A US Airways flight made a belly landing at Newark International Airport in the early morning hours on Saturday after the plane reported a problem with its landing gear, a spokesman for the airline said.

No injuries were reported after Express Flight 4560 landed just after 1 a.m. carrying 31 passengers and three crew from Philadelphia, US Airways spokesman Davien Anderson said in a statement. The De Havilland DASH-8 100 turboprop plane was operated by Piedmont Airlines, he said.

“Passengers were evacuated, transported to a terminal and loaded on buses,” Anderson said. “All passengers departed the airport shortly after the landing after being reunited with their belongings and baggage.”

The National Transportation Safety Board was investigating the emergency landing and assessing the extent of damage to the plane, the agency said on its Twitter feed on Saturday.

The plane declared an emergency after its left main landing gear failed to extend, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement. The FAA is also investigating the incident.

“The aircraft landed successfully on Runway 4L at about 1 a.m. The airport was closed until 2:55 a.m.,” the FAA said in a statement. “Runway 4L remained closed until 9:34 a.m.”

The aircraft sustained “minimal damage,” FAA spokesman Arlene Salec told NBC New York.

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A 14-month-old girl was hospitalized after falling onto commuter train tracks in West Philadelphia.
 
Surveillance video shows a woman on the platform with her daughter in a stroller at the 56th Street SEPTA station around 1 p.m. Wednesday. Suddenly, the stroller slowly rolls toward the eastbound track and topples over.

"What it looks like to us is that the mother became distracted by something, didn't apply the brake on the stroller and the stroller was able to move off the platform and onto the tracks,'' said Scott Sauer, director of system safety for SEPTA.

The stroller came to rest on the outer rail, which carried no charge. The woman jumped off the platform to free the baby and hand her off to a man standing on the platform above.

More news from NBC10.com 

As the mother rescued her child, another woman ran to an emergency call box and hit the button, alerting SEPTA controllers of the incident.

The controllers then alerted an approaching train that was only one station away.

If the woman had not pressed the emergency button, the mother and her child could have had less than a minute to get off the tracks before the next train arrived.

Police say another good Samaritan hopped down the tracks to help the mother up. 
 
The child was taken to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia for treatment of a cut on her forehead but is expected to be okay.

Sauer said during a news conference that watching the video was "gut-wrenching.'' 
 
"With the stroller moving at such a slow rate of speed, you know, you want to call out to someone, 'Hey, the stroller's moving! Somebody grab the stroller,''' Sauer said.

SEPTA police said no charges will be filed but the accident serves as a reminder for other riders to lock stroller brakes when waiting on platforms.

Jurors who convicted Philadelphia abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell of first-degree murder said Wednesday it was wrenching to sift through the gruesome evidence that he delivered three babies alive and then killed them.

“It was business as usual for him,” juror David Misko told reporters outside the courthouse where Gosnell was sentenced to a third life term as part of a deal that allowed him to avoid the death penalty.

The panel deliberated 10 days before finding Gosnell guilty of three counts of first-degree murder for snipping three babies’ spinal cords after botched late-term abortions, along with more than 200 lesser charges.

The three jurors who spoke Wednesday said photos of the babies were the most compelling, and sickening, evidence.

Juror Sarah Glinski said that because she does not have children, she was able to emotionally detach to some degree, but the photos forced her “to admit that this kind of evil exists in this world.

”Misko said it was also difficult to look at Gosnell, 72, in the courtroom.

“He just sat there for the past eight weeks, smirking,” he said.

Two of the jurors said they believed Gosnell had opened his clinic in the poor West Philadelphia neighborhood intending to help young women in dire straits, as the defense contended.

“I think somewhere, something went wrong perhaps in his mind that made him do these things to these children that were born alive,” said Glinksi.

Juror Joseph Carroll said he believed that over the years the clinic became an assembly-line operation.

Dr. Kermit Gosnell and his lawyer, John McMahon, before Judge Jeffrey Minehart, in Philadelphia, on May 15.

“He started out as a good practice doctor but eventually just became a money-generating machine,” Carroll said.

Carroll feels Gosnell wasn’t the only one to blame, saying women who had gone to the clinic knowing they were more than 24 weeks pregnant should have been charged, too.

“I really believed that they didn’t care,” he said. “They didn’t want a child and they found a service that was going to rectify that situation.

"Gosnell could have faced the death penalty for the babies’ deaths, but in a last-minute deal with prosecutors, he agreed to waive his right to appeal in exchange for life without parole on two of the first-degree murder counts.

On Wednesday, he was sentenced to a third life term for the third baby’s death, as well as the death of a 41-year-old patient who overdosed on anesthesia and dozens of other lesser charges.

His defense lawyer said he was convicted in the public’s mind before trial because of a grand jury report that described the clinic as a “house of horrors” splattered with blood, staffed by unlicensed workers and filled with broken-down equipment.

