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Officials Close 4900 Block of Walnut Street

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Crews closed a block of Walnut Street to perform emergency repairs.

SkyForce10 was above the 4900 block of Walnut Street which was closed Wednesday. The block will remain closed until 6 p.m. Thursday. Traffic is currently being detoured onto Spruce Street.

Officials say the block will reopen to one lane Thursday night after the repairs are made.
 



Photo Credit: NBC10.com

Cat Found Shot is 16th to Die in 6 Months: Advocate

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For Michelle Mucha, the death of a cat she found with a gunshot wound near her South Philadelphia home over the weekend is just the latest in a string of deaths she says have been plaguing the cat colony she oversees for six months now.

Mucha, who moved to the 500 block of Winton Street in 2012, said she started to take care of stray cats on the block when she noticed there were several in the area.

Now, after some neighbor disputes and a string of deaths of some 15 cats, Mucha says she thinks something suspicious is underfoot in her neighborhood. She said the cat that she found shot to death on Saturday is the 16th from the colony to die since September. Animals of other species, including opossum and birds, have also been found dead in the area.

"It's unconscionable that 20 animals have to die," Mucha said.

The Pennsylvania SPCA is investigating the cat's shooting death and has offered a $1,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction of whoever is responsible for shooting the animal.

But Mucha said that level of response from the PSPCA came too late for more than a dozen other cats from the colony that have died over the last several months under what she believes are suspicious circumstances. She thinks the cats died as a result of being poisoned, she said -- but the PSPCA, which performed toxicology testing on two of the cats postmortem, said their veterinarians found no evidence of that.

After one of the cats, Bubba, died late last year, Mucha started an online campaign, #JusticeforBubba, in hopes of getting more attention for the cats' deaths. She said she doesn't believe Bubba died as a result of disease or other natural causes, as the PSPCA has ruled, because she rescued one of his kittens, whom she named Ho Tep, and that cat is healthy.

The PSPCA did investigate Bubba's death, both Mucha and a PSPCA spokeswoman confirmed. The spokeswoman, Gillian Kocher, said PSPCA veterinarians did not find poison in the cat's system.

PSPCA officials disputed Mucha's claim that the toxicology samples were inaccurate because the animal's body was kept in a freezer for several weeks before the necropsy -- an autopsy on the animal -- was performed. Kocher said that although the body was held in a freezer for four weeks, that is "standard operating procedure and does not have an effect on the toxicology." She said both blood and liver samples were sent for testing and came back negative for poison.

Kocher said that in her organization's investigation into the cats' deaths, however, a neighbor told investigators that a block captain admitted to putting out rat poison to rid the area of raccoons and opossums -- but she said that officials don't believe it was done with the intent to harm the cats.

"This use of poison is not illegal if it was not intended to harm domestic animals," Kocher wrote in an email. "Raccoons and opossums are considered vermin."

Claudia L. Casavecchia, a veterinarian at Society Hill Veterinary Hospital who treated a kitten from the Winton Street colony, said more education is needed in the community about the use of substances like rat poison in residential areas -- especially where there are cat colonies. Casavecchia said the poison can be a danger not only to the feral cats, but also to other domestic animals, and that the city should do more to educate neighbors about how to handle vermin.

Kocher said now that there's a clear case of cruelty in the shooting of the cat that Mucha found dead over the weekend, the PSPCA's humane law enforcement officers will work to find and hold accountable whoever is responsible for the animal's violent death.

"It was very clear that the cat had been shot. That is a very clear-cut sign of animal cruelty, and obviously we know that at least in this case -- it could be unrelated, it could be related [to the other deaths]," Kocher said. She said the $1,000 reward may be increased in the next several days in an effort to garner tips and solve the case.

The PSPCA did not investigate the deaths of the other cats from the colony that died because they were notified of them too late. Mucha said she initially had been working with the Animal Care and Control Team before she contacted the PSPCA about the deaths.

Mucha has been devastated by the deaths of so many cats in her colony, which she said has about nine animals left now. She said the cats there are well cared for, and that she had a carpenter build shelters for them by her house and feeds them each day.

