or easy, thing to do, but in Papelbon's case, there are a few obvious things at play.

Bad Luck – I've talked about this before, but sometimes, a pitcher's (or hitter's) success is a product of luck. Typically, this is measured by BABIP, or batting average on balls in play, with the logic being that most pitcher's will have a BABIP of around .300, regardless of their skill level. To wit, Phillies Ace Roy Halladay (.295) and former Phillie Adam Eaton (.301) have a BABIP within splitting of each other, despite being wildly different pitchers in terms of success.

For Papelbon, in the 24 games prior to his first blown save, he had a BABIP of .197, which is well below the average for pitchers, and almost 100 points lower than Papelbon's career BABIP of .281. In the 20 games since, he has a .354 BABIP (19 K in 20 innings). That swing, which has resulted in more balls finding the holes and dropping for hits, has – among other things – resulted in a 4.50 ERA over his last 20 games.

Ks Go Away – When you're a relief pitcher, your best weapon is likely the ability to strike out opposing hitters. That is especially true when a reliever is called in from the bullpen with a runner on third and nobody out, because the best way to prevent that run from scoring is making sure the batter doesn't put the ball in play. Despite Crash Davis' objections to the strikeout in “Bull Durham,” it's the best weapon in a pitcher's disposal, because it takes bad luck and bad defense completely out of the equation.

For much of his career, Papelbon has been an exceptional strikeout pitcher, with an 11.2 K/9 in six seasons between 2005 and 2012. While he is still able to get set hitters down via the K, his strikeout rates have dropped in 2013, where he sits with a K/9 of 8.5. It's a pretty steep drop from the 11.8 mark of 2012, and would be the lowest of his career if the season ended today. While it's not a bad number, the fact that he is striking out fewer hitters this season than literally any other season in his career is certainly not doing himself any favors. In his most recent blown save, which occurred against the San Francisco Giants, he failed to retire three hitters that he had buried in 0-2 counts, before giving up a pair of hits and a walk. That sort of thing is bound to happen eventually, but you have to be able to put away hitters when you have them buried in the count, something that it seems Papelbon has been able to do less and less this season.

Speed Matters – Speaking of strikeouts, it helps if a pitcher has the ability to hump that fastball and blow it by the hitter. Speed isn't everything – just ask Greg Maddux – but it helps. And although he's never been known for his velocity like Justin Verlander or Aroldis Chapman, he's always had the ability to deliver his fastball in the high 90s. Since 2007, he's been about as consistent as all get-out with his fastball, averaging 94 MPH on that pitch from 2007 to 2011. He lost a bit on it in 2012, with an average velocity of 93.8, but the most concerning number is 92.2, which is his average fastball velocity in 2013. That's a long way to fall, especially when you use your fastball to set up your other pitches. If you want to strike fewer guys out, I can think of no better way to accomplish that than losing more than a mile per hour on your fastball.

He Doesn't Want to Be Here – For all his faults, Papelbon is a competitor. More often than not, he'll get the job done, and over the course of his career, he's been one of the better relievers in the game. But following 2012's disappointing finish for the Phillies, combined with 2013's struggles, it's entirely possible that he simply doesn't want to play in Philly anymore, which would make sense in light of his “I didn't come here for this” comment a few weeks back. I can't say that I blame him, because no one wants to play for a bad team, but given how far the Phillies have fallen in the last two weeks, you have to wonder if perhaps he is mailing it in as they head for another playoff-less October.
 
At any rate, Papelbon is on the low end of the scale when it comes to fixing this Phillies team. Sure, he's paid way too much for a reliever, and appears to be losing a bit as he ages, but he's certainly not the reason the Phillies are in this predicament. That said, come this off-season, it wouldn't surprise me in the least bit to find that he has been traded elsewhere, in Ruben Amaro's attempt to right a sinking ship.

A man is dead after a car accident on the Atlantic City Expressway.

Police say 65-year-old Lawrence Wagman of Sicklerville was driving eastbound on the AC expressway in Hamilton Township when he somehow lost control of his vehicle. Wagman crossed the dotted line and entered the other lane of traffic before exiting the roadway on the left eastbound shoulder.

Police say Wagman’s vehicle continued down an embankment, striking a fence and several trees before finally coming to a stop.

Wagman was taken to the Atlantic City Medical Center where he was pronounced dead. Police continue to investigate the accident.

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6-Year-Old Girl Saves Her Mom's Life

Driver Trapped After Colliding With Truck

Skeletal Remains of Human Foot Found in Ocean City, NJ

Alyssa Capelli isn’t the typical 6-year-old girl.

“My daughter is a very old soul,” said Alyssa’s mother, Melinda Chiappine. “Always very intuitive and she knows exactly how you’re feeling by looking at you. A lot of children don’t have that ability.”

