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College Basketball Team to Honor Murdered Player

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Micah Fisher was an innocent bystander when he was killed during an argument over rent. His college team will retire his jersey on Saturday.

X-mas Tree Fire Hazards

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How to protect yourself against a holiday fire.

Black Bear Hunt Starts Monday

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Hunting season for bears in the Garden State will be short.

Chop Shop Arrests

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Two men were arrested and charged with 10 counts of stealing cars and selling them for parts.

Virus Looks Like FedEx, UPS Notes

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A new computer virus called CryptoLocker is costing people money. Be wary, because it looks like email coming from FedEx or UPS.

Temple Axes 7 Sports Programs

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Temple University confirmed today that it is dropping seven sports in 2014 in an effort to concentrate on its Olympic sports programs.

The school is shutting down baseball, softball, men's crew, men's gymnastics, men's outdoor and indoor track and field, women's softball and women's rowing -- affecting 150 students and nine full-time coaches. With the reduction, Temple will go from 24 varsity sports to 17.

"Temple does not have the resources to equip, staff, and provide a positive competitive experience for 24 varsity sports. Continuing this model does a disservice to our student-athletes," Kevin G. Clark, vice president and director of athletics, said in a statement on the school's website.

"We need to have the right-sized program to create a sustainable model for Temple University Athletics moving forward," he said.

Temple says the reduction would put the school in line with other universities in The American Athletic Conference, which the school participates.

Clark notified the affected student-athletes of the decision during a meeting on Friday. One student, who recorded part of the announcement and posted it to YouTube, can be heard crying as he spoke.

Derek Peterson, senior captain and third baseman on Temple's baseball team, was also in attendance.

"I was obviously really hurt. It is an issue that is bigger than me personally," the 22-year-old said of the announcement. "The baseball program has had a lot of success here and there has been a team since the 1920s. There is a long legacy of baseball tradition here."

Peterson says the team will get the opportunity to one final season this upcoming spring semester. Though, he and his teammates have already begun discussing ways to save the sport from  disbandment.

“It is more about empowering them to achieve victory, but this time it is not on the field," he said. "Every unfortunate event also leaves an incredible opportunity and I think we are pursing ways that we can achieve that, just as we would if it was the college World Series."

School administrators cite program costs, crumbling and outdated facilities and Title IX regulations that require male and female athletes to be treated equally as reasons for the planned cut. Officials say they made the decision after conducting a seven-month long study.

Temple's boathouse, which stood along the banks of the Schuylkill River and was owned by the city, was condemned more than five years ago. Tents were constructed to hold the rowing equipment, but a winter storm crushed the structure and damaged equipment.

The university announced plans to build a new boathouse in March 2012, but those plans were withdrawn in the spring of this year. A Temple spokesman said a new boathouse would have required a $10 million investment.

Junior Erin Matz, a 20-year-old coxswain on the school's rowing team, says although she can't compete her senior year, she plans to stay at Temple.

"I still see myself as a Temple Owl. I’m going to graduate from Temple," she said. "I hope to still be able to row. Maybe for a club or something. That's the hard part, going into my senior year and not being able to compete with my teammates for my school."

The school said it plans to honor student scholarships until the athletes graduate and that it would also help student-athletes who want to transfer.

The last time Temple cut programs was in 1986, when it eliminated eight sports.

Temple alum Allan Malone was a part of the men's gymnastics team during his time at the school's North Philadelphia campus. He called the decision "madness."

"One of the main factors in choosing Temple was because of the gymnastics program," he said. "The athletes of Temple University are a family. And this family will stand by each other and see to it that all members of the family stay put."

As for the school choosing to focus its efforts on larger programs, Peterson says there's no bad blood.

“It is not us versus them. This whole athletic department is one big family since I got here," he said.

Here's social media reaction from Temple students:

 



Photo Credit: Getty Images

'Ninja Turtle Kid' Honored for Helping Mom Battle Cancer

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Braden Levinton, a 5-year-old who calls himself a member of the Ninja Turtles, helped his mother through her extensive breast cancer treatment. Now, the medical team is paying him back for all that support.

