An explosion caused by a ruptured gas line has forced evacuations on the 300 and 400 blocks of Race Street in Old City Thursday morning.

Construction crews hit a gas line near 4th and of Race sts. causing it to erupt and ignite a fire, officials said.

"A fireman knocked on our door and told us we were being evacuated," said local hostel owner Alicia Newton. "He told us there was an explosion, although we didn't hear anything, so we were suprised."

No injuries have been reported. Newton also claimed there was no smell of gas in her hostel.

"Everyone is safe, we are all outside," she added.

Officials blocked off several blocks of Race Street and asked motorists to avoid the area, near the entrance to the Ben Franklin Bridge.

Crews were making emergency repairs to the ruptured gas line.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell testified for more than two hours to start Ray Rice's appeal hearing on Wednesday, a person familiar with the case told The Associated Press.

Rice and his wife, Janay, will testify on Thursday at the offices of former U.S. District Judge Barbara S. Jones in New York, according to the person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because Jones has told both sides not to discuss details of the private hearing. The source said Goodell spent much of his testimony under cross examination by Rice's attorneys.

Rice spent nearly 10 hours at the hearing, which took place nearly two months after the former Pro Bowl running back was suspended indefinitely by the NFL and released by the Baltimore Ravens.

League security chief Jeffery Miller and Ravens President Dick Cass are among the key witnesses expected to testify in the two-day hearing.

Rice was suspended indefinitely Sept. 8 for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy after a video of him hitting his then-fiancee was released publicly.

Rice is seeking immediate reinstatement, though it's unlikely a team would sign him this season. Rice has also filed a separate wrongful termination grievance against the Ravens.

It's uncertain how long Jones will take to make a decision, but she's not expected to make it on Thursday, the source said.

Goodell originally suspended the running back for two games. The incident occurred inside an elevator at an Atlantic City casino in February. The couple married a month later.

The league considered the video made public after the initial suspension to be new evidence, giving Goodell the authority to amend Rice's punishment. But Rice's attorneys are arguing he should not be disciplined twice, citing the collective bargaining agreement.

Rice's side also is arguing that he described details of the incident to Goodell when they met in June. Goodell has called Rice's description "ambiguous" while the player's representatives have maintained he gave exact details.

Jones was jointly picked by the commissioner and the players' union to hear the appeal. Though it isn't a criminal case, Jones ruled witness will testify under oath. Transcripts of the testimony will not be released publicly, the source said.

Rice, a three-time Pro Bowl pick, played in two preseason games for the Ravens this year. His last carry was a 6-yard run against San Francisco on Aug. 7.

 

Ray Rice arrives for day 2 of his appeal hearing.

A video posted by John Chandler (@johnchandlernbc) on Nov 11, 2014 at 6:34am PST

A hall of fame football coach recently featured on NBC10’s High School Blitz won’t be on the sidelines when his team plays in the playoffs Friday, after he was charged with fleeing the scene of an accident while drunk. 

Joseph Gallagher, 59, of Aston, Pennsylvania, is charged with driving under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance, reckless driving and failure of duty to give information and render aid.

Gallagher, who coaches the Haverford High School Football team, was involved in a car accident at the intersection of Lincoln and 4th avenues in Prospect Park, Pennsylvania around 4 p.m. Saturday, according to an affidavit.

Gallagher allegedly fled the scene of the crash in a maroon Ford and was pulled over by responding officers on Chester Pike at Fairview Road in Ridley Township.

An officer then asked Gallagher why he didn’t stop after the crash, investigators said. Gallagher allegedly told the officer, “I messed up. I hit him and should’ve stopped. I messed up.”

In the affidavit, the officer stated he smelled a faint odor of alcohol coming from Gallagher. He also said he spotted half of a full open bottle of Piraat Belgian Ale in the vehicle’s cup holder.

Gallagher has a physical condition which prevented him from taking a roadside impairment test, according to the officer. The officer instead requested he provide a blood sample for alcohol content analysis.