McMahon said Gosnell cut a deal with prosecutors to avoid putting his six children through a death penalty phase, not because he believes he committed a crime.

"Dr. Gosnell truly believes in himself and things he's done but at this point, the jury has spoken ... He's resigned and accepted his fate,” McMahon said.

McMahon said Gosnell knows he “bent the rules” by performing abortions after 24 weeks of pregnancy, which is prohibited under Pennsylvania law, and admits to other mistakes.

“He recognizes he did things wrong," he said.

But his client, he said, is not a murderer."He believes what he did was not homicide. He believes he never killed a live baby," McMahon said.

"Dr. Gosnell is far from a monster and this was not a house of horrors."Gosnell still faces a federal trial in September on allegations he wrote fraudulent prescriptions for pain pills. McMahon said he "probably" will make a deal on those charges.

In this undated photo released by the Philadelphia District Attorney's office, Dr. Kermit Gosnell is shown.

Former Philadelphia abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell, who was found guilty of first-degree murder, was spared the death sentence Tuesday after he agreed to forgo an appeal.

The Philadelphia District Attorney's Office agreed to two life sentences without the possibility of parole in exchange for not appealing.

Prosecutors had sought the death penalty, but Gosnell's age would have made it unlikely he would be executed before his appeals ran out.

Gosnell, 72, was convicted Monday of three counts of first-degree murder for the death of three babies that prosecutors said were delivered alive and subsequently killed. He was convicted of other charges as well, including infanticide, manslaughter, conspiracy and running a corrupt organization, NBCPhiladelphia.com reported.

The verdict was announced on the 10th day of deliberations, capping a two-month trial that featured grisly testimony about botched late-term abortions and became a flashpoint for both sides in the national abortion debate.

Gosnell was sentenced Tuesday for the deaths of two of the babies. He will be sentenced on the remaining charges, including the death of the third baby, on Wednesday.

Related:

Abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell convicted of first-degree murder

A Philadelphia jury started its eighth day of deliberations on Thursday in the murder trial of a doctor accused of killing babies and a patient during late-term abortions at a clinic that served low-income women. 

AP

A Philadelphia jury entered its eighth day of deliberations on Thursday in the case of Dr. Kermit Gosnell, charged with five counts of murder.

Dr. Kermit Gosnell, 72, who ran the now-closed Women's Medical Society Clinic, could face the death penalty if convicted by the jury in Common Pleas Court in Philadelphia. 

The seven-woman, five-man jury heard five weeks of testimony before starting deliberations on April 30. 

The seventh day of deliberations, during which jurors heard testimony they had requested be read back to them, ended on Wednesday with no verdict. The jury resumed discussions at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, its eighth day of deliberations. 

Gosnell is charged with four counts of first-degree murder for delivering live babies during late-term abortions and then deliberately severing their spinal cords, prosecutors said. 

It is legal in Pennsylvania to abort a fetus up to 24 weeks into a pregnancy. Gosnell also faces charges that he performed 24 abortions beyond 24 weeks in term. 

Gosnell's defense contends there is no evidence the babies were alive after they were aborted. 

Testimony depicted a filthy clinic, serving mostly low-income women in a largely black community. 

Gosnell also is charged with murdering Karnamaya Mongar, 41, of Virginia, who died from a drug overdose after going to him for an abortion, prosecutors said. 

Gosnell has been in jail since his January 2011 arrest. Eight other defendants have pleaded guilty to a variety of charges and are awaiting sentencing. They include Gosnell's wife, Pearl, a cosmetologist who helped perform abortions. 

A lawyer for the Philadelphia abortion provider charged with killing four babies born alive said Monday that his client is the victim of a “political press fabrication” and encouraged jurors to separate themselves from the graphic photos they saw at trial.

Yong Kim / Philadelphia Daily News via AP

Dr. Kermit Gosnell is seen during an interview with the Philadelphia Daily News in 2010.

In his closing argument at the trial of Dr. Kermit Gosnell, lawyer Jack McMahon showed photographs of a well-kept waiting room and other parts of Gosnell’s clinic. He said that the clinic was not perfect but was not a criminal enterprise.

Acknowledging the graphic photos from the case, McMahon said: “When you see pictures of a dead fetus with a hole, it affects you. You have to transcend that.”

“You’re here to decide whether he’s a cold-blooded, first-degree murderer,” the lawyer said.

Former employees at the clinic testified that Gosnell taught them to “ensure fetal demise” by snipping the necks after they were delivered.

Besides the four babies, Gosnell is charged in the death of an adult woman patient whom prosecutors say was killed by an overdose of pain medication he prescribed.

Gosnell, 72, was initially charged with seven counts of first-degree murder, but the judge threw out three of those counts, ruling that there was not sufficient evidence that they were viable, born alive and then killed.

