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Author: Henry Savage

  • SEPTA Regional Rail delays this morning are due to a train pulling down overhead wires

    SEPTA Regional Rail delays this morning are due to a train pulling down overhead wires

    SEPTA Regional Rail riders experienced significant delays — at times, 30 minutes to an hour — at the peak of morning rush hour on Tuesday morning, after a train pulled electrical wires down.

    A West Trenton Line train struck overhead electrical wires near Wayne Junction train station in the Nicetown section of Philadelphia at 7:45 a.m., said SEPTA officials.

    The train lost power and was tangled in the wires it had pulled down.

    Marie Pollock, 24, who was on board, felt the train start to gradually slow down before quickly and forcefully coming to a stop. Pollock could see wires hitting the train windows and noted that other passengers were startled during the collision.

    “We were keeping the doors closed because it was so cold,” Pollock said. “We were on kind of a hill, so there wasn’t any room for SEPTA to get a shuttle, and the power was out on both tracks, so we couldn’t get a typical rescue train to us.”

    Pollock, who had already been waiting a half-hour in 20-degree chill for her 6:17 a.m. West Trenton Line train before the ordeal, said passengers waited inside the stuck train for an hour and a half.

    SEPTA crews had to cut through the downed wires to free the train and then used a diesel-powered train to tow the disabled one to Wayne Junction, where passengers took other trains into Center City.

    Pollock’s four-hour journey didn’t end until 10 a.m. when she finally arrived at Jefferson Station.

    Since then, service interruptions have been occurring primarily on the Warminster, Lansdale/Doylestown, and West Trenton lines. However, delays cascade throughout the rail system, leading to 15 to 45-minute delays on other lines, said SEPTA spokesperson Andrew Busch.

    “Repairs are still continuing,” Busch said Tuesday afternoon, “but service has improved. Some minor delays, and we are advising passengers to plan for some extra time during rush hour, but we expect the evening commute to be better than this morning.”

    There is currently no timeline for completed repairs.

    SEPTA urges riders to use the SEPTA mobile app and septa.org for the latest updates.

    Today’s service interruptions follow a streak of solid performance by SEPTA after months of disruptions while SEPTA rushed to inspect and repair a fleet of 223 trains after five caught fire last year.

  • Heavy fire temporarily closes North Philadelphia restaurant Bella Vista

    Heavy fire temporarily closes North Philadelphia restaurant Bella Vista

    North Philadelphia restaurant Bella Vista is temporarily closed after a fire caused severe damage to the building on Friday morning.

    The Philadelphia Fire Department responded to a report of a “heavy fire” at the surf and turf restaurant, located on Whitaker Avenue, just before 4 a.m.

    “Thankfully, there are no reported injuries,” said PFD spokesperson Rachel Cunningham. “Philadelphia Fire Department members are still on scene making sure all hot spots are extinguished.”

    A Philadelphia firefighter salts the roadway at a fire at Bella Vista Restaurant on Whitaker Avenue at Hunting Park Avenue, in Philadelphia, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026.

    The fire’s size required the responding crew, Battalion 10, to place all hands in service. They also called for three more engine companies and another ladder company, according to a PFD spokesperson. A total of 80 firefighters and support staff placed the fire under control at 6:26 a.m.

    Large sections of the restaurant’s roof were caved in and blackened from the fire, and the building’s “Bella Vista Restaurant” sign was charred. Bella Vista’s owners could not be reached for comment.

    Philadelphia firefighters work at Bella Vista Restaurant, Whitaker Avenue near Hunting Park Avenue, Philadelphia, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026.

    PGW and PECO were also contacted to ensure that no electricity or gas-related issues occurred. The Fire Marshall’s Office is investigating the cause of the fire.

    A rooftop fire next to the award-winning Fishtown restaurant, Suraya, forced the Lebanese restaurant to temporarily close two weeks ago. It reopened the following day.

  • Two Pa. lawmakers were in a video critical of Trump. Now, they say, they are under federal investigation.