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Ex-GOP Chief Accused of Rape Faces Out-of-County Judge

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A former Republican party chairman from suburban Philadelphia charged with rape will appear before an out-of-county judge for an upcoming hearing.

Ex-Montgomery County GOP chairman Robert Kerns' preliminary hearing is tentatively scheduled for Dec. 16, according to The Intelligencer.

Investigators said Kerns offered an employee a ride after a work party Oct. 25, gave her wine laced with a sleep-inducing prescription drug and raped her in his car while she was unconscious. They also allege that he sexually abused her after he took her home.

District Judge Robert Sobeck was granted permission to recuse himself from the case. He did not give a reason. His replacement has not yet been picked.

The 66-year-old Kerns faces charges including rape of an unconscious person and aggravated indecent assault. He denies the allegations.

Embattled Homicide Detective Officially Fired: Sources

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Ron Dove, the Philadelphia Police homicide detective accused of withholding evidence on cases and helping his girlfriend following a murder, has officially been fired from the force, sources say.

Dove, a 16-year veteran of the department, was suspended with the intent to dismiss last month after evidence surfaced that he helped his lover, Erica Sanchez, in the hours after she allegedly murdered her ex-husband Cesar Vera.

The suspension has a 30 day window and as of Friday, it closed, sources tell NBC10.

Sources say Dove is also being investigated for allegedly covering up three murders.

A new probe into those cases led crime scene investigators to dig at a lot in North Philadelphia. There, police found a human's lower jawbone, sources said.

Police are conducting DNA testing to determine whether the parts belong to a missing man named Reynaldo Torres.

Torres was last seen with his friend, Melanie Colon, last May. Colon was found murdered some time later, but Torres was never located. Dove was the detective who investigated Colon's murder, sources said.



Photo Credit: Philadelphia Police

Town's Private Ambulance Plan on Hold

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Officials in a Delaware County town are putting a plan to partially privatize its ambulance service on hold -- for now.

A spokesman for the Springfield Township Board of Directors says town leaders and members of the Springfield Ambulance Corps are working toward a deal to keep the volunteer organization as the primary ambulance operators.

The change comes following a meeting between both sides on Friday.

NBC10.com first told you last month how the town of 23,000 was ready to sign a deal that would make an ambulance crew from Crozer-Keystone Health System the primary ambulance operators on weekday mornings and afternoons. The move would displace the Springfield Ambulance Corps, who have served the town for the past 65 years, during that time.

Township officials said the move was to ensure the town had enough ambulances to cover the need and cut down on the number of times officials have to ask other towns to come in and answer an emergency call. Called, mutual aid, such calls adds additional response time and costs, officials said.

The ambulance corps fought the move, saying it was unnecessary, would ruin the corps and cost residents more money. The 90-member organization runs a program that offers residents two free ambulance rides a year in exchange for a $25 donation. Corps leaders say the private crew isn't legally allowed to forgive the cost -- which can run from $80 to $300 or more.

"The leadership of the Springfield Board of Commissioners and Springfield Ambulance Corps met today and had a very productive discussion about how they can work together to address the issue of missed emergency response calls and calls requiring mutual aid,” said Pete Peterson, spokesperson for Springfield Township.

"The respective leaders of the board and corps have agreed that it makes more sense to benchmark the issue of missed calls and need for mutual aid and attempt to correct them with the current system in place," he said.

Peterson says both sides will now meet separately with their organizations and try and hammer out a plan. He says if an agreement can be reached, the Crozer deal would disappear.

That deal was set to begin on Jan. 1, 2014.


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



Photo Credit: Springfield Township

Man Killed by SEPTA Bus, Driver Kept Going

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An elderly man has been killed after being hit by a SEPTA bus and officials are trying to determine whether the bus driver realized he struck the man.

