Yo, Philly in the News

• A state trooper tried to stop a white SUV for speeding in the northbound lanes of Route 42 about 4:30PM yesterday afternoon. When the car began moving erratically, the police had to break off pursuit for safety concerns. A few minutes later, the driver stopped on the Walt Whitman Bridge bridge, got out of his car, and started swinging a baseball bat at cars while holding a baby in his other arm. After he struck two cars, police closed the bridge to traffic, and a stand-off began which caused a terrible traffic tie-up in the middle of rush hour. The man threatened to jump off the bridge and also claimed his vehicle contained explosives. He said he believed he was being followed by federal agents and wanted to communicate his grievances to Michelle Obama. Shortly before 8, he finally gave himself up, and the bridge reopened around 8:45. It turned out the gun and bat he was armed with were just toys, and the baby and its mother, who were accompanying him, were safe and unharmed, and that the woman had not been held against her will.
• A federal appeals court decision yesterday threw out Mumia Abu-Jamal's death sentence for killing Daniel Faulkner and ruled that Abu-Jamal must be sentenced to life in prison or get a chance with a new Philadelphia jury that would decide only whether he should get life or be sentenced to death again.
• Four Philadelphia fund-raisers were charged yesterday with conspiring to raise illegal campaign contributions for Puerto Rico's governor. Three of the four fund-raisers indicted had also been investigated and secretly recorded by the FBI as part of the 2003 City Hall corruption probe.
• During a rally at the Soldiers and Sailors Military Museum and Memorial in Pittsburgh today, Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey will announce that he is endorsing Barack Obama for president. He will then be joining Obama on a six-day bus trip across the state.
• In its usual over-the-top, sensationalized fashion, the Daily News gives us more details on the sad and pointless death of Sean Patrick Conroy, the Starbucks manager who was randomly targeted and beaten by a group of boys in an underground SEPTA concourse near 13th and Market streets. The beating triggered an asthma attack, which killed him. Meanwhile, the Inquirer gets reactions to the incident from other commuters.
• Shortly after 1PM yesterday, a 16-year-old girl was sexually assaulted by several male students inside a room in or near the back of the auditorium at South Philadelphia High School. The boys were caught in the act by school district safety personnel, and fled. Philadelphia police are now seeking four males for the crime. The victim was taken to Jefferson University Hospital in stable condition.
• Frankford Avenue has been closed between Torresdale Avenue and Hunting Park Avenue for emergency repairs to the 105-year-old bridge over Frankford Creek. The road is expected to reopen within two weeks.

Image Credit: Flickr user bubblemonkey