    Two Pa. lawmakers were in a video critical of Trump. Now, they say, they are under federal investigation.

    U.S. Reps. Chrissy Houlahan of Chester County and Chris Deluzio of Allegheny County are among the Democrats who say they are being investigated by President Donald Trump’s administration for appearing in a video that calls on service members not to follow “illegal orders.”

    Deluzio, a Navy veteran, said in a Thursday interview that the investigation is “part of a harassment or intimidation campaign against me and my colleagues.”

    “The fact that you’ve got members of Congress, all who’ve served the country, being targeted in this way because we stated the law shouldn’t just worry but terrify the American people, and I’m not going to be intimidated or back down in the face of that,” he told The Inquirer.

    The Democratic lawmakers who appeared in the Nov. 18 video were contacted late last year by the FBI for interviews. They say they have now been contacted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, a significant escalation in the investigation.

    “The six of us are being targeted not because we said something untrue, but because we said something President Trump and Secretary [of Defense Pete] Hegseth didn’t want anyone to hear,” Houlahan, a former Air Force officer, said in a statement Wednesday.

    “This investigation is ridiculous on any day but especially so on a day the President is considering launching airstrikes against Iran in retaliation for their crackdown on free speech,” Houlahan said.

    The four representatives and two senators, all of whom served in the military or intelligence agencies, said in the video that the Trump administration is “pitting uniformed military and intelligence community professionals against American citizens.”

    In response, Trump posted on social media two days later that the lawmakers were engaging in “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!” along with a string of hostile messages toward the lawmakers.

    Houlahan said at the time she was disappointed in a lack of support from her GOP colleagues.

    U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D., Mich.), a former CIA analyst who appeared in the video, said Wednesday that representatives for U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, the top federal prosecutor in Washington, had contacted her last week requesting an interview.

    Houlahan told reporters that prosecutors want to “sit down” with all the lawmakers who were involved in the video.

    U.S. Reps. Jason Crow (D., Colo.), a former paratrooper and Army Ranger, and Maggie Goodlander (D., N.H.), a former intelligence officer, also appeared in the video, as did U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly (D., Ariz.), a former Navy captain.

    What does sedition actually mean? Here’s what to know about Trump’s accusation against Democratic lawmakers.

    Sen. Mark Kelly sues the Pentagon

    Kelly filed a lawsuit Monday against the Pentagon and Hegseth over the defense secretary’s attempts to punish Kelly in particular for his participation in the November video.

    Kelly claims the Trump administration is violating his constitutional rights to free speech after Hegseth censured the Arizona senator. Hegseth said the Jan. 5 censure was “a necessary process step” to proceedings that could result in a demotion from Kelly’s retired rank of captain and subsequent reduction in retirement pay.

    “The First Amendment forbids the government and its officials from punishing disfavored expression or retaliating against protected speech,” Kelly’s lawsuit says. “That prohibition applies with particular force to legislators speaking on matters of public policy.”

    Although all six lawmakers served in the military or intelligence agencies, only Kelly served long enough to formally retire from the military, which means the senator still falls under the Pentagon’s jurisdiction. The Pentagon opened its own investigation into Kelly in November after he appeared in the video.

    Deluzio said that Trump and Hegseth’s pursuit of Kelly is about more than just the senator.

    “They are trying to intimidate retired service members to signal to them that if you speak up and say something that the Trump administration or Pete Hegseth doesn’t like, that they’re going to target your retirement and your pension that you’ve earned after 20 years of service,” he said.

    A 2016 video circulated last month of Hegseth citing the same military law the legislators refer to in their video: Don’t follow unlawful orders. As a member of Trump’s administration, Hegseth has pointed to other aspects of military law that emphasize following orders and that say orders should be presumed lawful.

    When asked whether he also would sue the Trump administration over how officials have handled the lawmakers’ video, Deluzio said he was “not going to detail my legal strategy in all of this.”

    “But I will just be crystal clear that I am not intimidated by what they’re trying to do,” he added.

    This article contains information from the Associated Press.

