A vacant home that was set to be demolished today, partially collapsed on its own this afternoon in West Philadelphia.

Emergency crews responded just before 5:00 p.m. to the home at 36th and Fairmount Avenue.

Nobody was hurt when huge pieces of the home came crumbling to the ground.

Philadelphia's Licenses and Inspections planned to demolish the home today, according to a letter sent to neighbors who live on the block.

Nearby homes were evacuated and the Red Cross was on the scene for several hours assisting those residents. Around 10:45 p.m., everybody was allowed back inside their homes.

MORE NEWS:

• 3 Kids Removed From Feces-Infested Home
• Philly Schools May Not Open on Time Without Funding
• Couple Charged After Kids Found Living in Feces-Infected Home
• Corbett Orders Flags Lowered for Town Hall Shooting Victims

Camden County Police are investigating one of their own officers, who appears to be asleep on the job.

The investigation started after a picture spread like wildfire on social media, showing the officer with his head tilted back and mouth wide open, while sitting inside a police cruiser.

The photo was allegedly snapped Monday morning at 3rd and Vine in North Camden.

"It's all over Facebook, like that's how they want to defend the city, that's how they want to defend our kids, sleeping on the job?" said Angela Morales, a concerned resident of Camden.

Camden Metro Police Chief Scott Thompson says they've launched an internal investigation to find out if the picture is legitimate.  "We're getting to the bottom of what appears to be a disturbing photograph. Once we have all of our facts ascertained, if it is what it appears to be, which is an officer sleeping on duty, then there will be consequences for that."

Camden resident George Avalle says the picture is definitely real, because he saw the sleepy officer with his own eyes.

"I saw him, yeah, he nodded out for a couple minutes, then he got back up," said Camden resident George Avalle. "When he woke up, I asked him, 'Does he want a coffee?' He said he was tired, you know?"

Chief Thompson believes a resident may have taken the picture and says he wants the community to alert him if anyone sees an officer acting inappropriate or doing something they aren't supposed to be doing. "I can't fix what I don't know is broken," said Thompson.

A 21-year-old woman from Barnegat, N.J. was killed in a crash involving three vehicles tonight in Woodland, Burlington County.

State Police say the driver of a Chevy Silverado, identified as John Endress, 34, of Delran, crossed over into another lane of traffic and hit two other vehicles heading Eastbound on Route 72, near mile marker 5.

The driver of the other vehicle hit by the Silverado was taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries, police say.

The 21-year-old woman's identity hasn't been released.

Route 72 was shut down between Savoy Boulevard and Route 563 for about an hour and a half while the crash was investigated.

MORE NEWS:

• Philly Schools May Not Open on Time Without Funding
• Couple Charged After Kids Found Living in Feces-Infected Home
• Police: Suspect Told Brother He Killed Baby
• Camden Co. Police Officer Sleeping on the Job?

The 2013 season got a little bit brighter on Wednesday, when news broke that Chase Utley and the Phillies agreed to a contract extension worth at least two years and $27 million, according to CSN's Jim Salisbury. With rumors abounding around Utley possibly being on the trade block, plus health concerns looming during the final year of his contract, an extension seemed a longshot a few months ago.

Utley proceeded to celebrate his new contract in the bottom of the seventh inning on Wednesday by throwing himself at Cubs catcher Dioner Navarro, in what turned out to be a slide that turned into a human cannonball mid flight that resulted in an out at the plate. Most folks would have celebrated a two-year contract worth nearly $30 million with a steak and a good bottle of scotch, but who am I to judge?

At any rate, this extension evidently been brewing since July, when Utley appeared to be – for the first time since 2010 – completely devoid of any of the knee injury issues that kept him off the field and, at times, ineffective, during the last two seasons. On top of that, he has been wildly productive, posting an .842 OPS and 15 home runs through Thursday. Not bad for a 34-year-old second baseman with bad knees and a reputation for playing so hard that it has worn his body down to the point where his career might be cut tragically short. While that is a possibility given the aforementioned knee problems, they chose to reward Utley with at least two more years in red pinstripes.