She said she is hopeful, though, that now that the PSPCA is investigating the shooting death of the cat she found Saturday, the organization will be able to help raise awareness and stop the deaths in her neighborhood.

"How many animals have to die before we declare this a war?" she asked.



Photo Credit: Michelle Mucha

Nova Nation Profile: Freshman Mikal Bridges

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Freshman Mikal Bridges is a big part of the Villanova Wildcats’ success, and his connection to our area is strong. NBC10’s Lauren Mayk has more on that story.

Photo Credit: Getty Images

Concerned Citizens Attend Meeting on Violent Center City Crime

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Concerned Center City citizens attended a town hall meeting in the aftermath of a deadly stabbing in Rittenhouse Square as well as an assault on Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Kevin Dougherty. NBC10's Denise Nakano has the details.

Locals React to Donald Trump's Controversial Comments on Abortion

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Locals are reacting to Donald Trump's controversial comments on abortion. NBC10's Randy Gyllenhaal has the details.

Teen Boy Struck in Road Rage Shooting: Police

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A teen boy is recovering after he was shot in the leg during a road rage incident in Delaware Wednesday morning.

Police say the 16-year-old boy was inside his aunt’s car in Wilmington, Delaware. As his aunt was driving a second vehicle sped up and cut her off, stopping in the roadway. Police say the 16-year-old boy began arguing with a passenger in the second vehicle in the middle of the street.

During the argument, the unidentified suspect pulled out a gun and shot the teen in the leg, according to investigators. The passenger then got into the vehicle which was last seen driving on Centerville Road.

The teen and his aunt first drove to their home and examined the wound. They then drove to the hospital where the teen is currently in stable condition and expected to undergo surgery.

If you have any information on the shooting, please call the New Castle County Police Department at 302-573-2800.



Photo Credit: NBC10

Niece Calls 911 on Aunt After Deadly Hit-and-Run: Police

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NBC10 obtained the 911 calls a young woman made after her aunt allegedly struck and killed a teen boy with her vehicle and then fled the scene.

Susan Hyland, 40, struck 16-year-old Pennsauken High School student Quason Turner in the southbound lanes after he jumped over the barricade along U.S. Route 130 at 49th Street in Pennsauken around 11:25 p.m. Monday, police said. She then allegedly drove away from the scene.

The force of the impact caused Turner to land in the parking lot of a nearby Burger King where he later died from his injuries. Police say Turner was visiting a friend on the other side of Route 130 after working at the Cherry Hill mall and was headed home alone when the vehicle struck him.
Investigators say they later tracked the hit-and-run vehicle to a home on 29th Street and Clinton Avenue in Camden, New Jersey after Hyland’s 19-year-old niece, who owns the car, called 911.

“I was a passenger in an accident, in a hit-and-run,” the niece said in the 911 recording. “I’m the owner of the car. I wasn’t driving but the person that was driving, she hit someone.”

In the recording, the niece told the operator Hyland planned on hiding the evidence.

“I’m not sure where it’s at,” the niece said. “It was a black Corolla. She’s trying to hide the evidence.”

The niece told the 911 operator Hyland was in another room. After the phone call officials used nearby cellphone towers and GPS technology to find Hyland. When police pulled up to the house, Hyland, who investigators say was unaware her niece had contacted authorities, allegedly tried to run out of the back of the home but officers quickly caught her.

Hyland, who hails from Beverly, New Jersey, was charged with leaving the scene of a crime and driving on a suspended license. Hyland’s niece, who police say allowed her aunt to drive her car because she was tired from a previous drive, has not been charged.

Police say Hyland was hiding in the home of her daughter’s father at the time of her arrest. The father, who we are not identifying, told NBC10 he urged Hyland to turn herself in.

“I told her, I was like, ‘Yo, you need to call the cops because you killed an innocent person,’” he said. “You should’ve never left the scene. You should’ve just stood there. She started crying and everything.”

