Philadelphia taxi and limo drivers angry with ride-sharing services UberX and Lyft cutting into their business took to the streets in Center City Wednesday, leaving dozens of cabs blocking traffic and blaring horns.

The Taxi Workers Alliance and the Philadelphia Limo Association gathered on city streets around 12:30 p.m. to protest ride-sharing claiming that public safety and a lack of taxation are putting the people of Pennsylvania in peril. Some also claimed to be making less money as people turn to the convenience of app-based Lyft and UberX.

UberBlack – Uber's upscale service featuring licensed limousine drivers – joined the taxi drivers in their opposition of the app-based services that features non-professional drivers using personal cars to transport fares. Uber calls UberX a lower-cost alternative to UberBlack.

The protesters -- estimated to be between 500 to 600 -- used a combination of on-foot demonstrations and licensed vehicles to slow traffic along Broad Street between Chestnut and Walnut streets and Market Street between City Hall and 17th Street.

They intended to head to the District Attorney’s Office near City Hall. Police threatened towing unattended cars "endangering public safety," tweeted SEPTA Police Chief Thomas Nestel.

At least one driver was placed in handcuffs but let go after claiming he was directing traffic.

By 1:15 p.m., drivers could be seen returning to their vehicles and clearing the area a short time later. The protest never turned violent.

State lawmakers have battled over the legality of the ride-sharing services as UberX hit milestones like its 1 millionth ride in Philadelphia.

Uber responded to the concerns of Philly's professional drivers in a statement that put the onus back on the Philadelphia Parking Authority, which is responsible for taxi licensing in the city.

“Many taxi and limousine drivers are understandably frustrated because the Philadelphia Parking Authority’s outdated rules make it harder to earn a living when the public has shown they want more affordable options," said the Uber statement. "Each year, the PPA requires limousine drivers to pay $404 per vehicle for a PPA sticker and $130 for their chauffeur's permit to be renewed. They also subject drivers to obsolete vehicle restrictions and onerous insurance requirements. We believe statewide reform of the PPA that allows for regulated ride-sharing will benefit both riders and drivers."

The PPA didn't delve into numbers in its statement, instead conjuring up the Bill of Rights.

"We are all thankful to live in a free country, where we all are free to assemble and express our views through peaceful protests," said PPA Executive Director Vince Fenerty.

NBC10 also reached out to Lyft for comment.

Here are some actual quotes from mail, emails, and phone messages to climate scientists:

"You and your colleagues … ought to be shot, quartered and fed to the pigs”

“Just a quick note to encourage you to do the right thing and shoot yourself in the head”

“Wanker, you wanker you nead (sic) to be killed”

“Beware of retribution upon yours. Someone somewhere will hunt you down”

“I hope someone puts a bullet between your eyes”

“I hope your child sees your head in a basket after you’ve been guillotined”

We’re talking about scientists here — people who have studied calculus and physics most of their lives, working behind-the-scenes. If they were interested in being celebrities they could have gone into the TV weather field, for example. If they were interested in making a fortune, they could have used their intellect to make millions on Wall Street. If they wanted to change the world, they could have gotten into politics.

Many of those targeted by the above quotes are well-known in the Climate Change world: Michael Mann, Benjamin Santer, Phil Jones, and Katharine Hayhoe. Other climate scientists talk in more general terms about some of their “correspondence”…..

“a climate modeler was delivered a dead rat on his doorstep”

“an MIT hurricane researcher’s inbox was flooded with hate mail and threats directed at him and his wife”

“in Australia in 2011, several climatologists were moved to a secure facility after climate-change skeptics began a barrage of vandalism, noose brandishing, and threats of sexual attacks on the scientists’ children”

“…involve hastening my demise by inserting some oversized hardware into a secluded part of my anatomy”

Katharine Hayhoe happens to be an Evangelical Christian, and the daughter of missionaries, along with being Director of the Climate Science Center at Texas Tech. She has authored more than 60 peer-reviewed publications and wrote the book “A Climate for Change: Global Warming Facts for Faith-Based Decisions”. Time magazine called her one of the 100 most influential people in 2014. She sure doesn’t sound like a left-wing alarmist. But she says she can get “up to 200 emails and letters a day following a media appearance”.

