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A jury has convicted veteran U.S. Congressman Chaka Fattah in a racketeering case that largely centered on various efforts to repay an illegal $1 million campaign loan. Fattah was found guilty of all 22 counts against him, including racketeering, fraud and money laundering. His lawyers had argued that schemes were engineered without Fattah's knowledge by two political consultants who pleaded guilty in the case. Fattah's jovial and calm demeanor didn't change much as the verdict was read....

Rep. Chaka Fattah (D., Pa.), a Hillary Clinton superdelegate, was convicted on Tuesday on corruption charges stemming from a racketeering conspiracy in which the congressman and four associates misappropriated thousands of dollars from federal, campaign, and charitable sources. Fattah and four associates were indicted in July 2015 on 29 corruption charges including racketeering, bribery, money laundering, mail and wire fraud, bank fraud, and falsification of records, among other charges. The Department of Justice said Fattah took an illegal $1 million loan from his failed Philadelphia mayoral bid in 2007 and disguised it as a loan to his consulting company. At...

You have come through the eye of the needle into Kingdom Come , Zion lays before you blessed daughters and sons, So now the "real awakening begins", Truly you ARE worthy free from all sins, Look you are dressed in righteousness for you wear my gown, I have bestowed on you and a clean turban as your crown, Your feet shine at the mention of My WORD, For Now they Know it IS the Path of Righteousness they have heard, Holy ! Holy ! Holy ! Is the sound, That you hear now echoing all around, Voices that sound like...

SOUTH PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Police are searching for several suspects who were caught on camera brutally attacking three people outside Geno's Steaks in South Philadelphia. The incident happened back on June 11 outside the cheesesteak landmark on the 1200 block of South 9th Street. Patrick Kane and his wife say they were out at Geno's Steaks following a wedding. When one of their friends asked the group of guys to a bum a cigarette, that question somehow triggered the violent brawl. "I got punched in the nose, then I got punched in the back of the head, I got two...

The Dirty Bernie supporters/delegates are holding a massive bean-dinner the night before and are encouraging everybody who's anybody to eat beans, show up, and let the world know that the way the Dem elections were run, some say defrauding Dirty Bernie of his rightful place as the Dem Candidate for POTUS (law suits in several States) really stinks. Just a few of the plethora of sources: http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/worlds_largest_fart-in_planned_for_hillary_clintons_acceptance_speech_in_ph http://www.topix.com/forum/philly/T8T2D4QDQC3LC9N3D http://www.democraticunderground.com/10141493594 Read more at http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=26f_1466305429#60PhfxET8WEmKuX9.99

But Frank Stelmach of Double Tap Shooting Range and Gun Shop invited me, videographer Michael Sheridan and reporter Adam Shrier to come down. Stelmach is not like many gun lovers. He admires his weaponry, yes, and has difficulty explaining why law-abiding citizens need a gun that can empty a 40-round magazine in a few seconds. But he also hates the idea that “bad people” get a hold of a gun like this and use it to kill without difficulty. “There should be expanded background checks — extending into your family, friends and associates,” he said. “And there should be a...

I doubt they see the irony. In Philadelphia, where American freedom was born, they’re taxing soda pop. That’s because it’s bad for you. Too much sugar, too much carbonation, too much freedom. So the city council has imposed a tax. It’s being seen as a victory over evil soda pop corporations. Somewhere along the way, apparently, Coca-Cola became the antichrist. And somewhere along the way, apparently, people became incapable of running their own lives. And in the city where men in Independence Hall declared that humankind is endowed at birth with liberty and the right to pursue a self-determined happiness,...

During the Revolutionary War, our new nation faced a financial crisis. The colonies had no money to pay for the war and the prospects of raising funds were dismal, at best. Colonial troops had not been paid the money due them, so protests ensued. Some officers even surrounded the Continental Congress and held it for ransom, trying to get what was promised the troops for years of hardship, struggle and deprivation. Our young country was very near imploding after all the years of bloodshed, sacrifice and valiant commitment to the dream of liberty. Enter Robert Morris: the richest man in...

A Telemundo reporter in Philadelphia was punched in the face on the air during a live broadcast, video shows. Iris Delgado was concluding a report outside City Hall on Thursday night when she was approached by Waheedah Wilson.