It’s that ability that helped save the 32-year-old Hammonton, New Jersey woman’s life. Chiappine and her daughter came back to their home Saturday morning after eating breakfast. Chiappine made a phone call shortly before 10 a.m. Suddenly, everything went black.

“I cannot tell you what happened or when I passed out,” Chiappine said. “I was completely unconscious.”

By the time Chiappine came to about ten minutes later, she was on the floor surrounded by police officers and paramedics. They wouldn’t have been there however, if not for her daughter. After hearing her mother fall and finding her unconscious on the floor, Alyssa immediately called 911.

“According to the call, she said ‘My mom won’t wake up,’” Chiappine said. “They asked where we lived and she gave them our address. I had taught her how to do that multiple times.”

Chiappine, who is anemic, say she’s fainted before, but had never gone through anything like what she went through on Saturday.

“Nothing like that has ever happened to me before where I had collapsed and had no recollection of anything,” she said. “I didn’t understand what was going on. I didn’t even know how old I was. I didn’t know my name.”

There is one thing however, that Chiappine says she immediately remembered.

“I kept asking for my daughter,” she said. “That was the only thing I was able to get out.”

Chiappine was taken to the hospital where she underwent several blood transfusions. When she returned home on Tuesday, she asked her daughter to show her where she found her. Her daughter’s answer amazed her.

“Mom, it doesn’t matter how I found you or what happened,” Alyssa replied. “All that matters is you’re here with me now.”

“Were you scared?” Chiappine asked.

“Mommy, I couldn’t be scared,” Alyssa said. “I had to be brave.”

It wasn’t the response one would expect from a 6-year-old girl. But as Chiappine said, her daughter is an old soul. 

“That’s just something she has in her,” Chiappine said. “I can’t teach her that part.”
 

Mold and lead paint were discovered inside two schools in Cheltenham Township.

Last July, workers detected a small presence of mold inside classrooms at Cedarbrook Middle School. Attempts to get rid of it failed as the humidity spiked.

“The mold reappeared and multiplied to a point where it was evident in many classroom spaces,” wrote school superintendent Natalie Thomas in a letter to schools.

The summer cleaning staff was relocated and school officials brought in an environmental consulting contractor to assist in their assessment. They also contacted environmental health experts at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine to provide air quality health and wellness guidance.

During a special meeting on Tuesday, the district announced that a contract was given to Langan Engineering & Environmental Service to monitor mold remediation and provide clearing testing services. The process can take up to three weeks, according to officials and may cause the school’s opening to be delayed.

Also in July, workers found old, peeling paint after tearing back drywall in the basement of Myers Elementary School. Officials say some of the paint tested positive for lead. The waterproofing installation contractor will perform a lead-based paint abatement at the school. Officials expect work to be completed before the school opens on September 3.

Both buildings will have to be inspected before they can reopen.
 

A U.S. Airways flight heading to Barcelona turned around and landed back at Philly International due to a drunk passenger Wednesday night, according to police.

Police say U.S. Airways flight 742 took off at 7:51 p.m. and returned to Philly at 9:47 p.m. The plane turned around after an intoxicated passenger became unruly during the flight, according to police. Brenda Pfahnl, a passenger on the flight, claimed the passenger was threatening the lives of airline employees. The unidentified man was taken into custody.

No one was hurt. The flight was scheduled to leave again at 1:15 a.m. Thursday but never did due to a mechanical problem. Once the problem was fixed it was too late for the crew on board -- they had times out and weren't allowed to fly, according to US Air.

The airline is trying to get passengers on another UA Air Barcelona-bound flight scheduled for Thursday or by putting passengers on another airline.

Earlier Wednesday, a plane from Ireland landed in Philadelphia after an "unsubstantiated" threat, according to Philadelphia Police. Sources close to that investigation say it was a bomb threat called in to the Philadelphia Airport by an unknown male.

After investigating, federal agents and local police said the threat was unfounded.

As a precaution, the plane was taken to a remote area of the airport so that Philadelphia police and Homeland Security could search passengers and luggage.

All 171 passengers and 8 crew members were escorted off the plane and loaded onto buses. They were taken to a secure area and screened as well as interviewed. Luggage was also removed and screened. Bomb-sniffing dogs went through the plane, which is standard procedure. 

Stray bullets nearly hit a sleeping infant overnight as the child rested on a couch.

Gunfire broke out before 4 a.m. on the 3200 block of Rorer Street in Philadelphia’s Kensington neighborhood.

A 19-year-old man was hit in the leg.

A young infant luckily wasn’t hit after stray bullets entered the child’s home and hit the sofa where the child was sleeping, according to Philadelphia Police.

Bullet holes could be seen in the couch and in the pillow the baby was resting upon, according to police.

