Free Republic

You've met America's 'worst mayor' Tiffany Henyard, and now meet the woman who may be the country's worst sheriff. Rochelle Bilal is currently the deputy sheriff for the City and County of Philadelphia, and has been for the last four years - but she has recently been embroiled in scandal, including frivolous spending, maintaining a secret 'slush fund,' and allegedly losing 76 guns from her department. Bilal's campaign team also came forward and acknowledged that 30 fake positive 'news' stories posted to their site were generated by ChatGPT after the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that outlets could not find the stories...

Community Justice Exchange, part of the Soros-funded Tides Center, solicits legal defense donations for arrested protesters.. Scores of "Free Palestine" protesters across the United States took to the streets Monday to block major airports, highways, and bridges. Those who are arrested will receive bail money and legal support from a left-wing dark money behemoth funded by George Soros, an online fundraising page shows. The protests, which took place in dozens of U.S. cities including San Francisco, Chicago, New York City, and Philadelphia, were organized by A15 Action, a newly formed group that worked to "coordinate a multi-city economic blockade on...

Multiple people were shot during a Ramadan event in Philadelphia on Wednesday (April 10) afternoon. Police arrested numerous people and recovered several guns at the scene. At least one police officer fired their weapon. Officials have not said how many people were injured in the shooting. According to WPVI, hundreds of people were gathering to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan, when shots rang out. The area was littered with chairs and tables that were left abandoned as people fled the area.

---SNIP--- Every day, SEPTA employees see criminal acts, fare evasion, people experiencing mental illness, homelessness, or drug addiction. The union I lead, Transport Workers Union Local 234, which represents 5,000 SEPTA workers, has been sounding the alarm that unless conditions improve, the very survival of the public transit system is at stake. In response, we have been asked by image-conscious SEPTA managers and other public officials to tone things down and not draw too much attention to the transit agency’s challenges.

Some residents say the new regulation makes them feel safer, while others say it compromises their survival.For Leem Washington, ski masks aren’t just a fashion accessory that protects his face from the biting cold of Philadelphia winters — they also keep him from being a victim of mistaken identity. “In Philly, you have to pick your poison,” said Washington, 19, noting that growing up in West Philadelphia, one of the most crime-plagued parts of the city, has left him in a constant state of “paranoia.” Ski masks, he said, are a form of protection from being wrongly identified for a...

The 75 largest cities in America were collectively $288 billion in debt at the end of fiscal year 2022... 53 major cities that do not have enough money to pay their bills. Yet all of them claimed their budgets were balanced, as is required by law. That means lawmakers understated each city’s debt by not including future costs like employee pensions and healthcare ... New York City has a taxpayer burden of $61,800, the largest by far despite being the most populous. The city has only six cents saved up for every dollar it will need to spend on retiree...

One alleged intruder is dead and a second one injured Friday after a Philadelphia woman discovered them inside her apartment and opened fire. WPVI reported that the woman returned to her apartment in early morning hours, discovered the alleged intruders, and shot them around 2 a.m. She allegedly fought with one of them before firing a total of 13 rounds.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said on Wednesday it will relocate control of the Newark, New Jersey, airspace area to Philadelphia to address staffing issues ... The FAA, which has struggled with air traffic staffing issues, said it and the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) signed a memorandum to relocate control of Newark at New York Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) (N90) to Philadelphia Tower/TRACON by the end of June. The FAA said the change will help "meet continued traffic demand in the busy Northeast Corridor." Several controllers are expected to voluntarily transfer to Philadelphia. New York TRACON is...

An unruly passenger aboard an American Airlines flight was detained by police after being put in a headlock then thrown off the plane for hurling anti-Semitic slurs at an attendant. The fracas happened on American Airlines Flight 2506, destined for Philadelphia, and started before the plane left the airbridge at Tampa International Airport on Tuesday afternoon. In a video of the incident, the passenger can be seen verbally assaulting staff and fellow passengers as the unrest developed.

The hate-spewing American Airlines passenger seen in a viral video being put in a headlock and marched off a flight also drunkenly ranted about “blue-eyed white devils” — and threatened to “take this plane down with all you ------–kers on it,” according to court documents. The passenger, identified as 29-year-old Florida man Shail Patel, had already been accused of hurling an antisemitic slur at a flight attendant during the wild scuffle on American Airlines Flight 2506 from his hometown of Tampa to Philadelphia on Tuesday. He had bloodshot eyes and reeked of alcohol — and yelled at other passengers, “F–k...

JOHNSTOWN — Joe Burkhart is busy working at his job as a maintenance manager at a processor here in Cambria County. Like many people who have spent their career working with their hands, he knows that unexpected layoffs and companies who have been around for decades suddenly shuttering their doors is part of today’s technological revolution.Like many people around here born in the 1960’s, Burkhart says he was born and raised a Democrat. “Everyone in my family was a Democrat, its just what you did,” he said, adding when he first started looking for work as an adult being a...

