A school in Cheltenham Township will open late this year after mold was found inside its building. 

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 August 6, the district announced that a contract was given to Langan Engineering & Environmental Service to monitor mold remediation and provide clearing testing services. Officials warned that the process could cause the school’s opening to be delayed.

On Wednesday, officials announced that the middle school will now open on September 16 instead of September 3 as the mold remediation work continues. 

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.
 

Melissa Amey says she taught her three daughters from an early age how to dial 911. But she never imagined that the important lesson would ultimately help save her entire family.

Amey and her daughters were inside their apartment in Coopersburg, Pa. early Sunday morning when she claims her boyfriend, identified as 48-year-old Miguel Espada, kicked in her kitchen door in a drunken rage. 

“Terror, pure terror,” Amey said. “I really feared that he was gonna kill me.”

Amey says Espada held her up against a wall and held a dart at the side of her neck. He then allegedly took out a butcher knife. 

“I was trying to call the police,” she said. “He took me by my hair and he pulled me up the steps with the knife in his hand. He said, ‘If you call the police, they will take you out in a body bag before they arrest me.’”

Amey’s 12-year-old daughter Alina says she watched as Espada threatened her mother. 

“I was scared for mommy’s life,” the girl said. “I was scared for our lives.”

Alina kept her two younger sisters inside a bedroom and then picked up a cell phone to call 911. Alina says she was so terrified that at first she had trouble dialing.

“I was shaking pretty bad and I hit the wrong button a couple of times,” she said.

But the girl says she managed to calm herself enough to make the critical phone call. 

“They asked, ‘Where is your location?’” she said. “I told them our address and then I heard what he [Espada] said. I’m like, ‘Help us!’ And then I hung up.”

Police say Amey managed to break free from Espada and fled the home with her three children. Once Coopersburg Police arrived at the home, Espada allegedly fled to an upstairs bedroom and locked the front door. After a brief standoff, police say they managed to enter the room and arrest Espada. 

“It’s great that they did call,” said Chief Daniel Trexler of the Coopersburg Police Department. ‘They did get out of the house and they made it out safe. We were there to take care of the situation.”

Trexler says the outcome could have been very different however if the young girl hadn’t acted so quickly.

“We’re happy that the child picked up the phone and called 911 to get us there in a timely manner,” Trexler said.

Melissa agrees.

“She saved me,” Melissa said. “She saved us. She saved our family. She did the right thing.”

Espada is charged with simple assault, terroristic threats, and other related offenses. He was arraigned and sent to Lehigh County Prison in lieu of $75,000 bail. 

A nuclear reactor is on the verge of meltdown.

Deep inside the reactor building, a manual valve must be turned to release the pressure, but the radiation levels are too high for people to venture inside the building.

Enter DIRC -- a humanoid robot able to walk through the plant, get to the valve, turn it to stop the meltdown and avert a nuclear disaster.

This is the type of disaster researchers and students at Drexel University are hoping their robot can one day help avoid.

“This is supposed to work in human surroundings such as if there’s a lot of radiation in a disaster scene… or clean up waste using tools that humans would normally use, but because it’s dangerous for humans to be there, we want a robot to do those tasks,” said researcher Dr. Daniel Lofaro.

Dr. Lofaro and his Drexel colleagues are leading a team of researchers from nine other universities -- including the University of Delaware and Swarthmore -- and companies to build the most robust robot capable of venturing where humans can’t during disasters. The group, named DRC-HUBO, is competing for a $2 million prize as part of the U.S. Department of Defense’s DARPA Robotics Challenge which seeks to have a working robot in service by 2020. Dr. Lafaro said the competition came about following the nuclear disaster in Fukushima, Japan in March 2011.

“Someone needed to go in and turn a valve to turn on the cooling system would have had the radiation not leak out. We couldn’t send in a human to do that because they couldn’t have gotten half way before dying,” he said.

That disaster continues to have major lasting effects on the country. Officials are now considering upgrading the nuclear crisis threat level to serious as radioactive water continues to leak from the crippled facility.

DIRC, which is currently in the beta stages of development, is honing its skills to complete eight tasks as part of an upcoming demonstration in Homestead, Fla. this December. The robot will have to easily walk over rubble, traverse stairs and ladders, use tools like axes, saws and hammers, turn valves, break through walls and even drive everyday vehicles on its own, among other things.

“[In Fukushima] they tried sending in robots, but all they could do was drive around and look at things,” Dr. Lafaro said.

