A woman was determined to keep driving forward overnight and, according to investigators, not a stranger’s yard, some small trees, brush, nor a fence could stop her. Only after dunking her car into a swimming pool did the woman stop.

“She was out there determined to go where she was going.”

Joel Barnett says he and his wife were relaxing on their patio along the 700 block of Mt. Airy Avenue in the West My. Airy section of Philadelphia around 10:30 p.m. Tuesday when they saw headlights come up their neighbor’s driveway.

“(She) came up our neighbor’s driveway and kind of drove around on our neighbor’s lawn for a while, burst through the fence and into the pool,” Barnett told NBC10.

The 34-year-old female driver splashed her white 2006 Saturn Vue into the pool. On Thursday police identified her as Jennifer Garcia of the 6600 block of Lincoln Drive.

“The vehicle was completely underwater in the deep end, which is about 8 feet of water,” said Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small.

“The (driver) was able to get out of the vehicle, swim out and stand on top of the car,” Small said.

Barnett said he helped Garcia out of the pool as his wife called police.

“When she came out, she was so out of it that she didn’t realize she had driven her car in the water, said Barnett. "She was out there like, ‘why is my car in the water?’”

On Thursday, police charged Garcia with DUI.

“She was clearly intoxicated,” Small said. “She had slurred speech, she looked intoxicated, she smelled of alcohol, so she was placed under arrest.”

Garcia was treated for some minor bruises on her legs before being taken to the police station to be booked on DUI and other charges.

No one else was hurt.

Like a scene out of the movie Project X, a tow company had to retrieve the vehicle from the pool. It took nearly two hours to get the SUV out of the water.

For Barnett, he had a sleepless night trying to figure out what happened.

“It’s pretty unbelievable I tell you. We’re still trying to figure it out.”

A goat on the lam caused major traffic delays and quite a scene after it ran on and off of a busy Ocean County highway.

Volunteer Fire Chief Todd Stark was traveling down Route 9 near Sterling Forest Drive in Lakewood, New Jersey around 1:18 p.m. Wednesday when he spotted the goat holding up traffic on the heavily traveled two-lane highway.

Chief Stark tried to catch the wild mammal but had to call in a police officer and animal control to join in on the chase.

The video shows at least four men shouting at the goat while chasing it as it leaped from the sidewalk onto the highway. At one point the men seemed to surround it near a tree but the goat managed to elude its captors for 40 minutes. Drivers could be heard honking their horns but to no avail.

Authorities were eventually able to capture the goat and locked it in a shed of a nearby homeowner.

Animal control took the goat into custody. No word yet on any charges.
 

More stories on NBC10.com:

• Toddler Survives Amazing Fall
• Body Found in Truck of Burning Lexus
• 50 Dogs Removed from Trailer Home

A body was found inside the trunk of a burning luxury sedan this morning that was parked in a Philadelphia park.

Firefighters rushed the Pennypack Trail off Woodward Street in the Bustleton section of Northeast Philadelphia around 7:15 a.m. to put out the burning white Lexus, which was parked about 1,000 feet down the path.

The flames were quickly extinguished.

Inside the trunk they found a body. It’s unclear if the body was a man’s or woman’s.

Philadelphia Police taped off the area leading to the trail and continued to investigate through the morning.

MORE NEWS:

• Did Same Man Shoot Teen Twice?
• 2 Shot, Just Hours Apart on Same Block
• Don’t Drink & Boat: Officials

A group of Philadelphia School District parents remain camped outside Governor Tom Corbett's Center City office on a hunger strike. 

And today, American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten tweeted her support and announced she has joined their efforts. 

Weingarten tweeted: "Fasting 2day in solidarity w/ hunger strikers confronting immoral evisceration of public ed in Philadelphia" 

Why a hunger strike? To protest the recent layoff notices and school cuts, which are scheduled to go into effect next school year. 

At the center of the debate is whether the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania will give $120 million to the School District of Philadelphia.

The answer is going to come in the last hour on Sunday, June 30, according to Senator Vincent Hughes.

"We're trying to figure out a way to fund these schools and jobs so people can go to work," said Hughes. 

