philadelphia

'Trump is the emergency': Philly's top prosecutor slams admin's 'racist fascist agenda'

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania District Attorney Larry Krasner didn't mince words when asked about President Donald Trump's latest proposal to put troops on the ground in major American cities.

During a Tuesday interview with CNN host Kaitlan Collins, Krasner was asked to comment on Trump's deployment of the National Guard in Washington D.C., and his suggestion that the nation's capital was a trial balloon for a similar strategy in other cities across the country. Krasner slammed the proposal as "a profoundly un-American attempt to exercise power in ways that are illegal," adding that it was an attempt "to after Democratic cities that are diverse to serve his racist, fascist agenda."

Trump has countered that his actions are necessary to counter what he claims is a violent crime wave plaguing U.S. cities. His deployment of hundreds of National Guard troops to D.C. came after 19 year-old Edward Coristine (who also goes by the online moniker "Big Balls") was beaten up by teenage carjackers.

"We have other cities also that are bad. Very bad. You look at Chicago, how bad it is. You look at Los Angeles, how bad it is,” Trump said. “New York has a problem. And then you have, of course Baltimore and Oakland, we don’t even mention that anymore. They’re so far gone. We’re not going to lose our cities over this. And this will go further. We’re starting very strongly with D.C., and we’re going to clean it up very quickly, as they say.”

Trump's claims about D.C. are inaccurate. A Department of Justice press release from January found that violent crime in the nation's capital was at a 30-year low. Krasner also boasted that violent crime in Philadelphia was also at its lowest in several decades, and posited that Trump's push to take over predominantly Democratic cities was instead a purely political move.

"We may set the record — the record — for lowest crime overall in Philadelphia for more than 50 years. And at the same time, we have some of the lowest incarceration [rates]. That's not an emergency," Krasner said. "Donald Trump is the emergency, folks. Listen, the emergency is Donald Trump. It is not anything else ... This is a staging ground. This is a normalization of troops being deployed to do what they should not be asked to do, what they're not equipped to do, and what violates the constitution and laws."

"And why is he doing it? He's doing it for the same reason he had that stupid birthday parade," he continued. "He's doing it because he really likes the idea of being a dictator. He likes the idea of destroying our legal system. He likes the idea of eliminating the courts and taking away individual rights ... I'm sorry to put it out so plain, but that is what this is. and we all have to stand up to it."

Watch the video of Krasner's comments below, or by clicking this link.

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Doorbell camera captures video of Philadelphia plane crash with 'multiple casualties'

First responders are now on the scene responding to a plane crash in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with "multiple casualties" reported.

Philadelphia NPR and PBS affiliate WHYY reported Friday that the crash happened near Philadelphia's Roosevelt Mall at approximately 6 PM Eastern Time, which is in the Northeast part of the city. The plane also reportedly hit several homes and cars in the area. WHYY also reported that the crash happened less than three miles from the Northeast Philadelphia Airport, which is primarily used for private jets and charter flights.

Fox 29 reported that the crash, which happened near Cottman Avenue and Bustleton Avenue, resulted in multiple fires in the area, with one witness describing the crash as a "big old explosion of light from out of nowhere." Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro (D) posted a statement to X that he's coordinating response efforts with city officials and "offering all commonwealth resources."

The crash comes just on the heels of a deadly mid-air collision between a regional American Airlines jet and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter near the Washington D.C. National Airport earlier this week. All 67 people involved in the crash are presumed dead, and first responders are still in the process of recovering victims and debris from the Potomac River.

Investor Tony Seruga posted a vicdeo to X captured by a Ring doorbell camera showing the crash as it happened. An aircraft can be seen in the background plummeting rapidly before a large plume of fire rages in the background and a large explosion is heard.

Watch the video below, or by clicking this link (warning: this video may be disturbing to some viewers).

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'A wonderful thing': Actor Paul Rudd gives water to PA voters 'waiting in line for a long time'

"Ant-Man" star Paul Rudd made a surprise appearance in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Tuesday, handing out bottles of water to voters standing in line outside of several college campus polling places.

Variety reported that while MSNBC reporter Jacob Soboroff was talking to young voters at Temple University just north of Philadelphia's Center City, he spotted Rudd and "sprinted" in his direction to get a quote from the Marvel actor. Rudd, who is 55, said he wanted to do something special for young voters in the critical battleground state who were taking time out of their day to cast a ballot.

"I just wanted to give people water,” Rudd told Soboroff. “They’re waiting in line for a long time, and it’s a wonderful thing that all these young people are out voting.”

Mediaite recounted the impromptu conversation between Soboroff and Rudd, with the former asking what prompted the actor to come out and support voters in Pennsylvania's largest city on Election Day.

“We’ve been doing lots of stuff today here in Pennsylvania,” Rudd said. “We wanted to come out and tell these students they’re doing really great things.”

MSNBC "Deadline: White House" host Nicolle Wallace, who had cut to Soboroff for his segment from Philadelphia, specifically mentioned that she wanted to make sure that the volunteers handing out water and snacks to voters standing in line were able to continue doing so. She then asked Soboroff to send her their information so she could make a personal donation.

"If the people handing out snacks are taking donations for their snack supply, please get me a Venmo, and I will Venmo them to replenish the snack line," Wallace said.

Pennsylvania is on pace to match or even outpace its 2020 voter turnout, with Soboroff reporting that some Philadelphia-area polling places were reporting lines of two hours or more. Rudd called it "impressive" that voters were standing in line so long.

After Soboroff walked away from the "I Love You, Man" actor, he talked to a young Black woman who said 2024 was her first election in which she was casting a ballot. She told the MSNBC reporter that she had been "ready to go" and "didn't need to hear people talking in my ear." At that point, Rudd popped up behind her.

"Want a water from Paul Rudd?" He asked. The voter smiled and exclaimed: "Yes I do!"

Watch the video of Soboroff's segment with Rudd below, or by clicking this link.

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Election officials prepare for voter intimidation threat

Election officials across the country have begun reviewing security plans at early and Election Day voting sites, strengthening ties with local law enforcement and training poll workers to prepare for voter intimidation tactics.Even before the presidential debate, when President Donald Trump urged his supporters to “go into the polls and watch very carefully,” Michelle Wilcox, the director of elections in Auglaize County, Ohio, was concerned about disruptions at the polls this year.The rural county near the Indiana border seems like an unlikely candidate for trouble. It has about 32,500 voters...

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These cities are among most vulnerable in US to COVID-19 mental health consequences, report suggests

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Stress from COVID-19 has led to a surge in teeth grinding: dentists

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Here's why the Gulf is getting hammered in this hurricane season — but the East Coast has been spared

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