Pope Francis to Visit United Nations, Address General Assembly

March 19, 2015, 10:11 am

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The United Nations announced Wednesday that Pope Francis will visit during his trip to the United States, addressing the U.N. General Assembly in New York the morning of Sept. 25, before heading to Philadelphia.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stated he was confident the pope's visit will inspire the international community to increase efforts for social justice and tolerance worldwide.

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The pope will meet with the president of the General Assembly, in addition to participating in a town hall-style gathering with U.N. staff members, according to the announcement.

This stop is one of a few for Pope Francis on his first venture to the United States. He will spend time in Washington, D.C. to address a joint meeting of Congress the day before he heads to New York. Pope Francis is then expected to arrive in Philadelphia Friday evening as the World Meeting of Families wraps on Sept. 25.

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Saturday, Pope Francis will participate in a cultural celebration called the Festival of Families on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway and then on Sunday, the pope says Mass on the Parkway to a crowd that could swell to 2 million.

The Vatican is expected to release the pope's official trip itinerary in July, two months before the pope arrives in the U.S.

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NJ Flags to Fly at Half-Staff for Fallen Marine

March 19, 2015, 2:39 pm

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Gov. Chris Christie has ordered all state flags to fly at half-staff on Monday to honor a New Jersey Marine killed in a Black Hawk helicopter crash last week.

Capt. Stanford Henry Shaw III was from Basking Ridge, and attended Ridge High School. The 31-year-old was student government president and captain of the varsity lacrosse team.

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Seven special operations Marines forces based in North Carolina and four National Guard soldiers from Louisiana were killed in the training mission crash in Florida.

He attended the United States Naval Academy and upon his graduation in 2006 became a commissioned Marine officer. After graduating from the Infantry Officer Course, he was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 7th Marines.

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He served two tours of duty in Iraq.

Photo Credit: U.S. Marines

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Taxpayers Spend $25M for Philly Offices, Storage

March 19, 2015, 7:01 pm

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The City of Philadelphia spends $24.8 million dollars to lease 1.3 million square feet of office space last year. That space included 200,000 additional square feet — after a city report concluded the city leased more space than it needed.

The report was prepared in 2013 when the city leased 1.1 million square feet.

"A lot of places, they just had too much space," said Philadelphia businessman Tom Knox, who said some offices with "million dollar views" were being used only for storage.

Mayor Nutter appointed Knox to chair a review of city property in 2013.

Knox said, at the time, his report found the city wasted hundreds of thousands of square feet of leased space. He said some was used as storage.

City records obtained by the NBC 10 Investigators show the $24.8 million covers leases in 37 spaces. The most expensive properties include nine floors inside the Aramark tower for $5.5 million annually, seven floors at 13th and Chestnut for $4.5 million, and $2.1 million for a floor inside an office building at 6th and Walnut.

"It is taxpayer money and we want to spend it appropriately,” said Deputy Mayor Everett Gillison who oversees the city's Public Property Department. Gillison defends the department's process for determining when leasing property is a necessary expense and explained why he thinks allegations of wasted space may be more of an issue of perception versus reality.

"The taxpayer sees more money, more square feet after you just got a report saying you're wasting space and money," Gillison said. "But again, I would always say the conclusion is easy to state, but the specifics that are attached to that are what has to be understood."

Gillison said some of the extra office space now houses the Philadelphia Police Department’s Special Victims Unit and a Department of Human Services office.

Knox and his commission made seven recommendations including changing the way the city negotiates property leases and hiring more people for the department of public property.

"I don't know if he implemented any of the recommendations in that report, at all," Knox said.

Gillison said the city now uses a multiple step process to determine if a department needs more space, whether leasing is a good solution and then which space to secure if needed.

Photo Credit: NBC10

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Memories Not Lost: GoPro Cam Mystery at Jersey Shore

March 19, 2015, 4:00 pm

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A family probably thought their recorded memories of a trip to the Jersey Shore were lost – swept away forever thanks to the crash of a wave – but thanks to a Good Samaritan and a tenacious detective those memories only appear to be misplaced.

Someone found a GoPro camera full of one family’s memories in the surf off Cape May on Aug. 24. That person turned the cam into Cape May Police where the camera sat unclaimed.

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Det. Joseph Walker hopes the memories – including video of four children and two adults – find a home once the right people see this story.

“As a parent myself … you would hope to get those images and videos back to them.”

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After going into the water near Decatur Street, the camera turned up about a half mile away a few hours later.

Walker came upon the camera this month during an audit of unclaimed items in the police department’s property room.