Quason Turner’s mother LaTisha Turner spoke to NBC10. 

“He’s gone,” she said. “I can never hug him again. I can never tell him I love him again to his face. I can always show it within my heart.”

Turner also had a message for Hyland.

“I’m going to tell you to your face,” she said. “You’re a coward for doing that! All you had to do was sit there and wait! My baby died by himself because you didn’t want to sit there and be responsible enough to stay there and wait for somebody to come and help my son!”

If you have any additional information on the incident, please call police at 856-488-0080 ext. 2300.
 



Photo Credit: Family Photo

Police: South Philly 'Abduction' Actually Part of Rap Video

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Police say what they initially believed was an abduction was actually part of a rap video that was being filmed in South Philadelphia.

Witnesses told police they spotted two men throw another man into the trunk of a car on Broad Street and Snyder Avenue around 7 p.m. Wednesday. The vehicle, described as a gold Chevy, possibly an Impala, then left the scene.

As police investigated the incident they soon learned the "abduction" was actually part of a hip-hop video being filmed at the location. Officials say the three men who witnesses saw showed up to the Special Victims Unit and explained the entire incident was staged for their music video.

"Temo," one of the creators of the video, spoke to NBC10 Thursday to explain what happened.

"We film clips here and there in Philly," he said. "My friend raps so we make footage to put in videos."

Temo told NBC10 they filmed the scene using an iPhone 6 camera. While they noticed people watching them as they staged the abduction, Temo says he assumed they knew it was fake because no one was doing anything to stop it. A few hours later Temo received a text from his brother.

"My brother texted me and he said, 'You know that rap video? It's on the news you idiot!'" Temo said. "Then he got mad at me. Then we immediately called 911." 

Temo and his friends then spoke to police and explained the situation.

"They were kind of upset about it but then again they were understanding," he said. "They were just shocked." 

No charges have been filed in relation to the incident.


Good Samaritan Saves Suicidal Man at Station: Officials

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Officials say the wife of a suicidal man as well as a Good Samaritan stopped him from killing himself at a SEPTA station Wednesday morning.

The unidentified man was on the platform of the Race-Vine Station around 9:30 a.m. The man was texting his family members saying he planned on jumping in front of a train, officials said.

The man’s wife showed up at the station and tried to get her husband to stop. Surveillance video shows the woman struggling to hold her husband as he tries to walk towards the edge of the platform.
Officials say a Good Samaritan on the other side of the platform witnessed the commotion and pressed a call button to notify authorities. SEPTA officials then de-energized the rail line.

The Good Samaritan then went to the other side of the platform and helped the man’s wife hold him down until authorities arrived. Surveillance video shows the two dragging the man away from the edge of the platform. Officials arrived at the scene and the man was taken to the hospital for an evaluation.

No one was hurt during the incident.


SUICIDE PREVENTION HELP: The National Suicide Prevention Hotline (1-800-273-8255) is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.



Photo Credit: SEPTA

Timelapse: Nova Basketball Leaves for Final Four

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#LetsMarchNova!

That’s the message the Villanova Men’s Basketball team is spreading as the Wildcats prepare for a Final Four showdown with Oklahoma in Houston this weekend.

Coach Jay Wright’s team left campus Wednesday afternoon amid fanfare that the team’s Twitter account captured in timelapse video.

Go Cats! Two more wins and they will be champions for the first time since 1985.



Photo Credit: Twitter - @NovaMBB
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Forest Fire Burns Through NJ Nature Preserve

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Fire crews battled a fire in a New Jersey forest Wednesday, as flames and smoke from the blaze shot overhead and embers burned along a branch-strewn hillside.

Photos posted online by Fire & EMS Alerts of Hunterdon County show the fire burning bright amid trees and hills Wednesday night in Lebanon Township.

The fire could be smelled as far east as New York City as wind pushed up from the southwest.

Fire fighters had contained the blaze by 1 a.m. Thursday, but not before it scorched about 65 acres of a nature preserve near Rocky Run Road.