  • What happened before and after the fatal South Jersey helicopter crash, according to the NTSB

    What happened before and after the fatal South Jersey helicopter crash, according to the NTSB

    Federal investigators pieced together a timeline for the deadly helicopter crash that killed two longtime friends in Hammonton, N.J., last month.

    The National Transportation Safety Board released a preliminary report on Wednesday detailing the helicopter crash that led to the deaths of pilots Kenneth Kirsch, 65, from Carneys Point, and Michael Greenberg, 71, of Sewell. Their aircrafts collided midair on Dec. 29. The two had been known to enjoy their flights together for years.

    According to preliminary data, Kirsch and Greenberg started their flight session at the Vineland-Downstown Airport, departing at 9:48 a.m. The pilots, in separate aircrafts, flew in parallel paths to Hammonton Municipal Airport, arriving 10 minutes later.

    Investigators are still trying to determine what happened next; there is no preliminary real-time GPS data on their subsequent flight out of Hammonton Municipal Airport.

    The preliminary report confirmed Kirsch and Greenberg flew out of the Hammonton airport and collided at 11:24 a.m., almost an hour-and-a-half after they arrived at the airport.

    During that time before their final flight, the two men stopped by Apron Cafe, a breakfast spot overlooking Hammonton Municipal Airport’s runway, the owner told The Inquirer. Minutes after they left, Apron Cafe patrons and staff could see one of the helicopters spiraling, engulfed in flames in the distance.

    “I looked up, and I could see in the distance the one spiraling down, and then I see the other one coming down,” said the cafe’s owner, Sal Silipino. “It was hard to believe that they were crashing.”

    While no data from the aircraft is available, surveillance video captured the fatal crash as it happened, according to the NTSB. The helicopters flew close together shortly before the accident.

    Slightly staggered from one another, and heading in the same direction in what investigators liken to a “formation flight,” the helicopters “converged until they contacted each other.”

    Investigators say one helicopter immediately began a tumbling descent to the ground, while the other pitched up sharply before leveling out. However, shortly after leveling off, the helicopter began spinning clockwise before descending rapidly to the terrain.

    Kirsch was flying an Enstrom F-28A helicopter, and Greenberg, an Enstrom 280C. Both were operating the aircraft for personal flights.

    The crash site was 1.5 miles southwest of Hammonton Municipal Airport and included a 1,211-foot debris path, with paint chips, main rotor blades, and the tail cone of one of the helicopters.

    Kirsch’s aircraft was found split in half with the tail cone only held together by one tail rotor control cable, according to the report. There were no signs of fire in Kirsch’s helicopter. Major sections of Greenberg’s aircraft were destroyed by a post-impact fire, with the tail cone relatively intact.

    The wreckage was recovered and retained for further examination by the NTSB. Investigators noted these were preliminary details, and the cause of the crash is yet to be determined.

    A typical NTSB investigation can last one to two years.

  • A historic Black church was vandalized with racist graffiti over the weekend

    A historic Black church was vandalized with racist graffiti over the weekend

    Union Trinity AME Church, one of Philadelphia’s historic Black religious institutions and known as “The Friendly Church,” was vandalized with racist graffiti over the weekend.

    Pastor Tianda Smart-Heath was informed of the vandalism shortly after Sunday service, where she found racist slogans invoking the name of God and enslaved people sprayed onto the exterior walls of the more than 200-year-old church, according to the Philadelphia Police Department.

    The newly merged church, Union Trinity AME in North Philadelphia, hasn’t welcomed congregants inside the historic building since 2020, and it is currently under construction, according to Fox 29. In that time, church service has been held at the Beckett Life Center next door.

    Smart-Heath told local media that the church has been vandalized before, including trespassing and theft, but never with racist hate speech. Police responded to the vandalism on Sunday to photograph the scene and conduct a follow-up investigation. The case is overseen by PPD Central Detectives.

    A police officer photographs damaged stained glass at Mother Bethel AME Church on Feb. 20, 2024.

