Free Republic

Two days after progressive lawmaker Chris Rabb pulled off a primary win in Pennsylvania's 3rd Congressional District, the city's like-minded district attorney is calling for new Democratic leadership. ---SNIP--- "The Democratic Party in Philadelphia for far too long has spent more time fighting against progressives, fighting against its future than they have spent fighting against Republicans, fighting against fascists, fighting against Donald Trump," Krasner says in the video.

Democrats still searching for a way out of the rubble of the 2024 election got a peek in Tuesday’s primaries of what their voters want for the future. The races spanned a mix of competitive and safe-blue seats across six states — including a pair of crucial swing states. The result: A slate of disparate candidates who won’t give them a much clearer sense of their future. State Rep. Chris Rabb, a progressive firebrand and self-styled “rabble-rouser,” won the open primary for the bluest House district in the country in Philadelphia. In a nearby Pennsylvania House battleground, Democrats nominated Bob...

A Washington-based super PAC that has spent a staggering $3.5 million to support physician Ala Stanford for an open Philadelphia congressional seat pulled its television advertising off the air this week with just days left until the election. That is according to media tracking firm AdImpact, which shows that the “pro-science” political action committee, 314 Action Fund, spent hundreds of thousands of dollars a week to air pro-Stanford TV commercials through much of March and April. However, that changed last week. The group has spent virtually nothing on television since May 5, according to AdImpact, and has not reserved any...

Union Pacific's famed Big Boy No. 4014, the world's largest operating steam locomotive, will journey to the East Coast this summer for the first time as part of a historic coast-to-coast tour to celebrate America's 250th anniversary. The tour includes a Fourth of July celebration in Philadelphia, major display events in eight cities and more than 50 whistle-stops in 10 states, including stops for the first time in Indiana, Ohio, New York and Pennsylvania.

A high school student in Philadelphia exposed how his classmates are struggling to read easy words and comprehend relatively simple sentences in a viral series of videos. And he may have gotten in hot water for his trouble. The videos, posted on TikTok, show the teenagers failing to read a sentence on a piece of paper while being filmed at the city’s Preparatory Charter School of Mathematics, Science, Technology and Careers. In the clip, made by user “whatthevek” earlier this week, not a single high school-aged student was able to read the sentence, “She wore a silhouette of clothes that...

In this year of America’s 250th anniversary, archaeologists and college students recently discovered artifacts dating back to the American Revolution — including one infamous 18th-century robbery. The dig took place in Newtown, Pennsylvania, some 30 miles northeast of Philadelphia, as local outlet WFMZ reported. Students from Bucks County Community College worked alongside employees from the Mercer Museum during the excavation. **SNIP** The gang, many of whom were part of the Doan family, robbed the Bucks County treasury of a large sum — 1,200 silver Spanish dollars and 400 silver French crowns, as well as other cash. “The robbery began at...

Two men armed with assault rifles robbed a Brinks truck and got away with cash Tuesday morning, Philadelphia police say. Police said officers responded to the 7200 block of Torresdale Avenue around 9:45 a.m. for a robbery in progress. Police sources said a car pulled up in a parking lot, two armed masked suspects jumped out and robbed a Brinks truck that was making a stop at a check-cashing business. Surveillance photos from a nearby camera show two men dressed in black, wearing masks, running out of a blue car. The person in the front appears to be pointing an...

A pro-life activist whose 2022 arrest by the FBI under the Biden administration drew national headlines has reached a seven-figure settlement after suing the Justice Department over his arrest and prosecution. Mark Houck filed a lawsuit against the department in 2023 seeking restitution for what he called "a faulty investigation" and "excessive force" after a SWAT team of around 25 people arrested him in front of his children at his home on Sept. 23, 2022, allegedly with guns drawn.

How conspiracies spread has changed immensely over the history of the United States, as technology and media have evolved. But the nature of conspiracies has not. I teach communications courses at Villanova University, 12 miles from Philadelphia, on how conspiracy theories are created and disseminated. As the nation approaches its 250th anniversary on July 4, 2026, I have been thinking about the early history of Philadelphia and the controversial people, stories and ideas, including conspiracies, that permeated the city during the second half of the 1700s. Conspiracy theories describe alternative versions of events – such as the collapse of the...

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito became ill during an event in Philadelphia on the evening of March 20, a spokesperson for the high court said Friday. “Out of an abundance of caution, he agreed with his security detail’s recommendation to see a physician before the three-hour drive home,” the spokesperson said. Alito, 76, underwent an examination and received fluids for dehydration, the spokesperson said, adding he returned home that night, which was previously planned. “Justice Alito was thoroughly checked by his own physician, and he returned to work the following Monday for oral argument,” the spokesperson added. Alito has attended...