And that’s just the climate scientists. Now, some colleagues in the TV weather field have gotten threats just by talking about climate change ….

My good friend Doug Kammerer, at WRC in Washington, D.C. made a simple comment after talking about the damaging derecho in 2012 that produced 86 mph wind gusts and caused more than a million homes to lose power:

ANCHOR: “Is this something we could see more of in the future?”
DOUG: “Yes. With global warming, more days with heat like this (104 degrees), there is the potential for more storms like we had today”

Reaction came immediately on Facebook and through emails:

“I’m going to find out where you live…..”

“…and kick your ***”

“…you piece of s*** weatherman”

Plus other obscenities. Just for a single, brief ad-lib.

Other TV meteorologists have gotten hate mail, especially ones who used to be skeptics on Climate Change. This simply because they felt that, after years of careful study that the evidence led to a reversal of their positions held for decades. One of them repeated some comments to me…..

“…I would receive what one of the characters in (the movie) Deliverance did, and another that my family would receive the same fate (tortured and killed) that the family of Russell Crowe’s character in Gladiator did.”

So, Why is There So Much Hatred?

Yes, there’s plenty of anger in the world today, especially in the world of social media. It’s easy to make anonymous insults and threats that wouldn’t dare be mentioned face-to-face. And, fortunately, we haven’t seen actual incidents of violence toward climate scientists-yet. But some are indeed concerned that it’s only a matter of time.

It’s interesting, since people don’t generally wish or threaten death or maiming unless there is some DIRECT threat to them, their families, or those too weak to fight for themselves. Murderers, rapists, abusers of women or children-I can understand that level of hatred toward them. But to scientists who do research, and write, or speak publicly, or testify about their area of expertise? It just doesn’t make sense. You can truly hate someone, such as a player for another sports team, without wishing real harm to them or their family.

And, as mentioned earlier, there is a special level of hatred for those who consider themselves “conservative Christians” who have changed their mind on Climate Change. Is it like having a family member becoming an atheist-or joining ISIS? Could it be that those “traitors” would have extra credibility since they wouldn’t have an ideological reason to change their mind? And that would be more of a threat to the rejecters of the consensus?

Hate From the Climate Change Acceptors

I’ve tried to find descriptions of similar threats toward those who reject the climate science consensus, but haven’t found any (feel free to send me any reports-it would be only fair to mention them). There is obviously some angry and insulting feedback.

Their anger has generally been perceived as an effort to stifle any debate on the issue. Calling anyone who disagrees with the consensus a “denier” is a pretty strong description. There are obviously levels of disagreement, whether it is about the proposed ‘solutions” all the way to those who call it all a “hoax”. Are they all equal in being called “deniers”?

I think I understand the anger on this side. Some truly feel that anything blocking the acceptance of the science is potentially harmful to the future of the planet. “There is no Planet B”, as they say. If we don’t reduce CO2 emissions sharply (and soon), we might pass a “tipping point” where global warming will continue out of control and can’t be reversed. In this case, they’re not protecting themselves or their family, but all of mankind.

Can’t We Be More Civilized?

Not all of those who reject the Climate Change consensus are “deniers”. Some disagree about the amount, speed, and consequences of future warming.

Not all of those who accept the Climate Change consensus care about the issue just out of hatred for the oil and gas industry, or as a way to distribute global wealth. Or any other motive except a concern for the future of the planet.

Yes, it’s an issue that brings out strong emotions. But so do many other issues that don’t involve threats, or attempts to stifle dissent. Can’t we be more civilized about this?

Glenn “Hurricane” Schwartz
Chief Meteorologist, NBC10 Philadelphia
 

A bill that would provide an additional $42.5 million in federal funding to combat youth homelessness has entered its final stage.

