Allentown is on the top 20 list of towns to see a jump in job growth in early 2015 – a huge boost for the city where 27.8 percent of residents live under the poverty line and 4.8 percent are unemployed.

Allentown shares the number 11 spot with Dallas, Texas; Jacksonville, Florida; Knoxville, Tennessee; San Antonio, Texas; and Wichita, Kansas. The towns are expected to see a 17 percent increase in employment during the first quarter of 2015, according to a comprehensive list by Manpower Group.

“Staffing plans are much stronger than quarter 4 when the net employment outlook was [7 percent],” said Manpower spokesman Michael Pinkasavage.

The increase in employment comes after a welcomed, steady decrease of unemployment in Pennsylvania.

Allentown's mayor credits the city's investment in the downtown with the rise in job growth.

“We have invested over a billion dollars worth of new development and millions in office space. We have close to a thousand new jobs that have been created here," Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski said.  “So far this has been a dramatic change for the positive over the course of the last several years and we hope to see more to come.”

The survey included interviews more than 65,000 employers worldwide to gauge growth in 2015.

Employment in the Northeast has been more stagnant than other regions in the United States, according to data collected by the Manpower Group

While most industries report an increase in employment outlook, the Northeast reports the lowest percent of employers looking to increase staff and the highest percent of employers planning to decrease payroll in the first quarter.

Trying to get tan for prom? Don’t even think about it in Delaware!

New laws will prohibit anyone under 18 from fake baking in the tax-free state.

The laws come less than a year after the CDC released a study claiming a significant drop in number of people who tan when the act is illegal.

Indoor tanners are 74 percent more likely to develop melanoma, according to skincancer.org.

The new regulations require Delaware minors who are tanning for the first time to provide a consent form, which a parent must sign while a witness is present.

The law does not apply to spray tans.

A north Delaware university plans to expand its campus onto untouched land this year, a move that is receiving mixed support from community members.

Wilmington University will add three buildings, expected to accommodate at least 1,000 students, to 41 acres along Route 202.

"We're departing from past procedure of being a modest institution. Now, we're becoming a real university," said Irenee du Pont Jr., a member of the university's board of trustees.

"We love the history as much as anybody else does and what we want to do is add to it, make sure our holdings there do nothing but reflect the beauty of the Brandywine area," added Laurie Bick, a school spokeswoman.

But environmentalists have argued the land should remain as-is since it leads directly into a nearby reserve.

"Ya know as the gateway to our national park I think we should treat it with a little more respect," said Jason Hoover of Save the Valley organization, which is working aggressively to reverse the building plans.

"You can always keep building farther and farther back, [but] where do you draw the line?"

School officials said they hope to break ground in 2015.

An airline has apologized after a New Jersey family battled with a flight crew for an hour over how to accommodate their child with special needs in a seat.

Elit Kirschenbaum and her family, of Short Hills were heading back to Newark from the Dominican Republic on a United Airlines flight Tuesday, and a flight attendant became "visibly upset" when Kirschenbaum tried to hold her 3-year-old daughter Ivy in her lap, the mother of four said. 

Ivy has a debilitating condition in which she is unable to move her arms and legs, or to hold her head up on her own, after suffering a stroke in utero, according to her mother. 

"I would do anything to have Ivy sit up by herself, but she just can't do it," said Kirschenbaum. 

FAA regulations require anyone over the age of 24 months to sit in his or her own seat for taxi, takeoff and landing, according to United Airlines. There is no exception in the regulations or in the United Airlines flight attendant manual that allows a lap child over the age of 2 under any circumstances. 

Kirschenbaum said she didn't know those rules, and she wasn't stopped on her way to the Dominican Republic.

"The rules should be that she should be able to sit in a seat," she said. "Unfortunately, life doesn't play by the rules sometimes." 

The hourlong emotional episode on the plane caused a stir. 

"I just couldn't understand why this person was showing us so little compassion," she said. 

The pilot finally came up with a solution, with the help of Kirschenbaum's husband. They decided to buckle Ivy in at the waist and have her lay across her father's lap next to her. 

They all made it home safely, and Kirschenbaum said she'll use a safety seat offering additional head support for Ivy on future flights. But she doesn't regret what happened on the plane. 

"I was given an opportunity to advocate for my child. I did not back down from it, I did not take the easy road," she said. "And the lesson I hope my own children get out of it is that I will always stand beside them." 

United Airlines called Kirschenbaum Thursday to apologize for the incident, but did not say whether it took any disciplinary action against the flight attendant. 

The National Weather Service issued a winter weather advisory for the Lehigh Valley and Berks County as a system brings a mix of snow, sleet and rain to the region. 

