The discovery of one bedbug in an office inside Philadelphia City Hall prompted officials to send workers home so exterminators could fumigate — a precaution that cost the city a pretty penny.

The despised pest was found inside the city's 311 call center located on the first floor of the historic municipal building. The call center handles nonemergency questions and requests from citizens and visitors.

Call center employees were asked to leave and an exterminator was called in to investigate what was initially described as an apparent bedbug infestation.

Mark McDonald, spokesman for Mayor Michael Nutter, said a dead bug was found Thursday morning and presented to a representative from the Office of Public Property and the exterminator. A search could not locate any additional insects, he told NBC10.

The exterminator still fumigated the office as a precaution, according to McDonald.

There are no reports of the insects in other parts of city hall.

The call center will continue to handle 311 requests over social media and email, McDonald said. Officials plan to reopen the office Friday morning at 8 a.m.

Worries over the spread of bedbugs can cost municipalities big bucks.

The City of Pittsburgh shelled out $12,000 last month to have 140 traps set out in its 911 dispatch center after a single bedbug was found. The extermination traps didn't capture any other pests. City officials said they'd rather pay the money and err on the side of caution than deal with an infestation.

McDonald said Philadelphia's extermination bill will be about $2,500.

New York University is among the country's wealthiest schools. Backed by its $3.5 billion endowment as well as its considerable fundraising prowess, the school has built campuses in Abu Dhabi and Shanghai financed by foreign governments, is investing billions in SoHo real estate, and given its star faculty loans to buy summer homes.

But the university does less than many other schools when it comes to one thing: helping its poor students.

A ProPublica analysis based on new data from the U.S. Department of Education shows that students from low-income families graduate from NYU saddled with huge federal loans. The school's Pell Grant recipients 2013 students from families that make less than $30,000 a year 2013 owe an average of $23,250 in federal loans after graduation.

That's more federal loan debt than low-income students take on at for-profit giant University of Phoenix, though NYU graduates have higher earnings and default less on their debt.

NYU is not the only university with a billion-dollar endowment to leave its poorest students with heavy debt loads. More than a quarter of the nation's 60 wealthiest universities leave their low-income students owing an average of more than $20,000 in federal loans.

At the University of Southern California, which has a $4.6 billion endowment, low-income students graduate with slightly more debt than NYU's graduates: $23,375. At Boston University ($1.5 billion endowment), it's $27,000, and at Wake Forest University ($1.1 billion endowment) low-income students graduate with $29,150 in debt.

This new data on student debt is drawn from numbers that the Obama administration assembled as part of a planned effort to create grades for every college. In the face of fierce lobbying from universities, the administration backed away, but has made much of the data public on a new website called College Scorecard. ProPublica has used that material to create Debt By Degrees, an interactive database that allows you to search information for almost 7,000 schools. The data provides an unprecedented level of detail on the financial burden that the poorest college students face, showing for the first time how much federal debt poor students take on compared to their wealthier peers, and how well these students are able to repay their loans. The database also shows how much graduates earn on average after leaving school.

The implications of these numbers can be far-reaching. Studies have shown that even small debts can increase a student's chances of dropping out, particularly for minorities and low-income students. Also, federal loans, which are typically capped at $27,000 over four years, often don't cover the full expense of college. Many students also take on private bank loans or work jobs outside school.

"Student debt is not the same to every borrower," said Mark Huelsman, a senior analyst at Demos, a public policy nonprofit. "It can look a lot different to a first generation student from a very modest economic background than to someone going to graduate school getting a law degree."

Indeed, undergraduates take a fraction of the loans of graduate students but default at much higher rates. Debt can put low-income young adults at a disadvantage for years to come, limiting a graduate's ability to save, get a mortgage, or get the job they aspire to.

"At the end of the day, you're talking about households that don't have nearly as much wealth to fall back on," said Huelsman.