To develop DIRC, the team took an already produced robot called HUBO and super-sized it to be able to handle holding additional weight and complete the more complex tasks.

While the entire team is working on DIRC, researchers from each institution are focusing on developing individual features necessary to complete the tasks. For example, one school is developing the robot’s vision, while another school works on the robot’s ability to walk.

“They’re all experts in different fields. We have not just this one thought process, we have many different thought processes to develop the robot algorithm to do all these tasks,” he said.

Among the harder tasks to teach the robot: driving. But the act of driving is not issue. Dr. Lofaro says the use of GPS makes that easy. Instead, the most difficult acts happen before the car even starts moving.

“The hardest part is getting the robot into the vehicle,” he said. “Once we get the robot in the vehicle to actually turn the wheel and step on the gas, the driving part is a solved task,” he said.

The team has spent the summer putting DIRC through the paces on a course built inside a warehouse on the school’s University City’s campus – preparing for the December trial. If it gets the Department of Defense’s stamp of approval for the current round, the team will have another year to get DIRC ready for prime time – which includes operating autonomously.

The robot’s current iteration requires some help from a human operator assist in navigating an area, but Dr. Lafaro expects DIRC to be thinking on its own long before the 2020 deployment date.

“That may seem far-fetched, but think about seven years ago from now. Did you have an iPhone? No. Were you able to communicate from one side of the world to another that quickly? No,” he said. “So seven years isn’t a very long period of time.”

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

It’s a city that’s already plagued by violent crime. But now officials fear the problems in Chester will only get worse thanks to a controversial decision from a local hospital.

“The bottom line is we are going to get treated a lot worse,” said Chester Police Commissioner Joe Bail. “I have a problem with that.”

Bail, along with Chester Mayor John Linder say they met with officials from the Crozer-Keystone Health System about two and a half weeks ago. During the meeting, Bail says they were informed that Crozer would pull an ambulance from the city from 9 p.m. to 9 a.m., starting on September 5. Chester currently only has two ambulances and a population of 34,000 people, meaning only one will be available to cover the entire area during that time. 

Both Bail and Linder are outraged.

“The problem is, that time of night is when we get some of the most critical calls,” Bail said. “The shootings and some of the horrific accidents we get on the Interstate.”

Mayor Linder agrees.

“We are at a critical time in our city where crime is a primary issue,” Linder said. “To lose any resource is a threat and is scary.”

Linder and Bail claim Crozer officials told them the move was a cost-cutting measure, even though Crozer is the 15th largest grossing hospital in the nation. Grant Gegwich, the Vice President of Public Relations and Marketing for Crozer-Keystone, addressed the decision in a written statement.

“A formal plan has not yet been implemented,” he wrote. “However, it includes consolidation in the overnight hours-when emergency medical services are under-utilized. This provision was incorporated after detailed monitoring of EMS usage and is not expected to affect the services we provide our community.”

Linder and Bail disagree however.

“The people here deserve better,” Bail said.

Both the Mayor and Police Commissioner say they’ll start hiring more police officers. They also plan to provide more officers medical training. 

A Philadelphia police bike officer is recovering after investigators say he was struck by a hit-and-run driver.

Police say the officer was in North Philadelphia when he was struck by a vehicle which fled the scene.

Several officers were able to track down the suspect at 25th and Diamond. The man was arrested and taken into custody. Police have not yet revealed his identity. 

The officer who was struck was not seriously hurt in the accident. 

Also on NBC10.com:

Cigarette Leads to Northeast Philly House Explosion

A man is in the hospital after a house explosion in Northeast Philadelphia.

Police say the 40-year-old man was cleaning a stove while the gas was still on inside a home on 2001 Foster Street. As the man was cleaning, he lit a cigarette, causing an explosion, according to investigators. 

The explosion shattered the windows of the home and caused a window frame to smash into a car. Despite the blast, the house did not collapse, according to investigators. 

The man was taken to the hospital and treated for non-life-threatening injuries. No one else was hurt. 

Nearby homes were evacuated as firefighters and PGW officials arrived at the scene. Those residents were later allowed back inside. 

Also on NBC10.com:

Man's Last Wish Was to Make It Rain Money 

Girl Helps Save Mom During Violent Attack: Police

Local Nurse Helps Save Woman Struck by NYC Cab

A man is fighting for his life after he was run over by a SEPTA bus in the Nicetown section of the city.

