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Chicago, IL

Philly Native Richard Reinhold Jr., Deputy Homeland Security Agent, Dies Philly Native Richard Reinhold Jr., Deputy Homeland Security Agent, Dies
Philly Native Richard Reinhold Jr., Deputy Homeland Security Agent, Dies Richard Reinhold Jr., a well-respected deputy special agent in charge with Homeland Security Investigations from New Jersey, died on Monday, Feb. 26 with his family by his side, his obituary said. He was 46 years old. Rich, of Delran — affectionately referred to by colleagues as "Big Daddy" — previously worked as an agent in Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington DC, and Newark, NJ.  Richard grew up in Philadelphia and attended Father Judge High School and Holy Family University where he received a bachelor’s degree in accounting, his obituary said. After graduating, he joined the…
COLD CASE: PA Woman Was Seeking Divorce Before Her 1960 Murder COLD CASE: PA Woman Was Seeking Divorce Before Her 1960 Murder
Cold CASE: PA Woman Was Seeking Divorce Before Her 1960 Murder Helen Drummond Fischer was 55 years old when she was murdered, state police investigators say.  Authorities found Fischer dead from "numerous injuries" at her Pebble Hill Road home in Doylestown on Feb. 17, 1960. She was last seen alive by a friend the weekend prior on Feb. 13.  A Chicago native, investigators said she was self-employed as a travel agent and ran her business out of her home.  Fischer was married to "millionaire industrialist" Kermit Fischer, but authorities say they were estranged — Helen was reportedly seeking a divorce and even had pend…
Bruce Springsteen Announces New Dates For Canceled Philly Shows Bruce Springsteen Announces New Dates For Canceled Philly Shows
Bruce Springsteen Announces New Dates For Canceled Philly Shows The City of Brotherly Love will have to wait to meet face-to-face with the Boss.  Bruce Springsteen postponed two scheduled concert dates at Citizens Bank Park on Aug. 16 and 18 due to "illness," the singer's team previously announced in a social media post.  The nixed shows have been rescheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024, and Friday, Aug. 23, 2024. Tickets for the canceled concerts will still be honored, according to the singer's website.   "Tickets for the Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2023 show will be valid for the Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024 show, and tickets for the Friday, Aug. 18, 2023 sho…
Pittsburgh Pirates Bus Driver Was DUI While Transporting Players From Game: Reports Pittsburgh Pirates Bus Driver Was DUI While Transporting Players From Game: Reports
Pittsburgh Pirates Bus Driver Was DUI While Transporting Players From Game: Reports A 61-year-old bus driver for the Pittsburgh Pirates was arrested and charged with DUI while transporting the team from Chicago to Milwaukee last week, various news reports say. Ronald Funderburke of Shelby, N.C., was showing signs of impairment and wasn't following the police escort during the Thursday, June 15 trek, a spokesperson from Illinois State Police said. Troopers observed more erratic driving and stopped the bus on the right shoulder of Interstate 94 northbound at Dempster Street, ISP said. After observing multiple signs of impairment, troopers arrested Funderburke for Drivin…
Unabomber Ted Kaczynski Dies By Suicide, Sources Say, NJ Businessman Was Among Victims Unabomber Ted Kaczynski Dies By Suicide, Sources Say, NJ Businessman Was Among Victims
Unabomber Ted Kaczynski Dies By Suicide, Sources Say, NJ Businessman Was Among Victims The serial-killing domestic terrorist who infamously became known as the Unabomber took his own life in his cell at a federal medical prison, according to a report. U.S. Bureau of Prisons records confirm that Theodore John “Ted” Kaczynski, 81, died on Saturday, June 10. His body was found in the cell around 8 a.m., a bureau spokesperson said. Dubbed the Unabomber by the FBI, Kaczynski was serving four life terms for killing three people – among them, a New Jersey advertising executive – and injured dozens more with homemade bombs in various parts of the country between 1978 and 1995. Kacz…