The bill, backed by U.S. Senator Bob Casey, is “expected to pass both houses of Congress by Friday,” according to a spokesperson for the Pennsylvania rep.

“The bill includes several provisions to expand and improve the delivery of HUD housing and services for homeless youth,” the spokesperson wrote. “A total of $42.5 million is provided to test comprehensive efforts to end youth homelessness in urban and rural areas, as well as to better count the number of homeless youth and evaluate the effectiveness of current programs.”

Senator Casey pushed for the bill and called for more funding for youth programs in October during an appearance at a Philadelphia youth shelter.

“No child should be homeless in our nation,” Casey said. “While there’s more to do in the coming years this increased level of funding is a down payment on the abiding obligation we have to these vulnerable children. Making sure all of our children have a roof over their heads is an important part of getting them off to a healthy and smart start to life.”

In a January 2014 count of homeless people across the United States, nearly 200,000 youth up to age 24 were found. In Philadelphia alone, more than 600 homeless youth were found in a January 2015 count. Experts, however, say those numbers are likely low estimates of how many young people are homeless.

NBC10's digital team recently published an in-depth investigation on the issues around homeless youth in Philadelphia through the eyes of more than a dozen teens and young adults who are currently or have been homeless. Watch and read the Faces of Homeless Youth here.

Police have identified a body found in a basement in Middle Township, New Jersey as a missing Lower Township teen girl. They also say the investigation of her death led to the arrest of three men, one of whom allegedly had a sexual relationship with her, on unrelated charges.

Nicole Angstadt, 15, was reported missing by her family on Dec. 1 and was last seen on Nov. 29 at her home in the Erma section of Lower Township. During the investigation, police found her body inside the basement of an abandoned home on the 100 block of Vermont Avenue in the Rio Grande section of Middle Township Monday.

Angstadt's death was ruled a homicide. While the investigation of her murder continues, officials say they don't believe it was a random act.

Police also say the homicide investigation led to the arrest of three men on charges unrelated to the girl's death. LaQuan Harris, 20, and Derrick Powers, 23, both of Rio Grande, were arrested and charged with armed robbery and conspiracy to commit armed robbery. The two men were involved in an armed robbery of nine juveniles at Mulligan Park in the Villas section of Lower Township, according to investigators. They were also both involved in another armed robbery in Middle Township in which a victim was struck by a handgun, officials said.

The two men were lodged in the Cape May County Correctional Facility in lieu of $200,000 bail.

Police also say their investigation revealed 32-year-old Charles Mosley was having a sexual relationship with Angstadt. He was arrested and charged with sexual assault of a person at least 13 but less than 16 years of age, endangering the welfare of a minor and trespassing. He was lodged in the Cape May County Correctional Facility in lieu of $250,000 bail.

Police say none of the three men are charged in Angstadt's death and the investigation into her murder is ongoing. If you have any information, please call the Cape May County Prosecutor's Office at 609-465-1135, the Lower Township Police at 609-886-2711 or the Middle Township Police Department at 609-465-8700.

Children from around the Philadelphia region sang their hearts out this holiday season for a place in this year's More 101.1 FM Christmas Choir competition.

NBC10 partnered with More FM to unveil the Top 3 choirs in the Kindergarten to 8th Grade category.

The 40 or so 4th to 7th graders making up Wilbur Watts Intermediate School in Burlington, New Jersey led by music director Andrew Lesser finished 3rd in this year's competition with "a Holiday Invitation," a song that took months to prepare. Enjoy.

A Camden County animal shelter on the verge of closure is seeking the public’s help in saving dozens of cats and dogs.

