The Daily News takes a look at the problem of domestic violence in the city and the rather poor way that it's dealt with by officials. Foreclosures were down in Pennsylvania and New Jersey in November, as compared to October 2007 and October 2006. Governor Rendell called into 610 WIP to talk about Lanegate. Basically he wanted to explain what her phone call to him had been about (she just wanted someone to hear......

A tall, icy glass of our favorite internet junk, just for you. LAist has more fun photos from the writers' strike, this time featuring fans and employees of Mutant Enemy Productions (Joss Whedon's production company), who all came together last Friday to support the strikers. Aw, look at Nicholas Brendon in his hat and glasses. And Summer Glau is so cute! Nintendo claims they are surprised by the Greenpeace report which we posted about earlier,......

Fun around town, for $10 or less: Reelblack: Wu: The Story of the Wu-Tang Clan and Chief Rocker Busy Bee: The Architect Vol. 1 at the International House (3701 Chestnut), 7PM. $7 Armed America: Author Kyle Cassidy speaks about his book Armed America: Portraits of Gun Owners in Their Homes at Germ Books and Gallery (2005 Frankford Ave), 7PM. Free Margot & The Nuclear So and So's: Margot & The Nuclear So and So's, Le......

As Phillyist Sarah pointed out yesterday in a comment on Philly in the News, Mark O'Donnell was arrested yesterday in the murder of Ebony Nicole Dorsey, the daughter of his girlfriend. He's been charged this morning with beating, strangling and sexually assaulting the 14-year-old. Dorsey's mother says the attack came after O'Donnell had been smoking crack all night, but O'Donnell says that's not true and that he caught the girl molesting his daughter. About 100......

If you still aren't bored of stories about Jocelyn S. Kirsch and Edward K. Anderton, then by all means, read on. Meanwhile, other rather more dangerous criminals are still on the loose. Police still have little to go on in the brutal November 25th murder of John Bartram High School sophomore Antonio Q. Clarke, who was last seen alive trying to catch a trolley in Southwest Philadelphia. Call police at 215-686-3334 or -3335 with......

UPDATE: Oops! I forgot links! I've added them now, and made a few other tweaks. What's new and/or interesting on TV this week. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer &c. (Tue, 8PM-9PM, CBS) - The extremely odd, but quite lovable, 1964 classic about the reindeer with the glowing red nose, the elf who really wants to be a dentist, a bunch of misfit toys, and the Abominable Snow Monster. CBS is also airing Frosty the Snowman and......

In Los Angeles, LAist most definitely celebrated Thanksgiving like no other. After all, one has to keep up all the energy to keep on walking the line at the Writers Strike and fighting the unfortunate return of the wildfires in Malibu, which single handedly destroyed over fifty homes within the first 24 hours. National outlets may be covering the fires, but CNN also found it is easier to buy a gun than fruit and......

This week's quote comes from the movie A Christmas Story, and is likely repeated in the play, opening next week at The Players Club of Swarthmore. It's what pretty much everybody tells Ralphie whenever he mentions that he wants a BB gun for Christmas. Now, on with the listings! A Christmas Carol - Marley was dead, to begin with. November 30-December 30. Tickets online. A Christmas Story - Now, about that BB gun... November 23-December......

The "10,000 men: A Call to Action" campaign will get started in earnest on Saturday when they put the first 200 men on the streets. It'll be a field exercise for squad leaders, and apparently they'll also be doing a door-to-door campaign to alert neighbors of the effort. Then they'll be patrolling in South Philadelphia next Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evening. John Lewis, the suspect in the murder of police officer Chuck Cassidy, was......

When Richard Kelly's film Southland Tales was originally screened at Cannes, the buzz was extraordinarily negative. The word was that the movie was a great big mess - ridiculous and nonsensical. I didn't want to believe it. I really enjoyed Kelly's amazing indie/romance/sci-fi flick Donnie Darko. I thought maybe people were reacting to Southland Tales the way that some had reacted to The Fountain: they were confused by it because they hadn't looked hard enough......

The Inquirer has the story of an American soldier from Bucks County who worked hard in Iraq trying to rebuild the country and is now home for the holidays. Princeton University scientists announced yesterday that they'd discovered a way to reproduce the chemical signals that the bacteria that cause cholera use to communicate with each other, which opens up the possibility of a new way to fight bacteria: talking to them in their own......

The big news today is police shootings. The Inquirer and the Daily News both examine the alarming local and national trend. The Daily News also reveals some backstory on the gunman who shot four people, including a policeman, before jumping into the Schuylkill River Tuesday night (his body was found early yesterday morning). And finally there are two articles about yet another shooting that took place early yesterday morning when a man tried to......

In our preview of Kenna's show last week, we hit on his three faces as seen in the new album Make Sure They See My Face: the danceable side ("Loose Wires"/"Blink Radio" and "Say Goodbye to Love"), the rock side ("Daylight" and "Face the Gun/Goodluck"), and the contemplative side ("Static" and "Be Still"). Thursday night, all three of these faces were present and accounted for. Though the first few songs were marred by sound trouble,......

At 12:30 this afternoon, the organization Moms Against Guns will bring its message to the masses from a stage in Love Park. Lynne Korman Honickman, local philanthropist and founder of the organization, was told she'd be "spinning her wheels" if she tried to galvanize women across the state to express their outrage over our appalling rate of gun violence, particularly that against children. This afternoon's rally is the organization's official kick-off; there is already......