$6M Ponzi Scheme: Braggart Hedge Fund 'Tycoon' Busted By Undercover NJ Fed $6M Ponzi Scheme: Braggart Hedge Fund 'Tycoon' Busted By Undercover NJ Fed
$6M Ponzi Scheme: Braggart Hedge Fund 'Tycoon' Busted By Undercover NJ Fed The well-heeled hedge fund tycoon from Chicago seemingly couldn’t help but boast of some spectacular achievements during a meeting with an investment manager in New Jersey. There were annual returns of 336 percent, more than $2 billion raised in just 60 days and a list of investors that included a well-known owner of a professional sports team, authorities said. Phillip Galles, 57, also took a page from George Santos’s book, claiming that he’d graduated from a prominent university in the Midwest, they said. Galles’s “outlandish claims of experience, expertise and success” were all BS, a co…
Here's Where Philly Ranks Among The Most Irish Cities In America, According To One Study Here's Where Philly Ranks Among The Most Irish Cities In America, According To One Study
Here's Where Philly Ranks Among The Most Irish Cities In America, According To One Study Americans nationwide are embracing their Irish heritage in celebration of St. Patrick's Day, but some cities run a little greener than others.  How does Philadelphia stack up?  According to the LawnStarter.com blog, the City of Brotherly Love is one of the top ten most Irish cities in the United States in 2023.  More goes into the calculation than a simple demographic survey, LawnStarter explains. The blog selected America's Irish-est cities by considering "access to Irish pubs, dance schools, and social groups," among other "indicators" of Emerald Isle heritage.  By t…
Baltimore Woman's Baby Formula Scam Catches Illegal Romanian Man In Gettysburg: Authorities Baltimore Woman's Baby Formula Scam Catches Illegal Romanian Man In Gettysburg: Authorities
Baltimore Woman's Baby Formula Scam Catches Illegal Romanian Man In Gettysburg: Authorities A Baltimore woman illegally using Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program cards to collect baby formula she claimed to be sending to Ukraine, lead to the arrest of a Romanian man illegally in the US who allegedly forged documents for her, authorities say.  Eglisa Ciuciu, 25, of Baltimore, MD, and Sandrino Trifu, 32, of Croaova, Romania were arrested along with an unnamed 15-year-old in connection to a bizarre baby formula theft at the Gettysburg Walmart on Saturday, Feb. 4, 2023. Ciuciu used the 15-year-old to transport the stolen goods from the store that she supposedly needed “to s…
Answers Sought In Suburban Philly Woman's Mysterious 1960 Killing Answers Sought In Suburban Philly Woman's Mysterious 1960 Killing
Answers Sought In Suburban Philly Woman's Mysterious 1960 Killing It's been more than 60 years since Helen Drummond Fischer was killed, and detectives are still looking for answers.  The 55-year-old was found deadwith "numerous injuries" in her Pebble Hill Road home in Doylestown on Feb. 17, 1960, said investigators with the Pennsylvania State Police.  A Chicago native, Fischer ran her own travel agency business out of her house, police said. She was planning to divorce her estranged husband, the late "millionaire industrialist" Kermit Fischer, and was pressing assault charges against him at the time of her death, police said.  Helen Drumm…
Tina Fey, Amy Poehler Making Atlantic City Stop On Upcoming Comedy Tour Tina Fey, Amy Poehler Making Atlantic City Stop On Upcoming Comedy Tour
Tina Fey, Amy Poehler Making Atlantic City Stop On Upcoming Comedy Tour Tina Fey and Amy Poehler have announced a comedy tour together, with an Atlantic City stop on the calendar. The gal pals and "Saturday Night Live" icons took to Instagram to announce their "Restless Leg" comedy tour, which begins April 28 in Washington DC. The pair will make stops in Chicago in May, Boston on June 9 and in Atlantic City on June 10. Pre-sale began with code RESTLESS on Wednesday, Feb. 15 at with general on sale Friday, Feb. 17. Click here for tickets.
