Free Republic

A 4-year-old boy who was found dead in Lorton, Virginia, more than 50 years ago, and whose name has remained a mystery, has finally been identified after a flood of tips, a series of DNA tests and decades of twists and turns. Fairfax County police Chief Kevin Davis announced the breakthrough Monday, saying the child’s identification has led police to two people who are believed to have been involved in his killing, and another missing boy whose body has never been discovered. The case of the boy, identified as 4-year-old Carl Matthew Bryant, confounded police and the public for decades....

Arno Michaelis, a reformed neo-Nazi, told guests at Chabad of the Main Line in Merion Station, Pa., on Tuesday night that he is “committed” to his support of the Jewish community and Israel.

July 17 (UPI) -- Former Houston Texans and Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Bryan Braman has died, his agent confirmed Thursday. Braman, 38, had been battling cancer. Braman was diagnosed in February. A GoFundMe page set up for Braman said he underwent several surgeries to treat a rare, aggressive form of cancer. The page also said that he had trouble recovering from his procedures due to his lowered immunity, and that the cancer was growing around his vital organs."Bryan is home with his family after undergoing a CAR-T cell reprogramming treatment program in Seattle," the page said in a June update.

"When will my trash get picked up?" was surely the top question on many Philadelphians' minds after hearing the DC 33 strike, including sanitation workers, was over on Wednesday morning. And now we know: regular trash pickup in the city of Philadelphia will resume Monday, July 14, Mayor Cherelle Parker and Director of Clean and Green Initiatives Carlton Williams said in a news conference. Here's more about what to know about trash disposal in the city now that the strike is over. Where do I drop off my trash in Philadelphia? Remember those 63 temporary drop-off sites? Williams says those...

Philadelphia police are investigating a deadly mass shooting that left three dead and 10 others injured in the Grays Ferry section of the city. The shots broke out just before 1 a.m. Monday on the 1500 block of South Etting Street. Police say they were actively monitoring the block for reports of large gatherings and loud music earlier in the weekend. Multiple arrests were made throughout the weekend. Officers were responding to a nearby call when they heard the gunfire. When they arrived on scene they found 12 shooting victims, three of whom died. Additionally, another person was injured while...

Philadelphia's public school system, according to documents provided to the Free Beacon, teaches identity politics and hosts radical pro-Hamas employees.. Philadelphia’s public school system has become an "absolute cesspool" of anti-Semitism and anti-American hatred, according to local parents, who say Gov. Josh Shapiro (D.) has "completely ignored" their pleas for help. Since Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, Philadelphia school officials have publicly defended terrorism, called for the release of convicted cop killers, claimed Israel is an "apartheid theocracy," and denounced the United States as a "criminal Amerikan empire." The Philadelphia school district settled a federal discrimination case with the Department...

On the third day of a union strike of municipal workers, garbage is piling up in Philadelphia, and some workers are resorting to threats and vandalism against residents who dare to break the strike. The City of Philadelphia is negotiating with members of the AFSCME District Council 33 union, who are asking for a wage increase of 8% per year. The city has offered to increase wages by 7% over three years, which led to the worker strike beginning Tuesday. Since then, residents are reporting that garbage is piling up and threatening their standard of living. "This is a nightmare,"...

With more than 9,000 city workers now on strike after AFSCME District Council 33 was not able to reach a deal with Philadelphia ahead of the July 1 deadline, a number of municipal services will be impacted. Here's a look at how city residents could see the fallout from the strike on their blocks. Garbage collection One of the immediate impacts of the strike is on trash collection. Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker explained that trash pickup at the curb will not happen effective Tuesday, July 1, 2025, during the strike. snip Officers with the Philadelphia Police Department have been trained...

An 81-year-old man in Philadelphia decided to leave his senior citizen home and march in the "No Kings" protests occurring across the country against the Trump administration's immigration policies. NBC News' Erin McLaughlin reports.

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Police are investigating after a fight broke out during a kindergarten school graduation ceremony. Philadelphia police responded to the Mastery John Wister Elementary at Wakefield and Bringhurst streets in the city's Germantown section just after 10:15 a.m. on Monday. Officials say there was a disturbance over seating arrangements between two parents. Police say one of the parents allegedly struck the other parent -- a 31-year-old pregnant woman -- multiple times in the head and is also accused of slamming the victim against the wall. Witnesses say they saw the woman bleeding before medics took her away in...

Law enforcement has determined that there is a high risk for a mass casualty incident, gun violence, as well as other mass attacks at the 250th US Army Birthday Celebration in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The celebration in Philly comes at the same time as an event in Washington, DC to celebrate the anniversary. According to a threat assessment from the Delaware Valley Intelligence Center (DVIC) cited by the Philadelphia Police Department, the event taking place on June at Independence Historic Park has a high risk of a mass casualty incident, gun violence, vehicle ramming attacks, illicit unmanned aircraft activities, a bombing...