The Almost Home Animal Shelter opened in Pennsauken, New Jersey ten years ago as a temporary facility when the Camden County Animal Shelter & Adoption Center made plans to expand. Financial issues caused major delays to the expansion however and Almost Home remained the shelter for Audubon, Audubon Park, Gloucester City, Merchantville, Pennsauken and Woodlyn, placing more than 6000 animals. That changed recently however when Camden County finally completed its center. The six towns that previously funded Almost Home will now send animals to the Camden County shelter instead. 

“I’m heartbroken,” said Trish Murphy, a veterinary technician and one of the 15 staffers at Almost Home. “But you put a smile on your face for the animals because they can feel our sadness and we don’t want them to be sad. We want them to be happy and when we go home at night that’s when we get upset.”

Almost Home director Nancy Walsh, who has privately-funded the no-kill shelter, says they will stop accepting animals on January 1 and will then have three months to place the remaining 50 dogs and 90 cats. Volunteers and staff members say they’re not going to leave until every last animal finds a good home. 

“Help us help these dogs,” said Jay Miller. “They haven’t had much in life and they deserve as much as anyone can give.”

CLICK HERE to donate to Almost Home or adopt an animal.

Gerald N. Grob, Henry E. Sigerist Professor of the History of Medicine (Emeritus) at Rutgers University and its Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research, died today in Evergreen, Colorado. The cause was liver failure and complications from cancer, his son Seth Grob said. He was 84.

Grob, a historian of medicine, was well known for his books on the history of treatment of the mentally ill. His first such book, The State and the Mentally Ill: A History of Worcester State Hospital in Massachusetts, 1830-1920 (University of North Carolina Press, 1966), became a classic in its field. Between 1973 and 1991, Grob published a definitive history of mental health treatment and policy in America from 1875 to approximately 1990, Mental Institutions in America: Social Policy to 1875 (Collier-Macmillan,1973). Mental Illness and American Society, 1875-1940 (Princeton University Press, 1983), and From Asylum to Community: Mental Health Policy in Modern America (Princeton University Press, 1991). The Mad Among Us (Free Press, 1994) was a more accessible review of this history.

Gerald N. Grob was born April 25, 1931, in New York City. He received his B.S. from City College of New York, served in the U.S. Army, and then received a master’s degree from Columbia University and, in 1958, his Ph.D. in history from Northwestern University. He began his teaching career at Clark University, where he taught until coming to Rutgers in 1969. In addition to his teaching and research in the Department of History and at the Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research, Grob served three times as the chair of his department.

“Lots of historians write about mental health, but many of them write polemically about it, applying current standards to the actions of people in the past,” said David Mechanic, professor of sociology and director of the Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research. “Gerry was always meticulously fair in analyzing the actions of people in the past in the context of their times.”

Grob was the recipient of many academic and professional honors. In 1991 he was elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies of Science, now the National Academy of Medicine. He received the William H. Welch Medal and the Fielding H. Garrison Lecturer from the American Association of the History of Medicine (both in 1986) and the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006. He held many offices in the American Association for the History of Medicine over the years, and was its president from 1996 to 1998. Rutgers gave its first Gorenstein Award, which honors a professor who combines distinguished scholarship with important service to the university, to Grob in 1994. Clark University, where Grob began his teaching career, honored him with an honorary doctorate of letters.

Grob continued to work after his retirement and broadened his research to new areas of medical history. This later research led to The Deadly Truth: A History of Disease in America (Harvard University Press, 2002) and Aging Bones: A Short History of Osteoporosis (Johns Hopkins Press, 2013).

“Gerry cared not just about his students’ academic accomplishments but also about the kind of lives they would lead as professionals,” said Margaret Marsh, University Professor of History, who was a graduate student under Grob and became a friend. “He was a wonderful mentor. He taught me how to teach and helped me find my voice as a historian. He also led by example. I learned so much from him during graduate school, and once I became a professor myself, he was available whenever I asked for advice or assistance.”

Grob is survived by his wife, Lila; his sister, Gloria Oresky; three sons, Evan, Seth and Brad, and eight grandchildren.

Police are investigating the death of a baby girl who was rushed to the hospital Wednesday from her day care center in North Philadelphia.