On Tuesday, the Senate Finance Committee approved the City of Philadelphia's request to add $2 tax to cigarette sales, a sign of progress amidst the debate. Approval is still needed by the Senate Appropriations Committee and Senate. 

The school district is in financial distress and trying to fill a $304 million gap in its 2014 fiscal year budget. The cash-strapped district has asked for $120 million from the state, $60 million from the city and $130 million in concessions from its unions. The City of Philadelphia came up with $74 million last week.

Hughes, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, is confident that state lawmakers will come through, but only after holding out as long as possible. June 30 is the last day of the regular legislative session in Harrisburg. State lawmakers need to come through on two key funding sources before the session ends. They need to approve a move to raise the cigarette tax in Philadelphia by $2.00. That tax accounts for more than half of the $74 million that the City of Philadelphia has promised in its budget. Lawmakers also need to get their budget sealed before the fiscal year starts on July 1 and that would include however much money they plan to dedicate to Philly's public schools.

"Governor Corbett continues to work with lawmakers and city and school district officials to find a long-term solution to Philadelphia School District's fiscal situation," said Timothy Eller, spokesman for the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

About 3,900 pink slips were handed out to employees of the School District of Philadelphia in recent weeks. "Many are making only $10-$11 an hour," said Hughes.

Parents of the 149,535 school children who attend Philadelphia public schools wait in limbo for details on what next school year will look like. Librarians, counselors, music, art and sports are among the activities that have been cut from the school district's proposed budget to compensate for the monetary shortfall. 

"Things are difficult. Where we should have figured out how to fund all distressed public schools," Hughes said.

"We are not there yet."

The Philadelphia School District isn't the only district in the state facing layoffs. In Allentown, 126 workers received layoff notices. In addition, all school personnel in York's schools are preparing for a 40 percent pay cut, according to Hughes. 

"The Governor is committed to ensuring that students have access to high-quality educational programs," said Eller.

Hughes' spokesman Ben Waxman said Hughes has been in constant conversations with the governor's staff and is hopeful something is going to get done. 

"At the end of the day, the Republicans control everything. This is their show," Waxman said. 

"I'll miss church but I'll be praying somewhere. That's the only way," Hughes said. 

One of the most recognized women in politics will be honored in Philadelphia as this year's Liberty Medal recipient.

Former First Lady and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will receive the award "in recognition of her lifelong career in public service and her ongoing advocacy efforts on behalf of women and girls around the globe," according to the National Constitution Center's website.

“The Liberty Medal recognizes individuals who have furthered the ideals of freedom, democracy, and equality, often against great odds,” said National Constitution Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen.

“Hillary Clinton has devoted her life to expanding opportunities for ‘We the People’ not just in this country but around the globe.”

Clinton, 65, has been in the public eye for more than two decades. First, as First Lady of the United States. Then in 2000, she was elected to the United States Senate, representing New York. It was an historic event because Clinton was the first First Lady to ever reach that goal. She ran for President in the 2008 race and then served in the Obama Administration as Secretary of State.

“Former Secretary Clinton has dedicated her life to serving and engaging people across the world in democracy,” said National Constitution Center Chairman Governor Jeb Bush.

“These efforts as a citizen, an activist, and a leader have earned Secretary Clinton this year’s Liberty Medal.”

Bush will present Clinton with the award at this year's ceremony, which takes place at the N.C.C. on Tuesday, September 10 at 7 p.m.

Past recipients include Clinton’s husband, former President Bill Clinton, filmmaker Steven Spielberg, former South African President Nelson Mandela, rocker Bono and sports icon Muhammad Ali.

Right as the city goes forward with its annual plan of clearing city sidewalks of abandoned bikes, a contest is underway to give cyclists more places (and better looking places) to park their rides.

The Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia and the City of Philadelphia Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy have teamed up to hold a bicycle rack design competition that brings street art and utility together.

"We're very excited about the art rack program," said Bicycle Coalition spokesman Nicholas Mirra. "It combines two of Philly's growing strengths -- art and bicycling -- while addressing the desperate need for more bike parking."

“Our goal is to use the same pavement twice: bring some desperately-needed bike parking to our streets, while enlivening our streetscapes with new public art,” posted the Bicycle Coalition.

No idea is too outlandish for consideration as long as it matches size and material requirements. “You are amazed with what people with creative minds come up with, ” Philadelphia OCCE Public Art Director Margot Berg told NBC10.