SEPTA officials say a Route R Bus was driving at the intersection of Hunting Park Avenue and Wissahickon when a 60-year-old man began to bang on the rear doors of the vehicle. Officials say the man then slipped and fell under the rear tires which ran over both of his legs. 

Police say one of the man’s legs was partially amputated. He was taken to Temple University Hospital where he is in critical condition.

Police have not yet revealed the man’s identity. Stay with NBC10.com for more details on this developing story.  

Local Nurse Helps Save Woman Struck by NYC Cab

Cigarette Leads to Northeast Philly House Explosion

Chester to Only Have 1 Ambulance During Critical Time of Night

Crews are battling a 2-alarm fire in downtown Wilmington.

The fire broke out around noon at a commercial building located near 4th and Orange Street in New Castle County.

No injuries have been reported at this time.

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Deadly Harley Crash on I-95

Man's Conviction Overturned After 21 Years on Death Row

SEPTA Bus Runs Over Man

Philadelphia Police are still working to locate a dozen firearms as part of an internal audit of the department’s weapons.

Officials say there are 12 guns that have yet to be accounted for as part the audit which was launched after a police-owned M-16 assault rifle went missing earlier this year.

Auditors still need to check with around 100 officers to see whether they have any of the guns. Officials say some of the officers are out on injury leave while others are working on special units. The weapons may also have been purchased by officers who have retired from the police force.

Philadelphia Police spokesman Lt. John Stanford said since the audit is still underway, it’s too early to consider any of the weapons missing.

“We haven’t quite completed the audit so we don’t have a final determination as to whether anything is unaccounted for at this moment,” he said.

Police determined the department was missing one of its 1,356 Vietnam-era M16s in April following another audit.

Commissioner Ramsey said at the time that the rifle was last accounted for in a previous audit in December 2012. The guns, which were given to Philadelphia Police from the Department of Defense, were in the process of being converted into AR-15 rifles.

The rifle was stored in a secure room at the Philadelphia Police Academy in Northeast Philadelphia. Commissioner Ramsey vowed to investigate everyone with access to that room.

"This was not someone who came in from the outside to take this... there is no indication of that at all," he said in April. "I guarantee you that if it's somebody that I find out took that gun that I will do everything in my power to see to it that they get time in a federal penitentiary."

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

Investigators say a former softball coach for a Delaware County Christian school surrendered to police today on charges that she had a sexual relationship with a player.

An arrest warrant was issued for Lana Trotter, 27, on Wednesday. She is facing several charges including sexual assault and corruption of minors.

Police say the girl’s parents found out about the alleged affair after discovering “inappropriate” text messages between the teen and Trotter on a cell phone hidden in the girl’s room, according to court documents.

The alleged victim, who was 16 at the time, told her parents that she had been sexually active with Trotter for a “few years”, according to court documents. The teen said that she met Trotter in the Spring of 2011 while she was employed at the Delaware County Christian School located at 462 Malin Road in Newtown Township.

The teen told police that Trotter and her became friends, talked on the phone regularly, and hung out socially after school and softball games. Police say at some point during that time the teen lost her cell phone privileges at home. According to court documents, Trotter purchased an Iphone for the girl to text and talk with her after school hours. The girl’s parents told police that they did not know about the phone.

The alleged victim says that in the Fall of 2011 Trotter began telling her that she “cared about her a lot” and that she “loved her”, according to court documents. The girl told police that the relationship then progressed from kissing to sexual contact, police say. According to court documents the girl told police that the incidents usually occurred when she was being driven home from school or practices, at the teen’s home, and at Trotter’s residence.

Trotter was arraigned and released after posting $50,000 bail.  She is scheduled to appear court for a preliminary hearing on September 19, according to police.

 

A window washer has survived a seven-floor fall from a Rittenhouse Square high-rise.

Witnesses tell NBC10 three men were washing windows at the Rittenhouse Claridge apartment building at 201 S. 18th Street when one fell from the face of the building around 2 p.m. Thursday.

Philadelphia Police at the scene said the man was hanging from a suspension cable when he fell from outside the building's eighth floor.

"I looked up and saw something coming down and I thought it was a big bag of trash or something and it hit the thing, hit the bottom," said Tracey Downey, witness. "I ran over there and the guy said call 911, it was a human."

The window washer landed on a second floor roof, which is over the apartment building's lobby.

Firefighters could be seen putting the man onto a stretcher as they took him into the building through a window.

Police said the man was awake and talking as paramedics loaded him into an ambulance. He's currently hospitalized in stable condition at Hahnemann Hospital.

