No debate: there’s no better, or more appropriate, place to celebrate the birth of our nation than right here in Philly. Here are a few things to help you enjoy your freedom this weekend. The best part? Most of it’s free. Today: Forget lunch, there’s cake! A reading of the Declaration of Independence is followed by an eight foot cake that’s needs some eating. Head over to the Independence Visitor Center at noon to snag......

We drove by Franklin Park on Saturday and were convinced we saw a giant sand sculpture, but we couldn't figure out what dinosaurs, a baseball, and a gym would all be doing on the same sculpture, so we chalked it up to our overactive imaginations. More videos after the jump!......

PATCO and SEPTA are thinking about working together to extend PATCO's service along Columbus Boulevard and perhaps to City Hall. The project would involve "reopening the long-closed Franklin Square station beneath Sixth and Race Streets to serve as the hub of the expanded service." This new service, however, would cost at least $1 billion, would thus require financial help, and would take eight to ten years to complete. Another wrinkle in the federal investigation into......

Turns out that Philadelphia is less angry than many people expected (comparatively speaking). However, we did make the top 10 in America's Drunkest Cities. Clearly, we're drunks of the "I love you guys," variety, rather than the bottle neck-smashing variety. The teeny-tiny robots are coming! Well...funds for them are, anyway. The Nanotechnology Institute has just been awarded $3.5 million in grant money. As everything we know about nanotech comes from Star Trek: The Next Generation......

U. Penn experts are going to train a new police unit called Homicide Prevention to try to spot potential killers amongst offenders already under the supervision of the criminal justice system. Those predicted to commit homicides will then be set aside for "intensified supervision and treatment." Of course, a vat of freaky bald precogs might be more effective and accurate, but probably harder to come by... Driving through Norristown and other areas of the city......

Today a new family-friendly attraction is opening at 6th and Race, courtesy Once Upon A Nation and Fairmount Park, and in celebration of Ben Franklin's 300th birthday. It's the new Franklin Square (more on its history here), featuring an old-fashioned carousel with 30 horses; a restored 19th century fountain; a picnic area (with food provided, it sounds like); an 18-hole Philly-themed mini golf course (called, appropriately enough, Philly Mini Golf); and two new "state-of-the-art"......