Philadelphia

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Buddhist Monk Is Philly's Newest Crimefighter

61-year-old tried to take down thief who interrupted his lotto session

(Newser) - Don't mess with Philadelphia's men of the cloth—especially if those cloths are orange. A 61-year-old Buddhist monk at a lottery machine in a Philly gas station Jan. 3 was targeted by a thief who probably assumed the holy man was an easy mark, the Philadelphia Daily News ...

Pregnant Mom Runs Into Burning Home to Save Child; Both Die

The cause of the fire is under investigation

(Newser) - A pregnant mother ran back into her burning row house to rescue her toddler Friday morning in Philadelphia, but died along with the child when smoke prevented their escape, officials said. The woman initially escaped the blaze, which broke out around 4am, with other relatives but realized her toddler was...

Cops: Gunman Who Shot Philly Officer Praised ISIS

Officer survived and suspect is in custody

(Newser) - Philadelphia police say the man accused of ambushing a city cop and shooting him at point-blank range has confessed to doing so "in the name of Islam" and to support ISIS, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. Officer Jesse Hartnett, 33, was in his patrol car Thursday night when a gunman...

US Mayors Call for Ban on Donald Trump

At least 'until we fully understand the dangerous threat posed by all Trumps'

(Newser) - Well, well, well. It looks like the ridiculous hairdo is on the other head. In the wake of Trump proposing a ban on Muslims entering the US , two US mayors have expressed interest in doing the same to Trump. "I am hereby barring Donald Trump from entering St. Petersburg...

Severed Pig's Head Dumped at Philly Mosque's Door

'Could the next thing be a pipe bomb?' local activist asks

(Newser) - An employee at a Philly mosque stumbled upon a gruesome discovery Monday morning: a severed pig's head lying near the building's front door, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. Per USA Today , surveillance video shows a red pickup truck cruising slowly by the Al-Aqsa Islamic Society building Sunday night, then...

Teen Gets Lost, Runs First Marathon

Evan Megoulas, 17, says the mistake turned out 'pretty awesome'

(Newser) - A teen completed his first marathon in Philadelphia on Sunday—by accident. Evan Megoulas, 17, of Palmyra had planned to run the half-marathon but made a wrong turn 13.1 miles into the race, reports WPVI . Worried when he didn't turn up at the half-marathon finish line, family members...

A Decade Into Sex Change, a Surprise Pregnancy

Kayden Coleman's bloated stomach was actually a sign he was pregnant

(Newser) - In 2013, about a year after they started dating, Kayden and Elijah Coleman of Philadelphia found themselves rushing to tie the knot. Kayden, who was born female but was at that point a decade into gender reassignment therapy, had stopped taking hormones for six weeks to undergo a double mastectomy,...

Zebras Flee Philly Circus
 Zebras Flee Philly Circus 

Zebras Flee Philly Circus

Cops recapture them after chase through city streets

(Newser) - When you hear hoofbeats, the saying goes, you should think horses, not zebras. In Philadelphia on Sunday, you would have been wrong. A pair of zebras escaped from a circus and went running through the streets of west Philly before they were recaptured, police say. The two animals somehow fled...

Couple Shot to Death During Sex in SUV: Cops

Both were shot in the head and were in other relationships, say police

(Newser) - Police are investigating a "crime of passion" in Philadelphia: the shooting of a man and woman who were having sex in the backseat of an SUV. Authorities say Shakoor Arline, 25, and Lisa Smith, 32, were naked or partially naked in Smith's vehicle in Fairmount Park when an...

'Dungeon Woman' Learns Her Fate

Linda Weston is sentenced in Philadelphia courtroom

(Newser) - A woman who kept mentally disabled adults captive in the basement of a Philadelphia home and in other states for their disability checks was sentenced Thursday to life in prison. Linda Weston, 55, apologized during the hearing, saying, "I believe in God and God knows what happened." US...

Legendary Ship Won't Be Scrapped Just Yet

SS United States received more than $100K in donations for temporary reprieve

(Newser) - If you've recently spotted the hashtag #savetheunitedstates , it's not an offshoot of Donald Trump's "Make America Great Again" campaign: It's a last-ditch effort to keep the SS United States—once the fastest ocean liner on Earth—afloat instead of becoming scrap metal , the AP reports....

Group Will Give $10K to Random Voter

'Icky' Philadelphia scheme aims to boost turnout

(Newser) - A nonprofit group is throwing in $10,000 to sweeten the deal for potential voters in Philadelphia for whom the joy of taking part in democracy might not be enough. Voter turnout in the city has been declining for a long time and sank to just 27% in a mayoral...

Scrapyard Looms for 'America's Flagship'

Campaigners are scrambling to save the SS United States

(Newser) - The SS United States is a gigantic—and still useful—piece of American history that is just weeks away from the scrapyard, warn the owners of the legendary passenger liner. The huge ship, which was considered an amazing technological achievement when it was launched in 1952, is owned by a...

World Will Be 'Annihilated' by Day's End: Doomsday Group

Philly organization based its apocalyptic calendar on Harold Camping's dates

(Newser) - Harold Camping may be gone , but the doomsday predictor's legacy is not forgotten. According to eBible Fellowship , a Christian group based in Philadelphia, Wednesday is the Earth's final day—and it's based on Camping's former end-time predictions, the Guardian reports. The deceased prophet had originally...

FBI Warns of Threat to Philly Universities

There may be a link to the Oregon shooting

(Newser) - Monday could be a jittery day at universities in the Philadelphia area. The University of Philadelphia, Drexel University, and Temple University have warned students and faculty of a threat of violence at 2pm Eastern at an "unspecified university near Philadelphia," USA Today reports. The universities say they were...

Man's Fashion Choices Get Him Busted for Burglary

He probably shouldn't have used BMX bike as getaway vehicle, either

(Newser) - A burglary suspect dubbed "The Man of Steal" by local media was busted Tuesday by Philly police after his fashion choices made him easy to ID, the Philadelphia Daily News reports. Kyree Henneghan, 18, was nabbed trying to sell a stolen laptop from his BMX bike (his alleged getaway...

Pope to Huge Philly Crowd: This Is 'a Kind of Miracle'

Pope Francis caps 10-day trip with Mass for huge crowd

(Newser) - Pope Francis led hundreds of thousands of the faithful Sunday at the last and biggest event of his joyful, six-day US visit—a Mass on Philadelphia's grandest boulevard—after consoling victims of the church sex abuse scandal and offering words of hope to jail inmates. Riding through the streets...

Pope Stops Car to Bless Boy in Wheelchair

Michael Keating, 10, has cerebral palsy

(Newser) - Pope Francis made an impromptu stop minutes after arriving at the Philadelphia airport this morning when he had his driver pull over so he could bless a 10-year-old boy with cerebral palsy, NBC Philadelphia reports. The pope leaned over a barricade and kissed Michael Keating, who uses a wheelchair. He...

Philly Seminary Serving 'Holy' Beer During Pope's Stay

Do you think the pope will imbibe?

(Newser) - There's a distinct possibility that when Pope Francis kicks back after a long day of appearances and addresses in Philadelphia today, he'll relax with a frosty glass of local pope-inspired beer, the AP reports. The St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, where Pope Francis will be sleeping and resting during...

Pope Francis Arrives: 5 Unusual Details of His Visit

It's a big deal

(Newser) - Pope Francis sets foot on US soil at 4pm today (full schedule here ), and officials in DC, New York, and Philly are scrambling to ensure a smooth, safe stay. Here are five of the more unusual details of his visit:
  1. The visit has spurred one of the largest security
...

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