Four people were killed in the area over the Labor Day weekend, and this morning two more men were found slain in a second floor apartment over an electronics store in North Philadelphia. But good things also happened this Labor Day weekend, like a nice Labor Day parade, and Pennsylvania State Sen. Anthony H. Williams' annual street party in West Philadelphia where more than 2,500 people got free meals of hot dogs and turkey burgers.......

We're so proud: one of the Eagles cheerleaders (Janelle Stangl) has been named by Maxim as one of the NFL's four "most gorgeous" cheerleaders in the magazine's September issue, which hits newsstands today. Click through for a pic. The Daily News describes a climate of fear and anger in Frankford, with residents on the lookout for a serial rapist. "Anticrime activists passed out flyers in the neighborhood yesterday while police—in a massive manhunt—took the unusual......

A look at how locals are faring in the Olympics. Police are still searching for the rapist or rapists who have been terrorizing the Frankford section of Philadelphia. A man was arrested Saturday in a kidnapping and sex assault, but police don't believe he's connected to the other incidents. The Inquirer takes a look at the crowded and sometimes dangerous conditions on the Kelly Drive bike path at Boathouse Row. The Daily News lists......

Torontoist featured video of an absolutely insane series of explosions at a propane facility in the north end of the city last weekend.Despite an eventful week at the Olympics, Phillyist focused on local, Philadelphia teams.Seattlest, freshly aware of their "Junior High Readability Level," implemented a new weekly feature spotlighting a local they’re totes crushing on. First up, a guy they met at the Seattle Tattoo Expo.LAist reported on a protest by bicyclists in Santa......

A lawsuit by the Philadelphia firm of Cozen O'Connor blaming the government of Saudi Arabia for the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks is probably dead in the water now after a federal appeals court ruled yesterday that Saudi Arabia could not be sued for acts of terrorism. A 1-year-old child was slashed in the neck yesterday afternoon at a North Philadelphia home. The suspect is believed to be the child's father, but police are withholding the......

The big story is the huge fire that started early last night at the Riverwalk at Millennium apartment complex in Conshohocken. The fire destroyed three buildings and left three others damaged. Residents of the apartments are trying to cope with the loss of their homes and, in some cases, pets. This morning, fire trucks were still on the scene and firefighters were napping on the sidewalk as embers from the buildings smoldered. In the wake......

The SEPTA R8 Fox Chase commuter train was on its last run of the day at 10:15 last night when it struck and killed a teenage girl just south of the Lawndale station. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton will be in Philadelphia today for a private meeting at a Center City law firm to say thank you to some of her major supporters. A 16-year-old Delaware County girl on her way to a slumber party......

Fiery Ghosts! One of the most classic anomalies this strange planet has ever produced is known as "ball lightning." It's a phenomenon that has been suggested to be anything from ghostly activity, to electricity in the air, to a will-o-the-wisp-type effect, to the fiery origin of Spontaneous Human Combustion. Such manifestations have also been connected to phantom hounds, with many such bizarre ghost dogs often appearing at first as balls of fire, or transforming into......

The 14-month-old boy mistakenly left in the backseat of a hot car by his grandfather died Saturday afternoon at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia after five days on life support. The mother of the child has forgiven her father for the mistake. Pretty soon Mayor Nutter will have to negotiate new contracts with Philadelphia's four municipal unions; the Daily News suspects the ordeal will be the end of Nutter's honeymoon. A four-alarm fire struck......

by Sarah Gormley The best of the internet, chopped into tiny bits and grilled for your enjoyment. Presenting the 2008 Maxim Hometown Hotties semi-finalists from PA. You can check out Nabila, Kimberly, Alexa, and Kayla and vote for your favorite. (via Tom) Though it’s similar to the last one, and grainy, this new trailer for Dark Knight is a favorite over at The Movie Blog. The blaze at Universal Studios on Sunday did a fair......