• Track the latest conditions from anywhere with the NBC10 First Alert Weather app

Precipitation moved into the area early Saturday morning with parts north and west of Philadelphia seeing flurries as temperatures remained in the low 30s.

• Sign up for School Closing Alerts

Closer to the city, rain and light sleet fell, leading to some slippery road conditions. Temperatures will head into the low 40s, as the advisory remains in effect for Berks and Lehigh counties until 6 p.m.

The warm temperatures will prevent any snowfall from accumulating.

The wintry mix will switch completely over to rain Sunday as temperatures rise to an unseasonably warm level.

Highs in the low 60s are expected Sunday before a cold front pushes through the area, pushing temperatures back towards the freezing mark Monday.

Two inmates ran from a Berks County prison to a waiting van late Friday night.

Twenty-eight-year-old Timothy Hostetter, of Pottsville, and 22-year-old Raymond Martinez III, of Reading, escaped Wernersville Correctional Facility around 8:15 p.m., moments after the pair allegedly pulled the fire alarm, officials said.

Both men were incarcerated for nonviolent crimes, court records show.

The make and model of he getaway vehicle, a silver minivan, is unknown.

Anyone with information about the escape or either man's whereabouts is urged to contact Pennsylvania State Police at 610-378-4011.

Two other inmates ran from the same prison after pulling a fire alarm in late November.

Three people are recovering after a devastating fire destroyed several southwest Philadelphia houses and forced nearly 30 people from their homes.

The fire that started around 9 p.m. spread to three houses along the 2200 block of S. 68th Street, fire officials tell NBC10.

Fire shot into the night sky from the front and back windows of one rowhome as firefighters worked to break ventilation holes in the roof and knock back the flames.

A 70-year-old man and 32-year-old woman leapt from a second floor window to escape the fire, officials said.

Both were taken to the the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.  He broke his femur and she had leg pain, fire officials said.

A third person was also hospitalized after suffering unknown injuries in the fire.

Police and firefighters first to arrive on the scene rescued residents from at least one home, officials said.

All three homes were gutted by the blaze and 28 people, including families with children, have been displaced. Fifteen homes were left without power.

The American Red Cross is responding to the scene to help the residents.

Police found a man with a gunshot wound to his head at a North Philadelphia playground late Friday night.

The 24-year-old victim was found near 29th Street and Chalmers Avenue, authorities said.

Officers rushed the man to Temple University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 11:30 p.m.

A motive for the deadly shooting is unknown and no arrests have been made.

A $20,000 reward is being offered for information leading to an arrest and conviction, as is the case with all of the city's homicides, police said.

Over 100 people attended a “noise-in” Saturday in West Philadelphia in a show of solidarity for Mike Brown, Eric Garner and Renisha McBride.

The demonstration began around 3 p.m. at the Calvary Center on 48th Street and Baltimore Avenue.  The marchers, made up mainly of parents and children, walked down Baltimore Avenue to Clark Park at 43rd and Chester streets.

The marchers called for justice for Brown, Garner as well as Renisha McBride, a 19-year-old black woman who was shot and killed by a homeowner in November, 2013 in Michigan after she knocked on the man’s windows and front door following a car crash. The homeowner, Theodore Wafer, told police the shooting was accidental and that he believed his home was being broken into after hearing the sound of loud banging. Some have claimed however McBride’s death was a result of racial profiling.

Wafer was convicted of second-degree murder on Aug. 7, 2014 and received a sentence of 17 to 32 years in prison.

Saturday’s protest included a “noise-in,” in which the marchers shook musical instruments and made as much noise as possible for 4.5 minutes, a demonstration the protest organizers claimed represented the 4.5 hours Michael Brown’s body lay on the ground in Ferguson, Missouri.

Event organizers also said the purpose of the march was to raise awareness against institutional racism, strengthen community relationships and connect in a commitment to racial justice.

“We see the way that racism affects our communities everyday whether it’s the way that police are treating young black people, whether it’s the way our schools are funded, whether it’s the gentrification in neighborhoods, we see racism everyday around us and we know that it affects all of in different ways” said Eric Braxton, one of the participants. “So we’re all coming together to say that racism has to end and that parents and children together stand against racism and for justice in our communities.

A woman's ex-boyfriend shot her and her father early Saturday morning and then showed up at the South Jersey hospital where they were being treated, shooting himself outside the entrance to the emergency room, according to police.

The incident began in Pennsauken, Camden County, where the woman lives, police said. Shortly after 3 a.m. the unidentified woman called her father for a ride after discovering that all four of her tires on her parked car were flattened.

Her father picked her up and they began to drive off when they were suddenly met near the corner of Baird Boulevard and Marlton Pike by her ex-boyfriend, identified by police as 23-year-old Marques Johnson of Pennsauken.