It’s a great way to combine the utility of a bike rack with the aesthetic of art while encouraging additional ridership, sad Berg.

Mirra also mentioned the "transformative power" that a private-public partnerships like this one can have on the community.

The contest is geared towards delivering some of 1,500 new bike racks planned for the next five years in the city, according to organizers.

The need for these racks is because, according to the Bicycle Coalition, the city has more bike commuters per capita than any other Top 10 largest cities in the United States. Basically, Philly has more bikers than places to put bikes – hence why you see bikes tied up to gates, fences, traffic signs, street meters, etc.

Some of the planned downtown locations for the artistic bike racks include (appropriately) outside the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s Perelman Building, near Boat House Row, at City Hall and at Penn Center Plaza.

The racks cost anywhere from $5,000 for a small rack (parks two bikes) up to $15,000 for a large rack (about 6 bikes).

Back in May, the Coalition announced that a $50,000 grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation as part of its Knight Arts Challenge that is being used to fund the artistic bike racks. Private donors will take care of matching contributions with zero of the program’s cost coming from the city, said Berg.

Similar programs have brought artistic bike parking to the streets of Boston, Los Angeles, Raleigh, New York City and even north of the border in Toronto Canada.

Designs must be received by Sept. 4. There are a bunch of requirements for designs so be sure to read the fine print of the “call for entries.”

• READ: Call for design proposals

Don’t live in the city? Don’t fret, the contest is open “to all artist and design professionals.” Just be sure you have the means not only to design, but to fabricate and install the rack, said Berg.

Berg said they are hoping for at least a few hundreds design proposals.

The artistic bike racks should start popping up next spring. And if you’re design is chosen it’s possible your bike rack will be placed in more than one location, according to organizers.

A young lung transplant recipient who sparked a national debate about children’s access to organ donation has taken her first independent breaths on a second set of donor lungs – after her first transplant failed.

Sarah Murnaghan, who has a severe case of cystic fibrosis, received a lung transplant at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia on June 12 after her family spent months petitioning physicians and lawmakers to allow the 10-year-old to be moved onto the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network's adult organ donor list.

However, Sarah’s mother Janet Murnaghan said Friday that the girl’s health began to “spiral out of control" following the first surgery. She says her daughter's vital signs plummeted, and the lungs began to fail within hours of the transplant.

"There were about 30 people in the room and we just kind of stood outside of the room helpless," Janet Murnaghan said.

The newly transplanted lungs were removed and Sarah was placed on a bypass machine that took over the work for her heart and lungs -- circulating blood outside the body, according to the mother. That same day, the 10-year-old was also once again placed on the adult organ donor list.

Doctors said Sarah developed a complication called Primary Graft Failure, due to the poor quality of the lungs, according to the family. They said the girl most likely wouldn't survive longer than a week on the bypass machine.

"The doctors are telling us that the first and second transplants have nothing to do with each other. That the first donor transplant was a donor issue," Janet Murnaghan said. "Her body did not reject them."

Janet said the family knew Sarah was being given "marginal" lungs, but were left with no choice because her condition was so dire.

Three days later, a new set of donor lungs became available and her doctors performed a second transplant.

But the new surgery had its own risks. The new donor lungs, which were also from an adult, were infected with pneumonia.

Luckily, the mother said, doctors were able to cut away the portion of the lungs that were infected before implanting.

Following the second transplant, doctors kept the girl's chest open to alleviate pressure from severe swelling.

“Under a bandage, you can see her heart beating, her lungs rising because she was so swollen from the two procedures,” Janet said.

After spending two weeks in a medically-induced coma, Sarah was woken up, unaware of the ordeal that played out.

“So here we are, we wake her up two and a half weeks later and I say, 'So guess what, you didn't have one transplant, you had two...and then your chest was wide open'" Janet said. “She really did not believe me until she saw the pictures.”

The girl, who is set to celebrate her 11th birthday on August 7 is now communicating with her hands and being weaned off of a ventilator.

Sarah is still having trouble breathing because of a paralyzed diaphragm -- a common complication from the transplant surgery. Doctors are expected to fix that issue during a follow up surgery this week.