Gallagher initially agreed to have a sample of his blood taken and was transported to Taylor Hospital, the officer said. Before he entered the hospital however, the officer advised Gallagher of his chemical test warnings, according to the affidavit. Gallagher then allegedly declined to have a blood sample taken and was transported to the Ridley Township Police Department for processing.

Officers have not yet revealed how badly the other person involved in the accident was injured.

Gallagher has coached the Haverford High School football team for 23 years and was recently inducted into the Delaware County Chapter of the Pennsylvania Hall of Fame. His team was profiled on NBC10’s High School Blitz last week. The team takes on Coatesville in the opening round of the District One Class AAAA playoffs Friday night. Gallagher will not be coaching his team during the game, according to a Haverford High School spokeswoman.

“Joe Gallagher has taken a leave of absence for personal reasons,” the spokeswoman said. “Jack O’Donnell is the acting head coach of the Haverford High School football team.”

A profile has begun to emerge of the man accused of snatching Carlesha Freeland-Gaither off a Germantown street, just as she returned home to her family Thursday morning.

Delvin Barnes is already a suspect in the brutal abduction, rape and attempted murder of a Virginia teen just last month, and he spent seven and a half years behind bars after being convicted of attacking his estranged wife.

“He has a very extensive criminal history,” Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey told the "Today" show. “A violent predator, and we are very fortunate to get her back alive.”

Barnes, whom police call a "vicious predator," faces a bail hearing Thursday afternoon in Towson, Maryland, where he could decide to fight extradition to Charles City County, Virginia, where investigators say DNA has linked him to the rape of a 16-year-old.

Barnes, 37, would first face charges in the Virginia case before being extradited to face any charges in Philadelphia. The office of the Philadelphia federal prosecutor said charges hadn't been filed as of Thursday in Freeland-Gaither's case.

Delvin Barnes' uncle Lamar Barnes told NBC10 he isn't "necessarily surprised" by the accusations against his nephew, even though his nephew was raised by good parents and his father is a minister.

"Some men grew up having problems with women, so they take it out on women," Barnes said. "Apparently, he's one of them."

Barnes was convicted in 2006 of a handful of charges after he was accused of holding his estranged wife captive and raping her in her Philadelphia home, court documents show.

On Nov. 28, 2005, Barnes jumped out of her bedroom closet and tried to talk to his estranged wife shortly after she returned home, according to records. She had a protective order against Barnes due to previous abuse and she told him to leave or she would call police, but Barnes refused, according to court records.

As she went to call 911, Barnes attacked her and threatened to kill her, according to court documents.

Barnes then told her he would only stop beating her if she took off her clothes, according to investigators. The woman told police she removed her clothes, fearing for her life. She accused Barnes of forcing her to have sex with him three separate times throughout the night, and she told police Barnes forced her to give him oral sex and threatened her with several objects.

The next morning, the woman begged Barnes to let her use the phone and call her parents, telling him she talked to her mother everyday, officials said. As she spoke to her mom, she was able to indicate she was in trouble and told her mother to call 911, according to investigators.

A short time later, the woman’s mother and father walked into the home. As he heard them come in, Barnes, enraged, began to beat the victim again, according to court records. Barnes also allegedly beat the victim’s mother, ran into the kitchen and grabbed a knife.

The women escaped, and police caught up to Barnes the next day.

Barnes faced a slew of charges in that alleged attack, including rape, burglary and assault, according to court records.

Barnes was acquitted at trial of the most serious charges, including rape, burglary and attempted involuntary deviant sexual intercourse. He was convicted, however, of aggravated assault, criminal trespassing, false imprisonment, simple assault and reckless endangerment, and he was sentenced to up to eight years in prison and two years of probation.

He was released a year ago, after serving seven and a half years.

In July, Barnes was arrested and accused of making a bomb threat, a felony. That charge was amended to trespassing, a misdemeanor, and the case was finally dropped Oct. 24, according to court records.

Barnes was recently named a suspect in the abduction, rape and attempted murder of a Virginia teen, and a warrant was issued for Barnes' arrest in Charles City County, Virginia.