A relative found workers performing CPR on his 10-month-old niece when he stopped by the day care facility at 3539 Germantown Avenue to check on her, according to a source with knowledge of the investigation who is not authorized to speak publicly about the case.

Philadelphia police confirm the director of Sisters Childcare Center administered CPR on the baby.

She was rushed to Temple University Hospital two blocks away, where she was pronounced dead at 12:42 p.m., police said.

Pennsylvania's Department of Human Services website shows the day care is licensed to provide care for children who range in age from infants to 15 years old.

During a July inspection, the state listed 24 areas of noncompliance for Sisters Childcare. Those included concerns about a lack of background checks on some employees, outdated or insufficient emergency contact information for children, one staff member was caught yelling at children during the inspection, several caretakers who supervised children lacked state-required training which included emergency plan and fire safety training. The inspection report shows at times there were not enough staff to meet the ratios required and cleanliness was also an issue with human feces found on the toilet. When inspectors visited again on Oct. 2, they found the center had made the necessary changes to meet state regulations for 5 areas of noncompliance and accepted the day care center's plans to correct the remaining 19 issues.

In order to be granted a regular Certificate of Compliance, the center needs to correct all noncompliant issues. Currently, the day care is operating under a "Provisional" Certificate of Compliance which expires Dec. 26.

You can check state records to see the inspection history of your child's day care. Instructions are on the Pennsylvania's Promise for Children website.

An elderly man was found dead inside a Philadelphia home Wednesday afternoon.

Police say the 82-year-old man was found unresponsive with lacerations to his face and the back of his head inside a house on the 5700 block of Woodbine Avenue. He was pronounced dead at 3:11 p.m.

Officials say the man’s death is suspicious though they have not yet determined the cause. No arrests have been made. 

This story is developing. Check back for updates. 

Firefighters are battling a large fire at a Wilmington, Delaware church.

The two-alarm blaze started at the New Jerusalem Missionary Baptist Church on Vandever Avenue and North Pine Street around 7 p.m. Wednesday. The fire caused the church to collapse and also damaged at least two homes nearby. 

It could be one of the most consequential days for Atlantic City in decades.

State lawmakers on Thursday are due to cast votes on a financial aid package for the struggling seaside gambling resort, incorporating changes demanded by Gov. Chris Christie, who vetoed the bills last month. They'll also vote on even more consequential plans to ask voters whether to approve two new casinos in the northern part of the state.

Taken together, the measures could go a long way toward determining how Atlantic City fares over the coming decades, and could radically change the gambling landscape in the state.

First up are dueling plans in the Senate and Assembly authorizing a referendum on expanding casinos to northern New Jersey. The bills have two important differences: the Senate version would restrict the new licenses to companies that already own an Atlantic City casino; the Assembly would open one of those licenses to outside companies. And they allocate different amounts of the gambling tax revenue the new casinos would generate to Atlantic City: 49 percent in the Senate bill and 35 percent in the Assembly version.

Those versions would have to be reconciled into a single bill that the Legislature would need to approve. The referendum would be on amending the state Constitution, which currently restricts casino gambling to Atlantic City. Though no locations are spelled out in either bill, the most commonly mentioned proposals for new casinos are at the Meadowlands Racetrack in East Rutherford, and in Jersey City.

Later in the afternoon, the Assembly plans to take up part of the Atlantic City rescue package Christie conditionally vetoed last month because he didn't think it asked enough accountability and structural change from the city, given the relief it would get.

The key measure is the so-called PILOT bill, for payment in lieu of taxes. It would let Atlantic City's eight casinos make specified payments for 15 years instead of property taxes. The casinos would be able to predict their costs, and would be prohibited from appealing their taxes — something they have done to devastating effect on the city's finances in recent years.

Christie's main demand is that the $30 million a year that would have continued to fund the soon-to-be-defunct Atlantic City Alliance, which helped market the resort, be held by the state for two years until the city adopts a financial reform package acceptable to the state. The money would have gone straight to the city under the original version of the bill.