    African Methodist Episcopal (AME) churches are part of a vast network of independent Black Christian churches that was started in Philadelphia two centuries ago, when Richard Allen founded Mother Bethel AME in 1787.

    In a separate incident, which was not a hate crime, a vandal broke three windows at Mother Bethel AME almost two years ago, including precious stained-glass windows. More than 400 donors stepped in to fund repairs.

    The vandalism at Union Trinity AME closely follows a separate hate crime at Roxborough High School, where a masked vandal spray-painted racist and antisemitic epithets across the school building. Police have released a description and video of the suspect in the hate crime.

    A screenshot of a surveillance video captures the suspect in a recent vandalism incident, where an unknown white male painted racist and antisemitic slogans on the exterior walls of Roxborough High School on Jan. 4, 2026. Police describe the suspect as a white male, wearing an orange scarf/wrap, green and black winter hat, gray hooded jacket, gray pants, and a gray and black backpack.

    Hate crimes have more than tripled in Pennsylvania since 2020, according to the most recent “No Hate in Our State” report from the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission (PHRC). The most prevalent form of hate crime in Pennsylvania, according to FBI reports, is anti-Black or anti-African American hate crimes, accounting for more than one out of every four hate crimes committed in the state in the last five years.

    “Any attack on the Black Church as one of the historical foundations of the African American community needs to be condemned and looked at through the lens of a potential hate crime,” said PHRC executive director Chad Dion Lassiter. “We can no longer be silent in this moment of outward hatred and rage toward any institution of faith.”

  • Time for the Eagles to answer to their true bosses: angry Philadelphians

    Time for the Eagles to answer to their true bosses: angry Philadelphians

    With less than a minute remaining in Sunday’s game against the 49ers, with the Eagles down 23-19 and their back-to-back Super Bowl aspirations on the line, fans crowded together in McGillin’s Olde Ale House erupted into E-A-G-L-E-S chants as a way to keep hope alive.

    Unfortunately, Jalen Hurts was sacked and threw three straight incompletions to end their playoff run early. The Birds’ journey had ended, and with it, the hopes of the region.

    Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown is unable to make the catch as 49ers cornerback Deommodore Lenoir defends during the second half Sunday.

    Brandon LaSalata, 24, made the drive from Richmond, Va., to watch Sunday’s wild-card matchup surrounded by Eagles fans.

    “I don’t know what happened,” LaSalata said. “We need to get rid of Kevin Patullo. I think that hopefully next year we’ll be a better playoff contender. We should have gotten through this round. I don’t know what happened. I’m very upset.”

    On the other side of the pub, 27-year-old Lancaster native Dominic Polidoro sat with his head hanging low in defeat.

    “I feel pretty deflated,” Polidoro said. “This team was probably the most talented team in the league. It’s really disappointing to see them fall short. We had higher hopes.”

    Eagles coach Nick Sirianni speaks during a news conference after the loss.

    Somber morning commute for Eagles fans

    On Monday morning, the air in Center City was dry, stiff, and unforgiving. And so were the Eagles fans cussing out their favorite team after the season-ending loss.

    “I don’t mind losing, but give me an effort. A.J. Brown has to get traded. [Nick] Sirianni has to get fired. Offensive coordinator, fired,” said 73-year-old North Philadelphian Rodney Yatt. “And then we’ll go from there.”

    Sunday’s game was marred by incomplete passes, a sideline argument between Sirianni and star wide receiver Brown, and, according to fans, tough calls from referees.

    Clay Marsh, 35, of Manayunk, doesn’t think a loss falls to one player.

    “I don’t think it was A.J.’s fault,” Marsh said. He saw the offense as disjointed and questioned offensive coordinator Patullo’s strategy, which Marsh said was an overreliance on “running it up the middle” with Saquon Barkley.

    “Even if we won, it felt like we were going to go into Chicago and probably get spanked anyway,” Marsh said. “Maybe we saved ourselves some real embarrassment.”

