Much Work Goes Into NYE Fireworks Show

Much Work Goes Into NYE Fireworks Show

 

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey says although there are no direct threats against the city, there will be a visible police presence this weekend during the New Year’s festivities.

That includes the fireworks show as the clock strikes midnight at Penn’s Landing.

For full story go to:  http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/

Hard-fought legal battles expected in the Cosby case

Hard-fought legal battles expected in the Cosby case

ARCHIVO - Combinación de imágenes que muestran al comediante Bill Cosby durante una entrevista en Washington, el 6 de noviembre de 2014, y a Andrea Constand posando para una fotografía el 1 de agosto de 1987 en Toronto.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Bill Cosby's lawyers went on the attack Thursday after the comedian's arrest, calling the sexual assault charges a flawed, politically motivated case that will not hold up in court.

They are expected to try to gut the prosecution's case or get it thrown out altogether by a variety of means, including preventing some of Cosby's numerous other accusers from taking the stand; blocking the use of 

testimony he gave in a decade-old lawsuit; and making an issue out of the 12 years it took to file charges.

"I have my doubts they get this to a jury anytime soon," said Los Angeles defense attorney Mark Geragos, noting the thorny legal issues and Cosby's advanced age (78) and infirmities, namely his badly deteriorating eyesight. Geragos, who is not involved in the case, added: "Generally, time is a friend of the defense."

A look at some of the likely battleground issues:

OTHER ACCUSERS

While Cosby is charged with drugging and sexually assaulting just one woman, Andrea Constand, legal experts predict a key pretrial battle over whether some of the dozens of other women who have accused the comedian of violating them can testify, too, to prove he had a "modus operandi."

"Prior bad acts" are sometimes allowed as evidence in criminal cases, but judges often take a dim view of such testimony because it can be so damaging. They typically require prosecutors to prove it is directly relevant.

"We don't want a jury to say, 'If he did it once before, he must have done it now,'" said Philadelphia attorney Jeffrey Lindy, who is unconnected to the Cosby case.

Lindy helped defend a Catholic Church official whose child-endangerment conviction for shielding a pedophile priest was overturned by an appeals court in December.

The reason: The prosecution put on weeks of testimony about the handling of 21 other priests under suspicion, even though the defendant wasn't charged in connection with any of them. The appeals court called it overkill - in legal terms, more prejudicial than probative.

PRETRIAL PUBLICITY

Cosby's arrest came after a blizzard of sensational allegations that destroyed his nice-guy image. The effects of the publicity are likely to be an extremely important consideration in picking a jury, said Hank Asbill, a criminal defense lawyer in Washington.

"People are going to have opinions about him one way or another," Asbill said, "based on his notoriety and his popularity as a celebrity. And people are also going to have opinions about the case."

POLITICS

On Thursday, Cosby lawyer Monique Pressley accused Montgomery County District Attorney-elect Kevin R. Steele of playing politics with Cosby and filing charges against him to make good on a campaign promise.

Steele, currently the No. 2 prosecutor in the DA's office, was elected district attorney in November in a hotly contested race in which the Cosby case played a central role. Steele ran ads attacking his opponent, former District Attorney Bruce Castor, for not prosecuting Cosby when Constand first went to police in 2005.

"What we have is not the effectuation of justice. What we have is the fulfillment of a campaign promise," Pressley said on ABC's "Good Morning America."

Steele was traveling and not available for comment.

COSBY'S CIVIL DEPOSITION

Weeks after the decision not to prosecute Cosby in 2005, Constand sued Cosby for sexual battery. He settled a year later, but only after he gave nearly 1,000 pages of deposition testimony. Among other things, Cosby admitted that he had repeatedly pursued sex with younger, often-struggling models and actresses and that he obtained quaaludes to give to some of them.

Over the summer, a federal judge unsealed excerpts of the deposition at the request of The Associated Press.

Cosby's civil lawyers have appealed the unsealing, and his criminal attorneys will no doubt fight to keep them out of the trial, perhaps by arguing that Cosby spoke only after being assured by prosecutors he would not be charged with a crime.

