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  • Former Fox exec urges FCC to reconsider petition to revoke Fox 29 license

    Former Fox exec urges FCC to reconsider petition to revoke Fox 29 license

    A former Fox broadcasting executive submitted a letter to the Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday asking the agency to reconsider a petition seeking to terminate the license of the network’s Philadelphia-area affiliate, Fox29.

    Preston Padden, who worked as a senior executive at the broadcasting network controlled by Rupert Murdoch and his family in the 1990s, has been a vocal critic of Fox News and its coverage of the 2020 election and an early supporter of the petition.

    In his letter to the FCC, Padden writes that Fox and the Murdochs lied to the American people by reporting that the 2020 election was stolen, despite knowing that it was untrue.

    He cites court findings in the defamation case brought against Fox News by Dominion Voting Systems, which resulted in a $787 million settlement.

    “Fox and the Murdochs’ lies to the American people had consequences,“ Padden wrote. ”Those lies undermined public confidence in the electoral process.”

    Neither Padden nor Fox’s attorneys responded to requests for comment.

    Padden’s letter urged the FCC to respond to an appeal of the order denying the challenge to Fox29’s license.

    The FCC dismissed in January a challenge to Fox29’s license renewal that was brought by the Media and Democracy Project, a self-described nonpartisan nonprofit. The petition, originally filed in July 2023, accused Fox of broadcasting “knowingly false narratives about the 2020 election” on the cable-based Fox News Channel.

    Former FCC chairperson Jessica Rosenworcel, who was appointed by President Joe Biden, said in a statement accompanying the dismissal of the petition, alongside three other complaints targeting local TV stations, that the order was intended to direct the agency to “take a stand on behalf of the First Amendment.”

    “We draw a bright line at a moment when clarity about government interference with the free press is needed more than ever,” she said.

    The challenge is not based on materials broadcast on Fox29, or the local channel’s journalism. Instead, character requirements for broadcast license owners that include a prohibition on “broadcasting false information that causes substantial ‘public harm.’”

    The examples in the FCC’s consumer guide are related to a crime or a catastrophe.

    Fox said in its filings with the FCC that revoking Fox29’s license would be “fundamentally incompatible with the First Amendment.”

    The Media and Democracy Project’s appeal is still pending, and is now in the hands of FCC chair Brendan Carr, a President Donald Trump appointee who has been criticized for interfering in broadcasters’ editorial decisions.

    In September, ABC temporarily removed Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show from broadcast after a threat Carr made on a conservative podcast.

    “We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Carr said following remarks Kimmel made about the assassination of conservative commentator and activist Charlie Kirk. “These companies can find ways to change conduct, to take action, frankly, on Kimmel, or there is going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”

    Carr also reopened previously dismissed complaints of ABC’s moderation of a 2020 presidential debate and CBS’s 60 Minutes interview of then-Vice President Kamala Harris.

    He also blasted news organizations over their coverage of the deportation of the immigrant Kilmar Abrego García.

    Arthur Belendiuk, the attorney for the Media and Democracy Project, said he expects to “grow old and die” before Carr issues a response. Even if Carr denies the appeal, he would open the possibility of an appeal to court.

    Belendiuk believes that’s a risk the FCC chair will not take.

    “If you, Brendan Carr, think you are right, issue a decision and defend it in court,” the attorney said. “Be a man.”

    Staff writers Rob Tornoe and Nick Vadala contributed to this article.

  • Trail project planned near King of Prussia Mall gets new funding

    Trail project planned near King of Prussia Mall gets new funding

    A trail planned in Montgomery County is getting new funding to take the project to the next step.

    The “Gulph Road Connector,” as it is currently called, is slated to connect to the Chester Valley Trail near the King of Prussia Mall, cross through Valley Forge National Historical Park, and link with the Schuylkill River Trail when completed.

    The project was recently awarded a three-year $326,900 grant from the William Penn Foundation, which will begin in January, said Eric Goldstein, president and CEO of the King of Prussia District, which is leading the project. The official name of the trail has not been determined.

    The influx of funds is slated for education, advocacy, and marketing, said Goldstein, who noted that the foundation is supporting “efforts to build a coalition of advocates” for the trail. The money will not be used for design or construction.

    Segments of the planned 2.8-mile trail connector are in stages of design and construction, with some already built, Goldstein said.