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“When we recovered it, we had assumed someone would claim it as property,” said Walker.

But, the parents and four children seen in a series of videos recorded on a GoPro Hero 3+ cam remained a mystery since no one ever claimed it.

“I’m hoping that somebody sees it, recognizes the mom and the dad in the video there and that they reach out to us,” said Walker.

If you know the people in the video please contact Cape May City Police.

Photo Credit: NBC10

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Motorcade Honors Fallen Hero Officer

March 19, 2015, 9:43 pm

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Hundreds of motorcycle riders and Philadelphia Police rode together Thursday night to remember a hero.

Philadelphia Police Officer Sgt. Robert Wilson III was gunned down two weeks ago during a robbery gone wrong in North Philadelphia.

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On Thursday they rode from the Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge No. 5 along Caroline Road in Northeast Philadelphia to Wilson's 22nd District station at 17th Street and Montgomery Avenue in North Philadelphia.

Hundreds of bikers could be seen riding in solidarity to remember Wilson.

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Photo Credit: Philadelphia Police

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Deadly Police Shooting Protest at Meeting Turns Violent

March 19, 2015, 8:56 pm

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A fight broke out -- chairs and punches thrown -- Thursday night at a community meeting in Philadelphia to protest District Attorney Seth Williams’ announcement that two police officers have been cleared in the shooting death of Brandon Tate-Brown. Police arrested 10 people.

Protesters interrupted the meeting at the Lawncrest Recreation Center along Rising Sun Avenue, which also featured Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey. "No justice, no peace," chanted the crowd. Then protesters got close to Ramsey and Williams.

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At some point the protest turned violent. At least one person was thrown to the ground and chairs were tossed out of the way. Police could then be seen clearing the room of protesters.

Following the incident around 7 p.m., police rushed to the scene and began to make arrests -- taking 10 people into custody. No one required medical treatment.

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Earlier in the day, Williams announced his findings and released video of the shooting death of Tate-Brown during a traffic stop along Frankford Avenue on Dec. 15, 2014.

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"The facts show a tragedy, a terrible tragedy, but not a crime," Williams said during a news conference Thursday at his Center City office.

Tate-Brown’s mother, Tanya Brown-Dickerson, and others have continued to question the action of the officers during the deadly incident. They have also questioned the circumstances that led to the traffic stop.

"So which one was it? Did his car match a robbery? Were his lights off? or was he pulled over for driving while black?" questioned attorney Brian Mildenberg.

Police said Tate-Brown had only his parking lights on when he was stopped and became combative during the stop.

Ramsey said he understands that there are strained relations between police and some of the public.

"What you saw here today was actually embaressing," Ramsey told PhillyMag.com's Joel Mathis.

Ramsey and Williams stuck around and the community meeting eventually continued with far fewer people in attendance.

Photo Credit: Philadelphia Inquirer

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Body Pulled From NJ River Identified as Missing WSJ Reporter

March 19, 2015, 5:15 pm

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A body pulled from a New Jersey river late Wednesday afternoon has been identified as the 55-year-old Wall Street Journal reporter who disappeared more than a year ago while out on a walk, authorities say.

Prosecutors said the medical examiner's office was able to confirm the body as David Bird, an energy markets reporter who vanished in January 2014, using dental records.

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His remains were pulled from a section of the Passaic River bordering Somerset and Morris counties about a mile from Hick's Tract Park, one of Bird's favorite walking spots. Two men canoeing in that part of the river came across a red jacket near branches Wednesday and notified police.

Bird's cause and manner of death remain under investigation.

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Authorities had been looking for Bird since he went for a walk in the area Jan. 11, 2014. His wife called police when he didn't return to their Milllington home after two hours. Police searched the woods and waterways following Bird's disappearance, but were unable to find the man.

The discovery of Bird's body came the same day that his wife launched a website to help find her husband. The site advertised a $10,000 reward for information leading to Bird's discovery.

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Bird had worked for the Associated Press and Trenton Times before joining the Wall Street Journal's staff.

He had received a liver transplant shortly before he disappeared, and authorities said at the time that he didn't take a cellphone or his medications with him when he left for the walk.

"David Bird was a longstanding and valued member of the Dow Jones newsroom, and we are deeply saddened to learn today of his death," Gerard Baker, editor in chief of The Wall Street Journal, said in a statement. "Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends."

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Dump Truck Takes Out Utility Pole

March 19, 2015, 5:39 pm

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SkyForce10 was over West Kensington where investigators said a dump truck took out a power pole. The truck hit some overhead wires near 3rd and Oxford streets.