But criminal defense lawyer David Rudovsky, who teaches at the University of Pennsylvania, said: "What you say at a deposition, or what you say to anybody, can be used unless it's coerced or said without a Miranda warning."

THE 12-YEAR DELAY

Pennsylvania law gives prosecutors 12 years to file felony sexual assault charges. In the Cosby matter, prosecutors made it just under the wire, with Steele saying the unsealed documents and the parade of new accusers over the past decade helped him build a case.

But the defense "can still challenge the prosecutor waiting until the 11th hour. There are constitutional rights to a speedy trial," Geragos said.

Still, he predicted that will be an uphill battle for Cosby's attorneys.

Local Coalition Announces Intention To Hold Philadelphia’s Mayor-elect To Campaign Promises

Local Coalition Announces Intention To Hold Philadelphia’s Mayor-elect To Campaign Promises

  

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — A coalition of community and faith-based groups is calling on Mayor-elect Jim Kenney to follow through on some of the promises he made during the campaign.

They call themselves the 99 Days Coalition. That’s how long they’re giving the incoming administration to take action before issuing a report card. The Reverend Greg Holston says tops on Kenney’s list should be putting an end to the city’s stop and frisk policy.

“We say clearly to the Mayor-elect, who when asked questions about stop and frisk, blatantly said to us it would end the day that he became Mayor. Well we’re looking on the first day for you to keep your word. This is something you can end right away.”

For full story go to:  http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/

Bill Cosby charged with a sex crime dating to 2004

Bill Cosby charged with a sex crime dating to 2004
 

Comedian Bill Cosby is helped as he arrives for a court appearance in Elkins Park, Pa., Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2015. Cosby was arrested and charged with drugging and sexually assaulting a woman at his home in January 2004.

ELKINS PARK, Pa. (AP) -- Bill Cosby was arrested in the twilight of his life and career Wednesday and charged with a decade-old sex crime after a barrage of accusations from dozens of women made a mockery of his image as TV's wise and understanding Dr. Cliff Huxtable.

Using a cane, the 78-year-old comedian walked slowly and unsteadily into court on the arms of his lawyers to answer charges he drugged and sexually assaulted a woman less than half his age at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004. He had no comment as he was released on $1 million bail.

The case marks the first time Cosby has been charged with sexual misconduct despite years of lurid allegations, and sets the stage for perhaps the biggest Hollywood celebrity trial of the mobile-news era.

"Make no mistake: We intend to mount a vigorous defense against this unjustified charge, and we expect that Mr. Cosby will be exonerated by a court of law," his attorney Monique Pressley said in a statement.

The former "Cosby Show" star and celebrated breaker of TV's racial barriers was charged with aggravated indecent assault, punishable by five to 10 years in prison and a $25,000 fine. He did not have to enter a plea.

The decision to prosecute him came down just days before Pennsylvania's 12-year statute of limitations for bringing charges was set to run out.

Prosecutors accused Cosby of plying former Temple University employee Andrea Constand with pills and wine, then penetrating her with his fingers without her consent while she was drifting in and out of consciousness, unable to resist or cry out.

She was "frozen, paralyzed, unable to move," Montgomery County District Attorney-elect Kevin Steele said. 

In court papers, prosecutors said the drugs were the cold medicine Benadryl or some other, unidentified substance. Steele noted that Cosby has admitted giving quaaludes to women he wanted to have sex with.

Cosby acknowledged under oath a decade ago that he had sexual contact with Constand but said it was consensual.

Wearing a black-and-white hooded sweater into court, Cosby seemed to have trouble seeing the paperwork and finding the place to sign, and his lawyers helped him hold the pen. But he seemed at ease, laughing and chatting with his attorneys.

When the judge said, "Good luck, Mr. Cosby," he shouted: "Thank you!"

The case represents an about-face by the district attorney's office, which under a previous DA declined to charge Cosby in 2005 when Constand first told police that the comic put his hands down her pants at his home in Cheltenham.

Prosecutors reopened the case over the summer as damaging testimony was unsealed in Constand's related civil lawsuit against Cosby and as dozens of other women came forward with similar accusations that destroyed his good-guy image as America's Dad.