Philadelphia police clashed with people protesting the Trump administration’s accelerating deportation efforts Tuesday night in Center City. A clip circulating on social media shows an officer pushing demonstrators before tackling to ground a masked protester dressed in black. The Inquirer posted a video that appears to show a PPD officer kneeling on an individual’s head and neck to subdue them. Both pieces of footage were taken on East Market Street. Law enforcement said two demonstrators and two bicycle officers were treated for minor injuries. Fifteen adults were arrested, with the most serious allegations against a man set to be charged...

After a huge fire broke out at SEPTA’s largest bus depot in Nicetown on Thursday, officials have determined a cause for the fire. What we know: A spokesperson for SEPTA stated that the Philadelphia Fire Department said a battery in one of the electric buses set off the massive fire Thursday at their largest bus depot, in Philly’s Nicetown neighborhood.

Bucks County Sheriff Fred Harran is facing legal action for his partnership with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Harran applied to take part in a federal program known as 287(g), which would give officers the authority to detain illegal immigrants while performing routine police duties. But, the American Civil Liberties Union and Community Justice Project says what he's doing is illegal in Pennsylvania. Steve Loney, the lead attorney representing the ACLU, said, "The sheriff is breaking the law by unilaterally and illegally over the objection of his county commissioners entered into an agreement with federal immigration enforcement to essentially appoint...

Investigators are working to uncover what caused a fleet of decommissioned SEPTA buses to catch fire at a Philadelphia bus depot on Thursday morning. SEPTA GM Scott Sauer said over a dozen of the torched buses were Protera-manufactured electric buses that he said have not been used in several years. A total of 40 buses were damaged in the fire, sparking air quality concerns that the city's health department says are still unhealthy for nearby residents. No one was injured in the fire at SEPTA's largest bus depot that runs 24-hours a day.

City health officials say nearby residents should stay indoors as much as possible, wear a mask outside, avoid strenuous physical activity and close windows and doors. Decommissioned buses were burned during a fire at the SEPTA Midvale Depot in North Philadelphia on June 5, 2025. (Emma Lee/WHYY) From Philly and the Pa. suburbs to South Jersey and Delaware, what would you like WHYY News to cover? Let us know! A fast-moving fire erupted early Thursday at a transit bus lot in Philadelphia filled with dozens of decommissioned vehicles, sending a thick plume of black smoke into the sky but causing...

America’s eighth-largest school district handed taxpayer cash to Planned Parenthood to train teachers that biological sex is a “myth,” according to documents obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation. Philadelphia School District (PSD), which oversees almost 200,000 students, paid Planned Parenthood Southeastern Pennsylvania (PPSP) nearly $40,000 in Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) HIV grant funds to provide up to 70 trainings which decry biological sex as a “myth,” support medical child sex-changes and normalize men in women’s sports, according to documents obtained by the DCNF through a public records request. Planned Parenthood delivered Comprehensive Sexual Education to more...

Two people are dead and nine others, including six teenagers, are injured following a mass shooting at a Memorial Day gathering in Fairmount Park. ---SNIP--- "This was wartime ammunition that was just opened on Philadelphians and those who were here in our city," she continued. Bethel continued, after chilling audio from the grisly scene was played, "That's the sound of war. So when you have an automatic weapon that you can empty a magazine, a 20-clip magazine in seconds, it is meant to kill, to create carnage and to hit as many people as possible. And in this case, you...

A prominent trans activist based in Philadelphia is currently standing trial on charges of sexually assaulting two young boys. Attorneys for Kendall Stephens, born Johnathan, are seeking access to personal documents related to the young victims in a bid to exonerate their client. Stephens, 39, identifies as transgender and was formerly a prominent LGBTQ+ advocate in Philadelphia. He was arrested on December 18, 2023, after charges involving multiple counts of child sexual abuse were filed against him by the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General. Stephens allegedly engaged in oral sex with a boy, identified in court records as Z.B.,...

Even the most powerful figures in the NFL were unable to stop the tush push. A proposed ban of the tush push play that the Philadelphia Eagles have popularized did not receive enough votes at the spring meeting Wednesday in Eagan, Minnesota. Before the vote, retired Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce and team owner Jeffrey Lurie spoke to the owners to lobby for the merits of keeping the play. Sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter that the final vote was 22-10 on the proposal, which was submitted by the Green Bay Packers. The proposal needed 24 votes to pass. Among the...