It's funny, because two years ago you would have been a crazy person for suggesting that Utley was deserving of a two-year deal, given that it was the first year he was dealing with what turn out to be chronically injured knees. And with the wound of the Ryan Howard extension still fresh in our mind's, giving an injury-laden player in his mid-30s that kind of money for maybe 100 games a season is a fool's errand.

But here we are, and Utley is set to continue his baseball career with the team that drafted him out of UCLA in the first round of the 2000 draft. The team that traded one second baseman (and a darn good one named Placido Polanco) to ensure Utley had enough playing time. A team that knew what they had in 2007 when they offered him a seven-year extension at age 28 worth $85 million. A contract which, when you look back on it, is still an absolute coup for then-GM Pat Gillick.

From a pure baseball strategy standpoint, it was a good deal. It's no more money than what he is making now, and any risk in the dollars is mitigated by the length. He gets injured halfway through? No worries, it's only a two year commitment. He struggles? No worries, it's only a two year commitment. Thanks to the vesting options after the second year, Utley's time in Philadelphia correlates with his health, which is about as smart a move as Amaro and company could make.

From a fan perspective, it's an even better deal. Arguably the team's best offensive weapon since this core came together in the mid-2000s, Utley is still quite possibly criminally underrated. While Jimmy Rollins was the de facto leader and mouthpiece that began the run of playoff appearances, and while Ryan Howard blasted tape measure shots with aplomb, and while Cole Hamels ushered in a new era of pitching dominance in Philly, Utley was the silent motor that made everything go. He could hit for average, he could hit for power, he could get on base, and he was among the best defenders in the game. Quietly – perhaps almost too quietly – Utley went about his business of being among the best in the game.

When news of the extension broke on Wednesday, one of the first thoughts I had was that the engraving on his plaque in Cooperstown would speak to the fact that he spent his entire career with one organization. It's rare for a player to spend his entire career with one team, and even rarer still when said player gets achieves baseball immortality with a statue in Cooperstown. While the Hall of Fame is by no means a lock for Chase, the fact remains that he is quite possibly one of the ten greatest ever to play the position. Not that it means anything in the grand scheme of things, but there is just something about a player sticking with a team for his entire career that just makes it a little bit sweeter in the end.

This is all to suggest that he'll continue to hit like the dickens, and that he can stay healthy, and that he won't wind up elsewhere when his contract is over. There are still a lot of ifs, but that shouldn't prevent any Phillies fans from taking joy in the fact that Utley is going to be around for a little while longer.

It's called "WalkSafePHL" and the plan aims to keep Philadelphia students safe as they head to school this coming Fall.

“Safety is our foremost concern, both inside and outside of schools,” said School District Superintendent Dr. William R. Hite.

Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter and Dr. Hite announced the safety plan today, the same day the district said that schools may not be opening on time without at least $50 million in additional funding by next Friday, August 16.

With the closure of 24 schools at the end of last school year, many students are heading to a new school this year that maybe a longer walk outside their neighborhood.

The WalkSafePHL plan is led by Town Watch Integrated Services, which helps coordinate a Safe Corridors program in Philadelphia by training volunteers to monitor neighborhoods as students travel to and from school.

On its website, the Philadelphia School District says it has Safe Corridors for every one of its schools, but the next step is to increase the number of volunteers.

Volunteers are asked to monitor assigned routes during the school day, observing and documenting any suspicious or concerning activity. Safe Corridors volunteers wear brightly-colored vests and identification so they are easily spotted by students.

“Students cannot effectively learn if they do not feel safe during the school day, which includes their commute.  The WalkSafePHL initiative combines the efforts of many different organizations working toward the same goal: safety for students as they walk, bike, or ride public transportation," said Mayor Nutter in a news release issued today

Four men, armed with handguns and hand-held radios, stormed into a Burlington County home and tied up a mother and her two kids during an afternoon robbery.

"She was feeling that they were going to kill the kids," the husband and father, who does not want to be identified, told NBC10's George Spencer.