    “What we’re trying to do is ultimately fill in the blanks to make the 2.8-mile section complete,” he said.

    Goldstein said the new funds will allow the King of Prussia District to work with different partners along the trail. The aim is to build a coalition and raise awareness of the proposed trail, which ideally would lead to more grant money down the line for design and construction, he said.

    Map of the planned Gulph Road Connector trial near King of Prussia.

    The new funding is “the impetus for this trail to start moving toward completion,” said Molly Duffy, executive director of the Valley Forge Park Alliance, a partner organization in the trail’s development.

    There is no estimate yet for the total cost of the project, Goldstein said.

    The project is part of the Circuit Trails, a regional network that aims to have more than 850 miles of trails through nine counties. Once the trail is built out, Goldstein said, he expects it will be managed by multiple entities, depending on the section.

    He hopes to be able to complete the trail in the next 10 years.

    Some parts of the trail are “enormously complex,” he noted, adding that pedestrian bridges over sections of highway would require complex engineering and be costly — which requires raising funds.

    While the trail is expected to be used for recreation, it could also be an option for commuting to work.

    “The second audience of this proposed trail network is employees that work in Upper Merion Township that are seeking alternative modes of transportation to get to and from work,” he said.

    The trail also could make Valley Forge National Historical Park more accessible by ways other than driving, Duffy said.

    “We want people to be able to get here,” Duffy said. “Knowing where this is — in this super densely populated suburban area — we know that there’s this missing link, really, between these two major trails that, once built, will literally connect thousands and thousands of people who live in the area, work in the area, are visiting the area.”

  • Philly’s new unarmed volunteer ‘auxiliary police’ unit could launch in 2026

    Philly’s new unarmed volunteer ‘auxiliary police’ unit could launch in 2026

    The Philadelphia Police Department is forming an “auxiliary” unit that may be ready as early as next year, according to a department spokesperson, adding to its ranks volunteer members who will assist officers at large public gatherings.

    Auxiliary police will not carry weapons and will not be assigned typical law enforcement duties, according to Sgt. Eric Gripp, a department spokesperson. They will not be authorized to make arrests.

    But the department wants the unit to act as a link between the public and police, participating in community engagement and, according to Gripp, serving as additional “eyes and ears” for officers on the ground.

    As Philadelphia prepares to host a series of widely attended events in 2026 — the country’s 250th July Fourth anniversary celebration, FIFA World Cup matches, and more — the police department will be tasked with maintaining order amid an influx of visitors.

    An auxiliary unit would assist police during those types of events, according to Gripp. He said the department had tasked its academy recruits with similar duties during citywide celebrations after the Eagles’ Super Bowl victory in February.

    It is unclear whether the auxiliary unit will be ready in time for the summer.

    The department does not have an official estimate on when it plans to introduce the unit; the idea is still in the planning stages and targeted for 2026, Gripp said. The only confirmed requirement is that recruits must be 18 years old to apply.

    Police departments in municipalities large and small have used auxiliary units, sometimes called reserve units, for years.

    The New York Police Department has maintained its auxiliary unit for more than half a century; major cities like Baltimore also have reserve officers, as do smaller townships like Cranford, N.J.

    Criminologists and former law enforcement officers say police departments use these units to assist with traffic management, crowd control, and community engagement, and for reporting more serious issues to officers who have the authority to intervene.

    Experts say the units are a boon to departments facing recruitment and retention issues, providing unpaid assistance from those who are already curious about life as a police officer and who often hail from the communities they are assigned to.

    But departments must invest time, money, and adequate training into auxiliary units for them to be successful.

    Joseph Giacalone, a retired NYPD sergeant and criminal justice instructor at Pennsylvania State University’s Lehigh Valley campus, said the New York department often uses its 3,700-member auxiliary unit for crowd control during “fun events” like parades and street fairs.

    Most importantly, Giacalone said, departments should not view their auxiliary unit as a crime-fighting tool; members should be provided uniforms that are recognizable to the public, he said, distinct from those of actual police officers.

    “We’re not talking riots,” Giacalone said of situations in which auxiliary officers are useful. “We don’t want them really identifying things such as drug dealing, dens of prostitution, things like that. We can get that from ordinary intelligence — we don’t want ordinary citizens doing that.”

    Still, auxiliary members may help officers with other duties.

    During Giacalone’s tenure with the department, the NYPD’s auxiliary unit proved beneficial when members reported quality-of-life issues such as abandoned vehicles and broken traffic lights, he said.

