Category Archives: Philadelphia

Bobby Rydell, US pop idol of the early 1960s, dies aged 79

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Singer, drummer and actor had five US Top 10 hits, and inspired the Beatles to write She Loves You

Bobby Rydell, who enjoyed numerous US hits during the teen pop craze of the early 1960s, has died aged 79. He suffered complications from pneumonia, and died in hospital in his native Philadelphia.

With songs of decorous romance sung in his clean, hearty voice, Rydell reached the US Top 10 five times – with We Got Love, Swingin’ School, his version of the standard Volare, Wild One (also a UK Top 10 hit) and Forget Him. The latter is believed to be the inspiration for the Beatles’ She Loves You after Paul McCartney said the song was inspired by an unnamed Rydell number.

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Nor’easter lashes eastern US with snow and wind gusts near hurricane force

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  • Philadelphia, New York and Boston in path of storm
  • Flooding, high winds and cold weather expected

A nor’easter with hurricane-force wind gusts battered much of the US east coast on Saturday, flinging heavy snow that made travel treacherous or impossible, flooding coastlines and threatening to leave bitter cold in its wake.

The storm thrashed parts of 10 states, with blizzard warnings from Virginia to Maine. Philadelphia and New York saw plenty of wind and snow, but Boston was in the crosshairs. The city could get more than 2ft of snow by early Sunday.

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Philadelphia lab briefly locked down after worker finds ‘smallpox’ vials in freezer

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Worker found ‘questionable vials’ while cleaning out freezer, but CDC says no one was exposed to the deadly disease

A lab worker at a Merck facility outside Philadelphia found 15 “questionable vials” labeled “smallpox” and “vaccinia” while cleaning out a freezer earlier this week, raising harrowing security concerns.

The FBI and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are investigating the discovery, which involves a disease that is believed to have killed more than 300 million people since the dawn of the 20th century.

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Philadelphia holds day of remembrance for 1985 Move bombing that left 11 dead

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Occasion overshadowed by disclosure that bones of children who died held for almost four decades by University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia on Thursday marks the city’s first official day of remembrance for the 1985 bombing of a Black liberation group in which 11 people, including five children, were killed and an entire African American neighborhood burned to ashes.

Related: Ivy League colleges apologize for ‘serious error’ in using bones of Black child for teaching

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Helmut Jahn obituary

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Architect known for his flamboyant, postmodernist buildings in Chicago, Berlin and other cities around the world

Standing on a corner of downtown Chicago as a dazzling rocket ship of mirrored glass and salmon pink steel, the James R Thompson Center, more than any other building, encapsulates the flamboyant oeuvre of the German-American architect Helmut Jahn, who has died aged 81 in a cycling accident.

The glitzy government building, originally known as the State of Illinois Center, is a fitting monument to the larger than life architect, as exuberant as it is divisive.

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Ivy League colleges urged to apologise for using bones of Black children in teaching

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Bones of children who died in 1985 police bombing used in anthropology course – but some bones now appear to be missing

Two Ivy League institutions, the University of Pennsylvania and Princeton, are facing mounting demands to apologise and make restitution for their handling over decades of the bones of African American children killed by Philadelphia police in 1985.

Related: Bones of Black children killed in police bombing used in Ivy League anthropology course

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Bones of Black children killed in police bombing used in Ivy League anthropology course

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Remains of those killed in 1985 Move bombing in Philadelphia serve as ‘case study’ in Princeton-backed course

The bones of Black children who died in 1985 after their home was bombed by Philadelphia police in a confrontation with the Black liberation group which was raising them are being used as a “case study” in an online forensic anthropology course presented by an Ivy League professor.

It has emerged that the physical remains of one, or possibly two, of the children who were killed in the aerial bombing of the Move organization in May 1985 have been guarded over the past 36 years in the anthropological collections of the University of Pennsylvania and Princeton.

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‘I’m proud of the city’: the volunteers fighting voter suppression in Philadelphia

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Observers across the city worked to ensure a smooth election on Tuesday. For Joe Certaine, it was his ‘last rodeo’

Joe Certaine arrived in the early morning chill Tuesday at a church.

There would be a long week of uncertainty ahead, much that hinged on his state, but Certaine didn’t know that yet. For now, he and his “brigade” of trained volunteers were settling in to respond to acts of voter suppression on election day.

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‘I can’t stop crying’: joyful celebrations erupt in US as Joe Biden beats Trump

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Expressions of joy and happiness break out across America after Pennsylvania went to Biden, handing him the presidency

As news broke that Joe Biden had defeated Donald Trump in the race for the White House, cities across the US saw wild celebrations from supporters of the Democratic nominee for president.