This is the chaotic moment a belligerent American Airlines passenger was put in a headlock and dragged out by a fellow flyer before takeoff. The disruptive male passenger was removed from flight 2506 that was set to fly from Tampa International Airport to Philadelphia on Tuesday. During the outburst, which caused a 30-minute delay, the man yelled an anti-Semitic slur at a flight attendant and seemed to threaten another passenger. In a statement, American Airline told DailyMail.com: 'Prior to departure of American Airlines flight 2506 with service from Tampa (TPA) to Philadelphia (PHL), law enforcement was requested to the aircraft...

The SS United States is facing eviction from its mooring at Pier 82 in Philadelphia in a lawsuit filed by Penn Warehousing, the pier’s landlord. The ocean liner has been rusting away in the Delaware River since 1996 but has a storied past. In 1952, it broke the once-highly sought record for the fastest transatlantic crossing, the last passenger ship to do so. The SS United States Conservancy, a non-profit attempting to restore the ship, admits that relocation will be necessary but is still aiming to preserve the vessel. The potential eviction stems from rent increases that could be against...

An angry dad has been arrested after he stormed into a high school classroom and confronted a student he accused of harassing his daughter. Aaron Thomas, 38, burst in to the class at Paulsboro High School in New Jersey, near Philadelphia, Monday morning. The father from nearby Gibbstown arrived at the school around 11.30am to pull his daughter out of class, but then decided to confront the other student. Video recorded by another student showed Thomas confront a student and demand he apologize to his daughter, who was near the door. 'You got a problem with my daughter? Apologize to...

A teenager was killed and four other people were injured in a shooting at a north Philadelphia bus stop on Monday afternoon, police said. The city’s police commissioner, Kevin Bethel, said about 15 to 20 students were at a bus stop in the city’s Ogontz neighborhood around 3:45 p.m. when two people walked up and opened fire. Police said people were getting on the stopped bus when the gunfire erupted. Police said one 17-year-old was pronounced dead at a hospital with multiple gunshot wounds to the body. Two 15-year-olds had graze wounds and a 49-year-old woman and a 71-year-old woman...

A former schoolteacher from Hawaii has been sentenced to 17.5 years in prison for the creation and distribution of child sexual abuse images he produced during his own rape of a 13-year-old boy. Alden Bunag, 35, had raped the child in his classroom and filmed it before sending it to other pedophiles to consume. As previously reported by Reduxx, Bunag was first arrested in June of 2022 following an investigation into a pedophile in a different state. The FBI had received a tip about a schoolteacher in Philadelphia who had been sharing child sexual abuse material on the internet, and...

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A new analysis is adding fuel to the feud over the proposed Philadelphia 76ers arena on Market East. University of Pennsylvania grad and University of Washington professor Albert Alcoin released a study Thursday showing what he says could be economic consequences to businesses and tax revenue if the arena moves forward. "There are clearly some potential negative impacts on businesses that need to be taken into account," Alcoin said. Alcoin based his analysis on a 2022 study that found there were "little to no tangible impacts of sports teams and facilities on local economies. From there, Alcoin...

Almost $60 million in debt backed by 1515 Market St. was transferred to special servicing in December, adding the 20-story building to the growing list of distressed office properties surrounding City Hall. The building's owner, Florida-based Accesso Partners, has a $59.4 million balance on the loan it took out to acquire 1515 Market for $85 million in 2014. The loan, which was originated by JPMorgan Chase & Co. before being converted into a commercial mortgage-backed security (CMBS) and sold to investors, is set to mature in January 2025. Contacted by the Business Journal for comment, Accesso issued a statement saying...

Anne-Marie Slaughter, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s director of policy planning, now denies she endorsed Today’s Zaman, the flagship newspaper of Fethullah Gülen’s Islamist cult. Here is a google cache record with Prof. Slaughter’s endorsement, and here is the page now, with Professor Slaughter’s endorsement excised. Professor Slaughter denies she made the endorsementThere are two possible explanations: (1) Professor Slaughter is being truthful, and Today’s Zaman simply made it all up. If so, this suggests that the ethics of Zaman and the organization which sponsors it are non-existent. (2) Professor Slaughter asked for the retraction only after learning about Today’s...

A state lawmaker is 'seeking help' after screeching 'Do you know who I am?' and threatening to close down a bar whose staff asked him to leave. Kevin Boyle, a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, then abused patrons and uttered bizarre conspiracies - all caught on camera. No one was spared in his three-minute tirade in which he called them everything from 'idiots' and 'morons' to 'traitors' and 'actors' - with his rant liberally-peppered with f-words too. He threatened to 'end this bar' and to block the promotions of who he wrongly thought were military drinking at...