Asked why the family waited to share that a second transplant had taken place, Janet said they were simply afraid their little girl was going to die.

"It was never something that we wanted to keep a secret for any period of time, but it was something that, in that moment, we felt like we weren't prepared to live out her dying in public."

Sarah has spent more than three months at CHOP, prior to her transplants, as she awaited a new lungs. Since she was under 12-years-old, Sarah was subjected to a different set of donor rules.

Those under 12 who are in need of a lung transplant, must wait until those over 12-years-of-age pass on the lungs no matter how severe a child's condition may be.

The Murnaghans challenged the policy in court and on June 5, a judge put a temporary restraining order in place -- allowing Sarah to be placed on the adult donor list.

The latest transplant is not a cure for her cystic fibrosis, according to doctors. Although, the transplant will extend her life by several years.

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

The number of homeless people living on Philadelphia's streets is down 15%, according to the Office of Supportive Housing.

But homeless advocate Sister Mary Scullion, of Project Home, says while the number of people living on the streets is down, the number of people staying in city shelters is up.

"Government continues to fray the social fabric one cut at a time and we are beginning to see, not people that are chronically homeless on the street, but new faces every single day coming onto our streets," said Sister Mary Scullion, of Project Home.

Last year, the largest men's shelter on Ridge Avenue closed, leaving more men with no place to go.

Antoine Coleman tells NBC10's Luann Cahn that he's been on the streets for about a year since he lost his job as a baker. "Not enough jobs, not enough resources," said Coleman.

Philadelphia says if you walk by someone on the street who needs help, call the Homeless Outreach Hotline 215-232-1984.

Tonight's storms are bringing heavy rain, wind damage and the potential for flash flooding.

"There is one large area that is being hit over and over again,"  says NBC10 Chief Meteorologist Glenn "Hurricane" Schwartz.

• LIVE: Check the Interactive Radar for Your Neighborhood

Take a look at this graphic, showing the storms moving right along the same area from Burlington County, N.J. all the way to Lancaster, Pa.

"This is my concern here because it's not just the potential for any individual storm creating some wind damage or hail," says Schwartz.

Here's a look at the Flash Flood warnings that have been issued for several parts of the NBC10 viewing area:

• New Castle County, Del. until 10:15pm Friday.
• Delaware County, Pa. until 9:45pm Friday
• Camden, Gloucester, and Salem County, N.J. until 9:45pm Friday

"This is incredibly heavy rain and that's one of the reasons we're concerned about the flooding," said Schwartz.

Schwartz says a Flash Flood warning is more dangerous than a regular flood warning because there can sometimes be rushing water.

Scattered showers are expected to move through the area until 9:00-10:00 p.m.

Stay with NBC10.com for updates in tonight's storm activity.

Dana Gibson, 42, has had it with gun violence in her neighborhood. Gibson, whose son was shot on the corner of 12th and Parrish Sts. earlier this month, said she has questions, and she wants answers.

“My son graduated at 11:45 am and he got shot at 11:45 pm that evening, walking to the store. He was shot in both legs and right now he was supposed to go to college and he has to learn how to walk all over again and deal with the after effects,” she said.

“My problem that I’m having is, is this is just a formality? What happens after this? What programs have been implemented? What are they doing? Why are people still talking instead of implementing programs and services for these youth?”

Today, concerned residents and community leaders joined State Representative Curtis Thomas at a news conference calling for local authorities to address the chain of violent crimes that have recently occurred, primarily in and around Philadelphia Housing Authority housing developments in his district.

“This is a call for action. Something is fundamentally wrong and we want this call of action to reveal just what is going on,” Thomas said. “Starting with us and partnering with law enforcement, partnering with social services, partnering with communities, each month we are going to submit a report to the public. We want people to see what is going on in the 25th district so that we can do something about it.”

According to police statistics, 55 aggravated assaults by handgun, including four homicides, and 162 incidents of domestic violence have occurred in the 181st legislative district since January of this year.

There are seven Philadelphia Housing Authority housing developments in the 181st district including Richard Allen, Cambridge, Spring Garden, Warnock, Fairhill, Harrison and Norris housing projects.