Related: US election live: Joe Biden wins and says 'It’s time for America to unite'

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Philadelphia mayor tells Trump to accept he lost – video

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Jim Kenney tells a press conference that Donald Trump should 'put his big boy pants on', acknowledge his defeat and congratulate Joe Biden as the winner of the US presidential election. It could take several days to complete the count in Philadelphia, but Biden has so far won 81% of the votes. Around 40,000 are still to be counted. Trump has continued to tweet baseless allegations of voter fraud

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‘Hope over fear’: Joe Biden pledges to bring unity to US in campaign speech – video

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Joe Biden has vowed to unite the US, as the Democratic hopeful outlined how he would be different to Donald Trump if he were to win the presidential election. Biden was speaking at a campaign event in Philadelphia hours before voting closes

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Philadelphia protesters take to streets after police killing of black man

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  • Walter Wallace, 27, shot ‘several times’ by officers
  • Police in riot gear disperse demonstrators

Hundreds took to the streets of Philadelphia on Monday night, to protest the shooting by police of Walter Wallace, a 27-year-old black man who officers said had a knife.

Related: America's protest crackdown: five months after George Floyd, hundreds face trials and prison

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‘Trump isn’t going to protect us’: Obama returns to campaign trail for Biden

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Former president told voters in swing state Pennsylvania: ‘What we do now these next 13 days will matter for decades to come’

Barack Obama returned to the campaign trail on Wednesday to deliver a scathing – and occasionally humorous – condemnation of his successor while envisioning an America led by his former vice-president, Joe Biden.

Sleeves rolled and wearing a black mask that read VOTE, Obama assailed Donald Trump over his response to the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed more than 220,000 Americans and infected millions more, including the president.

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Voting ‘makes things better’: Barack Obama praises youth – video

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Barack Obama has praised young Black Lives Matter demonstrators saying they gave him 'optimism', during a discussion with black male community leaders ahead of a drive-in rally for Joe Biden on Wednesday night.

At his Philadelphia campaign event, Obama emphasized the need for young voters to make it to the polls to ensure a better future for the country

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DoJ to investigate federal forces’ tactics in US cities as mayors condemn Trump

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Watchdog to look at use-of-force allegations in Portland and Washington as other mayors say: we don’t need your deployments

The justice department inspector general said on Thursday it would conduct a review of the conduct of federal agents who responded to unrest in Portland and Washington DC, following concerns from members of Congress and the public.

Related: DoJ watchdog opens investigation into federal agents' actions in Portland – live

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‘A wake-up call for the nation’: Joe Biden addresses the killing of George Floyd – video

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Joe Biden has addressed the killing of George Floyd and the protests that his death has sparked. During a speech in Philadelphia, the Democratic presidential candidate said Floyd’s last words, 'I can’t breathe', were a 'wake-up call for our nation'. Biden also sought to draw a clear distinction between himself and Donald Trump, saying the US president was 'part of the problem'

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US drinking water contamination with ‘forever chemicals’ far worse than scientists thought

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Highest levels of PFAS in Miami, Philadelphia and New Orleans, report by environmental watchdog finds

The contamination of US drinking water with manmade “forever chemicals” is far worse than previously estimated with some of the highest levels found in Miami, Philadelphia and New Orleans, said a report on Wednesday by an environmental watchdog group.

The chemicals, resistant to breaking down in the environment, are known as perfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. Some have been linked to cancers, liver damage, low birth weight and other health problems.

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Aaron Burr, vice-president who killed Hamilton, had children of color

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Philadelphia ceremony honors John Pierre Burr, prominent member of black society now recognised as son of founding father

John Pierre Burr, one of two children the former vice-president Aaron Burr is said to have fathered with a servant from India, was officially memorialized as a descendant of the founding father at a ceremony in Philadelphia on Saturday.

The elder Burr was the vice-president to Thomas Jefferson between 1801 and 1805 but is perhaps best known for killing Alexander Hamilton in a duel, an act which made him the villain in a hit Broadway musical.

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Philadelphia mayor calls for gun control action after officers injured in standoff

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Jim Kenney urged state and federal government to stand up to NRA or ‘then let us police ourselves’

The mayor of Philadelphia has joined a growing chorus of calls for America to take action on gun control after a dramatic shooting incident in which six police officers were wounded as they served a drug warrant.

The officers were injured as part of a night of drama which saw a tense standoff eventually resolved when the suspected gunman was taken into custody. It is believed he had an automatic rifle and he exchanged multiple bursts of gunfire with police which saw civilians run for cover in a densely populated part of the city.

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