We are totally enamored of the accessories made by Jessica Evans, proprietor of In Hope: Readymade Cute. This crafty chick from Fishtown creates all kinds of accessories, from vinyl cuff bracelets adorned with flowers or cupcakes, to purses covered with octopus outlines or retro video game characters. We asked her what inspires her, and she told us it was whatever made her smile. "No matter if it is a robot in hell or a laser......

Due to the fact that owners and players were not able to resolve a long-standing labor dispute, the 2008 National Lacrosse League season was canceled yesterday. A spokeswoman for the Philadelphia Wings said its 5,000 season-ticket holders would receive full refunds and could expect a communication today. A Scranton woman has been cited for disorderly conduct for shouting profanities at her overflowing toilet. Apparently she was yelling near an open window, and her neighbor (an......

Maybe 2007 has been the blankest year for you. Perhaps you’re not as popular as you want to be. By some mistake, maybe you’re not the starting quarterback. Oh, fuck it, you’re gonna have a party. That’s precisely what the gang known as Nada Surf will be doing on Saturday night at Johnny Brenda’s before a sold out crowd. So, if you ain’t got the tickets to the gun show you’re best suited to hit......

Shortly after getting their mayor back, Atlantic City lost him again - when he resigned yesterday. The president of the City Council, William "Speedy" Marsh, was quickly sworn in as acting mayor. And AC isn't just getting a new mayor - they're also getting a brand new, $5 billion hotel and casino. The city is going to court to try to force the owners of the Girard Warehouses at Front and Market Streets to stabilize......

An update on the Chester High School shooting: the victim was scheduled to be released yesterday from the hospital; the bullet went in and out of his leg and he didn't need surgery. Meanwhile, the suspect surrendered to detectives on Wednesday and was charged as an adult with attempted homicide and aggravated assault. The new principal of the school is trying to deal with the fallout, and change the perception of his school. Meanwhile, the......

Seattlest watches as a S.L.U.T. is born and Seattle Flickr users go nuts over a local art installation. A restaurant critic demands a Diner's Bill of Rights over a gnat next to her drink, and, in lieu of a Portlandist, Seattlest debates with itself over the identity of the Northwest's crown jewel. Seattlest also joins the guys from Fantagraphics for an ill-fated gun party in the woods. Bostonist got a crash course in what not......

Shoot 'Em Up is quite aware of what it is, and isn't trying to hide it, either. Just look at the title. This is an action film that features men shooting each other, as well as the other things that action films tend to have: a hot woman, a terrible villain, a sex scene, and a tough hero protecting the innocent while uncovering and destroying an evil conspiracy. The film was written and directed by......

Sometimes, it's hard to resist the hate. You may not be having an especially bad day – you may in fact be in a good mood. But sometimes the snark comes so naturally that you have to marinate in it. Like it's Lawry's. Today is one of those days for two Phillyists who found themselves in an e-mail conversation about Tori Amos, lactating, and people we'd like to have killed. This may be in poor......

A little Philly celebrity news: 50 Cent was in town earlier this week. Click through for details and pictures. Earlier this spring, when the whole thing came out about the Philadelphia School District's budget problems, their chief financial officer and budget overseer resigned. But it's just now coming out that, despite the fact that she only worked for the district for two years, she left with a ridiculously good deal: she was paid for unused......

Lawrence Richette, 48, the son of veteran Common Pleas Judge Lisa A. Richette, was arrested Tuesday for beating his 79-year-old mother at her Center City home. "He was released on his own recognizance yesterday - his birthday - pending a preliminary hearing Oct. 29." He was also ordered to stay away from his mother, for obvious reasons. But the story gets worse (better?). When NBC10 reporters knocked on his door for a comment, he......

The Inquirer has an interesting article about Boys' Latin of Philadelphia Charter School - its popular summer sessions, and its position as "the first single-sex charter approved in Pennsylvania," "the first publicly funded school in Philadelphia that requires students to take Latin," and "the first charter in the region modeled after the rigorous Boston Latin School." The enormous amounts of traffic and congestion on the bridge across the Schuylkill linking Conshohocken with I-76 and......

The Philadelphia Inquirer has a disturbingly effective visual aide that brings together the homicide data from last year - data we are quickly on our way to surpassing in 2007. Philadelphia was once referred to as the ‘City of Brotherly Love’ but lately, it has been making a name for itself as one of the most violent and murderous cities in the nation. A recent Inquirer article said that the murder rate is indicative of......

We mentioned this in the news yesterday, but this is a problem that needs to be addressed as frequently as possible. Leave a comment and let us know how you think the city might address the problem of gun violence.......

A Pennsylvania man named Michael Curtis Reynolds took the stand in his defense yesterday in a case where he is charged with "using the Internet to help al-Qaeda attempt to blow up portions of the U.S. gas and oil infrastructure." He claims that he was actually just trying to lure out al-Qaeda operators so they could be captured. The SugarHouse casino is trying to smooth its way into Fishtown by throwing cash around - for......

A steaming hot pile of our favorite things from around the internets. Now here's a holiday we can get behind: today is National French Fries Day! (Via Sarah) Local photographer Kyle Cassidy has an interesting book out called Armed America, which consists of photos of gun owners from across the United States, in their homes, displaying their collections, etc. There's no political statements being made; it's just a cultural exploration. The project is interesting, and......

Late last night Governor Rendell made a deal with top lawmakers that ended the budget standoff and the partial shutdown of state government. The Daily News has a run-down of some of the crime that occurred in the city this past weekend, and it includes a story about a potential burglar getting his head caught in a trapdoor and suffocating to death while trying to rob a bar. In other crime news, a man......