    Given the potential danger that accompanies police work, Giacalone said, he hopes the Philadelphia department’s plan includes extensive training for auxiliary recruits — as well as protective gear.

    The former sergeant still recalls a harrowing day in 2007 when two unarmed New York auxiliary officers were shot and killed by a gunman in the city’s Greenwich Village neighborhood while out on patrol.

    Gripp, the Philadelphia department spokesperson, said the city’s auxiliary unit would not conduct foot patrols. He said members would be trained by the department’s internal staff.

    Meanwhile, New York auxiliary officers must pass hours of training courses in first aid, self-defense, and patrol technique; in Giacalone’s experience, those trainings require more experienced officers to sacrifice time and energy to the project.

    By the former sergeant’s estimate, for Philadelphia, “it’s going to take a while to get this up and running.”

  • Hong Kong building blaze kills at least 36 people, hundreds missing

    Hong Kong building blaze kills at least 36 people, hundreds missing

    HONG KONG – At least 36 people were killed and 279 were missing on Wednesday after Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in three decades ripped through high-rise residential towers sheathed in flammable bamboo scaffolding, authorities said.

    More than 10 hours after the fire started in the northern Tai Po district, flames and thick smoke still engulfed the 32-story towers as rescue workers swarmed the site and shocked inhabitants watched nearby.

    The cause of the blaze was not immediately known, but it was fanned by green construction mesh and bamboo scaffolding which the government began phasing out in March for safety reasons.

    Firefighters work to extinguish a blaze that broke out at Wang Fuk Court in Hong Kong on Wednesday.

    Working through the night, firefighters were struggling to reach upper floors of the Wang Fuk Court housing complex, which has 2,000 apartments in eight blocks, due to the intense heat.

    One 71-year-old resident surnamed Wong broke down in tears, saying his wife was trapped inside.

    A firefighter was among the 36 killed, and 29 people were in hospital, Hong Kong leader John Lee told reporters. Some 900 people were in eight shelters.

    “The priority is to extinguish the fire and rescue the residents who are trapped. The second is to support the injured. The third is to support and recover. Then, we’ll launch a thorough investigation,” Lee told reporters. Harry Cheung, 66, who has lived at Block Two in one of the complexes for more than 40 years, said he heard a loud noise about 2:45 p.m. (6:45 GMT) and saw fire erupt in a nearby block.

    “I immediately went back to pack up my things,” he said.

    “I don’t even know how I feel right now. I’m just thinking about where I’m going to sleep tonight because I probably won’t be able to go back home.”

    A firefighter was among those killed, the director of Fire Services said.

    China’s XI urges ‘all-out’ effort against fire

    Frames of scaffolding were seen tumbling to the ground as firefighters battled the blaze, while scores of fire engines and ambulances lined the road below the development.

    From the mainland, China’s President Xi Jinping urged an “all-out effort” to extinguish the fire and to minimize casualties and losses, China’s state broadcaster CCTV said.

    Hong Kong’s sky-high property prices have long been a trigger for social discontent in the city and the fire tragedy could stoke resentment towards authorities ahead of a city-wide legislative election in early December.

    The cause of the blaze was not immediately known, but it was fanned by green construction mesh and bamboo scaffolding which the government began phasing out in March for safety reasons.

    Hong Kong’s Transport Department said that due to the fire, an entire section of the Tai Po road, one of Hong Kong’s two main highways, had been closed and buses were being diverted.

    At least six schools will be closed on Thursday due to the fire and traffic congestion, the city’s Education Bureau said.

    It was Hong Kong’s worst fire since 41 people died in a commercial building in the heart of Kowloon in November 1996.

    That fire was later found to be caused by welding during internal renovations.

    A public inquiry yielded sweeping updates to building standards and fire safety regulations in the city’s high-rise offices, shops and homes.

    Dozens of shocked residents and onlookers in Hong Kong watched from nearby walkways as smoke funneled up from the complex.

    Bamboo scaffolding being phased out

    Hong Kong is one of the last places in the world where bamboo is still widely used for scaffolding in construction.

    The government moved to start phasing that out in March, citing safety. It announced that 50% of public construction works would be required to use metal frames instead.

    Wang Fuk Court is one of many high-rise housing complexes in Hong Kong, one of the most densely populated areas in the world. Tai Po, located near the border with mainland China, is an established suburban district with some 300,000 residents.