Rebecca Arthur wanted nothing more than to study photography at Tisch, NYU's arts school. Her mother, however, made less than $25,000 a year working at a nursing home, so Arthur knew the school's four-year price tag of over $250,000 would be a stretch. When Arthur was accepted, she was shocked 2013 not only because she had gotten into her dream school, but also because the school only offered modest financial aid.

"The first bill was $32,000 and it was more than my mom made in a year," she said. "Why would they accept me if they knew I couldn't afford it?"

Arthur tried to crowdfund the remaining amount of her tuition, but it was only when her mother died a month before school started that NYU agreed to take a second look at her financial aid package. Although they increased her aid, she works four jobs and expects to graduate with over $24,000 in loans.

"The one downside to NYU is that money is always a big problem," said Arthur, who is now a sophomore at the university. "People that really want [to go to NYU] and deserve it shouldn't have to fight for it."

In response to recent criticism of its financial priorities, NYU says it has more than doubled financial aid from 2002-2012 and that average student debt has decreased significantly in the past five years. The school also enrolls a greater percentage of Pell Grant recipients than other elite schools. Finally, NYU points out that its endowment is actually quite modest on a per-student basis, since NYU has far more students than many other elite universities.

"NYU is deeply concerned about the issues of cost and debt," John Beckman, NYU's vice president for public affairs, told ProPublica. "NYU has made tremendous strides in improving financial aid." NYU's full response can be found here.

While NYU students average debt from both federal and private loans has gone down in the past five years, it's about the same as a decade ago. And though NYU's financial aid increased 138 percent from 2002-2012, its revenue from tuition and fees has increased 91 percent. Faculty and students have protested NYU's $6 billion expansion plan, saying more should be spent on financial aid.

A government report released today along with the data noted just how wide a disparity there can be in the prices poor students pay at competitor schools: Poor students pay an average of $8,086 per year at Columbia University ($8.2 billion endowment) versus $25,441 at NYU.

"Schools talk so much about how they're about helping low-income students," said Stephen Burd, a senior policy analyst at New America Foundation. "But their words and actions are so different."

Overall, students at nonprofit universities fare far better than those at for-profit schools and community colleges. One recent study shows that students at public and nonprofit schools typically have lower default rates and higher earnings.

Out of the nearly 2,000 nonprofit colleges that ProPublica analyzed, a handful of wealthy schools do particularly well in serving the needs of low-income students.

Vassar College, with an endowment of close to $1 billion, charges its poorest students a quarter of what NYU does, and they graduate with less than half the debt.

Only a decade ago, Vassar looked little different than NYU. However, in 2006, the school hired a new president, Catharine Bond Hill, an academic who specializes in college access and affordability. During her first few years, Hill instituted need-blind admissions, accepting students regardless of their financial background. She also created a policy of replacing loans with grants to poorer students. And to bolster low-income applicants to the school, she initiated an aggressive recruiting campaign in poorer neighborhoods, partnering with pre-existing college prep programs.

After 10 years, these changes have made Vassar one of the most affordable colleges in the country for low-income students. Today, over 20 percent of Vassar students receive Pell Grants. That's double the percentage of low-income students of a decade ago.

"Schools that have the resources should be giving out more in need-based grant aid," Hill told ProPublica.

Other schools that have helped level the playing field for low-income students include Amherst College and Williams College, both in Western Massachusetts. Nearly 20 percent of students at these schools receive Pell Grants and they graduate with less than $10,000 of federal loans. Berea College in Kentucky charges no tuition and only accepts low-income students.

Vassar's Hill told ProPublica that other wealthy schools need to do more to recruit low-income students and to make college affordable for them. A White House report that accompanied today's data release notes that poor kids are often discouraged by schools' sticker prices, and do not know that they might qualify for financial aid.

"We know there are talented students out there and recent work has shown there are ways to get them into our pools," Hill said.

