A water main break in Pennsauken has shut down a half-mile segment of Route 130 causing major headaches for homebound commuters.
The northbound lanes of the highway, between Marlton Pike and Drexel Avenue, will remain closed through the evening rush hour. Traffic is being detoured as crews work to patch the leak, said Richard Barnes, spokesman for New Jersey American Water.
The company is delivering water by truck to about a half dozen homes that were affected by the break, Barnes said.
 

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A high-rise evacuation on Chestnut Street and a SEPTA bus crash two blocks away that injured at least six people caused havoc this morning in Center City.

At 4:20 a.m.  a carbon monoxide alarm went off in a fifth floor apartment in  a 14-story apartment building housing students from the Art Institute of Philadelphia at 1346 Chestnut Street, said Fire Department Capt. Rick Davison.

Arriving units found a carbon monoxide reading of 300 parts per million and evacuated about 650 people living in the building, Davison said. Three women were taken to area hospitals with possible carbon monoxide symptoms.

As emergency vehicles blocked traffic on Chestnut Street, students milled around in the cold air or sought shelter in two nearby classroom buildings.

At 6:30 a.m., a No. 21 SEPTA bus detoured from Chestnut Street because of the evacuation crashed into the corner of a building while turning at 15th Street.

SEPTA said at least six people aboard the bus suffered minor injuries and were transported to nearby hospitals for evaluation and treatment.

After the crash, traffic was blocked on Chestnut Street between 16th and 13th Streets.

As of 11:30 a.m., students still were not allowed back in the building, as Fire Department and Philadelphia Gas Works officials worked to find and correct the source of the carbon monoxide.

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Fire equipment blocking the intersection at 16th and Spring Garden Streets on the morning of Jan. 29, 2010.

Fire investigators are trying to determine the cause of a blaze that damaged a building in the Spring Garden section.

No injuries were reported in the fire on the 1500 block of Spring Garden Street, across the street from the CBS3 TV studios.

Initial reports indicated the fire, which was reported before 7 a.m., was on the second floor of the building, which houses apartments above stores, including a bar.

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The Pennsylvania Supreme Court Tuesday temporarily suspended the law license of former State Sen. Vincent J. Fumo, who was convicted last year on 137 counts of corruption.

Fumo, 66, a dominant force in Harrisburg and Philadelphia for three decades, began serving a 55-month federal sentence last August in a minimum security facility in northeastern Kentucky.

During his trial, prosecutors had contended that he defrauded the Senate and two nonprofits Citizens' Alliance for Better Neighborhoods and the Independence Seaport Museum, and obstructed the FBI investigation.

Fumo, who graduated from Temple University School of Law, received his license to practice in 1972.

There is no permanent disbarment in Pennsylvania, said a spokeswoman for the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court.

- Sam Wood

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Fire fighters gather their gear outside the Paper Works Industries at 5000 Flat Rock Road. ( ALEJANDRO A. ALVAREZ / Staff Photographer )

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It took firefighters more than 2 1/2 hours to control an oil fire at a paperboard factory on Venice Island on Manyunk’s riverfront.

No injuries were reported in the blaze at the PaperWorks Industries plant at 5000 Flat Rock Road.

Both a Fire Department hazmat unit and foam truck responded to the oil fire about 10:15 a.m., said Capt. Carlton Grymes, a department spokesman.

Grymes said the fire, which was in a basement at the plant, was declared under control at 12:50 p.m.

Read more breaking news in our From The Source blog.

Early this morning, James Bolton, 36, of Oley, was arrested by Ridley Township police for disorderly conduct and possession of a small amount of marijuana, according to court records. It was a first-time arrest for him, police said. Bolton was issued a summons and released around 6:30 a.m., when officers were changing shifts.

Bolton allegedly left the building, got into an unlocked police car in the back parking lot, found the keys in the visor, and took off. In the cruiser was a police-issued semi-automatic weapon, held in a locked mechanism accessible by activating a hidden button, police said.

A half-hour later, Upper Darby police spotted Bolton at Baltimore Avenue and Church Road. He fled and was eventually stopped at Church and Clover Lane.

When he was ordered out of the car, Bolton allegedly refused and began to laugh and grin at officers. After Bolton was forcibly removed from the car, he kicked and flailed his arms at police, officials said. Police tasered and eventually handcuffed him, according to court records.

"He was unattached," said Lt. Scott Willoughby, of the Ridley police. "He didn't care about answering any of our questions, and took it very nonchalantly."

Willoughby said officials plan to ask for a psychiatric evaluation the next time Bolton appears in court.

He said he also plans to send out a memo reiterating the department policy not to leave keys in the car. He said that it was not the first time a cruiser has been stolen, but that the last time had been more than 20 years ago, during an emergency call.

Bolton was arraigned on $500,000 bail and remanded to Delaware County prison.

Contact staff writer Mari A. Schaefer at 610-892-9149 or mschaefer@phillynews.com.

A tractor trailer overturned on the wind-whipped Walt Whitman Bridge this morning.

No injuries were reported, but it took crews nearly an hour to remove the truck after the 10:50 a.m. accident, briefly closing all eastbound lanes.

Officials say wind appears to be a factor and the DRPA banned trucks from the bridge for some time afterward.

Trucks also were banned  from the Betsy Ross and Commodore Barry Bridges but the restrictions were lifted after an hour.

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Inquirer staff writer Andrew Maykuth reports:

The Salem 2 power plant, one of three nuclear reactors in Lower Alloways Township, N.J., remained shut down for a second night after it went off-line about 6 p.m. Thursday.
Joseph Delmar Sr., spokesman for PSEG Nuclear LLC, said a feedwater pump that supplies water to the reactor’s steam generator failed. Engineers had not determined the cause of the failure tonight, but hoped the unit would resume production this weekend, he said. The steam generator is on the nonnuclear side of the plant where electricity is generated.
The two other reactors on PSEG’s Artificial Island site — Salem 1 and the Hope Creek Nuclear Generating Station — were unaffected. Public Service Enterprise Group co-owns the two Salem units with Exelon Corp., but owns the Hope Creek unit outright.
 

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Inquirer staff writer David Hiltbrand reports:

Looking forward to Conan O'Brien's farewell ride on The Tonight Show this evening?

You may have to stay up later than you thought.

The show's regularly scheduled starting time of 11:35 p.m. may well be delayed by the Hope for Haiti Now telethon that will air live on NBC -- and just every other TV outlet -- beginning at 8 tonight.

If the special runs over its allotted time (and these star-studded benefits always seem to), it will push back all the programs that follow.

A spokeswoman for NBC10 confirms that, however much the Haiti telethon may spill over, the late news will run its full 30 minutes before The Tonight Show begins. The network can provide no assurance that the Hope for Haiti special will end promptly at 11 p.m.

Wait, didn’t this whole mess start because Conan refused to consider letting The Tonight Show begin after midnight?

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Poll: Who do you prefer, Conan or Jay? (619 votes)