The baby, though not hit, was taken to the hospital for precautionary observation.

No suspects were named and no motive was given for the shooting. Anyone with information is asked to contact Philadelphia Police.

Click here for more stories from Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware.

The Philadelphia Zoning Board of Adjustment has approved the proposed development of a five-story, net-zero energy building at the intersection of Midvale and Ridge avenues in East Falls.

The Ridge Flats project, designed by Philadelphia-based developer Onion Flats, will feature over 140 apartments, commercial space and a public garden. The Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority (PRA) first selected Onion Flats to develop the city-owned Rivage site in December 2011.

The developers sought the approval of several zoning variances: they wanted to build ten feet higher than the allowed 55-ft., and overlook a peculiarity in the area's zoning ordinances that would require them to provide 695 parking spots for the building.

Parking was the hot topic at Wednesday's hearing, as it was during the latest East Falls Community Council (EFCC) Zoning Committee meetings.

The development will provide 120 indoor parking spots to be used by Ridge Flats residents, as well as 11 on-street parking spaces.

David Orphanides, the attorney representing Onion Flats, pointed out that Ridge Flats was accessible by public transit, and the developers were providing bicycle parking.

"We feel that between all of those things," he said, the developers "at least satisfied" the need for parking.

Timothy McDonald, one of the founders of Onion Flats added that the ground floor of Ridge Flats would be occupied by mainly local business, and he envisioned many local patrons would choose to walk rather than drive there.

Barnaby Wittels, president of the East Falls Community Council, and Gina Snyder, executive director of the East Falls Development Corporation both spoke in favor of the project, as did a representative of Fourth District Councilman Curtis Jones' office.

"[Onion Flats] has earned our trust and earned our support," Wittels said. Though the Community Council still has concerns, he said, "the fact of the matter is we'll continue to talk to each other."

The Onion Flats developers hope to begin construction on the project in late 2013 or early 2014 and the process is expected to take 12 to 18 months.

This story was reported through a news coverage partnership between NBC10.com and NewsWorks.org.

A tractor-trailer overturned on the New Jersey Turnpike in Hamilton Township, Mercer County this afternoon.

The accident happened around 1:00 p.m. at Exit 7 at the Burlington, Mercer County line.

The tractor-trailer blocked all northbound lanes for several hours before reopening around 5:30 p.m.

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Philadelphia's schools chief says the district may not be able to open its schools on time this September without tens of millions in additional funding to reverse draconian cuts and major layoffs enacted earlier this year.

School District of Philadelphia Superintendent Dr. William Hite said Thursday that he's "deeply frustrated" over the lack of help from city and state officials to close a $304 million budget deficit with just four weeks to go before school opens.

Philadelphia's 136,000 public school students are set to go back to school on September 9, but Dr. Hite says if the district does not get at least $50 million in additional funding by next Friday, August 16, he might have to push back that date.

Dr. Hite says there are three scenarios that could play out if the district doesn't get the cash. One option would keep all 218 schools closed past September 9. Another would only open a portion of the schools and in a third option, the schools would open, but only operate for half days.

"Our students are the most important part of this equation, and it is both saddening and frustrating to be in the position of telling them and their families that I do not know when their education will resume," he said.

READ DR. HITE'S FULL STATEMENT ON THE POSSIBLE DELAY OF SCHOOL OPENING

The superintendent says the schools cannot operate without the proper amount of staff. He says it's all about safety.

"Fifty million allows us to tell parents that when their child is walking through the hallways, eating lunch or at recess, an adult will be supervising them," Dr. Hite said.

He added that no principal can run a 3,000 student high school or 400 student elementary school without support staff.

The School District of Philadelphia, the nation's eighth-largest public school system which is controlled by a state reform commission, laid off nearly 4,000 employees in June. The layoffs included all assistant principals, secretaries and guidance counselors. Hundreds of teachers and teacher's aides also lost their jobs.

The $304 million funding hole also causes schools to shelve extra-curricular activities and non-core programs like art.

An infusion of $50 million will allow the district to reinstate about 1,000 of those laid off employees. He says they would include assistant principals and secretaries.

Dr. Hite said while the money would allow the schools to open on time and for full days, it's still not enough.

"Fifty million will only allow us to open the doors, but not give our students the quality education they deserve," he said.

THE PROPOSED FUNDING

A total of about $151 million has been promised to the district through various local and state plans, but that's just about half of the total deficit.

Following Dr. Hite's public ultimatum Thursday, Philadelphia City Council President Darrell Clarke presented a plan to provide funding using real estate.

Under the plan, Clarke says the city would purchase all of the district's real estate liens and surplus properties -- valued at nearly $200 million -- and then sell or convert them for reuse.

City Council would then provide the district with a $50 million advance to ensure schools could open.