On Oct. 3, the teen arrived at a business on Route 106 in Charles City County, two miles from Barnes' home, naked and covered in burns from gasoline and bleach, police said. She had been reported missing two days earlier.

Federal authorities said the charges for that case attempted capital murder, assault, malicious injury with acid, rape and other related offenses.

It could be some time until authorities reveal what charges Barnes could face in the Philadelphia abduction.

A teenager driving her father’s car drove off after striking and killing a 9-year-old girl who stepped into traffic along a Montgomery County road Wednesday night, according to Abington Township Police.

The crash happened just before 9 p.m. along Rockwell Road near Old Welsh Road in Abington, Pennsylvania, said investigators.

A caretaker was looking after the 9-year-old, who lived in nearby Willow Grove, at the time of the accident.

The caretaker had walked across Rockwell Road to get in a parked car and the child was following -- walking out between two parked cars -- when a car driven by the unidentified teenager struck the child.

Medics rushed the 9-year-old to nearby Abington Memorial Hospital where doctors pronounced her dead.

The unidentified driver kept driving for about 1 ½ miles before stopping in the parking lot of the Bottom Dollar Food store at Davisville and Moreland roads in Willow Grove and calling her mother, according to police. The teen’s mother then rushed to the scene of the crash and alerted investigators to where her daughter could be located.

Police didn’t reveal if the teenager would face any charges.

Less than 72 hours after being violently snatched off a Philadelphia street as she walked home from visiting her godson, Carlesha Freeland-Gaither has been rescued from the "vicious predator" police say kidnapped her.

Now as she recovers from the attack that was caught on video and seen nationally, focus moves to her alleged abductor, who authorities have linked to a similar crime against a teenage girl.

"I’m taking my baby home. Thank you," Keisha Gaither, the woman's overjoyed mother, told the public at a news conference Wednesday night. Her family erupted into applause as the woman spoke.

The 22-year-old was rescued from the car of her alleged kidnapper, 37-year-old Delvin Barnes, in a Jessup, Maryland, parking lot Wednesday afternoon, officials said. She suffered some injuries and was taken to a nearby hospital in Columbia, Maryland, for treatment, police said. She was listed in good condition and is expected to recover. 

“It’s very special for all of us. You hope, you hope, you hope, but you don't really know until you're actually able to get her, and make sure she's OK. So it's very important that this has a happy ending," Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey said.

Agents moved in quickly after receiving a tip from the ATF Office in Richmond, Virginia, which was investigating Barnes. They believed the man may have been the suspect after seeing surveillance photos in news reports, Philadelphia detectives said.

Authorities began tracking his gray Ford Taurus through a GPS device placed inside the vehicle by the car dealership where it was purchased, detectives said. The GPS was installed because Barnes had poor credit, officials said.

Agents honed in on his location, in a shopping center parking lot, and moved in to strike.

"He was more surprised than anything," ATF agent Tim Jones said of the arrest.

Barnes and the victim were in the backseat of the car when agents arrived, but he quickly jumped into the driver's seat to try and flee, Jones said. Agents blocked his way and took him into custody.

Freeland-Gaither screamed hysterically for help as the arrest was taking place, telling the agents she was the woman who had been abducted in Philadelphia, Jones said.

"Once she had time to process what had happened you could tell she was emotionally distraught," he said.

Barnes, who has ties to Philadelphia, apparently attacked Freeland-Gaither at random, detectives said. He is being held on an warrant for attempted murder of a 16-year-old girl last month in Charles City County, Virginia.

"He’s a thug and this is what he does apparently," Ramsey said of the alleged abductor. “He’s a vicious predator. He’s off the streets."

Barnes will be charged federally in the alleged kidnapping and assault, said Edward Hanko, special agent-in-charge of the FBI's Philadelphia division. Officials said many times that the investigation remained fluid and had a long way to go.

A Three Day Ordeal

Freeland-Gaither's rescue puts an end to three intense days of searching by Philadelphia Police, the FBI and her family.

The nursing aide was grabbed as she walked along Greene Street near W. Coulter Street in the city's Germantown section at 9:40 p.m. Sunday. She was returning home from a visit to see her godson.