Johnson, who was driving, allegedly pulled alongside the passenger side of the victims' car and fired a shotgun, striking his ex-girlfriend in the head and her father in the leg.

The father drove directly to Cooper Hospital as Johnson fled into South Camden, police said. His daughter was admitted and listed in critical condition while he was listed in stable condition.

Shortly after the shooting, an officer tried to stop Johnson's vehicle after he spotted him speed through a red light, according to officials. Johnson allegedly failed to stop and tried to escape police. He then drove to the parking lot of Cooper shortly before 3:45 a.m., parked his vehicle outside the hospital's emergency room and then shot himself in the head as he sat inside his vehicle while officers approached, officials said.

Johnson was pronounced dead at the scene. No one else was hurt during the parking lot shooting.

An investigation is underway.

Cooper is operating at normal conditions, according to a hospital spokeswoman.

A limo driver was shot and killed during a robbery in West Philadelphia Saturday night, according to a local limo service.

The unidentified 24-year-old driver, who just started working for La Primera Car Inc. a week ago, picked up two passengers on the 3200 block of 7th Street in North Philadelphia, the company's co-owner told NBC10.

The driver dropped one passenger off in North Philly and then took the second to the 5400 block of Delancey Street in West Philly around 7:10 p.m.

Without warning, the second passenger pulled out a gun and opened fire, striking the driver in the face, according to the co-owner. The passenger then stole a cell phone as well as cash before fleeing the scene.

The co-owner told NBC10 the driver's girlfriend was in the passenger seat and witnessed the shooting but was not harmed. She is currently being interviewed by detectives.

The co-owner said the company realized something was wrong when the driver no longer responded to any calls and his GPS location remained the same. They then called police who responded to the scene.

Officials have not yet released a description of the suspect or confirmed the reports from the limo service.

La Primera Car Inc. is based in North Philadelphia and is made up of about 90 drivers and vehicles, mostly Chrysler 300s and Lincoln Town cars. The victim in Saturday's shooting drove a Chrysler, according to the co-owner.

The man's death marks the third homicide in Philadelphia in 2015.
 

After over a month of searching, the body of 21-year-old college student Shane Montgomery was found Saturday. Here is the timeline of the search for Shane.

Nov. 26 – Nov. 27

• Shane Montgomery, a Roxborough native and West Chester University student goes out with his friends Thanksgiving Eve
• Shane and his friends visit Kildare’s Pub on 4417 Main Street in Manayunk
• Friends try to text Shane to tell him they are getting ready to leave. Shane’s phone is apparently dead at this point.
• Bouncer at Kildare’s tells Shane to leave after claiming he bumped into the DJ table around 1:45 a.m.
• Shane is reported missing

Nov. 28

• Volunteers, police marine unit, K-9 units join search effort along the Schuylkill River and Main Street in Manayunk

Nov. 29

• FBI joins search for Shane

Nov. 30

• Family offers $10,000 reward for information leading to Shane’s whereabouts. Fraternal Order of Police offers $5,000 reward
• Help Find Shane Go Fund Me Page created

Dec. 1

• Digital billboards begin to display Shane’s pictures
• West Chester University releases statement on Shane’s disappearance
• Kildare’s Irish Pub offers $10,000 for information leading to Shane’s whereabouts, bringing reward total up to $25,000

Dec. 3

• Overall reward money increases to $31,000 after contributions from the Grog Grill in Brwyn Mawr, Pa. and the Student Government Association of West Chester University

Dec. 4

• Bimbo Bakeries adds $9,000, bringing reward total to $40,000
• Kildare’s publicly announces that employees saw Shane walking on Main Street about 45 minutes to an hour after he left the pub
• FBI announces they expanded search area from Schuylkill River to Henry Avenue and Green Lane to Lincoln Drive

Dec. 6

• Reward increases to $50,000.
• Rosary for Shane held at St. John the Baptist Church on 146 Rector Street
• Volunteers wear green ribbons to raise awareness and honor Shane

Dec. 7

• Volunteers distribute flyers on Shane’s disappearance before Eagles game at Lincoln Financial Field

Dec. 9

• Reward increases to $65,000

Dec. 10

• FBI receives new clue which prompts search in canal area

Dec. 17

• Montgomery family announces they reached out to Garden State Underwater Recovery Unit, a volunteer diving recovery team, for help in the search

Dec. 20

• Runners participate in 5K run in Manayunk to spread awareness for Shane

Dec. 21

• Garden State Underwater Recovery Unit finds Shane’s personal keys in the Schuylkill River

Dec. 23

• Shane’s mother says she texts her son every day to “ask him to help me find him,” during interview with TODAY Show

Jan. 1

• Jesters wear green ribbons in honor of Shane during Mummers Parade

Jan. 3 

• Body found in the Schuylkill River behind the Manayunk Street Brewery at Main Street and Shurs Lane around 12:15 p.m.  Family confirms it's Shane

The fears of Shane Montgomery's parents became a reality Saturday afternoon when crews pulled the body of the missing West Chester University student from the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia's Manayunk neighborhood.