The 64-year-old man was hit by a SEPTA bus at 8:49 p.m. on Friday at 79th St. and Cheltenham Ave. in the Cedarbrook section of the city, police said.

He was rushed to Albert Einstein Medical Center, where he later died.

The bus kept on going after hitting the man, police said.

A bus, police believe was the one involved in the incident, was located a short time later at Broad and Erie Streets in North Philadelphia. That's about five miles from the scene.

However, the driver told investigators he did not know he hit anyone. The bus also did not have any visible signs of damage, SEPTA officials said.

Police plan to look at the bus' surveillance cameras to see whether the stopped bus was involved. If not, SEPTA says it'll retrace other buses driving near the scene.



Photo Credit: NBC10.com

Fire, Broken Pipe Displaces 100+ Residents

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More than 100 people were forced out of their apartment building and into the rain following a fire and broken water pipe.

A mattress caught fire in an apartment on the 16th floor of a high-rise, part of the Fairhill Philadelphia Housing Authority complex, at 11th and York Streets in North Philadelphia just before 9 p.m. on Friday, fire officials said.

A number of elderly and handicapped residents had to be rescued and evacuated from the building by police officers and firefighters.

Firefighters were able to quickly bring the fire under control, but in the meantime, a water pipe burst in the building forcing the power to be cut.

The resulting incident prompted officials to evacuate the entire 160-unit building, officials said.

The American Red Cross set up a shelter at the nearby Deburgos Elementary School at 4th and Lehigh Streets.

Red Cross officials say at least 100 people have already arrived at the shelter.

Knife-Wielding Robber Demands Drugs

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Deptford Township Police are searching for an armed robber targeting pharmacies for oxycodone. He's already hit Walmart and Target. NBC10's Daralene Jones talked to police about the bigger issue they deal with this time of year, increased crime at shopping centers and malls.

Dead Marine's Heart "Harvested"

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The family of a U.S. Marine who committed suicide inside a U.S. Embassy in Greece says their son was buried without a heart, after the Greek government performed an illegal autopsy on his body and “harvested” the organ.

Craig and Beverly LaLoup, of Coatesville, Pa., filed a lawsuit in federal court on Friday against the U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Navy and U.S. government for negligence, emotional distress and alleged mistreatment of their son’s body.

U.S. Marine Sgt. Brian LaLoup, who was stationed at the U.S. Embassy in Athens, Greece, shot himself following a night out drinking in the Greek capital on Aug. 12, 2012, according to the court filing. The 22-year-old allegedly had been at an off-duty party when he told a fellow officer he was considering ending his life.

“I don’t have anyone who loves me,” he allegedly said. He then apparently told the officer he was planning to shoot himself in the face with a shotgun.

That officer notified a superior, listed in the suit as Staff Sgt. Martinez, about Brian’s intentions. But instead of getting him medical care, the commander allegedly took him out to drink more – a violation of Marine Corps protocol, the lawsuit claims.

Later that night, Brian went into an unlocked room inside the embassy, where weapons were stored, and committed suicide. According to court documents, he was visibly drunk and distraught and passed a guard on his way through the building.

Brian was taken to an Athens hospital and pronounced dead. The family says his body was left unguarded and because of that, the body was moved to a Greek morgue where, several days later, an illegal autopsy was performed. It was during that autopsy that Brian’s heart was removed, according to the complaint.

The sergeant’s body was flown back to the United States and upon arrival at Dover Air Force Base, a second autopsy was performed. The LaLoups say that’s when officials realized the heart was gone. However, the family claims they were never told their son’s heart was gone until after he was buried.

“Instead of being honest and up-front with the family and taking the appropriate action to have the heart returned, [the] Defendants decided to lie and conceal this fact from the Plaintiffs,” the suit says. “As a result of Defendants’ failure to act, Sgt. LaLoup’s heart was destroyed by the Greek government.”