McMahon told jurors Monday that none of the other cases resulted in live births, The New York Times reported.

Prosecutors say Gosnell made millions running what they called a “house of horrors” that provided abortions to women who could not get them elsewhere. He could face the death penalty if convicted.

A 2011 grand jury report alleges that he was responsible for the deaths of many more viable fetuses but could not be charged because the records had been destroyed.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

David Chang, NBCPhiladelphia.com

A fun night for a Pennsylvania couple turned deadly after police say the woman accidentally shot and killed her husband.

On Friday, around 9 p.m., police say Michael Wanko, 43, and Michele Wanko, 42, were “casually drinking” vodka and lemonade together inside their home on West Roland Road in Parkside, Penn. Around 3:30 a.m., police say the couple went into their basement so that Michael could show his wife how to use a semiautomatic pistol. The couple went into a work room where several weapons were kept inside a safe.

“He took several of the weapons out, handguns and was demonstrating to her how the weapon worked as far as taking the magazine out, making sure it was safe, and how to pull the slide back,” said Parkside Police Chief John Egan.

As Michael reached into a safe to grab a gun, police say Michele picked up another gun and pulled the slide back, just as her husband had instructed her.

“When she let go of the slide, the weapon went off,” said Chief Egan.

Michael was struck in the upper chest. At the time, police say, the couple’s 2-year-old and 5-year-old sons were sleeping upstairs. Police say the 5-year-old was awakened by his mother’s frantic screams as she called 911.

Police arrived at the home around 4 a.m. Michael was taken to Crozer-Chester Medical Center where he was pronounced dead shortly after.

Michele was charged with involuntary manslaughter, aggravated assault and possessing an instrument of crime. She was processed at the Chester City Jail and released on $250,000 unsecured bail. Her two children are currently staying with relatives.

Police say the gun Michele used was turned over to the Delaware County ballistics unit where investigators would “ascertain if the weapon malfunctioned or if it operated properly.”

Neighbors described the Wanko family as “nice people” who always did things with their children and were well respected throughout the neighborhood. Chief Egan says police were called to their home a year ago for a domestic dispute but that it was only “a shouting match between the two.” No one was charged in that incident.

A deadly dispute over dog doo-doo will cost a Philadelphia man 20 to 40 years in prison, a judge ruled Friday.

Tyrirk Harris, 28, was sentenced for the February 2012 shooting death of a neighbor who confronted him for not cleaning up after his German shepherd and Chihuahua. Prosecutors said Harris pulled a gun and shot 47-year-old Franklin Manuel Santana once in the face and four times in the back. 

"There were dog feces on several of the neighbors' yards. That's what led to this particular confrontation," Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small told NBC Philadelphia shortly after the crime. Police said the two had an ongoing dispute about the dogs.

 Harris was convicted of third-degree murder on Feb. 1.

 “An animal only would get a gun and shoot somebody over something so senseless, so unimportant” Casandra Perez, Santana’s cousin, told the Associated Press. “He could have just called the cops and try to resolve this amicably.”

Neighbors who witnessed the shooting said Harris was stunned after he shot his neighbor. "He didn't run," said one witness. "He stood there, shocked that he did what he did."

Harris testified that he acted in self-defense because Santana threatened him over the dogs.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

Police have charged a New Jersey mother who allegedly lied and said her son was suffering from cancer in order to deceive friends and loved ones out of thousands of dollars.

Investigators say Susan Stillwagon, 35, stole as much as $3,500 through cupcake and bracelet fundraisers by claiming that her 9-year-old son had a type of lymphoma and needed medical care.

"You tell people your son has cancer and they want to help," said Police Lieutenant Michael Probasco in Pennsauken, N.J.

Police got a tip earlier this week that Stillwagon’s story about her son wasn’t adding up. Investigators subpoenaed medical records and discovered she had been lying.

Probasco says Stillwagon even convinced her son he was sick to carry out the scheme.

More news from NBC10.com

The suspect’s mother, who did not tell NBC10.com her name, says that her daughter is being treated at a local hospital.

“I will just tell you my daughter is sick and something snapped in her head. That’s why she is where she is so that we can find out what’s wrong with her,” said Stillwagon’s mother. “I am very concerned for my daughter, very concerned. We will get through this but people have to leave us alone or we will never get through it.”

New Jersey’s Division of Youth and Families checked on Stillwagon's four children Tuesday.

“They came to make sure the house is livable, food in fridge and that the kids aren't being mistreated and they didn’t find any of that,” said Lieutenant Michael Probasco.

Tamara Disalvo, a neighbor, says her thoughts are with the little boy.

“Just as a friend and neighbor you do feel deceived by this. He must be pretty confused because of he was deceived this way by his mother, that’s got to feel awful,” said Disalvo.

Stillwagon was charged with theft by deception and using her own son to commit a crime.