"Reopening this case was not a question. Rather, reopening this case was our duty as law enforcement officers," said Steele, a top deputy in the DA's office who will take over in January.

In court papers, prosecutors said there are probably other women who were similarly drugged and violated by Cosby. Steele urged them to come forward.

Constand, now 42, lives in Toronto and works as a massage therapist. Her attorney, Dolores Troiani, welcomed the charges.

"She feels that they believe her, and to any victim, that is foremost in your mind: Are people going to believe me," Troiani said. The attorney added: "Naturally it is troubling that it took until the eleventh hour for this day to arrive. She is hopeful that her patience has encouraged other victims to come forward."

The case adds to the towering list of legal problems facing the TV star, including defamation and sexual-abuse lawsuits filed in Massachusetts, Los Angeles and Pennsylvania.

The statute of limitations for bringing criminal charges against him in other places has run out in nearly every case. One exception: a 2008 case still under investigation in Los Angeles.

A key question if the Pennsylvania case goes to trial is whether the judge will allow supporting testimony from some of those other accusers to show a pattern of "bad acts." The judge could decide such testimony would be unfair to Cosby.

Cosby in 1965 became the first black actor to land a leading role in a network drama, "I Spy," and he went on to earn three straight Emmys. Over the next three decades, the Philadelphia-born comic created TV's animated "Fat Albert" and the top-rated "Cosby Show," the 1980s sitcom celebrated as groundbreaking television for its depiction of a warm and loving black family headed by two professionals, one a lawyer, the other a doctor.

He was a fatherly figure off camera as well, serving as a public moralist and public scold, urging young people to pull up their saggy pants and start acting responsibly.

Constand, who worked for the women's basketball team at Temple, where Cosby was a trustee and proud alumnus, said she was assaulted after going to his home in January 2004 for some career advice.

Then-District Attorney Bruce Castor declined to charge Cosby, saying at the time that the comedian and his accuser could be portrayed in "a less than flattering light." Constand eventually settled a lawsuit against Cosby in 2006 on confidential terms.

Her allegations and similar ones from other women in the years that followed did not receive wide attention at the time but exploded into view in late 2014, first online, then in the wider media, after comedian Hannibal Buress mocked the moralizing Cosby as a hypocrite and called him a rapist during a standup routine.

That opened the floodgates to even more allegations.

The women were mostly from the world of modeling, acting or other entertainment fields, and Cosby or his representatives denied their allegations, accusing some of them of trying to extract money from him or get ahead in show business.

Earlier this year, The Associated Press persuaded a judge to unseal documents from the Constand lawsuit, and they showed the long-married Cosby acknowledging a string of affairs and sexual encounters.

Cosby, who makes him mostly in Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts, testified that he obtained quaaludes in the 1970s to give to women "the same as a person would say, 'Have a drink.'" He denied giving women drugs without their knowledge.

In his deposition, Cosby said he gave Constand three half-pills of Benadryl for stress without telling her what they were. He said he groped Constand, taking her silence as a green light.

"I don't hear her say anything. And I don't feel her say anything. And so I continue and I go into the area that is somewhere between permission and rejection. I am not stopped," Cosby testified. He said Constand was not upset when she left.

Prosecutors said Cosby used wine and drugs to render her incapable of resistance after "the much younger, athletic" Constand blocked two previous sexual advances.

Constand's lawyer has said Constand is gay and was dating a woman around the time she met Cosby in the early 2000s.

The AP generally does not identify people who say they have been sexually assaulted unless they agree to have their names published, as Constand has done.

Cosby's fall has been especially painful to many blacks who regarded his commercial and cultural success with great pride.

"There is a fatal difference now between Cliff Huxtable and Bill Cosby that can never be overcome," said author and professor Michael Eric Dyson, who wrote a book on Cosby a decade ago. "It does add a creepy subtext and a shadow of tremendous moral weight that will inevitably be brought up each time his name is evoked."

St. Joseph’s Hospital In North Philadelphia To Close In March 2016

St. Joseph’s Hospital In North Philadelphia To Close In March 2016

  

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — North Philadelphia Health System (NPHS) has announced it’s consolidating operations and will close St. Joseph’s Hospital, a 146-bed acute care facility located at 16th Street and Girard Avenue.