Harvard ($35.9 billion endowment), Princeton ($20.9 billion endowment), and Yale ($23.9 billion endowment) all give generous support and even free tuition to low-income students. But they do not enroll many of them. At Harvard, only 10 percent of the students receive Pell Grants.

Asked about their modest number of low-income students, a Harvard official said that school is committed to enrolling the best students, regardless of their financial circumstances.

Co-author Sisi Wei was a paid adjunct professor at NYU in spring 2015.

Clarifications:

Sept. 14, 2015: We clarified two parts of this story: One to remove the implication that NYU's endowment paid for the Abu Dhabi and Shanghai campuses, the other to be more specific about the time period we used in calculating the growth in NYU's financial aid.

September 15, 2015: We have further clarified that NYU's Abu Dhabi and Shanghai campuses are financed by foreign governments. We have also detailed the difference between the growth in NYU's aid and its revenue from tuition.

ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for their newsletter.

Some Cape May City residents outraged their bicycles were among dozens of bikes impounded from the boardwalk promenade won't be paying fines.

Four bike owners, including tourists and a local lifeguard, fought their $100 tickets in court Cape May County Court Thursday.

The fines stemmed from a citywide crackdown on bikes chained up along the beachfront walkway. City workers cut chains on about 30 bikes on Aug. 24.

“They had these huge pliers this big,” said Arina Foggen who was visiting Cape May from Washington, D.C. “They just started snipping the locks off.”

The bikes were then hauled off to the West Cape May police annex.

Branden Smith, a 13-year-old Cape May resident, told NBC10 he locked his bike on the promenade because the street level racks were full. He eventually got his bike back.

Cape May officials said there is a city ordinance which bans bikes from being locked and left on the promenade from May 1 to Oct. 31 except between the hours of 4 to 10 a.m.

Riders who leave their bikes there must pay a $100 summons though they have an opportunity to fight it in court. Residents argue that there are no visible warnings however. While signs on the promenade make it clear that riding bikes is only permissible until 10 a.m. nowhere is it clearly posted that you can’t park or lock your bicycles there.

“It says nothing about not parking your bike on the ramp,” said Mary Lou Comber of Cape May. “It says no bike riding so we don’t ride our bikes.”

On Thursday, four people pleaded guilty to avoid paying the fine and court costs.

Julie Sheehy, who had her bike impounded, wasn't satisfied with the result.

"It's not fair, it's still not fair," said Sheehy. "In a town that relies on tourists you don't appoint signage? It should have been announced. It should have been a warning."

Cape May City Manager Bruce Macleod said some bikes posed a public safety hazard because they were chained to signs and park benches while some handle bars blocked entrance ramps to the promenade. Macleod admits however the ordinance isn’t always enforced.

“When I spotted the bikes attached to the park bench maybe that’s the thing that got my attention,” Macleod said.

Liam McCarney may have started college last month a couple hours away from his parents' Delaware County home -- but the 18-year-old freshman can't avoid his mom, thanks to social media.

In a video that's now going viral, Ann Pinto McCarney, a Delco native, took to Facebook on Wednesday to poke fun at her son for not calling her in the three weeks he's been away at college.

In the five-minute video, which had more than 93,000 views by Thursday afternoon, McCarney starts off grinning and waves into the camera, saying, "Do you remember me? I'm your mommy. I gave birth to you.

"Well, actually, I didn't quite give birth," McCarney, 46, continues. "I had to have a C-section to get you out. Big scar and hurt like hell. But that's OK. Do you remember that was me that gave you life?"

Later in the video, McCarney jokingly explains to Liam how to use a phone.

"I need to give you the benefit of the doubt," she teases. "Maybe you haven't forgotten me. Maybe you've forgotten how to use a phone."

[[328090771, C]]

McCarney, who teaches theater and recently opened Limelight Performing Arts Center in West Chester, said posting funny videos to social media is something she's done often -- including when she was taking Liam, the second oldest of her four children, to look at colleges.