"Fire has been contained to the area between Boydens Attic and the quarry above the tracks to the top of the mountain, all local units released," Fire & EMS Alerts of Hunterdon County posted online. 

The cause of the fire is not yet known.



Photo Credit: Fire & EMS Alerts of Hunterdon County

Emergency Road Repairs in West Philly

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The Philadelphia Streets Department closed a well-traveled block of West Philadelphia roadway for emergency repairs Thursday.

Crews closed off the 4900 block of Walnut Street at 6 a.m. to make repairs to the road.

The Streets Department will allow one lane of traffic to get by starting at 6 p.m.

SEPTA buses and drivers will be detoured onto Spruce Street during the repairs, said the streets department.



Photo Credit: NBC10

Deadly Main Line Crash Leaves Car Mangled

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A deadly crash along a Main Line road left a car mangled and fence posts scattered.

The driver -- alone in the vehicle -- lost control of a sedan along Bryn Mawr Avenue in front of the Radwyn Apartments in Bryn Mawr around 3:20 a.m. Thursday, said Radnor Township Police.

Officers arrive to find the driver dead inside the car, said police.

The one-car wreck -- where the car wound up on the other side of a fence -- left Bryn Mawr Avenue closed between Castlefinn Lane and S County Line Road for about six hours. Roberts Road could be used as an alternate, said NBC10 First Alert Traffic reporter Jessica Boyington.

No word yet on what caused the crash that impacted students tying to get to nearby Jack M Barrack Hebrew Academy Thursday morning.

"We are aware of a major accident on Bryn Mawr Avenue which occurred earlier today," read a message on the school's website. "The street is closed from Wawa to the Presbyterian Church. It did not involve anyone from Barrack.

"There will be police diverting cars and buses to an alternate route into school. Let them know you are trying to get to Barrack and they will let you through.

"Please take your time and, as always, be safe."



Photo Credit: SkyForce10

Gov. Tom Wolf Fights for Pennsylvania Wages to Increase

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Gov. Tom Wolf would like to see workers earning minimum wage in Pennsylvania to earn more money.

Female US Soccer Stars File Equal Pay Complaint

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Five star soccer players from the U.S. Women's National Team filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Thursday, accusing U.S. Soccer of wage discrimination. 

Co-captains Carli Lloyd and Becky Sauerbrunn, forward Alex Morgan, midfielder Megan Rapinoe and goalkeeper Hope Solo said in the complaint that players on the women's team are paid far less than their counterparts on the men’s national team.

"I think the timing is right,'' Lloyd said on NBC's "Today" show. "I think that we've proven our worth over the years. Just coming off of a World Cup win, the pay disparity between the men and women is just too large. And we want to continue to fight."

When the USWNT won international soccer's most prestigious event, the World Cup, in 2015, the team earned $2 million in prize money that was given to the national federation to be distributed to the players and the organization. Meanwhile, the men's team, which lost in the World Cup's Round of 16, earned $9 million. The men's team that won the tournament, Germany, earned $35 million.



Photo Credit: "Today"
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IronPigs Show Off 1st-of-Its-Kind Uniform

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The Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs will hit the field with a first of its kind deal that is making them look great.

'Sadistic' Killer Leaves Woman's Body in Bathtub: Police

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Police in Delaware County searched for clues after a woman was found dead in a bathtub Wednesday night in what authorities are calling a "senseless, sadistic murder."

Markia Benson's naked body was discovered around 4:45 p.m. Wednesday in a unit at Building G of the New Orleans Park Apartments on the 900 block of South Avenue in Secane around 4:45 p.m. Wednesday, according to Upper Darby police. The shower was still on, water pouring down.

"It was a very, very senseless, sadistic murder and whoever committed this murder we believe she knew," said Upper Darby Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood, while addressing reporters about the preliminary investigation Thursday.

"The apartment itself was in total disarray — blood on the walls, feces on the floors, some writing on the walls," he added.

The medical examiner's office told NBC10 Benson's death was ruled a homicide. There was no forced entry into the apartment, said Chitwood.