The NPHS consists of two hospitals,  St. Joseph’s and the Girard Medical Center.

For full story go to:  http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/

Philadelphia Prosecutors Seek Rehearing Of Monsignor’s Case

Philadelphia Prosecutors Seek Rehearing Of Monsignor’s Case

  

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Philadelphia’s district attorney has asked a state appeals court to take another look at the case of a Roman Catholic church official whose conviction over his handling of sex-abuse cases was overturned last week.

Monsignor William Lynn has been imprisoned intermittently since his 2012 trial and remains in custody.
District Attorney Seth Williams on Monday asked the full state Superior Court to hear the case. A three-judge panel of the same court ruled 2-1 a week ago to award Lynn a new trial.

For full story go to:  http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/

Boko Haram attacks northeast Nigerian city, town, 80 killed

Boko Haram attacks northeast Nigerian city, town, 80 killed

Victims of a Boko Haram attack wait for treatment at a hospital in Maiduguri, Nigeria Monday, Dec. 28, 2015. Boko Haram Islamic extremists struck the northeastern Nigerian city of Maiduguri for the first time in months Monday with rocket-propelled grenades and multiple suicide bombers, witnesses said. At least 50 people were killed and the death toll could go higher.

   

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AP) -- Boko Haram Islamic extremists struck a city and a town in northeastern Nigeria with rocket-propelled grenades and multiple suicide bombers Monday, killing at least 80 people, witnesses said.

In Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state, at least 30 were killed and more than 90 wounded in overnight blasts and shootouts, and another 20 died in a bombing outside a mosque at dawn Monday, said Muhammed Kanar, area coordinator of the National Emergency Management Agency.

A twin suicide bombing also killed at least 30 people in Madagali, a town 150 kilometers (95 miles) southeast of Maiduguri, witnesses said. Danladi Buba said two women blew themselves up at a market near a busy bus station at about 9 a.m. Brig. Gen. Victor Ezugwu, the officer commanding in northeast Adamawa State, confirmed the attack but said casualties have yet to be established.

The attacks appear to be a challenge to President Muhammadu Buhari's declaration last week that Nigerian security forces have "technically won the war" against Boko Haram and that it is now capable of no more than suicide bombings on soft targets.

Maiduguri, with a population of about 1 million people, now hosts almost as many refugees - among the 2.5 million people driven from their homes in the 6-year-old Islamic uprising. About 20,000 people have been killed in Nigeria and hundreds others elsewhere as the insurgents have carried their conflict across its borders into Cameroon, Niger and Chad.

The military said there had been multiple attacks at four southwestern entry points to Maiduguri.

In another blast, two girls blew themselves up in the Buraburin neighborhood, killing several people, according to civil servant Yunusa Abdullahi.

"We are under siege," Abdullahi said. "We don't know how many of these bombs or these female suicide bombers were sneaked into Maiduguri last night." He said some residents have found undetonated bombs.

Maiduguri is the birthplace of Boko Haram, which emerged as a much more radical entity after Nigerian security forces launched an all-out assault on their compound in the city, killing 700 people in 2009.

Acting on information provided by a captured insurgent, Nigerian troops "intercepted and destroyed" 13 suicide bombers and arrested one female suicide bomber in repelling the attackers, Maj. Gen. Lamidi Adeosun, the commander prosecuting Nigeria's war against Boko Haram, told reporters.

Defense Ministry spokesman Brig. Gen. Rabe Abubakar tweeted that "Boko Haram Terrorists On suicide bombing #mission during the Festive period were nabbed in #Kaduna & other areas." Soldiers arrested seven Boko Haram bomb specialists in the northern city on Sunday, according to PR Nigeria, which issues government statements.

Just outside Maiduguri, militants firing indiscriminately from the back of three trucks attacked the outlying village of Dawari, soldiers engaged them, and as people were fleeing, a woman ran into the area yelling "Boko Haram, Boko Haram." When people gathered, she detonated herself, according to village head Bulama Isa.