Donald Trump called for the Republican Party to fall in line behind his presidential bid Saturday during campaign swings through Florida and Pennsylvania, attacking skeptical members of his own party along with Democratic rival Hillary Clinton. “We have a war to win against a very crooked politician. The Republican Party really should get their act together,” Trump said here Saturday. “They have to come together. We have to win. And if for no other reason, the Supreme Court, remember that.”

Hillary told Univision (the Mexican Cable TV Station) that we should be “building bridges, not walls.” Of course in reference to Donald Trump’s stand that we need to secure our borders with a ‘wall.’ So in preparation for the DNC Convention in Philadelphia, they are erecting a huge fence to keep out…Sanders supporters? Wait, isn’t a fence like a wall? If they can build one, why can’t we? “I think the idea of building walls as an answer to issues that confront our country is just not the right approach. We should be building bridges, we should be building understanding.”...

After spending an hour meeting with President Barack Obama at the White House, Bernie Sanders vowed to stay in the race for Tuesday's District of Columbia primary while acknowledging that he would work with Hillary Clinton to defeat Donald Trump in the general election. Sanders ticked through a list of his priorities, promising to take those issues to the convention in Philadelphia next month.

Security at the Sports Complex during the Democratic National Convention next month will include “no-scale fencing” to enclose the Wells Fargo Center and Xfinity Live!, the Secret Service special agent in charge said in an interview Thursday.

“Occupy DNC” protesters have locked down two campground sites where they will set up tent cities to use as home base for their anti-Hillary protests. One of the group’s organizers has said she expects “several thousand” protesters to stay at the campsites. As previously reported by The Daily Caller, more than 20,000 protesters have committed to protesting “a fraudulent Hillary nomination.” Hundreds of those protesters have already reserved two campgrounds in southern New Jersey, about twenty minutes from the Wells Fargo Center where the DNC Convention will be held....

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Despite preliminary approval, those who oppose the tax on sugary drinks still say the fight is not over. City Council is gearing up for a vote that could result in a 1.5-cent-per-ounce tax on sugary drinks. That’s half of what Mayor Jim Kenney initially proposed. Smaller cities, that have eyed similar measures, have done so for health purposes. In Philadelphia, it has been made clear that the goal is education and community improvement. What has not been made clear is the plan.

Internal documents show Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump's campaign advisers are projecting that the billionaire businessman will secure more than 1,400 delegates at the Republican National Convention in July, The Washington Post reported Wednesday. That total greatly exceeds the 1,237 delegates necessary to secure the nomination on the first ballot. The projection was in an internal campaign memo sent to Trump surrogates Tuesday night, after Trump secured a convincing win in the New York primary. It called the front-runner's win in New York "YUGE" and included talking points to use in media interviews. It advised the surrogates to talk about...

Hillary Clinton is on the cusp of clinching the Democratic presidential nomination, and could move closer as Puerto Rico's primary results are announced Sunday night. The former secretary of state is competing with Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders to win a majority of Puerto Rico's 60 delegates. Clinton began the day 60 delegates shy of the 2,383 she needs to win the Democratic nomination -- with 1,776 pledged delegates and another 547 superdelegates. Sanders, meanwhile, started Sunday with 1,547 delegates total: 1,501 pledged delegates and another 46 superdelegates. Clinton is closing in on a historic nomination as the first female presidential...

A bill that would require safe storage of guns and ammunition in homes with children passed out of a committee of Philadelphia City Council on Wednesday without a word of opposition from gun-rights advocates. But that does not mean pushback isn't coming. Police Capt. Francis Healy, while saying the Police Department supports the effort, testified that the wording of the bill could prove "problematic and controversial" and that he expected a legal challenge. Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/20160602_Gun_safety_bill_advances_in_City_Council.html#CssmPtHfskzKspUh.99

From Mal Siret writing at the Independent: Hillary Clinton could lose the race for Democratic nominee as the focus shifts to California, where an influx of voter registrations threatens to derail her lead over Bernie Sanders.

The Philadelphia School District will add two Muslim holidays to its calendar, placing it among the first in the nation to do so. In what would be an even rarer step, Mayor Kenney said Tuesday he also hopes to adopt the holidays for city workers. He has created a task force to determine how the change can be accomplished. A spokesman from the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Washington said his group is not aware of any cities that have included the holidays, Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, in their municipal calendars. "Philadelphia's history is based on being a place...