Philadelphia Fire Department officials said the city's Department of Licenses & Inspections have been dispatched to inspect the window washing equipment.

The Rittenhouse Claridge is across the street from Philadelphia's swanky Rittenhouse Square. The building stands 26 stories tall and has a TD Bank branch and the popular restaurant Rouge taking up residence on street level.

Stay with NBC10.com for this developing story.

With just two weeks to go, the city and bicycle enthusiasts are still hoping for dozens of bicycle rack designs.

The Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia and the City of Philadelphia Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy teamed up earlier this year for the bike rack design competition that brings street art and utility together to give cyclists more places (and better looking places) to park their rides.

Organizers originally told NBC10 back in June that they hoped to receive hundreds of entries -- with two week left they would now be happy with dozens.

“We have received only a handful so far,” Philadelphia OCCE Public Art Director Margot Berg told NBC10.

Berg and organizers are still hopeful that by Sept. 4 when the contest wraps up that they will have around 100 entries to sort through.

“We’re optimistic that we will get some more designs in closer to the deadline,” said Bicycle Coalition spokesman Nicholas Mirra.

Mirra said that the Coalition has turned to social media and posting boards to get more people interested in the the project since it's geared not just towards cyclists but also artists at large.

“We’re doing our best on our end to drum up awareness about the contest with local artists.”

Berg said that she has answered many questions from potential artists and that she believes that it being summer and people normally doing things at the last minute have played roles in only five to 10 entries so far.

Berg and Mirra agree that they expect many more entries before the deadline.

Designs must be received by Sept. 4. There are a bunch of requirements for designs so be sure to read the fine print of the “call for entries.”

• READ: Call for design proposals

The contest is geared towards delivering some of 1,500 new bike racks planned for the next five years in the city, according to organizers.

A small committee consisting of reps from the city, Bike Coalition and private companies will make the final decision on which designs are chosen. And, the first of the artistic bike racks will be fabricated and start popping up starting next spring.

Berg said anywhere from a handful to dozens of different designs could come to fruition depending on how much private funding is secured.

The racks cost anywhere from $5,000 for a small rack (parks two bikes) up to $15,000 for a large rack (about six bikes).

Back in May, the Coalition announced that a $50,000 grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation as part of its Knight Arts Challenge would be used to fund the artistic bike racks. Private donors will take care of matching contributions with zero of the program’s cost coming from the city, said Berg.

The need for these racks is because, according to the Bicycle Coalition, the city has more bike commuters per capita than any other Top 10 largest cities in the United States. Basically, Philly has more bikers than places to put bikes – hence why you see bikes tied up to gates, fences, traffic signs, street meters, etc. from Center City to South Philly to Mt. Airy.

Some of the planned downtown locations for the artistic bike racks include (appropriately) outside the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s Perelman Building, near Boat House Row, at City Hall and at Penn Center Plaza.

No idea is too outlandish for consideration as long as it matches size and material requirements. “You are amazed with what people with creative minds come up with, ” Berg said.

Mirra echoed the excitement to see what people come up with.

“I’d love to (see) what people have in mind.”

Even if a design isn't chosen it could still be displayed as part of a City Hall art exhibit that is also being discussed, said Berg.

This is the first time the city and bike enthusiasts have teamed up for this type of design competition. Mirra said the Coalition will meet after the designs are picked in the fall to "figure out what worked and what didn’t work.”

Four men, dressed like utility workers, force their way into a North Philadelphia home, beating and robbing a couple inside.

"They were terrorized. This is a traumatic scene," said Police captain George Fuchs.

Sources close to the investigation tell NBC10's Nefertiti Jaquez that the men were wearing green utility uniforms when they knocked at the door of the home on the 400 block of West Sedgley Avenue, telling the homeowner there was something wrong with the water.

After the 64-year-old homeowner answered the door, the men stormed the home, armed with guns.

The man was was tied up and beaten in the living room. Authorities say the men then ran upstairs and did the same thing to his girlfriend.

The couple was bound with zip ties around their hands and ankles.

"A lot of blood, it was a copious amount of blood," said Captain Fuchs. "A lot of blood on the floor, a lot of blood all over the sheets upstairs."

The four robbers took off with about $300, two cell phones and the hard drive for the surveillance cameras outside the home.

The woman's daughter was the one who alerted police after she stopped by the home and saw what happened.

That woman is in stable condition at Temple University Hospital.

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• Doctor Heads to Trial on Indecent Assault Charges