A rocket-propelled grenade then exploded, setting alight grass-thatched huts, and a second woman blew herself up, according to Isa. Among those killed was the village chief and 10 of his children, according to residents Ahmed Bala and Umar Ibrahim.

A soldier said the insurgents fired rocket-propelled grenades into four residential areas on the outskirts of the city. Soldiers fired back, and many civilians were caught in the crossfire, according to the soldier, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to journalists.

Three suicide bombers blew themselves up at a home near Bakassi Estate, killing 18 people Sunday evening, another soldier told The Associated Press.

A nurse at Maiduguri Specialist Hospital said dozens of critically wounded, mainly children and women, may not survive. A doctor at the hospital later said four of the wounded have died and the number of injured has risen to about 100. Like the nurse, he spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to reporters.

The nurse said the hospital was so overflowing with patients that some had to be cared for in the maternity ward. About 60 people had wounds from bullets and shrapnel from explosive devices, she said. Other wounded people had to be sent to other hospitals in the city.

Among them was a baby found dead, still tied to the back of her mother, who survived after being hit by shrapnel, the nurse said.

It was hard to do a body count because so many had been blown into pieces, she said, describing torsos and dismembered arms and legs.

Pink Sisters mark 100 years of nonstop prayer, seek 100 more

Pink Sisters mark 100 years of nonstop prayer, seek 100 more
 

Roman Catholic Holy Spirit Adoration sisters pray Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2015, at the Chapel of Divine Love in Philadelphia. For 100 years now, twenty-four hours a day, one of the cloistered nuns in a pink habit pray before the altar at the chapel. To address their shrinking numbers and ensure their prayers continue for another century, the Roman Catholic Holy Spirit Adoration sisters have begun quietly reaching out, seeking to grow their order while carefully maintaining their secluded life.

  

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- For more than 100 years, the cloistered nuns known as the Pink Sisters have worked in shifts to ensure nonstop prayer in Philadelphia's Chapel of Divine Love.

Now, to address their shrinking numbers and ensure their prayers continue for another century, the Roman Catholic Holy Spirit Adoration sisters have begun quietly reaching out, seeking to grow their order while carefully maintaining their secluded life.

In the last year, they hung a banner outside their chapel and convent as a way to let other people know about their daily public Masses. They've granted more interviews with news reporters. And they have begun inviting Catholic women's organizations and schools to speak to the sisters - with all conversations taking place through the grille in the convent visiting room, of course.

There's even a subtle recruitment flier hanging just inside the front door of the chapel. It encourages visitors to ask themselves three questions: Do you love Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament? Do you realize the power of prayer before the Blessed Sacrament? Is Jesus calling you to say 'yes' to a life of prayer before the Blessed Sacrament?

"We rarely reached out for vocation promotion before the centennial. But now we want young ladies to see how beautiful the life is and how truer the joy when it is without the trappings of material things," said Sister Maria Clarissa, 55. "We do our part in addressing these challenges, but at the same time, we leave it to the Lord. He's the one who calls."

There were once as many as 40 nuns living in the Philadelphia convent. Now, there are 20: The youngest is 52, and the oldest is 90.

The order was founded in Holland in 1896 with a focus on the perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, the consecrated bread they uphold as the body and blood of Christ. The rose-hued habits are meant to symbolize the joy the sisters feel honoring the Holy Spirit.

In 1915, nine of the original sisters left the motherhouse and came to Philadelphia, where they were invited to open the order's second convent.

Today there are about 420 Holy Spirit Adoration sisters living in 22 convents in 12 countries. There are three other U.S. convents - in St. Louis; Corpus Christi, Texas; and Lincoln, Nebraska.

It may come as a surprise to some that a group of 20 nuns live a contemplative, secluded life not far from Philadelphia's famed museums, historic landmarks and government. The sisters leave the cloister only for emergencies, such as medical appointments. When they do venture out, the sisters wear gray so as not to draw too much attention to themselves.

It is a selfless life, focused on offering intercessory prayers on behalf of people they will never meet living in places they will never see. They pray most of the day, together and individually in shifts before the Blessed Sacrament, generally waking up at 5:15 a.m. to prepare for the first daily service, going to bed after the 8 p.m. final prayers.