The woman was forced down the street and into a car. She struggled to get away, fighting her attacker and breaking out the car's rear passenger window. But she couldn't escape -- her glasses and smartphone left on the sidewalk.

The entire ordeal was caught on surveillance video and widely shared.

An intense manhunt ensued with the search quickly expanding from Northwest Philadelphia to Aberdeen, Maryland, where Freeland-Gaither's ATM card was used by a man early Monday morning.

Her family made tearful pleas for the woman's safe return and continued posting missing posters through Wednesday, never giving up hope.

Detectives got a break in the case from a woman living in Havre De Grace, Maryland. In her driveway, the woman found a bag of trash that included a receipt from an ACME supermarket in Northeast Philadelphia, a bag of Herr's potato chips and shattered glass.

The woman, who asked to remain anonymous, told NBC10 that she initially thought it was just trash, but later called authorities after talking to a friend about the case.

Investigators were able to use the receipt to hone in on the supermarket and gather clear surveillance video of Barnes from the day of the attack, detectives said. In the video, he could be seen buying the same chips that the woman found, police sources said.

Officials thanked the public for helping to move along the investigation.

"We worked tirelessly, around the clock, investigated every lead that we had, and we really appreciate the public coming forward giving us a hand, giving us all the information that we were able to sit there and work on," Philadelphia Police Northwest Detective Division Capt. James Smith said.

"Problems With Women"

Barnes has a long history with the law.

Philadelphia Police arrested the man in November 2005 on a slew of charges including rape, burglary, aggravated assault, making terroristic threats and reckless endangerment, according to court documents.

Police reports obtained by NBC10 stated Barnes beat, sexually assaulted and held his estranged wife captive -- defying a protection from abuse order. The woman is also the mother of his child, family said.

He jumped from the woman's closet, grabbed her by the face and dug his nails into her skin, according to the reports. He held her in the home overnight and allegedly forced her to have sex with him, the police report states.

The next morning, the woman begged Barnes to let her use the phone and call her parents. As she spoke to her mom, she was able to indicate she was in trouble and told her mother to call 911, according to investigators. When the parents arrived, Barnes began to beat them before they were able to escape and call police, according to the reports.

Barnes was eventually arrested, charged and found guilty of aggravated assault, criminal trespassing, false imprisonment and related charges, the documents show.

Lamar Barnes, the man's uncle, told NBC10 Wednesday night that his nephew recently was released from prison. He said the man is the son of a minister and that he's had trouble with women in the past.

“It’s just hard for me to accept the viciousness of it, not necessarily surprised. You know some men grow up having problems with women so they take it out on women. Apparently he’s one of them," Lamar Barnes said.

The uncle said he's glad to hear that Freeland-Gaither is safe and that Delvin's parents are "devastated" by the allegations.

"If he’s somebody I didn’t know, I would say whatever they do to him is fine. Well, he’s my nephew, same thing. What am I gonna do," he said.

Two weeks ago, officials in Virginia dropped charges against Barnes. According to court records, he was arrested in July for making a bomb threat, which is a felony. That charge was amended to trespassing, a misdemeanor, and the case finally dropped on Oct. 24, the records show.

Four days later, sheriffs in Charles City County, Virginia, linked Barnes to the abduction, rape and torture of a 16-year-old girl.

Authorities said the girl went missing on Oct. 1 and showed up two days later at a business. She was naked, bloody and covered in burns smelling of bleach and gasoline, officials said.

DNA tests came back as a match to Barnes on Oct. 28, officials said. A warrant was issued and he was charged with attempted capital murder, abduction, forcible rape, malicious wounding, malicious injury with acid, explosives or fire and intimate object penetration, authorities said.

Coming Home

A Philadelphia Police caravan left the city late Wednesday carrying about 15 members of Freeland-Gaither's family to the hospital for a reunion with the victim.

The family made their way back to Philadelphia early Thursday morning in an effort to help the young woman move past the assault and begin the healing process right away, at home.

"Thank you so much for having us in your prayers, thank you for keeping me up. Thank you for being there for us," the woman's mother, Keisha Gaither said.