"I did a lot of videos with my son when we were on a college road trip, and they were pretty funny, because he wanted no parts of the videos," McCarney said with a laugh. "As soon as I gave birth and got stretch marks, I figured I had a right to torture him as much as I want."

McCarney said her son, a graduate of Salesianum School in Wilmington, is a good sport, though. He finally gave her a call on Thursday, the day after she posted the video.

"I had to schedule time with my busy boy. He's a freshman," the mom said.

McCarney said she was a "hot mess" when her two oldest kids, Liam and his older sister, left for college, and she thinks her video to Liam is getting attention because it resonates with other parents.

"He's not the exception to the rule. He's the norm," the mom said. "He's really not doing anything that 50,000 other college kids aren't doing.

"Sending your child off to college is so bittersweet to begin with. There's a combination of your heart is soaring and swelling with pride and yet it's breaking at the same time," she added. "So when you let them go like that, you don't want to feel like you've been completely erased from their life. I think it struck a chord."

Plus, she just enjoys joking and making people laugh, she said. She and her husband hadn't really been worried about their son, she said, joking that when they would text him to see how he was doing, they gathered from his "one-word answers" the he was doing well at school.

"I'm truly hoping that in college, they teach him to complete a sentence," McCarney said, laughing.

She did admit that before her video, Liam did call his dad once in the three weeks since he went away to college:

To ask him to mail his Game Boy games.

A blaze that tore through a series of buildings in Philadelphia's Gayborhood earlier this week, causing around $1 million in damage, was intentionally set.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Philadelphia Field Division, announced a $5,000 reward Thursday for information leading to the arrest and conviction of whoever torched a restaurant that was under construction. They also released a series of grainy surveillance images of a bald man in a long shirt who they want to identify.

“We encourage the public to provide any information that will aid investigators in quickly identifying and arresting the arsonist.” said ATF special agent in charge Sam Rabadi. “Intentionally setting a fire causes significant property damage, disrupts people’s lives, and can cause serious injury or worse. ATF will target those who commit criminal acts of arson and remove them from our streets in handcuffs.”

The fire started around 4:30 a.m. Tuesday inside a restaurant construction site at 13th and Chancellor streets. The blaze then spread to The Gramercy and The Chancellor apartment buildings, causing minor damage. Residents of The Gramercy and The Chancellor were evacuated as a precaution.

The fire reached three alarms before around 100 firefighters got it under control around 6:15 a.m.

L&I officials told NBC10 the property had six current work permits. An electrical permit expired on Sept. 6.

Anyone with information on the bald man or the arson is asked contact the ATF by email or phone, 1-888-ATF-FIRE (1-888-283-3473).

A man who police say brutally attacked his ex-girlfriend outside a Bucks County mall earlier this month, nearly stabbing her to death, is still on the run -- and police are asking for the public's help to track him down.

Middletown Township Police said that Craig Boston's ex-girlfriend had a protection-from-abuse order against him on Sept. 6 when he attacked her just before 2:30 p.m. outside the Macy's store at Oxford Valley Mall, stabbing her repeatedly in the arm, chest and neck. Bystanders intervened, but Boston fled and escaped before police arrived. He's been on the run since the attempted murder, authorities said.

Police said that Boston, who is 28, has several possible addresses including at a number of locations in Philadelphia. He may frequent the Sunday Breakfast Rescue Mission, a homeless shelter on 13th Street just north of Vine in downtown Philadelphia, police said.

Boston is described as 5 feet 9, 220 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. He has tattoos on his arms, a tattoo of a star on the right side of his neck under his ear, and "Kli" tattooed on the left side of his neck below his ear.

Police said Boston is considered armed and dangerous. They're asking that anyone who knows his whereabouts contact Middletown Township Police at 215-949-1000 or call 9-1-1.

A garbage truck caught fire outside a Burlington County, New Jersey high school Thursday morning.

Luckily no one was hurt in the explosive blaze around 10:45 a.m. outside Shawnee High School along Tabernacle Road in Medford, township police said.