    Patullo has been at the center of fans’ ire, not only after last night’s loss but throughout the season. That agita hit a new low when someone egged Patullo’s family home in November after a 24-15 loss to the Chicago Bears.

    The latest Patullo roasting comes in the form of a Bucks County golf simulator that allows players to drive balls directly into a digital fairway featuring Patullo’s face. The Golf Place co-owners Justin Hepler and Killian Lennon shared a video of themselves relieving their frustrations and honing their swings.

    West Philadelphian James Booker, 49, said the small mistakes in the game added up to the loss. He pointed to Brown’s dropped passes and a missed extra point by kicker Jake Elliott that could have brought the Birds into tie-game territory later on.

    Despite the hard loss, Booker doesn’t think Sirianni should be canned.

    “You can’t just say you want to up and fire him, even though fans like to do that a lot — Sirianni got us to this point,” Booker said. “I only hope for a better season next year.”

  • Mummers string band competition will duke it out at the Linc

    Mummers string band competition will duke it out at the Linc

    While the postponement of the Mummers’ string band competition could have put a damper on an otherwise joyous New Year’s Day in Philadelphia, the string bands may have gotten a sweeter prize out of the ordeal.

    The judged string band competition will now take place at Lincoln Financial Field on Jan. 31 at 2 p.m., after 30 to 60 mph winds on Jan. 1. forced organizers to reschedule, parade officials announced on Sunday.

    The annual competition is still open to the public, with tickets available on Ticketmaster for $12 to $25, and will be broadcast on the same channel as the parade, on WFMZ-TV. WFMZ has not announced a time for the television broadcast but said it will be later in the day on Jan. 31.

    City officials and parade organizers decided to postpone the competition once extreme wind and unexpected snow damaged several performance props and contributed to a few minor injuries, according to the Philadelphia Mummers String Band Association (PMSBA).

    Despite the postponement of the competition, string bands continued to perform for paradegoers in full costume and makeup, honoring the parade’s historic milestone of 125 years, said Sam Regalbuto, PMSBA president, in a statement.

    How to watch

    The Mummers’ rescheduled string band competition can be watched in person, online, or on television.

  • A New Jersey school resource officer charged for endangering a handcuffed child

    A New Jersey school resource officer charged for endangering a handcuffed child

    A New Jersey school resource officer has been charged with misconduct and child endangerment after an altercation with a juvenile in 2024, Gloucester County prosecutors said.

    Charles P. Rudolph, 51, of Franklinville, was indicted on second-degree official misconduct and second-degree endangering, abusing, or neglecting a child on Wednesday, according to the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office.

    Both counts carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in state prison.

    Prosecutors say that while employed as a school resource officer, on behalf of the Gloucester County Sheriff’s Office, Rudolph “forcefully pushed” a juvenile’s neck, face, and chest onto a table while the juvenile was handcuffed during an incident that occurred on Dec. 19, 2024.

    Officials did not release more information on the incident that led to the altercation between Rudolph and the juvenile, any identifying details about the child, or the school where Rudolph worked.

    The Gloucester County Sheriff’s Office declined to comment on the case.

    Rudolph’s lawyer could not be reached for comment.

    A court appearance is preliminarily scheduled for Feb. 5, according to prosecutors.

  • You can still be arrested in Delaware for smoking weed in public. A new bill might change that.

    You can still be arrested in Delaware for smoking weed in public. A new bill might change that.

    While weed is legal in Delaware, with a baker’s dozen worth of dispensaries to buy it from, people can still face jail time for public marijuana use under current state law.

    State Rep. Eric Morrison (D., Newark) introduced a bill last month that would ease those punishments. House Bill 252 would reduce the penalties for public marijuana consumption from a misdemeanor to a civil violation.

    “This is not saying that public consumption of cannabis is OK. It is simply making the penalty commensurate with the offense,” Morrison said. “Almost all of the states that have legalized cannabis like we have revisited their laws and changed this violation to a civil offense instead of a misdemeanor, which carries higher fines, a criminal record, and possible jail time.”