NBC10 reporters Rosemary Connors, Nefertiti Jaquez, Denise Nakano, George Spencer, Randy Gyllenhall, Tim Furlong and Deanna Durante and investigative producer Jim O'Donnell contributed to this report.

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

A mother’s boyfriend tortured a 3-year-old boy to death, hanging him upside down by his feet, striking him with a whip, taping him to a chair and beating him so badly that when he finally wound up in the emergency room nurses “wept,” according to Chester County prosecutors.

“Let me tell you about an American horror story,” said Chester County District Attorney Thomas Hogan while announcing charges in the case. “Little Scotty McMillan is dead.”

McMillian’s own mother, Jillian Tait, and her boyfriend Gary Fellenbaum, stand accused in Scotty’s murder inside the West Caln Township trailer home the couple shared with Fellenbaum’s estranged wife Amber Fellenbaum.

“Over a three-day period… he was systematically tortured and beaten to death,” said Hogan. “He was punched in the face and in the stomach, he was scourged with a homemade whip, he was lashed with a metal rod, he was tied to a chair and beaten, he was tied upside down by his feet and beaten, his head was smashed through a wall and at the end of that he had bruises on top of bruises all over his body.”

Police only learned of the beatings after Amber Fellenbaum called 911 on Tuesday night to report an unresponsive child in the Hope Lane home, according to investigators.

It was too late for Scotty and he died before arriving at the hospital, according to investigators.

“When his body went into the emergency room our ER nurses — who see a lot of terrible things — when they saw his body, they wept,” said Hogan.

Hogan and investigators showed off photos of some of the weapons they allege Fellenbaum, 23, used on Scotty while Tait, 31, admittedly sometimes watched and laughed. Included in the items were a makeshift whip, a curtain rod, an aluminum strip and photos of holes in the wall where Fellenbaum slammed Scotty and his 6-year-old brother’s heads into the wall.

Police alleged that Fellenbaum met Tait at a local Wal-Mart where worked together. Tait and her two sons — Scotty and a 6-year-old, moved in with Fellenbaum in mid-October and the abuse began shortly thereafter, said investigators.

On the night that Scotty died, Tait told police that she and Fellenbaum left Scotty on the mattress so he could sleep then went out to pick up pizza for dinner. When they returned, Tait said Scotty remained unresponsive, according to a police criminal complaint.

At that time, Tait told police that she and Fellenbaum engaged in sexual activity then she took a nap, according to investigators.

After waking up around 7:30 p.m., Tait said she found Scotty not breathing so she screamed for someone to call 911. Amber Fellenbaum then called 911 and medics arrived.

On Thursday, Hogan announced a total of 16 charges against Gary Fellenbaum including first- and third-degree murder charges, homicide, endangering the welfare of a child, assault and reckless endangerment. Tait faces 15 charges including the most serious murder charges, according to court records.

A judge denied bail to both Fellenbaum and Tait at a Wednesday arraignment.

Fellenbaum expressed removed that "his physical assaults caused another's death," according to the criminal complaint.

Amber Fellenbaum was charged with child endangerment and sent to county jail unable to post $500,000 bail. She told investigators that she first became aware of the alleged abuse about two weeks ago when she saw Fellenbaum spank Scotty after the boy didn’t respond to Fellenbaum. She also said she say Fellenbaum and Tait beat the boy with a green frying pan on another occasion and on Sunday saw Fellenbaum tape Scotty to a chair and severely pummel the boy’s face and stomach.

Tait’s 6-year-old as well as Amber Fellenbaum’s 11-month-old child were cared for by county services.

Hogan said that the older boy was in school and investigators would look into how the school teachers and officials missed alleged abuse against that boy.

The Republican triumphs on Tuesday extended beyond Congress to victories in blue state governors’ races, and those successes could benefit New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, the chairman of the Republican Governors Association and a potential presidential candidate in 2016.

But the gubernatorial wins, even while good news for possible candidates, probably say less about the mood of the voters than the results in Senate and House races. Whatever the reasons for the Congressional midterm rout — anger over gridlock in Washington, D.C., worries about the economy or dissatisfaction with the Obama administration — analysts say that voters are typically less ideological and more pragmatic when picking a governor.