Pay More, View Better: AMC Changing Ticket Pricing Pay More, View Better: AMC Changing Ticket Pricing
Pay More, View Better: AMC Changing Ticket Pricing The nation’s largest movie theater chain is taking a page out of airlines’ books and will soon be selling tickets at variable prices based on where they are located in the auditorium. AMC Theatres announced “the next evolution of value pricing at the movies,” which will provide movie-goers with seating selections based on their sightline inside the theater. The three tiers will go as follows:  “Standard sightline” will be the most common and available at traditional costs. “Value sightline” seats will be primarily in the front row of the auditorium and will be available at a lower price, w…
Killers, Gangsters, Sex Offenders: US Marshals Capture 76,000 Fugitives Killers, Gangsters, Sex Offenders: US Marshals Capture 76,000 Fugitives
Killers, Gangsters, Sex Offenders: US Marshals Capture 76,000 Fugitives It's a staggering number: 75,846 fugitives were arrested by U.S. Marshals in the fiscal year 2022 -- an average of 303 per day of activity, the service reported.  These included: 9,911 sex offenders, including those charged or convicted of sexual assault, failing to register or comply with the requirements of the national sex offender registry, and other offenses; 5,189 gang members; 5,759 homicide suspects; 1,496 international and foreign fugitives; 986 fugitives charged in the special Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces Program, which combines the resources and experti…
'Prophet Of Doom' Pleads Guilty To Mass NYC Subway Shooting 'Prophet Of Doom' Pleads Guilty To Mass NYC Subway Shooting
'Prophet Of Doom' Pleads Guilty To Mass NYC Subway Shooting UPDATE: An assailant who opened fire on a packed New York City subway train last year, wounding 10 commuters and igniting underground terror, admitted on Tuesday, Jan. 3 that he intended to cause mass harm. No one was killed in the horrific attack by Frank James, 63, which left victims strewn across a smoky 36th Street platform in the Sunset Park section of Brooklyn at the height of the April 12 morning rush. Rather than risk the consequences of a guilty verdict at a jury trial, James took a deal from prosecutors. The heavyset and balding domestic terrorist -- who'd dubbed himself the…
American Airlines Workers To Picket Philly Airport, Union Says American Airlines Workers To Picket Philly Airport, Union Says
American Airlines Workers To Picket Philly Airport, Union Says American Airlines employees at Philadelphia International Airport will picket on Tuesday, Nov. 15, union leaders say. The Association of Flight Attendants (CWA, AFL-CIO) and the Association of Professional Flight Attendants will mount a two-hour demonstration that is not expected to impact service from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., said labor leaders in a statement. The workers say they hope to draw attention to stalled contract negotiations with management ahead of the busy holiday season. "American is resisting much-needed contractual improvements for their workgroup, which address operational reli…
Book Review: Are Relationships and the World Better Off When Technology Facilitates Change? Book Review: Are Relationships and the World Better Off When Technology Facilitates Change?