All the sisters have jobs. Some craft Mass cards and rosaries, the sales of which support the convent. Other sisters respond to letters and answer the phones. Some callers are lonely; others are suicidal. Just listening, the sisters say, seems to make a difference.

The sisters get one hour of free time and one hour of recreation each day. They are allowed visits from family and friends three times a year.

Sister Mary Angelica, 55, said she wants people who have lost touch with their faith to know there is always someone praying for them, "no matter what their need may be."

The sisters follow current events, but the newspapers they receive don't include the sports or entertainment sections.

"We try to be as simple as possible so we can focus on the Lord," explained Mary Angelica. "We are simple in everything, even meals - though on special occasions, we have ice cream."

Top Music Studios For Kids And Adults In Philly: Gilbert F. Lomax Jr. Online Interview by Van Stone, Editor/Publish Philadelphia Front Page News frontpagenews1@yahoo.com

Top Music Studios For Kids And Adults In Philly: Gilbert F. Lomax Jr. Online Interview by Van Stone, Editor/Publish Philadelphia Front Page News frontpagenews1@yahoo.com

 

Gilbert F. Lomax Jr., Music Master Professional, Professional Deejay and Male Model.

As promised we caught up with Gilbert F. Lomax Jr. and his partner Doris J. Hall-James for a follow-up interview. Both Lomax Jr. and Hall-James are music professionals. In this interview the Philadelphia Front Page News-Magazine reflects Lomax Jr.’s growth as a person, writer, producer, and male model.

Talented guy Gil Lomax Jr. can rightfully claim the title of Philly’s music's lead music producer and deejay.  Lomax Jr. had no trouble winning the hearts of many fans with his co-release “Knocks Me Off My Feet,” catapulting him to become West Philadelphia’s top-go to music master professional artist. Here’s our interview of Lomax Jr.  He is known for well-produced beats and arrangements in music industry.

Philadelphia Front Page News Newspaper: So, tell everyone the address of the music studio location.

Gilbert F. Lomax Jr.: The Simply Music Studio is located at 251 South 60^th Street Philadelphia, PA 19139.

PFPN: Since you and Doris J. Hall-James are master music professionals, just what type of Deejay are you? And what’s the name of the group for your entertainment company?

Gil Lomax Jr.: I am a mobile Deejay in the community.  The name of my entertainment company is called Simply Old School in which we play old school music. My annual events include the Creek picnic, the Creek cabaret and the Bikers Annual old timers’ young timers reunion keeping the memory of Vicky Gadson and Spider alive. Hosted by Rickey Gadson.

PFPN: Who are included in the events? And how long have you been Deejaying?

Lomax Jr.: All events include young and older adults. I have been a DJ for five years doing block parties, church events in Philadelphia, surrounding areas and South Jersey.

PFPN: About how long have you participated in music engineering activity in a studio?  And which catalog of studio music is your specialty?

Gil: I have been engineering, writing, and producing, music for five years and have multiple songs in my music catalog.  My catalogs consist of R&B, Jazz, Gospel, Pop, Blues and Funk. I am a member of Broadcast Music Association (BMI) and own publishing company Glomax Music. And by the way, I own my own studio.  I am the President of the GreenRoom Audio Sound Studio (GRASS).  

PFPN: When did you notice something was lacking in the urban section of the city and what did you plan to do about it?  Did you organize anything specifically for youth, adults, or seniors and if so, what was the result?

Gil: For years I have noticed that in the 60^th street area – 60^th street corridor there were no services provided for inspiring and aspiring musicians young or old.  No visible recording studios in the West Philadelphia Area along 60^th street corridor.  Being a musician myself I recognized the need for music services to support local talent.

PFPN: What else do you want the readers to know about the Simply Music Studio, its mission and future?

Lomax Jr.: Although Simply Music is a non-profit organization the overhead cost for the operation of the business is met by donations and contributions and minimal fees to the customers.

The site at 60^th street is still new but the demand for music service is so great that I can foresee in the near future students pursing continued education careers in the music industry…possibly with stronger support by our Simply Music Studio.  

 

Gilbert F. Lomax Jr., Music Master Professional, Professional Deejay and Male Model.