Police say when the 32-year-old mother went to take out the trash around 3:00 p.m., the four men were waiting and forced their way inside into the home on the 900 block of Union Landing Road.

Once inside, investigators say the four men pistol whipped and tied up the mother and her two kids, ages 1 and 3, while they ransacked the home for 35 minutes.

"They went inside. They start beating them.  My son, he got scared. He was screaming, yelling at them," said the father, who was working in Philadelphia at the time of the home invasion.

Police say the four suspects fled in a dark-colored SUV with tinted windows. One of the suspects had a long beard, another was wearing an orange shirt and a third suspect had on a white rubber bracelet.

"It was definitely a violent act. Any time they're gonna use force like that against children, it's definitely a concern for us," said Lt. Tim Young, of the Cinnaminson Police Department.

Police are asking anyone with information to call 1-800-78-CRIME.

Two men were hospitalized after a double stabbing outside an area neighborhood bar early this morning.

A fight near closing at the Sheffield Tavern at Sheffield and Jackson Streets in Northeast Philadelphia’s Holmesburg section spilled out of the bar, according to Philadelphia Police.

Around 3 a.m., officers responded to the bar to find two men suffering from stab wounds. One of the men was bleeding profusely from an arm wound while another was cut on the hand.

Investigators didn’t identify either man and they also didn’t say who exactly stabbed the men.

The incident remains under investigation. Anyone with information should contact Philadelphia Police.

This stabbing capped another bloody night in the city. A 19-year-old man was shot and killed in a drive-by shooting while he was walking home along the unit block of Robinson Street in West Philly.

A man was allegedly high on PCP and driving the wrong way when he struck and killed a mother and her teenage daughter earlier this year is expected to be arraigned today, more than half a year after the deadly crash.

Keith Johnson, 31, was allegedly driving his Dodge Durango 100 mph in the wrong direction when he struck a Honda Odyssey driven by Anada Medina at the intersection of Chapel and Russell Avenues in Merchantville, N.J. on Jan. 31.

Medina, 36, and her 18-year-old daughter Stephanie Garcia, who was sitting in the passenger seat, both died from their injuries. The speed limit for the road is 25 mph.

Johnson is expected to be arraigned for exceeding the speed limit, two counts of death by auto and a count of aggravated assault when he makes his first court appearance in Camden County Friday afternoon.

Johnson and a passenger in his car, identified as Gervaise Pierre, 26, were both hurt in the violent wreck.

Since the violent wreck, Johnson, who hails from Pennsauken, has been recovering at a rehab facility at the state's prison, Camden County Prosecutor’s Office spokesman Jason Laughlin said.

Johnson has finally recovered enough to appear in court, Laughlin said. The arraignment will take place at 1:30 p.m.

Camden County Prosecutor Warren Faulk said in a press release that Johnson crossed into oncoming traffic right before wreck.

In 911 calls released following the crash, a caller describes the wreckage: “We saw the whole accident! Yeah, they are really hurt. This silver car came speeding out of nowhere and messed up (inaudible) on the wrong side of the road and everything.”

Prosecutors said that toxicology results showed that Johnson was on PCP, a drug the National Institute on Drug Abuse calls "dissociative," which distorts one’s perceptions of sight, sound and feeling.

“He certainly felt remorse about the whole thing. You’d have to be not human not to,” Johnson's attorney Robert Simons said.

Garcia, a Cherry Hill High School West senior, was a writer for the school’s student newspaper. She wrote about her move to Cherry Hill Township just months earlier and how it gave her opportunities she had never received before.

Those opportunities were cut short by the crash that claimed Garcia and her mother’s life.

It's gotten crazy.

Year after year, the Philadelphia school system approaches the abyss and appeals to everyone for help. And city taxpayers, seeing no one else coming, step in to save the day.

Year after year, the district loses students and revenue to charter schools, loses state revenue, and struggles to educate the Commonwealth's neediest children.

Now the district's budget hole is so big that the superintendent is saying he can't open all the schools unless he gets $50 million, presumably from the city, by next Friday.

Folks, this doesn't work.