Book Review: Are Relationships and the World Better Off When Technology Facilitates Change? Edison in the Hood by Nadia Uddin If you had the opportunity to ask the dearly departed questions, to retract those last words said in anger, to tell them you love them, would you? Can technology solve personal communication problems? Can it solve the social ills of the world? Those questions may seem unrelated, yet they are woven into one story, Nadia Uddin’s first published novel, Edison in the Hood (October 2020). Uddin quite successfully makes the reader care about the siblings with her careful and empathetic prose. The book opens in a future not too far from our own where technology …
US Marshals Nab 1,500 Violent Fugitives In 'Operation North Star' US Marshals Nab 1,500 Violent Fugitives In 'Operation North Star'
US Marshals Nab 1,500 Violent Fugitives In 'Operation North Star' More than 1,500 fugitives were captured by US Marshals in a 30-day initiative across several major US cities. The fugitives busted in Operation North Star (ONS) include violent criminals, sex offenders, and self-identified gang members in Baltimore, Chicago, Houston, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Memphis, New Orleans, New York City, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C., the agency said. Operation North StarUS Marshals Service Operation North Star focused on fugitives wanted for the most serious, violent, and harmful offenses, including homicide, sexual assault, robbery, or aggravated assault…
R. Kelly Gets 30 Years Without Parole For Sex Trafficking R. Kelly Gets 30 Years Without Parole For Sex Trafficking
R. Kelly Gets 30 Years Without Parole For Sex Trafficking R&B singer R. Kelly is a "disgusting" child abuser who taught his victims that love was "enslavement and violence," said a federal judge in Brooklyn who sentenced him to 30 years in prison Wednesday for running a decades-long sex trafficking ring that included child victims. The “I Believe I Can Fly” singer raped and otherwise sexually abused victims "with regularity" for nearly 25 years, U.S. District Court Judge Ann Donnelly said. “This case is not about sex. It’s about violence and cruelty and control,” the judge told Kelly, who reportedly is now destitute after selling more tha…
Filipino Government Attorney Shot Dead In Philadelphia Uber With Mom Filipino Government Attorney Shot Dead In Philadelphia Uber With Mom
Filipino Government Attorney Shot Dead In Philadelphia Uber With Mom A 36-year-old government attorney from the Philippines was shot in the head and killed during a trip to Philadelphia this weekend, the country's consulate general confirmed. John Albert Laylo was in the back of an Uber with his mom when nearly 15 shots were fired into the rear window and driver's side of the car at 38th and Spruce Streets around 4:10 a.m. Saturday, June 18, police said. Laylo was rushed to Penn Presbyterian Hospital in critical condition, and died Sunday morning after being on life support, police said. The incident was random and possibly a road-rage inciden…
Monkeypox Arrives In Philadelphia: Reports Monkeypox Arrives In Philadelphia: Reports
Monkeypox Arrives In Philadelphia: Reports Philadelphia, Chicago and Los Angeles County all announced their first monkeypox cases on Thursday, June 2. The disease is normally spread by infected wild animals in Africa. There were two cases in the United States last year, both in travelers returning from Nigeria, reports said. At least two of the newest US cases involved travel. All three locations’ public health departments are awaiting confirmation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), The Hill reported.  New York City also has recorded five monkeypox cases. Philadelphia's health department said any …
Cyber-Footsie Scammers From NJ, MD, VA Swindle $7 Million From Mostly Elderly Victims, Feds Say Cyber-Footsie Scammers From NJ, MD, VA Swindle $7 Million From Mostly Elderly Victims, Feds Say
Cyber-Footsie Scammers From NJ, MD, VA Swindle $7 Million From Mostly Elderly Victims, Feds Say Mostly elderly victims across the United States were conned out of a whopping $7 million by a quartet of romance scammers from New Jersey, Maryland and Virginia – all of whom were arrested by the FBI, authorities said. The victims sent the money to the imposters thinking that they were helping out love interests, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. They lost a lot. Arrested this past week, Sellinger said, were: Nana Yaw Marfo, 37, of Virginia, who was accused of receiving at least $4.7 million; Chevon Braxton, 42, of Maryland, who was accused of collecting at least $1.3 million; Will…