"I look back and it's just flames shooting out behind the cabin," said truck driver Mike May.

Flames quickly engulfed the truck, nearby grass and utility lines hanging from poles. The road was closed as fire crews worked to douse the blaze.

Witnesses described hearing small explosions as the fire burned. Officials said natural gas canisters that power the truck burst during the fire.

May was not injured in the blaze that left the truck badly damaged. He said he ran from the truck then called 911.

Medford Police Chief Richard Meder said homes were evacuated and Shawnee students were told to shelter in the school as a precaution.

"Definitely with the cylinders burning they could explode and launch off the side of the truck, said Medford Fire Chief Thomas Thorn

Crews had to pull smoldering trash from the truck. The blaze knocked out power, phone and cable service to neighbors.

The official cause of the fire has yet to be determined.

Donations are pouring in for the six homeless families that are camping out in Kensington.

Donations consist of food, clothing, toys and more.

Cheri Honkala, who representes Poor People’s Human Rights Campaign, said she wants keys for the families, not just shelters.

Even if you've been before, you need to check out the Eastern State Penitentiary this fall as they kick off the 25th season of "Terror Behind the Walls" with two brand-new attractions!

Friday marks opening night for the prison-turned-haunted house, with continuous shows starting at 7 p.m. America's largest scare center announced two groundbreaking new attractions earlier this month.

In addition to the typical interactive haunted house tour, which allows you the possibility of being incorporated into the show, "Terror" is unveiling Quarantine, a 4D exhibit along the tour that takes people into the mind-altered views of someone suffering from an infectious disease. Depth perception, mind games and visuals bring the outbreak to life!

The final attraction along the tour is entitled Break Out, and takes place near the end of the tour. Just when visitors think they have reached safety, they find themselves amid a prison break, as inmates escape the cells in whatever means possible ... including using YOU as part of their getaway! It's an experience you won't want to miss.

"Terror Behind the Walls" is a Hollywood-quality production that takes almost three hours to prepare for each night. The six continuous haunted attractions are a must-see this weekend thanks to discounted pricing!

All general admission tickets for Friday and Saturday are $13.

Eastern State Penitentiary is located at 22nd St. and Fairmount Ave in Philadelphia.

Police say they've arrested two parents in the alleged abduction of their 10-year-old daughter in Manhattan.

Jacqueline Hendricks, 39, and Carlos Hicks, 42, were charged in the Wednesday kidnapping of Celine Hicks, the NYPD said. 

Authorities had put out an Amber Alert for the girl after she was allegedly taken by her parents, who do not have custody.

The Amber Alert was canceled shortly after 2 p.m. Thursday, about 24 hours after Hendricks allegedly abducted her daughter after picking her up from Castle Middle School on Henry Street on the Lower East Side.

There was no immediate word on where the child was found. She was believed to have been with both her mother and father.

Celine Hicks lives with another family member, according to police. Authorities had said the parents have some history of violence.

Hendricks was charged with custodial interference and Carlos Hicks was charged with custodial interference and aggravated harassment. It wasn't known if they had attorneys.

“Do not look at us or we will shoot you!”

Those are the words three masked suspects said to a woman during a terrifying home invasion in Northeast Philadelphia early Friday morning.

The incident happened about 1 a.m. at a home in the 2800 block of Shipley Street.

Investigators say three suspects broke into the home through a basement door and tied up the family dog.

Once inside the home, the suspects encountered the 33-year-old woman and forced her at gunpoint onto the kitchen floor.

Police say the suspects placed a gun against the woman's head and said to her “do not look at us or we will shoot you.” The suspects then placed a towel over her head.

The suspects then ransacked the home and stole $800 in cash before running out.

Investigators say two children -- a two-year-old boy and a 10-year-old girl -- were inside the home at the time, but they slept through the entire ordeal. They were not injured.

The woman was not physically injured.

Investigators said it was not immediately known why the home was targeted.