According to the lawsuit, the family said they were told only parts of their son’s scalp were missing and they didn’t realize his heart was gone until after another officer told them “by accident."

“He extended to me a piece of paper as he stated it was his heart that was missing. I asked him why were we told it was parts of his scalp. His reply was, ‘that they were not going to tell us because that is not something you tell a grieving mother,’" Beverly LaLoup stated in the filing.

After the LaLoups lodged complaints about the situation, the lawsuit claims the Greek government sent a heart they claimed was Brian’s to the United States. However, DNA testing showed it was not his organ, according to the filing. The heart still remains missing.

The couple believes officials violated several protocols and intentionally lied to them about the missing heart, the suit states. They are asking for more than $75,000 in damages.


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



Photo Credit: NBC10.com

Lehigh Valley Winter Warriors

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People in the Lehigh Valley are out trying to beat Sunday's nasty weather especially with just three shopping weekends until Christmas. NBC10's Chris Cato tells us the cold rain didn't keep people away from the mall.

NBC10 First Alert Weather: Winter Storm Coming

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What can you expect for the forthcoming winter storm? Glenn's got you covered.

Cabbie Carjacked, Shot

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A cab driver was carjacked and shot in the face early this morning in North Philadelphia.

According to a security guard who police say witnessed the shooting, the gunman was a bar patron who had been kicked out of a club around 5 a.m. in the 3900 block of Old York Road. He hailed a cab.

When the cabbie pulled over, the bar patron allegedly yanked the driver out of the town car and shot him twice in the face.

A security guard who saw the shooting pulled out his gun and shot at the suspect. The gunman jumped into the town car, took off and then ditched the car a few blocks away at 10th and Venango.

The cab driver, 46, was rushed to Temple University Hospital where he is in critical condition.

Police are searching for the gunman.

Back in June, another Philadelphia cab driver, William Carney III, was shot at point blank range by a man he picked up for a ride to Germantown.

"I heard the shot. I felt the impact," said Carney who tried to drive himself to the hospital.

In September, the Taxi Workers Alliance of Pennsylvania asked the City of Philadelphia to do more to protect drivers.

"Drivers are assaulted everyday for nothing," said the organization's Vice President at the time.

The organization asked the city to install surveillance cameras inside their vehicles as well as panic buttons that would be a direct link to 911. They also asked for signs to be placed inside their vehicles that warn drivers that it is a crime to assault taxi drivers.



Photo Credit: NBC10.com

Boy Escapes NJ Home Invaders

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A 10-year-old boy managed to run and alert a neighbor when two robbers broke into his New Jersey home and tied up his mother as his sibling watched, police say. 

The boy was inside the Brick, N.J. home on Montclair Drive Thursday evening when the two men broke in, according to police. The child ran out and went to a neighbor, who called police. 

Responding officers found the boy's mother bound and gagged on the floor, and the boy's younger sibling inside the home. Neither was hurt. 

The mother, who owns the home, told police that the robbers were dressed in all black and wearing scarves over their faces, and may have been armed with long guns. The robbers ransacked the home and ran away. 

While canvassing the area, police arrested a trespasser several blocks from the home, a man from Neptune, but it's not clear if he was one of the two home invaders. 

Neighbors in the quiet neighborhood were upset to learn of the violent intrusion.

"I've been here 38 years, we've never had anything like this happening here," said neighbor Iris Chiesa. 

"I need to lock my doors tonight, that's what it makes me think," said another neighbor, Jim Hicks. 

Brick police believe they're making progress in their investigation. They won't say if the home was targeted, but Chief Nils Bergquist said he believes the incident is isolated. 

35 Years, 800,000 Hours Later...

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Philadelphia librarian and social justice advocate Marion Marguerite Stokes spent 35 years of her life recording nearly every minute of every program on every local and national news network on VHS and Beta Max cassette tapes.

Now, her commitment to tracking television news may result in a searchable collection of more than 800,000 uninterrupted hours of historical news footage.