"With senators, people often vote pure ideology," said Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics. "With governors, party and ideology play a big role but people evaluate candidates differently."

Voters want to be convinced that the candidates have the managerial skills to lead a state, he said.

"They really do look at them as their 'little president,'" he said. 

On Tuesday, the GOP increased the number of governorships it holds from 29 to 31.

Republicans will replace Democrats in Arkansas, Illinois, Maryland and Massachusetts and beat back opponents elsewhere, including Florida, Iowa, Maine, New Mexico, Ohio and Wisconsin. In Texas, Republican state Attorney General Greg Abbott outpolled state Sen. Wendy Davis to replace outgoing Republican Gov. Rick Perry.

At the same time, Democrats held onto the office in Colorado and Connecticut and picked up Pennsylvania, where Democrat Tom Wolf beat Republican Gov. Tom Corbett.

Still undecided is the race in Vermont, where a strong challenge to Gov. Peter Shumlin by Scott Milne means the state's Legislature will decide the winner in January. Democrats control both houses, which have by tradition gone with the candidate with the most votes when no candidate received 50 percent of the vote. Shumlin maintains a small lead.

Also too close to call is Alaska where challenger Bill Walker, a Republican turned independent, has a slight lead over Republican Gov. Sean Parnell. Absentee and early votes must still be counted.

“It just seems like such a mixed bag of results,” said Dianne Bystrom, director of Iowa State University's Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics.

Some of the Republican wins might have been a result of a general mood of discontent, partly with the economy despite indications of improvements, she said. 

“People aren’t feeling it in their heart and souls that things are getting any better and will be better,” she said. “So I think there’s just a general political malaise sort of sweeping the country, that they're just fed up."

Illinois’ race was largely about the economy, said Jennifer Duffy, a senior editor at The Cook Political Report. Gov. Pat Quinn’s attempted solution — one of the largest tax increases in the state’s history — was not successful and voters wanted a different approach, she said.

But Duffy attributed Democrats’ loss in the Massachusetts gubernatorial race to the lethargic effort by state Attorney General Martha Coakley after the primary. By contrast, Republican Charlie Baker had been campaigning since losing to Gov. Deval Patrick in 2010, she said.

“Governors’ races tend to exist in their own orbit,” Duffy said.

The most surprising race was in Maryland, where Republican businessman Larry Hogan defeated Democratic Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown, she and Sabato said.

“You figure in a state as overwhelmingly Democratic as Maryland the guy would be able to win,” Sabato said.

Kelly Dittmar, a scholar at the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University’s Eagleton Institute of Politics, said that the overall Republican success might be attributed to better mobilization of voters.

“Maybe that tells part of the story in some of these races,” she said.

As far as the number of women governors, the tally stayed the same at five, she said.

The Republican Governors Assocation outraised its Democratic counterpart by more than two-to-one, according to the latest tallies — $102 million by Christie compared to $47 million for the Democratic chairman, Shumlin.

The Republicans successes are a boost for Christie, who has now spent lots of time in states important for the 2016 presidential race, said Lee Miringoff, the director the Marist Institute for Public Opinion in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. He criss-crossed the country for his fellow governors, visiting 37 states this year, some of them many times.

"When you’re out campaigning for president, you want a nice welcome mat from the sitting governor," he said.

Republicans hold Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan, all states Democrats would want to do well in, he said. Christie not only worked for the election of those governors, but also met other influential residents while visiting, Miringoff said.

And Tuesday's numbers helped to mute speculation that controversy over lane closures and subsequent traffic snarls on the George Washington Bridge — the so-called Bridgegate — had hurt Christie's effectiveness, he said.

"He's a big winner for Tuesday within the Republican party ranks should he decide to toss his proverbial hat in the ring," he said.

"He's done the introduction, now it will be reacquaint, not only the governor but I'm sure many of the folks he was at events with," he said. "In an earlier era, we would say he built a nice Rolodex."