Officials in Philadelphia have dismantled a massive drug ring operating out of a sham coffee shop, run largely by longtime, senior figures in the criminal world, Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday announced Sunday. The sweeping takedown, dubbed "Operation Cocaine and Coffee," was launched and primarily targeted a storefront known as Cumberland Coffee and Snacks, where authorities say the second floor was used to cook and package crack cocaine for street-level distribution. At least 17 suspected members of the operation were arrested, many described by officials as well past middle age and deeply entrenched in the drug trade. Authorities said the...

Philadelphia, April 1781. A boy of about eight is shifting in his seat. His voice, clear and steady, rises inside the quiet room. Mah nishtanah halailah hazeh mikol haleilot? “Why is this night different from all other nights?” For those participating in the Passover seder, all crowding a small rented room just blocks from where Congregation Mikveh Israel holds its services, this is a loaded question. In a land with barely 2,500 Jews from one end of the 13 colonies to the other,1 fewer than one in every 10,000 souls,2 and almost everyone around the table is a refugee displaced...

The Secret Service continues to make headlines, though not always for the right reasons. In 2024, the agency’s actions, particularly its failure to protect Donald Trump during the July rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, fueled calls for its dissolution. Moreover, there were serious security breaches involving Biden officials. In 2023, a drunk individual entered the home of then-National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, managing to bypass his Secret Service detail. And now, an agent on Jill Biden’s detail shot himself in the butt while escorting the former first lady through Philadelphia International Airport on Friday. Susan Crabtree of RealClearPolitics had the backstory:...

🚨SECRET SERVICE SCOOP: New details about the agent who shot himself earlier today while accompanying Jill Biden to the Philly airport. The agent was apparently rushing and fumbling around after forgetting his cell phone in the SUV, sources told @RCPolitics . The agent was only one week on the job with the Jill Biden detail. He was in the SUV behind the one Biden was traveling in. He left to accompany Jill Biden through the airport, but soon realized he forgot his cell phone. The agent rushed back to get it, and his pistol fell out of the holster and...

A US Secret Service agent, working on security detail for the former first lady Jill Biden, shot themself (sic) in the leg at the Philadelphia international airport on Friday morning, an agency spokesperson said. The Secret Service special agent suffered a “non-life-threatening injury” after they (sic) discharged their (sic) weapon at around 8:30 am. Biden was not near the agent at the time and no one else was injured. …

A member of former first lady Jill Biden's Secret Service detail reportedly shot himself in the leg on Friday. The agent shot himself while accompanying Biden through the Philadelphia airport, according to the Daily Mail. A medical unit responded to the scene, but has since left, followed by a police car, per the outlet. The agent's medical condition remains unknown, and it is unclear what led to the shooting.

A Secret Service agent accidentally shot himself while accompanying former First Lady Jill Biden through Philadelphia International Airport Friday morning, according to reports. KYW Newsradio reported that the agent shot himself in the leg. There was no word on the agent’s condition or the circumstances surrounding the shooting. “We are gathering the facts and will have a statement shortly,” a Secret Service spokesperson told the New York Post. The radio station reported that there was a “heavy police presence” at the American Airlines ticket counter at the airport. Also, the trunk and front passenger door of a black Chevy Suburban...

A Secret Service agent guarding former first lady Jill Biden shot and injured himself in the leg at Philadelphia International Airport on Friday, according to a report. Sources told KYW that the incident took place as the Secret Service agent was escorting former President Joe Biden’s wife at the busy travel hub. Philadelphia police and other agencies were on scene Friday morning, according to a radio report from the local CBS affiliate. A medic was also on the scene before leaving, the report said. The agent’s condition was not immediately clear. A Secret Service spokesperson told The Post: “We are...

The parents of Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm used limited liability companies to funnel millions of dollars out of his financial accounts for their own use, according to a lawsuit obtained by the Daily Mail. 'Though Alec's investigation into the status of his assets remains on-going and is far from complete, an initial investigation leads Alec to believe and, therefore, aver that [his parents] Daniel and Lisa misappropriated a very large sum of money from Alec,' read the complaint. In total, Alec claims his parents tried to 'freeze' him out of four LLCs as they 'converted a sizeable amount'...

😳Applause line at protest in Philly: "For every US soldier who comes back in casket, we cheer!" Video at link.