We're somehow in a situation in which the city is committing to permanently erect a two percent differential between its sales tax and that of its suburban neighbors (we'll be at eight percent, the suburbs six), and we're committing $120 million a year of that revenue to the schools, far into the future.

And what is state committing on an ongoing basis? Pretty close to nothing.

The city hopes to get a fast $50 million for the schools now by borrowing it from investors, promising to repay them with revenues from that sales tax hike. But because investors won't loan that money unless they're sure the tax increase will actually happen, we can't get that 50 quickly. So disaster looms, and the superintendent sounds the alarm.

Two points: One, we shouldn't be making tax policy this way - improvising in a panic because it's the only thing we can get votes for in the legislature. We should think seriously about the city's fiscal situation (like the pension fund) and the impact of increasing the local tax burden before we take a step like this.

Two, the city shouldn't take on this burden unilaterally. Gov. Corbett appoints three of the five members of the board that runs the schools. We should make it clear to him we need a lasting solution that involves all parties, and he should think about whether he wants to go into a re-election year with the collapse this school system on his hands.

And I'll add a third point: Even if the city opens its veins and gives again, imposing this lasting sales tax increase, it won't be enough. The school district will still be in desperate trouble.

Shuttered school doors this fall is a terrible prospect, but so is every other alternative here.

I know the city has tried for years to get the state to live up to its constitutional responsibility to provide a "thorough and efficient system of public education" to little effect.

But the school district has tightened its belt and closed schools. Other districts around the state are hurting, and if ever there's a moment that offers leverage on the governor, it's now.

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

A couple faces child endangerment charges after three young girls were found in a feces-covered home.

Soyika Eldemire, 25, and the girls' mother Lakeeshanaye Overton, 24, were arrested after Philadelphia police officers investigating a domestic violence accusation found the girls -- ages 1, 3, and 4 -- in a house filled with feces and unknown fluids covering the floors, furniture and a playpen Thursday morning in the family's home along the 4800 block of N 9th Street in the city's Logan section.

“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.

The children, ages 1, 3, and 4, were removed from the home around 9 a.m. Thursday.

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, Fleming said. "They believed to be children possibly in danger."

Police initially reported to the home to deliver a domestic violence warrant. The girls' mother was arrested for assaulting her husband, Eldemire.

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

The children were taken to St. Christopher's Hospital for evaluation where they showed no major injuries.

The children were taken into Department of Human Services Custody and will be placed in foster homes, according to police.

Philadelphia Police announced the arrest today of the man who they say walked into a home earlier this week and opened fire killing a teenage female and a young man.

The shooting began around 1:30 a.m. tuesday inside a home that neighbors call, "the problem" house" on the block.

According to Philadelphia Police, Darren Williams, 24, armed with a shotgun, walked into a home on the 2800 block of Sebring Street in the Holme Circle section of Northeast Philadelphia and shot Lauren Fenningham, 18, of the 3400 block of Princeton Avenue, in the head as she sat on a couch. Medics pronounced Fenningham dead a short time later.

Investigators then say Williams shot aresident Sean Neal, 24, in the abdomen before fleeing. Neal was rushed to the hospital in critical condition He died early Tuesday evening.

Investigators told NBC10 that they had a suspect in mind in the case and were actively trying to track him down.

“We have several witnesses who were in the house at the time,” said Chief Inspector Scott Small. Those witnesses were being interviewed by police.

On Thursday, police arrested Williams in his Anchor Street home. Williams faces two counts of murder as well as firearms charges.

About three miles inland from the Shore and 15 miles north from Cape May, stands one of New Jersey's most prized parks and celebrated zoos.

The Cape May County Zoo, bankrolled primarily through by the county's $5 billion tourist industry, is recognized for its species preservation programs.

For the free zoo's half-million yearly visitors, it's all about meeting the new snow leopard cubs, the mighty tigers, frolicking lemurs or many varieties of birds.

It takes 42 people and about $1.5 million to run the 85-acre zoo. Their focus is on all the animals.

But there's a particular emphasis on Himani, the formidable mom of those snow leopard cubs.