    Occupied since 1983, the complex is under the government’s subsidized home ownership scheme, according to property agency websites. According to online posts, it has been undergoing renovations for a year at a cost of HK$330 million ($42.43 million), with each unit paying between HK$160,000 and HK$180,000.

    Owning a home is a distant dream for many in Hong Kong, one of the world’s most expensive housing markets and where residential rents are hovering around record highs.

    ($1 = 7.7779 Hong Kong dollars)

  • Owner of failed Philly real estate firm ABC Capital fined $350k by AG

    Owner of failed Philly real estate firm ABC Capital fined $350k by AG

    Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story included a photograph of a woman who had been a victim of the scheme and she was identified as such in the caption. The photo was removed because the juxtaposition of the headline and the image made it appear as the victim was the perpetrator.

    The Pennsylvania attorney general has issued a six-figure fine to the former CEO of ABC Capital, a failed real estate firm behind an $82 million scheme that saw overseas investors snap up hundreds of homes in the city’s poorest neighborhoods — only to leave them to rot.

    During the 2010s, ABC facilitated the sales of over 1,900 distressed homes billed as “turnkey rental” opportunities to investors in Asia, Europe, and South America. The company promised to purchase, renovate, and manage the rentals in exchange for up-front cash, but often reneged — bilking investors out of their money and sometimes stranding tenants in crumbling rental homes.

    Tenants rights advocates and lawsuits from investors later described the business as a “scam” or “Ponzi scheme.”

    Attorney General Dave Sunday said on Tuesday that former ABC Capital CEO Jason “Jay” Walsh had violated the terms of a 2024 settlement agreement negotiated by the attorney general’s office in response to these complaints.

    That agreement, which described ABC’s business practices as “deceptive and unfair,” prohibited Walsh from managing and maintaining rental properties in Pennsylvania. But a Common Pleas Court judge earlier this week ruled that Walsh violated the agreement by continuing to perform “management services for a property he owned,” communicating with tenants, and providing “inaccurate information” to the attorney general’s office.

    Sunday issued a $350,000 fine in response.

    “We are grateful that the Court recognized blatant breaches of this agreement, and imposed a serious penalty against Mr. Walsh,” Sunday said in a prepared statement. “We will continue to hold Mr. Walsh accountable under this agreement that clearly prohibits him from managing properties in the Commonwealth.”

    Walsh could not be reached for comment. His attorney did not immediately respond to requests for information or comments.

    Walsh’s crumbling empire was chronicled in 2022 reports by The Inquirer and the Baltimore Banner. His company decamped to the latter city as rising property values made the City of Brotherly Love less attractive to investors seeking cheap real estate.

    But during the 2010s, ABC facilitated more than $82 million in property sales involving 600 different companies in Philadelphia alone, Inquirer reporting showed. Walsh and his partners — Israeli expats Yaron Zer and Amir Vana — later faced numerous lawsuits filed by investors alleging the company left units unfinished or fell far short of promised 40% returns on investment, leaving them saddled with debt.

    Some of the homes that were ostensibly renovated, leased, or managed by ABC eventually became uninhabitable, due to either shoddy work or poor maintenance, according to tenants, investors, and the attorney general.

    “It’s almost always in poor communities, with high rates of people of color,” Karla Cruel, a former staff attorney at Tenant Union Representative Network, told The Inquirer in 2022. “But they were screwing over the tenants and the investors at the same time. It was just a big old scam.”

    Last September, the Banner reported, Walsh was convicted of acting as an unlicensed contractor in Baltimore and ordered to pay $20,500 in restitution — the only criminal action brought against him to date.

    The Pennsylvania civil settlement — brokered by Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry in 2024 — banned Walsh and his wife, Blanca, from acting as landlords without the use of a third-party property manager. The duo, who appeared to have decamped to Aruba by 2024, were also not to have any contact with tenants for periods of 25 and 15 years, respectively.

    But court filings show that Walsh violated that agreement by continuing to directly lease out and manage two properties not far from the company’s defunct headquarters in Northern Liberties.

    One was his former residence, and another was a property he acquired under the moniker Nolo Investments LLC. Walsh had reported to the attorney general that while he and his wife co-owned both properties, they were managed by an outside company called “My Mega Realty.”