Thomas said he has made several recommendations to the Philadelphia Housing Authority about ways it can prevent violence in these areas. He wants them to install more surveillance cameras around the homes, post signage that explains both the consequences of committing a crime on PHA property, and get members of the community more involved in the process.

“We’re asking them to set up a community service core. Get people in the community to work directly with the police and identify problem areas where we can intervene and deal with it before someone picks up a gun to try to solve the problem. We need bike patrols. We need sustained police presence,” Thomas said.

Though not in attendance today, PHA communications officer Nichole Tillman said the agency has equally proactive plans to keep the neighborhood safe.

"PHA is doing a lot of great things around safety and security. For the first time in ten years we’re hiring new police officers. We recently hired 50 new police officers, plus PHA is sending an additional 10 residents through the police academy to become officers. We also invested $10 million in security cameras throughout the PHA," Tillman said.

"Unfortunately, due to a scheduling conflict, we could not attend today but we’re working closely with a lot of elected officials on resident safety and security because security is of the utmost important to us."

Another program that may help address the issue is the Department of Human Services’ Improving Outcomes for Children initiative, which was implemented last year. Under the program, 10 Community Umbrella Agencies (CUAs) will partner with DHS to provide accessible social services for children and families in the DHS system.

Marvin Lazenbury, 32, is the strength and families coordinator for the Northeast Treatment Center (NET), the first of two CUAs selected to represent the 24, 25, and 26 police districts.

“It’s our job to provide a better quality of life for the people that we serve in the 25th police district. Thanks to the help of Representative Curtis Thomas, he has enlightened us to the things that are going on in our district. As a CUA, we complete needs assessments to figure out what the community needs. We are committed to work and support the community in any way we can,” He said.

As a former resident of the neighborhood, Lazenbury says his job is professional but also personal.

“I grew up at 11th and popular in Richard Allen Homes and I still think change is something that can happen. There’s a lot of fear surrounding that change but I still think it can happen with the right supports, with the right people, with the right mission, and just remaining consistent,” he said.

Having witnessed years of violence in his community, Lazenbury said its important for men from the community to get involved.

“Change is not a spectator sport; you gotta roll up your sleeves and get your hands dirty. I can start with myself and say that I’m committed to the task of change, but I’m calling on some other brothers like myself to really come and support this effort.”

Thomas said his office will continue to hold community meetings and provide progress reports detailing the status of its community safety efforts on a monthly basis.

In South Philadelphia today Mayor Michael Nutter joined state, national, and regional partners for the formal grand opening of the Delaware Valley Intelligence Center (DVIC).

The DVIC, also known as a “fusion center,” is a collaborative intelligence hub supported by public health organizations, colleges and universities, private businesses and law enforcement designed to improve public safety in the Philadelphia region.

“The DVIC is a one-stop shop for regional informational exchange. I’m confident that this fusion center will be the best fusion center there is and I’m very proud of this opening,” Nutter said.

The DVIC features cutting edge technology that allows law enforcement to pool and share information with the Department of Homeland Security, the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Watch Center, SEPTA and Amtrak police and several other partner agencies to better identify criminal and terroristic threats, as well as weather and general public safety hazards.

Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey says the new center will help officers gather more information in advance so that they can do more once they actually arrive at a crime scene.

“Our Real Time Crime Center, which had been at the Round House, is now here. So we have more and more cameras coming on board. They also monitor all of the calls as they come out as they provide a lot of information to the officers in the field. Our mobile investigative response vehicles or MIRVs, we’ve got two of them, they go out there directly connected to the center; so we can fax stuff, we can do whatever we need to do,” he said. “All of this gives us the ability to be able to do more when we’re there. And the more cameras the more likely that something may be picked up on camera, the greater the likelihood that we can use that to solve a crime. So it’s a solid step forward and having all of these agencies working together I think is a win.”

The DVIC’s Real Time Crime Center now allows police to view feeds from nearly 2,000 cameras located in neighborhoods throughout the city and new technology allows them to share that information with partner agencies that monitor crime activity.

District Attorney for Delaware County Jack Whelan explained some of the ways the DVIC center will help keep the Delaware River safe.