Chitwood said the 36-year-old had wounds to her head and neck. She appeared to have been strangled, but Chitwood said an autopsy would determine the exact cause of death.

Upper Darby police called Benson "a young, kind professional woman" and said the department was "outraged over this senseless act of violence."

Neighbors told NBC10 the victim had only lived at the apartment building for a few months and kept to herself most of the time.

Police said that Benson was last seen alive Tuesday night getting into or out of her car and a text message was sent from her phone to her mother around 7:45 a.m. Wednesday.

A male friend and a co-worker from Chester-based SIG Shipping & Packing went to the apartment separately after Benson failed to show up for work Wednesday. They found Benson's body after an apartment manager let the duo in.

Police put the time of death as sometime Wednesday morning.

"Whoever killed her — based on what we've seen at the scene — it was done with a hatred, with a vengeance and with just, just predatory, sadistic violence," said Chitwood.

No arrests have been made and police asked anyone with info to call 610-734-7693.



Photo Credit: NBC10 / Upper Darby Police
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Check Out This Precious Pup Cheer on The Phillies

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With baseball season just around the corner, Philadelphia fans are excited to attend Phillies spring training games.

But it's not just humans who are enjoying preseason. Last night's most valuable fan was caught on camera; a dog strapped to his owner's chest in a baby carrier.

The precious pup seemed perfectly content sitting back, relaxing and watching the game.

He even put his hands together for a round of a-paws for his favorite baseball team during their game against the Houston Astros. 



Photo Credit: MLB
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Pa Service Dog 'Changed the World'

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A Philadelphia-area canine is being honored for going above and beyond the call of service dogs.

Chopstick was put on Milk-Bone's second annual list of "Dogs Who Changed the World" for assisting his owner, 5th grader Colin Studlack, who lives with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, with day-to-day tasks. 

With Chopstick's help, life can be a little easier for Colin. Chopstick helps with his physical needs by retrieving dropped items as well as accompanying Colin where ever he goes, said a news release from Milk-Bone. Along with being a good friend, Chopstick also helps by alerting Colin's family of any trouble, nurturing a calming environment, and having a wonderful sense of humor.

Chopstick is a "top-dog" graduate of the Canine Assistants school, where he learned how to be a high-functioning service dog. With support of Milk-Bone, Canine Assistants has placed more than 2,000 hero dogs with individuals across the United States. 

Chopstick is one of 10 dogs chosen by Milk-Bone in a nationwide search for four-legged heroes who make an extraordinary impact on the lives of the individuals they support.



Photo Credit: Milk-Bone

Philly Doctor Arrested for Pot Growing Operation: Police

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A Philadelphia pediatrician and his wife appeared in court for a preliminary hearing Thursday after police say they discovered a marijuana growing operation inside their home.

Dr. Jan Widerman and his wife Annette were arrested and charged with possession with intent to deliver.

On February 13 shortly before 4:30 p.m., police and firefighters responded to Widerman's home on Brookside Drive in Holland, Bucks County for a car fire that spread to the garage. As crews extinguished the flames and searched inside the home for occupants, they found 40 marijuana plants in various stages of growth, according to officials.

Respondents observed the plants, along with grow lamps and ventilation systems, located in a locked room inside the garage after doing a routine room-to-room check of the property, police said.

Police say they seized 40 marijuana plants, as well as other paraphernalia and more than $16,000 in a safe adjacent to the rooms. 

Widerman's neighbors say he is a good man. According to the Pennsylvania State Medical Board, his medical license is still active.

"He did what he did to help his wife," said Lidia Zamkov, a supporter of the doctor. "We think that the laws should be changed. We think that medical marijuana should be absolutely legal. We think that it is unconscionable to put someone in jail because he was trying to cure his wife and help his wife feel better." 

Prosecutors say despite the recent passage of bills to legalize medical marijuana in Pennsylvania, it's still illegal to possess it.

Widerman's practice is located on Bustleton Avenue in Philadelphia. He is being represented in court by Louis R. Busico, Esq. 

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