    While Walsh did discuss such an arrangement, the company’s owner said he never completed the deal. Former tenants also reported to the attorney general that Walsh and his wife were directly managing the property and collecting rent.

  • Jean E. Corrigan, former Montgomery County manager and longtime assistant to then-State Rep. Josh Shapiro, has died at 70

    Jean E. Corrigan, former Montgomery County manager and longtime assistant to then-State Rep. Josh Shapiro, has died at 70

    Jean E. Corrigan, 70, of Roslyn, Montgomery County, retired fleet and operations manager for the Montgomery County Department of Assets and Infrastructure, onetime constituent services representative for then-State Rep. Josh Shapiro, hair salon owner and operator, disability services advocate, and award-winning volunteer, died Saturday, Nov. 22, of non-alcoholic cirrhosis of the liver at her home.

    A lifelong resident of Glenside and nearby Roslyn, Mrs. Corrigan was vice chair of the Abington-Rockledge Democratic Committee from 1995 to 2013, and served as Gov. Shapiro’s constituent service agent when he represented the 153rd Legislative District in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 2004 to 2012.

    “Jean was the very first volunteer on my very first campaign,” Shapiro recalled. “We knocked doors together, met our neighbors together, and, after winning, served our community together.”

    In addition to breaking down bureaucratic delays and solving all kinds of constituent problems for Shapiro, Mrs. Corrigan doggedly championed fair wages, reproductive freedom, increased funding for special education and disability services, and improved healthcare. Colleagues called her a “super volunteer” and a “campaign mom” because she helped so many candidates win elections.

    Gov. Shapiro said Mrs. Corrigan “made her neighbors’ lives better.”

    She hosted visiting campaign workers at her home for years, took charge of distributing lawn signs and sample ballots, and organized other preelection events at her dining room table. She was named the local committee’s Democrat of the Year in 2002 and earned several awards from community service organizations.

    “Through that work, I got to see just how much of herself she gave to others,” Shapiro said. “Where there was a need in the community, she worked to address it. When someone needed help, she lent a hand. She made her neighbors’ lives better, and I will forever be grateful for her life of service.”

    Survivors give advice about mourning their loved ones, as told to The Inquirer’s obit writer

    In 2001, Mrs. Corrigan ran unsuccessfully for Abington Township commissioner, finishing second among three candidates and losing to a long-entrenched incumbent. In a preelection profile in The Inquirer, she listed “responsible growth” as a top value and “maintain integrity of Abington Township” as a main goal.

    “Jean was passionate about serving others,” her family said in a tribute. “She believed that politics and civic activism could make a positive difference in people’s lives.”

    Mrs. Corrigan was called a “super volunteer” by colleagues and friends.

    At work, Mrs. Corrigan managed Montgomery County’s fleet of vehicles from 2015 to her retirement in 2022. She joined the county’s assets and infrastructure department in 2012 as operations manager for public property and supervised the county’s building services, construction carpenters, project collaboration, and computer-aided design.

    She studied beauty science and hair styling in high school, attended the Willow Grove Beauty Academy, and ran her own salon called Shears to You from 1993 to 2001. As a volunteer, she was one-time president of the Abington School District Special Education Parent Advisory Council, copresident of the Abington Junior High School parent-teacher organization, and chair and vice chair of several Abington Township community initiatives.

    When parents die, even the mundane memories comfort their children. Here are their tales, as told to The Inquirer’s obit writer.

    She raised funds for school events and served on the board of the Abington YMCA. “Jean was selfless, empathetic, blunt, affectionate, caring, plainspoken, honest, and incredibly hard-working,” her family said. “There was no ego, no vanity.”

    Jean Elizabeth Fanelli was born Aug. 30, 1955, in Abington Township. She grew up with a brother, Angelo, and graduated from Abington High School in 1973. She was interested in clothing design as well as beauty culture and took classes at Temple University.

    Mrs. Corrigan stands with her husband, Peter, and son David

    After a brief marriage to Bruce Cunningham was annulled, she married Peter Corrigan — an usher at her first wedding — in 1977, and they had sons Joseph and David and a daughter, Pauline. They lived in Glenside for decades, in the same house in which she grew up, and moved to Roslyn a few years ago.

    Mrs. Corrigan enjoyed shopping trips with her daughter and baking holiday cookies. She liked to entertain and cook for everybody.