Photo by TObike from the Torontoist Flickr Pool. Torontoist featured the astonishing story (and equally astonishing photos) of more than 200 cyclists spontaneously taking over the westbound lanes of the city's downtown expressway for 7 kilometers late on a Friday afternoon.Phillyist got to chat with singer/songwriter and internet phenomenon Eric Hutchinson as his major-label debut hit stores.Shanghaiist was annoyed by Sharon Stone's suggestion that the Sichuan earthquake was China's karma for its treatment of......

Great Balls of Fire! Mrs. Louise Matthews was having a relaxing evening stretched out on her sofa one night in 1960 at her South Philly home. Yawning and dozing, and freeing herself from the stress of the day, she suddenly became aware of a strange glow emanating from the window. Upon glancing towards the blinds she was alarmed to see a burning ball of light heading towards her. The orb was making a sizzling noise......

While touring Pennsylvania yesterday touting his health care plan, John McCain also got in a dig against Obama for failing to endorse the proposal, supported by himself and Clinton, to suspend the federal gasoline tax from Memorial Day to Labor Day. "City officials yesterday embraced the concept of bicycle sharing as a way to reduce traffic and pollution, but said many questions must be answered before Philadelphia becomes the first U.S. city to institute public......

Yes, it's true, today is the pivotal Pennsylvania primary. A record voter turn-out is expected—which probably means there will also be a record number of problems. Clinton and Obama made their final push for votes yesterday. Obama didn't promise to win, but he did promise to keep things close. Meanwhile, the Clinton camp was talking comebacks. For more Philly.com election coverage, go here, or follow their live-blog of the election. Of course, a far......

Photo of Free Tibet protesters at 5th and Market Streets taken by the author this past weekend The Daily News has more on how faulty the emergency radio system is, and also a bit on how personnel are under-trained on its functionality. Meanwhile, PHA cops have similar problems with their radios. The Daily News interviewed three women from Philadelphia's Asian American community on the controversy going on now over the 2008 Summer Olympics. (If......

Updated. See below. After last week's defeat of an amendment that would have required gun owners to report lost or stolen firearms, yesterday a comprehensive gun-package bill unanimously passed the state House of Representatives by a 200-to-0 vote. The bill raises the penalties on gun-related crimes and makes things tougher on straw purchasers. In response to recent highly publicized attacks on SEPTA platforms, the transportation agency has increased after-school policing on the Philadelphia subway system......

The first weekend in April brought with it a host of grim violence, including two home invasions, a robbery, a stabbing, five shootings, and a homicide. Not on the list: A man was assaulted and robbed on the El Friday night by three men wearing black wigs. For those keeping track at home, that’s three assaults around the El in the last 10 days. Mayor Nutter assures us that they are just isolated incidents. Representatives......

We sure do love Pennsylvania politics. Someone started a fire at the Mount Carmel office of State Rep. Robert Belfanti Jr. Belfanti is unopposed in the primary and general elections, and had no idea why someone would try to burn his office down. Meanwhile, the South Philadelphia campaign office of Pennsylvania state House candidate Christian DiCicco, the son of City Councilman Frank DiCicco, was burglarized yesterday. There's a little disparity between the two Inquirer articles......

The tiny Bucks County borough of Yardley is home to some of the most frequently flooded properties in the nation, thanks to the Delaware River's chronic deluges. Thus Yardley expects to receive $655,000 from a pilot grant program aimed at stemming federal flood claims in hard-hit towns. Apparently our new soccer club's anthem is "I'm Looking Over a Four-Leaf Clover." Well it's appropriate for today, anyway. "Handgun-control proponents in the State House are attempting......

This week's quote comes from a song in My Fair Lady, in honor of the upcoming touring production. Because as soon as someone mentions the show, we start singing through the libretto, and we wanted you to feel our pleasure/pain. Now, on with the listings! Brothers-in-Law - Certainly preferable to mothers-in-law! March 11-April 6. Tickets online. Copenhagen - BOOM. March 11-30. For tickets, call 215.785.0100. The Lonesome West - But the east is simply......