Christie downplayed his role on the "Today" show, saying the credit belonged to the candidates. He told Matt Lauer on Wednesday that he had not decided whether to run for president.

"It's not about me," Christie said. "I was happy to help. I'm glad to have their confidence, but that’s all it is."

Besides the advantage for Christie's prospects, the results could also help Wisconsin’s Gov. Rick Scott and Ohio’s Gov. John Kasich, both of whom have been talked about as possible Republican candidates. Both were victorious Tuesday.

But on Democratic side, the loss in Maryland damaged former Gov. Martin O’Malley’s chance at his party’s nomination, Sabato said.

“He killed his candidacy for president, too,” Sabato said. “Nobody’s going to take that seriously now.” 

Reince Priebus, the chairman of the Republican National Committee, said the results affirmed Republican leadership even in the bluest of blue states.

"Even the president's home state, where he campaigned vigorously, elected a Republican, and that's how big this victory really is," he said at a news conference.

Dwayne Fletcher is being called a hero for helping police get a jump on the abduction of Carlesha Freeland-Gaither this week. But he doesn’t see himself the same way.

“I’d do it all over again, but better next time,” the father of four said Thursday night. “I just felt like when she was gone, it just felt like I lost her.”

Fletcher was walking along Greene Street near Coulter in Germantown Sunday night when he heard a blood-curdling scream come from behind. He ran back to the 100 block of Coulter Street to find Freeland-Gaither being pushed into a car by a man. That man turned out to be 37-year-old Delvin Barnes, now charged with kidnapping in the case.

He yelled at the man, but the 12-inch knife in the suspect’s hand kept him from getting too close.

“He heard me because I was screaming ‘Yo you! Watcha doing? Yo you!’ I don’t know if her screams overpowered mine, but [the suspect] was moving fast though,” the man said.

The 33-year-old called 911 as he watched the rear passenger window of the gray Ford Taurus blow out. Fletcher thought it was a gunshot. He would later learn Freeland-Gaither kicked it out trying to escape.

Moments later, the car, and the young woman he didn’t even know, sped off. Again, he called police. He picked the 22-year-old victim’s smartphone and glasses up off the ground. Officers arrived shortly after.

“I just cried and cried. I don’t even know her, but it just happened. I feel as though I didn’t do enough at the time,” he said.

Detective Jim Sloan, who led the investigation into finding the woman, doesn’t agree.

“If it wasn’t for him I don’t think the same outcome would have happened. This man is a hero,” Sloan said at a news conference Thursday afternoon. He said having Fletcher at the scene, providing information about the kidnapping, sped up the investigation.

“I’m not a hero,” Fletcher said.

A recycling worker, Fletcher has a troubled past. He’s been shot and spent time in prison, but has been working to turn his life around. He got his GED and started college. Now, he counsels youth about staying on the straight and narrow.

Sloan believes Fletcher should get the $47,000 reward that was being offered for information in the case. Fletcher said the money would definitely help, but that the best reward is the fact he sleep knowing Freeland-Gaither is home safe and Banes is in custody.

A fire forced dozens of people from their homes and caused damage to three floors of a high-rise in West Philly early Friday morning.

The blaze broke out in the kitchen of an apartment on the 18th floor of the building, located on the 4400 block of Holden Street -- near the intersection of Market Street and Powelton Avenue-- around 1:45 a.m., officials said.

Crews got the fire, which was contained to the kitchen, under control a short time later.

No one was hurt, but residents on the 17th, 18th and 19th floors are not permitted to return to their apartments, authorities said.

The 19th floor sustained smoke damage, while the 17th floor sustained water damage, investigators said.

All other residents were allowed back into their homes.

Another blaze tore through a shelter for homeless veterans early Friday morning, killing one man.

A woman was hurt when she lost control of her SUV late Thursday night and slammed into a church in West Philadelphia.

The driver was rushed to a local hospital with minor injuries after she struck the Taylor Tabernacle Church at 61st Street and Osage Avenue around 11 p.m., police said.

The building sustained damage and the city's Department of Licenses and Inspections will investigate, officials said.