    Surviving spouses always remember how they met their mate. Here are the meet-cute stories told to The Inquirer’s obit writer.

    She doted on her two granddaughters and spent memorable summers near Arrowhead Lake in the Pocono Mountains. She could talk to anybody, her family said.

    “She was a wonderful mother,” her daughter said. “I learned to have respect and manners from her.”

    Mrs. Corrigan (front right) enjoyed time with her family.

    Her son David said: “She taught me to be considerate and understanding of everyone I encounter, a lesson I will never forget.”

    Her son Joseph said: “She was incredibly generous with her time and resources. She could build relationships, and a theme of her life was caring for people.”

    Her husband said: “She was one of a kind.”

    In addition to her husband, children, granddaughters, and brother, Mrs. Corrigan is survived by other relatives.

    A private celebration of her life is to be held later.

    Donations in her name may be made to Hedwig House Inc., 1920 Old York Rd., Abington, Pa. 19001.

    Mrs. Corrigan’s smile could light up a room, her family said.
  • Trump wants a bigger White House ballroom. His architect disagrees.

    Trump wants a bigger White House ballroom. His architect disagrees.

    President Donald Trump has argued with the architect he handpicked to design a White House ballroom over the size of the project, reflecting a conflict between architectural norms and Trump’s grandiose aesthetic, according to four people who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe internal conversations.

    Trump’s desire to go big with the project has put him at odds with architect James McCrery II, the people said, who has counseled restraint over concerns the planned 90,000-square-foot addition could dwarf the 55,000-square-foot mansion in violation of a general architectural rule: don’t build an addition that overshadows the main building.

    The White House starts demolishing part of the East Wing to build Trump’s ballroom

    A White House official acknowledged the two have disagreed but would not say why or elaborate on the tensions, characterizing Trump and McCrery’s conversations about the ballroom as “constructive dialogue.”

    “As with any building, there is a conversation between the principal and the architect,” said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations. “All parties are excited to execute on the president’s vision on what will be the greatest addition to the White House since the Oval Office.”

    McCrery declined an interview request through a representative who declined to answer questions about the architect’s interactions with Trump in recent weeks.

    Jeffrey Yass, Pa.’s richest man, donated at least $2.5 million to Trump’s White House ballroom

    Trump’s intense focus on the project and insistence on realizing his vision over the objections of his own hire, historic preservationists and others concerned by a lack of public input in the project reflect his singular belief in himself as a tastemaker and obsessive attention to details. In the first 10 months of his second term, Trump has waged a campaign to remake the White House in his gilded aesthetic and done so unilaterally – using a who’s-going-to-stop-me ethos he honed for decades as a developer.

    Multiple administration officials have acknowledged that Trump has at times veered into micromanagement of the ballroom project, holding frequent meetings about its design and materials. A model of the ballroom has also become a regular fixture in the Oval Office.

    The renovation represents one of the largest changes to the White House in its 233-year history, and has yet to undergo any formal public review. The administration has not publicly provided key details about the building, such as its planned height. The 90,000-square-foot structure also is expected to host a suite of offices previously located in the East Wing. The White House has also declined to specify its plans for an emergency bunker that was located below the East Wing, citing matters of national security.

    Comcast is one of 37 ‘patriot donors’ paying for Trump’s $300 million White House ballroom

    On recent weekdays, a bustling project site that is almost entirely fenced off from public view contained dozens of workers and materials ready to be installed, including reinforced concrete pipes and an array of cranes, drills, pile drivers and other heavy machinery, photos obtained by The Washington Post show.

    Plans for the addition as of Tuesday had not been submitted to the National Capital Planning Commission, a 12-member board charged by Congress with overseeing federal construction projects and now led by Trump allies. A preliminary agenda for the commission’s next meeting, scheduled for Dec. 4, does not include the ballroom project under projects expected to be covered at the meeting or reviewed by the body in the next six months. White House officials say that the administration still plans to submit its ballroom plans to the commission at “the appropriate time.”

    The administration’s rapid demolition of the East Wing annex and solicitations from companies and individuals to fund the new construction have caused controversy over the project, which Trump believes the White House needs to host special events. Democrats, historical preservation groups and some architects have criticized the project’s pace, secrecy and shifting specifications. The White House initially said this summer that the ballroom would cost $200 million and fit 650 people, while Trump in recent weeks asserted that it could cost $300 million or more and would fit about 1,000 people.