Stokes' son, Michael Metelits says the creation of the enormous collection was a life-dominating and often arduous task for his mother, who died of lung disease in December, 2012.  But despite criticism from observers, Stokes maintained that the time she spent operating as many as 20 recorders at a time, swapping out one 6-hour tape after another, would not be in vain.

"I don't think anybody escaped helping her with this process. As you'd imagine a process like this, it just dominates family life and it just kind of structures pretty much everything else that goes on," Metelits said. "But she was really a kind of uncompromising person; she knew what she wanted and this was very important to her."

In an effort to honor his mother's life's work, Metelits has teamed up with non-profit digital archive company The Internet Archive with hopes of converting Stokes' 140,000 video cassette tape collection into a digital, searchable archive that would be made available to the public via the internet.

Director of television archive at the Internet archive Roger Macdonald said Stokes' archive could be a very useful addition to the company's ever-growing digital news collection.

"If we’re able to successfully digitize this, it will open up a big window on local and national news, that’s unprecedented," Macdonald said. "At the Internet Archive we’re working to record and open up U.S. television news for research purposes and we’ve been recording since late 2000; but the addition of this collection would extend our archive back three decades."

Metelits recovered his mother's video cassette collection after she died. Shortly thereafter, he reached out to the Internet Archive and the process of preserving the tapes began.

Many of the tapes were stored in Stokes' old home in Boston, where she'd lived for nearly 8 years or in one of three storage areas in Warminster, Pa. So, the first step for Metelits was to get all of the tapes in one place, to have them organized and packaged to ship.

It took Metelits and a team of family and family friends a full year to gather all of the video tapes into one storage unit and organize them by recording date. Finally, last Friday, the collection was shipped from a Philadelphia storage unit to the Internet Archive offices in San Francisco, Calif. The cost of shipping was roughly $16,000, but it’s a cost Metelits says was well worth the effort.

"It's been hard work but we're just delighted that there's an institution like the Internet Archive that's able to accept them and that's actually going to do something with them that my mother would actually approve of," he said.

According to Metelits, his mother's urge to record the news began with her observation of news coverage surrounding the Iranian hostage crisis of 1979 and the emergence of CNN as a 24-hour news channel. Stokes was interested in documenting the way various networks' coverage of news stories would change over time. When people questioned her dedication to the peculiar hobby, Metelits says Stokes eventually stopped fighting to explain her motives and settled in to saying, "I’m archiving. Leave it at that."

Metelits described Stokes as a kind but firm woman who cared deeply for social causes and enjoyed collecting all sorts of things. In the 1960s, Stokes participated in several civil rights marches, including the march to integrate Girard College in 1965, and produced what was then considered a groundbreaking discussion show called Input, which aired on a then WCAU station channel.

In addition to her massive collection of video cassette recordings, Metelits says his mother possessed a collection of innumerable boxes of newspapers, some 192 Macintosh computers (in their original boxes), and a collection of toys and dollhouses that he's currently working to find private collectors for.

Macdonald says digitizing the video collection will be nearly as expensive and time consuming as Stokes' original process, so it may be years before the collection is actually made available to the public in digital form. For now, the organization is focusing on fundraising and awareness.

"We've had estimates of needing 10-15 decks running simultaneously, and one to two people manning those and entering the meta-data of dates and times but we’re really not sure how many people or how many years it will take," Macdonald said. “The Stokes family contributed the transport fees and they will make an initial contribution from the Stokes estate to get us started on the digitization process. And we’ll look to let others know about this remarkable collection and our attempt to make it available for research and hopefully they'll be willing to contribute."

Metelits said he believes his mother would be proud of the digitization project.

"She faced a bit of opposition, not just from her family members who thought it was strange, but from lots of other people about how worthwhile this project was, whether it would ever amount to anything, whether anyone would ever find it useful," he said. "So, I think she’d feel a great deal of vindication at the interest that’s been shown in this archive.”



Photo Credit: The Estate of Marion Stokes
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