This all comes as Atlantic City's casinos struggle to find a new equilibrium following a bone-rattling 2014 in which four of its 12 casinos went out of business. The city itself also continues to struggle with budget woes and rising taxes that have some analysts predicting a bankruptcy filing in the not-so-distant future.

Here are the 10 things you need to know to start your day from your friends at NBC10.

TODAY'S TOP STORY

Baby Girl Dies After Day Care Worker Tries to Save Her: Police are investigating the death of a baby girl who was rushed to the hospital Wednesday from her day care center in North Philadelphia. A relative found workers performing CPR on his 10-month-old niece when he stopped by the day care facility at 3539 Germantown Avenue to check on her, according to a source with knowledge of the investigation who is not authorized to speak publicly about the case. Philadelphia police confirm the director of Sisters Childcare Center administered CPR on the baby. She was rushed to Temple University Hospital two blocks away, where she was pronounced dead at 12:42 p.m., police said.

• MORE ON THE BABY'S DEATH

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Rain, which should arrive during the morning commute, is expected to stick around most of Thursday. Temperatures are expected to stay high Thursday but the cold weather returns for Friday when it is expected to be windy. Temperatures should drop to the 40s on Friday. Saturday is expected to be even colder with temperatures in the 30s and Sunday temperatures in the 40s but sunny. High Temp: 59 degrees. Get your full NBC10 First Alert forecast here.

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WHAT YOU MISSED YESTERDAY

Man Convicted of Killing Friend Over Super Bowl Bet: A New Jersey man has been convicted of killing a friend over a $700 bet on the 2013 Super Bowl. Thirty-one-year-old Eddie Roberson, of Newark, was convicted Wednesday of killing 38-year-old Talif Crowley, of Bloomfield, in February 2013. Prosecutors say Roberson did not want to pay Crowley after losing the bet after the San Francisco 49ers lost to the Baltimore Ravens. He believed the 49ers were cheated in the 34-31 loss. He shot Crowley six times on a street in Newark two days after the game during a confrontation.

• MORE ON THE CONVICTION
  

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AROUND THE WORLD

House to Debate Year-End Tax Cut Compromise: Republicans are ready to whip a year-end tax-cut compromise through the House as Congress prepares to finish 2015 in a flurry of accomplishment that belies the partisan collisions sure to dominate the coming election year. Though House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi was leading a Democratic charge against the tax measure, GOP leaders seemed certain to push it through the chamber Thursday. That would set the stage for House passage Friday of a companion bill providing $1.1 trillion to finance government in 2016, leaving only Senate action before the 2,200-page bundle is shipped to President Barack Obama for his promised signature. Though the tax bill would mostly renew scores of existing breaks that have lapsed or are about to, its scope was impressive and its victories distributed to Republicans and Democrats alike.

• MORE ON THE BILL
  

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PHOTO OF THE DAY

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See more Top News Photos here.

THROUGH IGER'S EYES

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@mangoblue_kev on Instagram snapped this cool image of a reflection of William Penn.

Have an awesome Instagram photo you'd like to share? Tag it with #NBC10Buzz.

TODAY'S VIRAL VIDEO

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This round bird may have ate to much. Watch the video here.

David's Bridal Uses Typically-Sized Model in Ad: Wedding gown giant David’s Bridal is utilizing a typically-sized model in its latest ad campaign as the company looks to represent a greater amount of its customers. The Conshohocken, Pennsylvania-based wedding wear supplier turned to a Size 14 blonde "bride" for the ad campaign -- a move company leadership felt was long overdue. In 2010, WebMD and others reported that Size 14 was the average dress size in America even though retailers didn't always gear advertising and items towards that size. Find out more about the dress sizes here.

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That's what you need to know. We've got more stories worthy of your time in the Breakfast Buzz section. Click here to check them out.