    McCrery has kept his criticism out of the public eye, quietly working to deliver as Trump demanded rushed revisions to his plans, according to two of the people with knowledge of the conversations. The president – a longtime real estate executive who prides himself on his expertise – has repeatedly drilled into the details of the project in their Oval Office meetings, the people said.

    McCrery has wanted to remain with the project, worried that another architect would design an inferior building, according to a person with knowledge of his thinking.

    McCrery, a classical architect and the founder and principal of McCrery Architects, had designed works like the U.S. Supreme Court bookstore and the pedestal for President Ronald Reagan’s statue in the U.S. Capitol. The ballroom was the largest-ever project for his firm, which has specialized in designing churches, libraries and homes.

    Trump hired McCrery for the project on July 13. Eighteen days later, the White House announced the ballroom project, with officials promising to start construction within two months and finish before the end of Trump’s second term.

    Trump also appointed McCrery in 2019 to serve a four-year term on the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, which provides advice to the president, Congress and local government officials on design matters related to construction projects in the capital region.

    Democrats have pressed the White House and its donors for more details on the planned construction and what was promised to financial contributors. The ballroom is being funded by wealthy individuals and large companies that have contracts with the federal government, including Amazon, Lockheed Martin and Palantir Technologies. (Amazon founder Jeff Bezos owns The Post.)

    Several donors have cast the decision in statements as an investment in the future of a building that belongs to the American people, pushing back on the suggestion that their largesse sought to curry favor with Trump.

    A donor list released by the White House of 37 businesses and individuals who underwrote the ballroom is not comprehensive, administration officials acknowledged, leaving open the possibility that millions of dollars have been funneled toward the president’s pet project with no oversight.

    “Billionaires and giant corporations with business in front of this administration are lining up to dump millions into Trump’s new ballroom – and Trump is showing them where to sign on the dotted line,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) said in a statement last week. Warren and her colleagues also introduced legislation that would impose restrictions on White House construction and require more transparency from donors.

  • Two New Yorkers found dead in Atlantic City Borgata hotel room

    Two New Yorkers found dead in Atlantic City Borgata hotel room

    Atlantic City Police are investigating the deaths of two New Yorkers who were found dead in a casino hotel room Sunday afternoon.

    Police were called to the Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa around 5 p.m., where they found the bodies of Baoyi Bowie Zheng, a 36-year-old woman from Staten Island, and Wei Guo Liang, a 68-year-old man from Brooklyn.

    An autopsy determined Bowie Zheng died of a broken neck. Guo Liang was found to have died from self-inflicted stab wounds.

    Many details regarding the individuals, including their connection, if any, and how long they’d been at the Borgata, had not been made public as of Wednesday, when the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office encouraged people with information about the incident to call in.

    A spokesperson for the hotel could not be reached for comment.

  • After 30 years, this Long Beach Island pizzeria needs a new home

    After 30 years, this Long Beach Island pizzeria needs a new home

    In the early ’90s, Colleen Mazzella walked into a newly opened pizzeria and met the man who would become not only her boss, but her husband.

    She was visiting a friend who had been hired at Italian Affair in Stafford, and owner Dominick Mazzella, then a recent Staten Island transplant, offered her a job, too.

    They soon became a couple, and a year later, in May 1995, opened A Slice of Heaven across from Fantasty Island Amusement Park on Long Beach Island. The building at 7th Street and Bay Avenue in Beach Haven had housed a car wash, candy store and photo shop through the years, and when the two met with owner Peter Buterick, “he said ‘I’m going to take a chance on you. I’ve got a good feeling about this,’” Mazzella said.

    They made a name for themslves, thanks to a menu of dishes like stuffed cheesesteak pizza, scratch-made meatballs and cheesesteaks.

    Thirty years later, the building is full of memories that became precious to Mazzella after Dominick died just days before his 50th birthday in 2024. She recalls the Stanley Cup being brought to the restaurant (“My husband was a gigantic hockey fan,” she said), staying open to serve pizza until 4 a.m. and borrowing ingredients from other restaurant owners to get through busy days.

    Dominick Mazzella is pictured behind the counter of A Slice of Heaven, the Long Beach Island pizzeria he opened with his wife, Colleen, in 1995.

    She remembers when a family who lost their father stopped in for his favorite pizza before spreading his ashes on the beach, rebuilding after Superstorm Sandy sent four feet of water into the dining room and making pizza by flashlight during a power outage.