Fun around town, for $10 or less: Philly Music on the Parkway: Local songwriters perform original works; hosted by Dan Collins at the Central Branch of the Philadelphia Free Library (1901 Vine), 7PM. Free A Streetcar Named Desire: Staged reading of the classic Tennessee Williams play with reception following at the Ethical Society of Philadelphia (1906 S. Rittenhouse Sq), 7:30PM. $8 Open Mic: Free at The Fire (412 W. Girard). Sign up at 8:30PM. (21+)......

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Fun around town, for $10 or less: Combat Footage: “Steven Spielberg, Special Effects, and the War Film,” a workshop examining Spielberg's use of special effects in Empire of the Sun and other works, at Scribe Video Center (4212 Chestnut, 3rd Floor), 6PM. Free (Part of One Film, One Philadelphia) Die Actor Die: Die Actor Die, comedy of many stripes, standup, sketch, and “other silly brick-a-brac” hosted by (Phillyist) Don Montrey at the Khyber (56 S.......

The president and board chairman of the city-funded nonprofit Philadelphia Safe and Sound testified yesterday that they were forced by Mayor Street and his senior aides to spend an extra $21 million that they knew did not exist in the city budget. It's those expenditures that have forced Safe and Sound to cancel dozens of programs in recent weeks. You can find copies of Safe and Sound's testimony online here and here. Insiders say......

There's a reason why I don't fry things, and it has nothing to do with health. When I was maybe fourteen years old, Mamaist decided that my sister and I should take turns making dinner once a week. On my third turn, I decided I wanted to make enchiladas. And in order to make enchiladas, you have to lightly fry your corn tortillas in hot oil. Tortillas done, I turned the stove off and......

Fun around town, for $10 or less: The Shame of a City: Inside the Filmmaker’s Studio, a film screening and discussion series showcasing local artists and benefiting Gtown Radio, shows The Shame of a City at the Video Library (7141 Germantown Ave), 7PM. $5 Brassy: Chestnut Brass Company performs works by Krzwycki and Higdon at the Ethical Humanist Society of Philadelphia (1906 S. Rittenhouse Sq), 8PM. Free Honky: Full reading of Honky by Greg Kalleres,......

The Northern Liberties Winter Music Festival at The Fire is finishing up this weekend with two big shows tonight, another tomorrow night, and the climactic Radiohead Tribute Sunday night. It all sounds awesome to us, but we wanted to give a particular heads up to you guys about one of the many bands playing Saturday night: Peasant. Peasant is actually less a band and more a guy: Damien DeRose of Doylestown. We've been listening to......

Sons of Ben and other Philly area soccer fans rejoice: the Inquirer says sources are telling them that "Major League Soccer is moving swiftly toward an agreement that will grant a long-sought expansion team to the Philadelphia region." Saint Joe's will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 5PM today to officially open its new Hawks' Landing parking and retail facility at 54th and City Avenue. Hawks' Landing is a $19 million project that features a five-story,......

Tuesday brings us several events chosen only on the merits of their names. While this is not always a wise principle by which to live, it will certainly serve to spice up an otherwise Snoozeday Tuesday. Yup. We made that up, right on the spot. What? We don't care if you've heard it before! We haven't, so it's ours! PHILADELPHIA PHANTOMS VS SYRACUSE CRUNCH Okay, okay, we'll admit it: We're not the biggest Phantoms......

Fun around town, for $10 or less: What?: Discussion of What is the What, led by Elizabeth Adler, at the Walnut Street West Branch of the Philadelphia Free Library (201 S. 40th), 5:30PM. Free Open Mic: Free at The Fire (412 W. Girard). Sign up at 8:30PM. (21+) Sing Your Life!: Karaoke With DJ Sara Sherr Mondays upstairs at the Khyber (56 S. Second), 9PM - 2 AM. Free (21+) Got a frugal tip? Don't......