Veterinary assistant Alex Ernst is proud this zoo is recognized as having the most successful snow leopard breeding program in the country. He gives credit to Himani.

With her mate Vijay, "she is responsible for the four years of cubs we've had here. Not only because she's fertile, but because she's so excellent at raising these cubs," Ernst said. "We've never had an issue with four litters and they're healthy happy cubs. In an overall population when you only have 13 percent of animals producing cubs, it's nice to have one that good at it."

Some of the animals, says Ernst, are sent to other zoos and others are bred to boost wild populations. The zoo, which is home to 550 animals representing about 250 species, is a member of the international Species Survival Plan.

"So we know the lineage of all the animals in captivity. So breeding recommendations can be made to optimize the genetics, meaning no inbreeding, crossbreeding, nothing like that," Ernst said.

This zoo is credited with breeding Chinese alligators -- a severely endangered species -- and fragile species including tiger salamanders, African mountain antelopes known as bongos, and ring-tailed lemurs, made popular in the animated movie "Madagascar."

BEHIND THE SCENES IN THE AFRICAN SAVANNAH

On any given day, entire families flock to the zoo and move from one area to another along elevated boardwalks to see the animal-themed parklets, aviaries, reptile houses, and vast expanses where animals roam.

To get a behind-the-scenes view, we hop in a Jeep driven by zoo director Michael Laffey.

The African savannah area is home to giraffes, ostriches, zebras, African mountain bongos, Watusi cattle, oryx antelopes and others. "So it's a big area with a lot of different animals out here," Laffey says.

We stop near the grassy area where four giraffes stand quietly behind a tall fence. Laffey cracks a smile talking about them.

"They're gentle giants," he says. "When you get closer, you can see how long their eyelashes are. They're beautiful, they're graceful when they walk and have the same grace when they run."

They're also surprising, Laffey adds.

"Normally giraffes are always standing and rest 15 minutes at a time. But things changed four years ago when we brought a male giraffe from Busch Gardens to mate. He sits down and they learned that same behavior," Laffey says. "I think we are the only zoo where you get close to giraffes and they're all sitting down. Pretty neat."

SANDY AND OTHER STORMS

Just when I was about to ask Laffey about Superstorm Sandy's impact, a thunderstorm started moving in and the giraffes disappeared. Staff members had shepherded them inside for fear of lightning striking the tall animals.

It's part of the park's standard operating procedure, says Laffey, every time there's a storm of any significance. As luck and storm trajectory would have it, the zoo was hardly affected by Sandy, save for a few knocked-down trees and fences.

"It probably takes us a day and a half or two days to prepare for a storm that was severe like Sandy. And it's almost the entire staff as well as other departments in the county who come and help move the animals inside facilities, secure areas in high ground," he says. "It's almost like clockwork."

In fact, the clock never stops at the zoo, which is open to the public every day, all year long except for Christmas. There are animals to take care of and feed with the zoo spending $40,000 a year just for produce.

The next project is large snow leopard maternity area with a glass enclosure and air-conditioned areas for the entire feline family.

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

A $1.2 million reconstruction project will cause months of detours through the heart of a city neighborhood.

The Philadelphia Streets Department announced today that Cresson Street in East Falls will be closed starting Monday as crews reconstruct that retaining wall that separates the street from SEPTA’s Manayunk/Norristown Regional Rail Line.

The stretch of Cresson Street between Calumet Street and New Queen Street runs parallel to Ridge Avenue.

Crews will work into January to replace a 250-foot stretch of the existing retaining wall between the street and SEPTA’s track. The Streets Department also says that the road, curbs and sidewalk will be replaced and new fences and barriers will be installed.

SEPTA spokeswoman Heather Redfern says that the Authority doesn’t expect any disruptions to regular Regional Rail service during the project.

However, during construction Cresson street will be closed, except for local traffic, and parking will be restricted, according to the Streets Department. Any detours will be posted.

Buckley and Company, Inc. out of Philadelphia will perform the work, which is being paid for in conjunction between SEPTA and the city.