    The restaurant is also where Dominick taught his son to make pizza, a legacy the 18-year-old — also named Dominick — has dreamed of continuing.

    But it will have to happen somewhere else, as A Slice of Heaven closed earlier this month. The Mazzellas leased their restaurant space and the building has been sold.

    “The plan was to take this place over,” Mazzella said of her and her husband’s plans for their son, a third-generation pizza maker whose grandfather emigrated from Naples, Italy, and owned restaurants in New York before opening the Stafford pizzeria with Dom.

    A Slice of Heaven’s last day in business was Nov. 17, and Mazzella must vacate the building by the end of the month. She has been searching for a new location since learning of the impending sale several years ago, and while she wants to keep the restaurant on Long Beach Island, rentals that will work for her business are hard to come by, she said.

    “My intention is to be on the island,” said Mazzella, who grew up in Brant Beach and now lives in Cedar Run on the mainland. “I love the people here. I grew up here. I love everything about it.”

    “It’s just a fact of finding a place to land,” she said. “It’s been tough. I just have to keep believing that the places that I found that didn’t work out didn’t work out for a reason, and that it’s because we’re waiting for the right place.”

    “We’ll find something,” she said. “I gotta believe that.”

    Since announcing the closing date in early November, Mazzella has seen an outpouring of support online and in person, with customers sharing memories and well wishes.

    One spoke of how the elder Dominick fulfilled her request to spell “It’s a boy!” in pepperoni on a pizza for her gender reveal. Another customer wrote of how the restaurant’s delivery driver checked on her elderly father when she couldn’t reach him. Dozens more said A Slice of Heaven’s pizza is part of their vacation tradition.

    For Mazzella, it is stories like these that make giving up not an option.

    “Absolutely not,” she said. “We’re not done.”

  • Trump wins dismissal of Georgia 2020 election interference case

    Trump wins dismissal of Georgia 2020 election interference case

    WASHINGTON – A prosecutor on Wednesday dropped all criminal charges in Georgia against U.S. President Donald Trump for interference in the 2020 presidential election, ending a high-profile racketeering case that once seemed like a significant threat to the Republican.

    The decision by Peter Skandalakis, a state official who recently took over the prosecution, was a stinging defeat for Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who brought the case in 2023 but then lost control of it amid ethics complaints by defense lawyers.

    It was one of four criminal prosecutions that Trump faced in the years since losing his 2020 presidential re-election bid to Democrat Joe Biden. Only one of them — a New York case over a hush-money payment to a porn star during his 2016 campaign — went to trial. Trump was found guilty in that case but has asked for it to be thrown out.

    The dismissal highlighted how Trump’s return to the White House this year, a political comeback unparalleled in U.S. history, dismantled a thicket of legal cases that once seemed set to define his post-presidency era.

    Trump’s political career had appeared to be over after his false claims of election fraud led a mob of supporters to storm the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in a failed bid to overturn his 2020 defeat.

    Skandalakis said in a court filing that “there is no realistic prospect that a sitting President will be compelled to appear in Georgia to stand trial,” so it would be “futile and unproductive” to push forward with the case.

    Skandalakis said his decision, which was approved by a judge on Wednesday morning, “is not guided by a desire to advance an agenda but is based on my beliefs and understanding of the law.”

    Steve Sadow, a lawyer for Trump, praised the dismissal, saying the case should have never been brought.

    Willis had brought the case against Trump and 18 co-defendants, charging a sweeping criminal conspiracy to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election results after a recording surfaced in the media of Trump asking Georgia’s top electoral official to “find” him enough votes to win the state.

    The co-defendants included former Trump lawyers Rudy Giuliani and John Eastman, who like Trump pleaded not guilty.

    An appeals court removed Willis, an elected Democrat in Atlanta, from the case last year. The court said she had created an “appearance of impropriety” by having a romantic relationship with the special prosecutor she had hired to lead the case.

    Skandalakis heads the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia, a government agency that supports the state’s local prosecutors. Earlier this month, he appointed himself to lead the case, saying he had been unable to find another prosecutor willing to take it over.

    Anthony Michael Kreis, a Georgia State University law professor, said Skandalakis’s decision to drop the charges was not surprising. The agency he oversees does not have the resources to prosecute such a complex case with several co-defendants, Kreis said.