    Customers line up for the first day of recreational marijuana sales at Thrive Dispensary in Wilmington on Aug. 1, 2025.

    Currently, police can either stop and fine someone up to $200 for smoking weed in public, or officers have the option to arrest the person, with possible imprisonment for up to five days.

    Under Morrison’s bill, police can still stop people for smoking or consuming marijuana in public, but instead of a misdemeanor, the offense is considered a civil violation — similar to a traffic violation — that carries a fine of up to $50 for a first offense, and up to $100 for subsequent offenses.

    People driving a vehicle while under the influence of marijuana would still be considered a DUI.

    Delaware’s decriminalization of public marijuana use would match the policies of neighboring states, like New Jersey and Maryland, where weed is fully legal, and some Pennsylvania cities where only medical marijuana is legal, such as Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. In these places, only fines are given out, and violations do not appear on criminal records.

    New Jersey went a step further and approved the East Coast’s first legal weed lounges, which means more adults can safely and legally consume cannabis outside of their homes.

    Zoë Patchell, president of the Delaware Cannabis Advocacy Network, said some lawmakers are now correcting a policy that should have been included in the original legalization laws.

    “This simply just brings Delaware’s law in line with the standards used by most other states,” Patchell said. “This measure does not legalize public consumption. It reduces the penalty from a misdemeanor, which can result in a criminal record.”

    Criminal charges have “severe collateral consequences,” Patchell added. For example, arrest and incarceration can negatively impact someone’s health and social outcomes, like losing access to housing, financing, and employment.

    “Especially today, for people in America living paycheck to paycheck, spending time in jail can lead to lost wages or having this charge on a criminal record can lead to being terminated from your job,” Morrison said. “For a whole lot of Americans, losing any wages puts their family in a hard predicament financially.”

    A customer browses through product offerings on Day One of recreational marijuana sales at Thrive Dispensary in Lewes on Aug. 1, 2025.

    Delaware legalized recreational marijuana in 2023, but it took years to open legal sales to adults in recreational dispensaries. The first 13 dispensaries opened to adults last year, but advocates like Patchell say the current law makes it difficult to consume cannabis legally.

    Delaware’s laws on consumption on private property are also restrictive, Patchell said. Adults can consume cannabis on private property, but only in locations that are at least 10 feet from a sidewalk, street, parking lots, businesses, or “any other areas to which the general public is invited,” according to state law.

    “This means that someone can be arrested for consuming cannabis on their own private property,” Patchell said. This proves even more difficult for those living in households that don’t have the property space to be away from the public, she said.

    Morrison said he wants to keep working with cannabis advocates to create a safe and robust cannabis industry, but that it would be premature to say if additional measures will be taken at this time, such as amending the 10-foot rule around private property and public space.

    “For this year, [decriminalization of public use] is what I’m focused on regarding cannabis,” Morrison said.

  • A woman died in an early-morning fire in Ogontz

    A woman died in an early-morning fire in Ogontz

    Philadelphia firefighters pulled a 60-year-old woman away from a burning building where she was trapped early Thursday morning, but she later died at a hospital.

    The fire department responded to the blaze around 4:45 a.m. on the 6200 block of Ogontz Avenue in North Philadelphia. Firefighters arrived to find a heavy fire scorching throughout the two-story rowhouse.

    About 60 firefighters, medics, and support staff were at the scene, officials said. Upon searching the house, firefighters found an unresponsive woman, who did not survive. The Medical Examiner’s Office will soon determine the cause of death, with the Fire Marshal’s Office investigating the cause of the fire.

    There have been at least two deadly fires in the area over the last month, in addition to Thursday. Additionally, two people were rescued and survived a fire in South Philadelphia Wednesday, according to CBS.

    Earlier this week, Bucks County officials confirmed the death of a third person related to the Bristol Health & Rehab Center fire, which claimed the lives of two other people and injured 20 others. Days before the Bristol fire, a deadly fire in Upper Darby killed one person, critically injured another, and left a firefighter and a handful of others with less-severe injuries.