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Longtime News Journal Politcal Cartoonist Dies

March 19, 2015, 7:53 pm

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Cartoonist Jack Jurden died at 88 years old. He spent decades making cartoons for the News Journal.

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Deadly Crash Closes Major Road, DUI Possible

March 19, 2015, 9:12 pm

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Police closed a major Bucks County road for hours after a deadly crash Thursday night that left two people in one vehicle dead and the driver of the other vehicle being tested for a possible DUI.

The wreck along E Street Road in Feasterville, Pennsylvania left people trapped inside their vehicle around 8:30 p.m., said county dispatchers.

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Two in one car died -- one at the scene. Crews possibly cut the other driver from his or her vehicle and rushed that driver to the hospital where the driver was tested for possibly being under the influence, said the Bucks County District Attorney's Office.

The wreck left Street Road closed between Bustleton and Philmont avenues and police warned the closure could last for hours as they investigated.

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As SkyForce10 hovered over the scene. Crews could be seen responding to a large vehicle on its side and a nearby sedan with significant damage.

Photo Credit: NBC10 - George Spencer

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Driver Crashes Into North Philly Homes

March 19, 2015, 6:19 pm

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SkyForce10 was over North Philadelphia Thursday where a driver crashed into several homes along Hilton Street.

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Push to Fix Deteriorating Philly Bridges

March 19, 2015, 6:43 pm

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This is a revised plan to patch up deteriorating bridges in Philadelphia, specifically bridges that aren't owned by the city.

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Public Denied Access to Meeting Over Controversial City Decisions

March 19, 2015, 7:49 pm

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Residents at the Jersey Shore are claiming they were shut out just as they were trying to get answers about controversial decisions made by their city council. NBC10's Ted Greenberg shows how tempers boiled over at one meeting, and now reports back in Cape May where the controversy continues.

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5 Vehicles Crash, Multiple People Hurt

March 19, 2015, 7:05 pm

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Five vehicles collided leaving a busy South Jersey road closed Thursday night.

Multiple people suffered injuries in the wreck along Route 73 northbound near Hayes Mill Road in Winslow Township, Camden County around 9 p.m.

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The force of the wreck also took down a utility pole, said county dispatchers.

No word yet on the extent of injuries.

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It also wasn’t clear when police would clear the scene.

Photo Credit: SkyForce10

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Attorney to Spend Decades in Prison for Child Abuse

March 19, 2015, 6:45 pm

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Chester County attorney Lawrence Carroll will spend up to 24 years in prison for sexually abusing a child. He was arrested last year for crimes that happened in the 1990s.

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50-Year Toll Collector

March 19, 2015, 6:51 pm

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Many New Yorkers are likely to cross paths with hundreds, maybe even thousands, of people on any given day. But most would be hard pressed to top the 12 million or so that Liz Branch has met at work in the last half-century.

Branch, of Bergen, New Jersey, recently celebrated her golden anniversary as a toll collector for the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey. It's a milestone few others working on the crossings between the Garden and Empire states have hit.

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“I never dreamed I’d make it 50 years but I made it,' she said with a smile.

Branch, who was born and raised in Brooklyn, collects tolls overnight at the Holland Tunnel, and had been taking change from commuters since March 1965, when she was one of a handful of women to land the job.

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Since then, she's worked through lane changes, plaza redesigns, the start of E-Z Pass and even the blizzard of 1978, which shut down the region.

"A lot has changed since then," she said. "An awful lot."

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But there’s one constant in Branch's career -- the never-ending stream of drivers. The Port Authority says she has taken tolls from 12 million drivers -- more than half the population of the entire tri-state area -- in her 50 years. And in that time she’s learned a trick for bringing the rudest drivers down a peg.

"You hold it just enough to keep it from blowing away and when they snatch it they pretty much hit themselves," she said.

Still, she says she has good interactions with most drivers. Her sunny disposition has even gotten her some loyal followers. The Holland Tunnel's general manager, Tony Carvagno, says that some drivers will search for Branch’s toll lanes.

"She gets to know her customers,” he said. “They get to know her. They purposely look for her in the lane at night and drive through her lane."

Branch doesn't plan to hang up her toll collector's jacket any time soon. She said as long as she can make a difference in drivers' days, she’ll be ready to welcome millions more to the Big Apple.

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No Charges for Truck Driver in Fiery Crash

March 19, 2015, 10:11 pm

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There will be no charges filed for the tanker truck driver involved in a fiery crash in Pennsauken, New Jersey.

Photo Credit: NBC10 - Viewer Submission

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