“We use the DVIC center on a regular basis. Four years ago we started a project called Operation Watch Standard and that was to make the Delaware River safer. Through our contract with Boeing, through Homeland Security and federal funds, right now you would not know it but there are radar and cameras in Delaware County, along the Delaware river, safeguarding the people in Delaware county, as well as the entire region because we can identify a vessel coming up the river and whether that vessel poses a threat,” he said. “The DVIC provides the monitoring of the cameras and the radar and the DVIC will provide additional monitoring as that project expands.”

City Council chair of public safety Curtis Jones said that as a Philadelphia resident, knowing the work that is being done in the DVIC makes him feel safer.

“I appreciate the notion that it’s important to be safe on independence mall but it’s also important to be safe on Indiana Avenue and that neighborhoods will be made safer by this center,” Jones said. “I feel safer than I did yesterday.”

The center will be maintained by a staff of 125 members of law enforcement and operates 24-hours per day and seven days per week.

Three weeks after a deadly building collapse in Philadelphia, first responders are worried about their health.

They want to know if there was asbestos in the building when it collapsed at 22nd and Market Streets on June 5.

"I still don't know if it was in that building," Fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers said. "I'm hoping it wasn't.

Ayers said firefighters who rushed to the collapse scene were not wearing gear to protect themselves from asbestos, which is a cancer-causing substance.

That day, according to Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey, at the height of the search there were 125 emergency crews at the site. Some of them worked for hours as the rescue and recovery efforts stretched from 10:45 am on Tuesday until late in the day on Wednesday.

Six people died that day when a four-story building that was being demolished, came crashing down on the Salvation Army Thrift Shop next door.

Kenneth Hudson, a licensed asbestos investigator, inspected the building that collapsed before the demolition started. In his report, obtained exclusively by NBC10's Harry Hairston, it reveals there was no asbestos in the building.

Asbestos Report #1, #2

Hudson admits he did not conduct a test for asbestos because he says it wasn't necessary.

"What I see, I document, I take samples of it, if need be, if there is suspect material. There wasn't any suspect material, so there wasn't any reason for me to take a sample," Hudson said.

The City of Philadelphia has Hudson's inspection report, but refuses to make it available to the public, citing the grand jury investigation into the collapse.

City Councilman James Kenney is part of the council's investigative committee conducting hearings on the collapse. He has accused the Nutter Administration of hiding behind the grand jury rather than participating in a way that would help the committee make swift changes to avoid future disasters.

"If in fact it's determined it's germane to the grand jury, I don't need to see it; they can at least say 'Yes' or 'No' they have one," Kenney said.

Hudson said he has nothing to hide.

"I did my job as an asbestos inspector," Hudson says. "That's as far as I can comment, professionally."

Mayor Nutter's office declined to comment for our story because of the grand jury investigation.

Delaware State Senator Karen Peterson was a co-sponsor of the bill to legalize same-sex marriage in the First State, and she will be the first person to say her "I do's" on July 1.

"It just validates our relationship, and that's the most important part of it: In the eyes of society, it gets validated," said Peterson.

Peterson and her partner of 24 years, Victoria Bandy, will make history as the first same-sex couple to wed in Delaware Monday morning, when they will exchange their vows at the New Castle County Clerk of the Peace in Wilmington, Del.

It's a day she never imagined would come. "Never, ever. I still can't believe it. Who would think at 63 I'd be getting married, you know?" said Peterson.

But the senator says she didn't say yes right away, when Equality Delaware asked her to be first. That's because the Senate's last night in session is Sunday and it usually runs all night.

"I hesitated because I thought, 'well, I'm not even going to be awake.' Sometimes I drive home from Dover when the sun is coming up," said Peterson.

Peterson and Bandy's wedding ceremony will begin at 8:30 a.m. on Monday morning.

Later that evening, after Peterson sleeps off her Senate all-nighter, they will celebrate with family and friends at their wedding reception.

"It's a real thrill, it's a thrill for both of us. It's not something that we ever expected in our lifetimes, but it means a lot personally and financially," said Peterson.

On June 26, the Supreme Court struck down the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which barred married same-sex couples from receiving federal benefits.

This is the icing on the wedding cake for same-sex couples in Delaware, less than a week before gay marriage becomes legal there.

Peterson said after the rulings came down, she got a note from a friend that said: "What a great wedding gift you got from the Supreme Court." She agrees.