A man died after apparently running into a home after being shot along an eastern Pennsylvania street overnight.

The deadly scene played out around 1 a.m. along the 800 block of Green Street in Reading.

When homicide police arrived on the scene they found several bullet casings outside of the home and the victim inside the structure, according to Reading police.

The appeared to have gone inside after being shot, said investigators.

No arrests were immediately made.

For the last two years, Sara Gebert hasn't been able to eat.

That's because the 19-year-old from Hunderton, New Jersey, has a rare and incurable medical condition called Chronic Intestinal Psuedo Obstruction that tricks her body into thinking any food making its way through her digestive tract is an intestinal obstruction.

Only about 150 people worldwide are diagnosed with CIPO each year. The condition is so rare that it took visits to multiple doctors and hospitals before medical professionals were able to figure out what was going on inside Gerbert's gut.

Before she was diagnosed, she would vomit as many as 60 times each day and was so weak at times that she couldn’t get out of bed.

"At the very end, I was eating pretzels, granola bars and drinking water and that was making me sick," Gebert's says.

For the rest of her life, Gebert's will be fed through an implanted tube, which pumps nutrients into her bloodstream every night while she sleeps. She also uses a bag to drain the digestive contents of her stomach.

She’s lost 30 pounds since her diagnosis and had to drop out of Fairleigh Dickinson University, where the former high school pitcher had an offer to play intercollegiate softball.

Gebert's said she tries to remain grateful for the remedy, but admitted some days are more difficult than others.

"There are days where you're just like, 'How am I going to do this every day for the rest of my life, I don't want to do it,'" Gebert says.

Now Gebert is trying to raise awareness for the condition. She and friends created a nonprofit called Sara’s Army that sells wristbands and maintains a website and social media profiles to educate people about CIPO.

She said the group has already had some success.

"It's been cool to see the light bulb turn on in people and say, ‘Oh wow I get this'," she said.

A Delaware County teen accused of luring a 14-year-old girl into his home and sexually assaulting her has told police he refuses to turn himself in, saying they need to 'come and get' him.

Darby Police are on the hunt for 18-year-old Kassim Hill for the assault authorities said took place on Wednesday afternoon inside his home along the 200 block of N. 9th Street.

"She screamed and ran to me, crying, and I just held her," the girl's aunt told NBC10 Thursday night. She spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear the suspect would come back to harm her.

The victim's family tells NBC10 the girl was about to stop at a friend's house on her way home from school when Hill, who is on probation, yelled down to her. He said the friend was in his house, a few doors down, and told her to come over, according to the family.

Once inside, Hill forced himself on the girl, police and the family said.

"When she got in, he trapped her in there and held her down, forced himself on her," the aunt said. "The rest of it was too traumatizing."

The assault was interrupted by a knock on Hill's door, however. When he answered, the person heard the girl's screams and called 911, police said.

Hill slammed the door shut and fled out the back of the house, police said.

Then, Thursday night, police said Hill called Darby Police station's main number and asked to be transferred to the detective working the case. He said he would not turn himself in and to 'come and get me,' according to police.

Authorities believe Hill is somewhere in West Philadelphia and they are now searching for him. He is described as 6-foot-2-feet tall, 150 lbs. and has black hair and brown eyes.

"Turn yourself in. What you did was horrific, you need to face justice," the aunt said.

Police consider him armed and dangerous.

Delaware Valley veterans have an opportunity to suit up for gainful employment with the help of a local nonprofit. The Suiting Warriors Foundation provides local veterans with professional attire, helping to ready them for today's job market.

“Being dressed for success affects a person’s attitude and confidence, helping them create a great first impression for that new opportunity," said Star Lotta, founder of the nonprofit, on the organization’s site.

“Not one of them owned one pair of dress blues or a suit which I felt was extremely disturbing,” she added.

The group partnered with Lucky Strike bowling and entertainment to host a “Suits and Strikes” fundraiser Nov. 9 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Event tickets are $40 and include complementary bowling, billiards and beer. The organization strongly urges that all donators dry clean and neatly hang clothing before giving it away.