Matt Lauer. (File photo)

Inquirer staff writer Susan Snyder reports:

Matt Lauer, co-anchor of NBC’s Today show, is being honored by Temple University today with its Excellence in the Media award.

The award is part of Temple’s annual Lew Klein awards, named after the long-time Temple faculty member and media professional.

Lauer, who has been co-anchor of Today since 1997, is on campus today to receive the award at a luncheon. Lauer joined Today in 1994 as news anchor and has done many major interviews. He’s talked with Prince William and Prince Harry of Wales on the 10th anniversary of Princess Diana’s death. He also got an exclusive interview with New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine after his car accident. And he had the first interview with Hillary Clinton in January 1998 after the Monica Lewinsky scandal surfaced.

He has taken trips to dozens of locations around the world, including the Great Pyramids in Egypt, the Grand Canal in Venice, the Parthenon in Athens, the Taj Mahal in India and the Sydney Opera House in Australia. He also has reported from the Great Wall of China, an oil rig off the coast of Scotland, Red Square in Moscow and Easter Island.

Read more breaking news in our From The Source blog.

A former teacher's aide reportedly maintained her innocence yesterday as she was sentenced to five years in prison for having sex with a 16-year-old student.

Donna Goebel, 45, of Westampton, Burlington County,  however, expressed remorse “for placing myself in this situation,” according to a report in the Burlington County Times.

The boy, who attended the Burlington County Special Services School, testified that he had sex with Goebel, which she denied on the stand and again yesterday. A jury convicted her of sexual assault in July.

Consensual sex between a 16-year-old and an adult is legal, but it is against the law if the adult has a supervisory position over the teen.

Read more breaking news in our From The Source blog.

The Associated Press reports:

In another indication that New Jersey’s gubernatorial  race will go down to the wire, a new poll finds Gov. Jon Corzine and Republican challenger Chris Christie tied among likely voters at 39 percent each.

The Monmouth University/Gannett New Jersey Poll released this morning, two weeks before Election Day, has independent Chris Daggett polling at 14 percent.

Poll director Patrick Murray says the latest poll indicates weakening support for Christie, a former federal prosecutor. A Monmouth/Gannett poll released in early August had Christie up by 14 percentage points over the Democratic incumbent.

The telephone poll of 1,004 likely voters was taken Oct. 15-18 and has a sampling error margin of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points. 

Read more breaking news in our From The Source blog.

 Inquirer staff writer Sam Wood reports:

A former officer for the Transportation Security Administration admitted in U.S. District Court today that he stole laptop computers and a video game system from passengers he was screening at Philadelphia International Airport, authorities said.
Troy Davis, 36, of Willingboro, was screening checked luggage at Terminal A on March 31 when an airline baggage handler spotted him removing a laptop from a suitcase. Davis hid the computer behind an explosive detection machine, closed the suitcase, and put the bag in an area to be loaded onto a baggage cart, said federal prosecutors.
The baggage handler notified supervisors, who discovered four laptops and a game console hidden behind the explosive detection machine. When confronted, Davis admitted to the thefts and also confessed to stealing a computer the previous month, prosecutors said.
Davis, who pleaded guilty to theft by a government employee and theft from interstate or foreign shipments by carrier, is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 19.
 

Read more breaking news in our From The Source blog.

Inquirer staff writer Sam Wood reports:

A 27-year-old man was killed in a hail of gunfire shortly after noon in Southwest Philadelphia, police said.

The victim, whose name was not released, was shot 10 times as he stood on the corner of South Frazier Street and Chester Ave. in the city’s Kingsessing section.

He was pronounced dead at 12:56 p.m. at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

 

Read more breaking news in our From The Source blog.

View gallery

Staff photographer Alejandro A. Alvarez reports:

Firefighter rescued a woman who apparently became trapped on the third floor of a West Philadelphia rowhome this morning after a rear section of the building collapsed.

No series injuries were reported in the incident on the 3900 block of Fairmount Ave, near N. Union Street, in the Mantua section. 

Read more breaking news in our From The Source blog.

Philadelphia firefighters work at putting out a fire in a commercial building at 3010 E. Ontario St. in the Port Richmond section.

More images

Inquirer staff report:

Firefighters battled a blaze in a Port Richmond warehouse filled with lubricants for almost an hour before bringing it under control this morning.

One firefighter was treated for facial burns at Temple University Hospital, officials said. The burns are not life threatening.

Because of the lubricants in the building at 3010 East Ontario Street, a hazmat unit responded to the fire to control any spillage. The Coast Guard also was notified to be on the watch of any possible runoff into the nearby Delaware River.

The fire was reported at 9:40 am. and declared under control at 10:31 a.m.

The firm at the building is listed as Yankee Lubrication Co. The fire apparently was caused by a spill, officials said.

Read more breaking news in our From The Source blog.

From staff and wire reports:

 Power problems disrupted morning rush hour service  for Amtrak, SEPTA and NJ Transit trains operating on the Northeast Corridor.

NJ Transit spokesman Dan Stessel said trains were held at stations because there wasn’t enough electricity to move them at 7:40 a.m.

Full power was restored at 8:22 a.m. but residual delays of up to an hour continued through the morning on all three railroads.

Read more breaking news in our From The Source blog.

Chalk markings on the sidewalk in front of 2311 N. Hancock Street in Philadelphia mark the location of a Sunday evening shooting. (Alehandro A. Alvarez / Staff Photographer)

An 18-year-old man who was shot eight times during a robbery on a Philadelphia street last night is battling for his life at Temple University Hospital, police say.

The victim, not identified, and a 25-year-old friend were standing in front of the friend's house on the 2300 block of North Hancock Street in Kensignton about 11:25 p.m. when five males approached and announced a robbery, police said,

It is not clear what happened next , but during the holdup the 18-year-old was shot five times and the five assailants fled, police said. The victim's friend was not injured.

Shot eight times in the torso, the victim was reported in critical condition this morning at the hospital.

Read more breaking news in our From The Source blog.