Lebanon Lt. Shot Dead One Month Before Retirement Will Have Celebration Of Life At Giant Center Lebanon Lt. Shot Dead One Month Before Retirement Will Have Celebration Of Life At Giant Center
Lebanon Lt. Shot Dead One Month Before Retirement Will Have Celebration Of Life At Giant Center A celebration of life has been scheduled at the Giant Center for the Lebanon police officer who died in the line of duty last week. Lt. William Lebo, 63, will be honored with a celebration at the Giant Center in Hershey on Friday, April 8 at 11 a.m., according to his obituary. His family is focusing on how he lived not how he died, his wife Lora, said in a Facebook post.  "Our families are overwhelmed with the outpouring of love, support, and common grief for the loss of my Husband and Corinne’s Dad, Lieutenant William Lebo," Lora wrote in the post she shared over the weekend following hi…
Abducted PA Toddler Found In Chicago: Reports Abducted PA Toddler Found In Chicago: Reports
Abducted PA Toddler Found In Chicago: Reports A Pennsylvania toddler was found safe in Chicago, Illinois after being abducted by her birth mother, multiple media outlets are reporting citing the police. The 3-year-old girl was taken by her birth mother from her grandmother’s home on Chaske Street in Penn Hills, reports KDKA citing the Penn Hills police chief. The mother took the girl and fled to Chicago on Tuesday around 5 p.m., the grandmother told the police on Wednesday according to multiple media outlets. The mom’s cell phone was used to track down the girl– who has been recovered safely, KDKA reports citing the police. She i…
Driver Reports SUV Stolen From Outside NJ Eatery With $70G Inside Driver Reports SUV Stolen From Outside NJ Eatery With $70G Inside
Driver Reports SUV Stolen From Outside NJ Eatery With $70G Inside An out-of-towner who stopped for some Korean barbecue in Ridgefield told police he emerged to find his rented Range Rover missing -- along with $70,000 in cash that he said a friend had loaned him. The 50-year-old Asian traveler from Chicago said he'd gotten the vehicle from the Enterprise-Rent-A-Car at O'Hare Airport, Ridgefield Police Chief Thomas Gallagher said. He told police he'd stopped in Philadelphia to visit a friend who loaned him the fat stacks. Last week, he grabbed dinner at the Dae Ji Ssonday restaurant in the HMart shopping center on Broad Avenue. He told police he came…
Your New Holiday Vacation Destination Might Be The 'Home Alone' House Listed On Airbnb Your New Holiday Vacation Destination Might Be The 'Home Alone' House Listed On Airbnb
Your New Holiday Vacation Destination Might Be The 'Home Alone' House Listed On Airbnb Yup, you could be home sweet "Home Alone"  for the holidays in the actual home from the famous film franchise, thanks to a special listing on Airbnb.  This special package is for “mischief makers to let their inner eight-year-olds run free in my childhood home on Dec. 12,” writes Buzz McCallister, the films titular character Kevin’s  (as oldest brother, who is acting as the host of the destination holiday vacation). Buzz McCallister on a wall of family photos.Airbnb Some of the sweet details of the “A Home Sweet Home Alone Holiday” package are perfect if you’re “older and wiser now," bu…
R. Kelly Convicted Of Child Sex Assaults, Sex Trafficking By Federal Jurors In NYC R. Kelly Convicted Of Child Sex Assaults, Sex Trafficking By Federal Jurors In NYC
R. Kelly Convicted Of Child Sex Assaults, Sex Trafficking By Federal Jurors In NYC R&B singer R. Kelly could spend the rest of his life behind bars after being convicted of running a decades-long sex trafficking ring -- one that included children as victims -- following a high-profile trial full of graphic testimony. The guilty verdict returned by seven male and five female federal jurors in Brooklyn on Monday "forever brands" Robert Sylvester Kelly, 54, as "a predator who used his fame and fortune to prey on the young, the vulnerable and the voiceless for his own sexual gratification," said Jacquelyn Kasulis, the acting US attorney for the Eastern District of New York…
University Of Pennsylvania Ranked Among Best Colleges In America By U.S News University Of Pennsylvania Ranked Among Best Colleges In America By U.S News