"Thereby fixing a number of problems, providing revenue immediately to the schools and fixing up currently vacant and derelict buildings in these neighborhoods," Clarke said.

Clarke said council members have drafted a bill that they plan to present for vote. Should it pass, Clarke says, the city will be providing upwards of $90 million to the district. He says the city was only asked to provide $60 million in funding.

The bill also includes taking $140 million raised through extending the 1-percent sales tax hike and splitting that revenue between schools and the city's underfunded pension plan.

Council leaders have previously promised the city would provide funding to knock down part of the deficit, but that plan never materialized.

In addition to the city's money, another $45 million in forgiven federal debts could come to the district via the state, but Gov. Corbett says Philadelphia won't get the cash unless the district enacts reforms -- including $133 million in teacher union concessions.

The teachers, who are currently in contract negotiations, have said they can't give back any more.

"The district's current contract proposals will not create better schools; rather, they will cause a mass exodus of high quality educators and a deterioration of teaching and learning conditions in our schools for years to come," Philadelphia Federation of Teachers President Jerry Jordan said in a statement following Dr. Hite's address.

As for the state, while they control the one-time federal funding, officials have only pledged an additional $16 million in Commonwealth funding to the school system. All of the other funding in Gov. Corbett's previously proposed $140 million funding package relies on other entities, like the city, to collect the cash.

Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter urged City Council to come up with the money for the district. He says he would not allow schools to open without having them properly staffed.

“I stand shoulder to shoulder with Dr. Hite that we, and certainly I, will not allow schools to open with currently only the staff that he can afford,” he said.

Addressing calls for the city to take money out of the its General Fund, which is essentially the city government's bank account, Mayor Nutter said it's not fiscally responsible.

“Tapping into the city’s fund balance puts our own city finances in serious jeopardy. We simply cannot afford to go on that path," he said.

Should the schools not open on time, questions remain as to how they would make up the days lost. The Commonwealth's Public School Code states all schools must complete 180 days of instruction by June 30 of each year, according to Pa. Department. of Education Press Secretary Tim Eller.

Asked for comment on Dr. Hite's scenarios, the Pa. Department of Education has yet to respond.

Contact Vince Lattanzio at 610.668.5532, vince.lattanzio@nbcuni.com or follow @VinceLattanzio on Twitter.

Do you have a roommate or more than one suite-mate? Plan your dorm room decor together so you aren’t bringing the same items.

1) Bedding – Every dorm room needs new sheets and a comforter.

2) Television – Shopping for a television set? Check out the deals at retailers and discount stores.

3) Computer – Financing a laptop or desktop computer purchase is an option. Most retailers have weekly sales. Check the circulars. 

4) Kitchen Supplies – A microwave, pots and pans and your own kitchen utensils will help make your dorm kitchen feel like home.

5) Color – Bring color into your room with your comforter choice, wall hangings and accent towels.

6) Storage – Bins and stackable drawers provide more functional space in your dorm room.

7) School Supplies – Gadgets such as e-pens, folders and tech backpacks will turn you into a tech-savvy student.

8) Free Apps – SpringPad is a new note-taking app which takes photos with a mobile device storing them in SpringPad. Check it out. Google Keep syncs your work and home life, and offers voice notes. Evernote allows you to type and sync notes, voice memos and photos. Dictionary.com is a must-have app for every student.

9) Furniture – Buy pieces that are multifunctional, such as a filing cabinet that can be used as an end table, a futon that can be used for a seating area and a sleepover bed, and an ottoman that offers more seating.

10) Photos – Hang pictures of your family and friends to adorn your walls with a personal feel.

Contact Sarah Glover at 610-668-5580, sarah.glover@nbcuni.com or follow @skyphoto on Twitter.
 

Three young girls have been removed from a home in Logan section of the city after officials discovered that the house was filled with feces, trash and other unknown liquids, according to police.

The children, ages 1, 3, and 4, were removed from the home located on the 4800 block of North 9th Street around 9 a.m. Thursday.

“It looked a little unkempt, the smell was a little bit tough to take,” said Philadelphia Police Captain John Fleming during a press conference this morning.

Police say the girls were found only wearing diapers. Investigators say there was no crib or bedding for the children inside the home.

“The officer observed what it deemed to be inappropriate and questionable conditions. They believed to be children possibly in danger."

Police initially reported to the home to deliver a domestic violence warrant. The girls' mother Lakeeshanaye Overton, 24, was arrested for assaulting her husband, 25-year-old Soyika Eldemine.

The pair was later charged with three counts of endangering the welfare of a child and reckless endangerment.

The children were taken to St. Christopher's Hospital for evaluation. There is no word on their condition.

The Special Victims Unit and the Department of Human Services are investigating the incident.

This story is developing. Stay with NBC10.com for more updates.

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