"Today we have done what we promised," Shane's mother, Karen Montgomery said as she choked back tears. "We found and brought Shane home."

Authorities have not yet confirmed the identity of the man found, however, Shane's family confirmed to NBC10 the body is the Roxborough native.

Shane's father, Kevin, stood alongside his wife in the frigid rain outside the Manayunk Brewery as she tearfully thanked all those who helped in the search efforts.

As the parents concluded their remarks, they asked for the public to respect their privacy at this time.

"We need time to mourn together as a family," said Karen, her voice cracking as she looked up from the paper in her hands for the first time. Her full statement has been posted to the Help Find Shane Montgomery Facebook page.

Shane's uncle Kevin Verbrugghe told NBC10 he texted his nephew "come home" Saturday morning.

Hours later, Shane's body was found. His parents stood a short distance from the river at the time.

Garden State Underwater Recovery Unit divers discovered the body in the water behind the Manayunk Brewery, located near Main Street and Shurs Lane in Manayunk, around 12:15 p.m., Philadelphia Police said.

"There was that moment that you kind of hoped it wasn't Shane," Verbrugghe said. "But at the same time he's in God's hands." 

The discovery occurred in the same portion of the Schuylkill River where divers concentrated their search for Shane in the five weeks since he was reported missing.

His body was found at the bottom of the Schuylkill, about 10-feet away from the bank of the river, according to a member of the dive team.

"God blsss the divers," Verbrugghe said. "They will forever be part of our family. "

Police sources told NBC10 he was wearing the same clothes his family remembered him wearing the night of his disappearance.

Surveillance video captured Shane walking early Thanksgiving morning toward the Schuylkill River after leaving Kildare's Irish Pub around 1:45 a.m. 

Searches by ground, air and water ensued and gained nationwide attention. A reward for information leading to Montgomery's whereabouts climbed to $65,000, but as the days crept on, hope of finding him alive faded.

Federal agents operated on the theory that the Roman Catholic High School alum was in the Schuylkill River since early on in their search efforts. Three weeks after Shane went missing, a group of volunteer divers found Montgomery's keys in the river next to a parking lot.

Karen said late last month finding her son, even by pulling his body from the river, would bring closure to the family.

A group of Mummers honored Shane by wearing special ribbons during their annual New Year's Day parade in Philadelphia. The ribbons' color — green — is Shane's favorite and is also associated with missing children.

The Medical Examiner will officially identify the body Monday. Shane's family has not yet released information on funeral arrangements.

A man is dead after he was shot early Sunday morning while driving along a North Philly street, leading him to crash into several parked cars.

Police responded to the crash scene on the 3700 block of North Delhi Street, just north of Erie Avenue and 10th Street, around 3 a.m. and found the victim in the car with a gunshot wound to the chest, officials said.

Rescuers pronounced the unidentified man, who was in his late 30s, dead at the scene.

No arrests have been made and a motive is unknown.

A bomb squad unit investigated multiple reports of loud bangs in a South Jersey community early Sunday morning after a blast destroyed a cast iron mailbox.

Officers responded to the 1200 block of Sequoia Road, part of a cul-de-sac near Marlkress Road, in Cherry Hill just after midnight to discover a mailbox had been destroyed with explosives, police said.

No one was hurt in the blast.

No arrests have been made. An investigation is underway.

Hoping to treat your kids to a live performance of "Let it Go"? Additional seats are now available for "Disney on Ice Presents Frozen," taking place from Christmas Day until Jan. 4, 2015.

More tickets are available for all 28 shows, which are being held at the Wells Fargo Center in South Philly, according to a Wells Fargo spokesman.

Fans can purchase seats at the Wells Fargo box office or by visiting ComcastTix.com.

A woman is fighting for her life after a car struck her as she crossed a Berks County roadway late Saturday night.

Nicole Chamberlain, of Womelsdorf, was crossing Route 422, near Tulpehocken Forge Road, in Heidelberg Township around 11:30 p.m. when a 1998 Nissan Sentra traveling west struck her, police said.

Rescuers rushed Chamberlain to Reading Hospital with life-threatening injuries, officials said.

The Nissan's driver, Michael McCowan, of Myerstown, was not hurt in the accident.

An investigation is underway. It is unclear if charges McCowan will face charges.