University Of Pennsylvania Ranked Among Best Colleges In America By U.S News U.S. News & World Report has released its latest rankings of the best colleges in America. The University of Pennsylvania was ranked among the top 10 in the nation. The calculations were based on nine broad measures of quality: graduation and retention, graduation rate performance, graduate indebtedness, social mobility, faculty resources, expert opinion, financial resources, student excellence, and alumni giving. The following universities were named: 1. Princeton University: Princeton, NJ 2. Columbia University: New York, NY (tie) 2. Harvard University: Cambridge, MA (tie) 2…
$10 EACH: Pharmacist Charged With Selling COVID Vax Cards On eBay, Feds Warn Against Fakes $10 EACH: Pharmacist Charged With Selling COVID Vax Cards On eBay, Feds Warn Against Fakes
$10 Each: Pharmacist Charged With Selling COVID Vax Cards On eBay, Feds Warn Against Fakes A licensed pharmacist was arrested by federal agents Tuesday for selling COVID-19 vaccination cards on eBay as government warnings against buying cards increased. Tangtang Zhao, 34, of Chicago worked for a pharmacy that distributed and administered vaccines – and with them the vax cards -- at its locations nationwide, Justice Department Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. said. Zhao got his hands on 125 authentic Centers for Disease Control and Prevention vaccination cards that he sold to nearly a dozen different buyers for $10 each, Polite said. “Knowingly selling COVID vacc…
Miami Spring Breakers Accused Of Drugging, Raping Bucks County Woman, 24, Charged With Murder Miami Spring Breakers Accused Of Drugging, Raping Bucks County Woman, 24, Charged With Murder
Miami Spring Breakers Accused Of Drugging, Raping Bucks County Woman, 24, Charged With Murder Two Miami spring break goers accused of drugging and raping a 24-year-old Bucks County woman found dead in a hotel room earlier this year now face first-degree murder charges, according to several news reports. A grand jury in Miami-Dade County found Evoire Collier, 21, and Dorian Taylor, 25, both of Greensboro, NC responsible for the fentanyl-induced death in March of Richboro's Christine Englehardt, 6abc reports. Taylor is also now facing a second first-degree murder charge for giving the same drugs to 21-year-old Walter Riley, of Chicago, IL according to the grand jury rep…
Deportee Who Raped NJ Girl, 15, After Sneaking Back Into US Gets 7¾ Years Deportee Who Raped NJ Girl, 15, After Sneaking Back Into US Gets 7¾ Years
Deportee Who Raped NJ Girl, 15, After Sneaking Back Into US Gets 7¾ Years UPDATE: A deportee who snuck back into the U.S. and was living illegally in Paterson was sentenced Tuesday to 95 months in federal prison for raping a 15-year-old city girl. Juan Carlos Morales-Pedraza, a 35-year-old Mexican citizen who was born in Ecuador, had been deported in 2010, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. He'd re-entered the United States when he approached the girl in Passaic County in April 2019, had sex with her, then took her with him on a planned trip to Chicago, Honig said. They never made it that far, however. An Ohio state trooper pulled Morales-Pedraza’s 201…
Parents Seek Answers Following In-Custody Death Of Autistic Son Tied To NJ, CT, PA Bank Holdups Parents Seek Answers Following In-Custody Death Of Autistic Son Tied To NJ, CT, PA Bank Holdups
Parents Seek Answers Following In-Custody Death Of Autistic Son Tied To NJ, CT, PA Bank Holdups UPDATE: A 23-year-old Cleveland man with autism who was accused of five bank robberies and two other attempts in New Jersey – and suspected in a dozen others in Connecticut and Pennsylvania – has died in federal custody in Chicago. Federal authorities hadn’t yet explained to his parents how Tyler James O’Toole died after being hospitalized last month, however, according to a published report. O’Toole was awaiting trial on charges of robbing a bank Glenview, Illinois when he cut off his monitoring bracelet, stole his mother's 2018 Hyundai Elantra and went on a holdup spree last fall, federal…
Illegal Immigrant Admits Raping NJ Girl, 15, Taking Her Across State Lines Illegal Immigrant Admits Raping NJ Girl, 15, Taking Her Across State Lines
Illegal Immigrant Admits Raping NJ Girl, 15, Taking Her Across State Lines A deportee who'd been living illegally in Paterson after sneaking back into the country admitted Tuesday that he raped a 15-year-old city girl whom he convinced to travel out of state with him, federal authorities said. Juan Carlos Morales-Pedraza, a 34-year-old Mexican citizen, also pleaded guilty via video conference with a U.S. District Court judge in Newark to illegally re-entering the United States. The Ecuadoran-born Morales-Pedraza, who’d been deported in 2010, approached the girl in April 2019, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. After having sex with her, he took the girl …