AP PA HEADLINES
BRYN MAWR, Pa. (AP) — A private college in suburban Philadelphia says it will remove references to one of its founders from its campus on the grounds that she advanced racism and anti-Semitism at the university.
Bryn Mawr College president Kim Cassidy on Thursday made public an internal letter that says the school will begin getting rid of references to M. Carey Thomas as soon as possible. Cassidy says the college will drop her name from prominent campus buildings as a result of debates about historical figures in the aftermath of the deadly white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. The liberal arts school’s website says Thomas served as president from 1894 to 1922 and that she fought to expand educational and career opportunities for women.
BENSALEM, Pa. (AP) — Police in Pennsylvania say they were able to find a rape victim using her cellphone’s GPS signal. Bensalem police say they received 911 texts on Saturday from a woman claiming she’d been sexually assaulted. She texted that she was trapped in a bedroom and couldn’t escape. Officers used her cellphone’s GPS to lead them to her. They say she had been punched in the head and choked and her attacker used a steak knife to threaten her and force her to perform sexual acts. Police say 23-year-old Christopher Henneghan was taken into custody and faces charges including rape, indecent assault and unlawful imprisonment. He has been arraigned and jailed with bail set at $10 million. He can’t be reached for comment in jail. There’s no attorney information listed in online court documents.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Philadelphia is asking for the public’s help in deciding the fate of a statue of former mayor and police commissioner Frank Rizzo. Officials on Thursday announced they’re taking suggestions on what to do with the statue after calls to tear it down escalated following a deadly white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. Rizzo served as mayor from 1972 to 1980. Critics argue he reigned over a corrupt police department and used his power to alienate minorities. Supporters say he was a devoted public servant who spoke his mind. Last week, the statue was egged and a man was arrested for spray-painting “black power” on it. The statue stands outside the Municipal Services Building, the mayor has said it’s the “right time” to talk.
ALLENTOWN, Pa. (AP) — A former Pennsylvania constable will serve two years on probation after pleading no contest to charges he shot and partially paralyzed a man wanted for unpaid parking tickets. The Allentown Morning Call reports 59-year-old Howard Altemos pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor count of recklessly endangering another person. Kevin McCullers sustained a single gunshot wound and was paralyzed from the waist down in the 2014 shooting in Whitehall Township. Prosecutors alleged Altemos shot McCullers while attempting to arrest him for failing to appear in court for traffic violations. Altemos has said he fired as McCullers backed his car away after using it to pin him against a wall. His attorney Earl Supplee said Thursday he can’t comment due to an ongoing federal civil suit McCullers filed over the shooting.
PORT REPUBLIC, N.J. (AP) — A New Jersey man has taken a parting shot at the Philadelphia Eagles in his obituary. Jeffrey Riegel died last Friday. Before his death, the 56-year-old Port Republic, New Jersey, man promised friends a funny message in his obituary. The longtime Eagles fan’s obituary asks for Riegel “to have 8 Philadelphia Eagles as pall bearers so the Eagles can let him down one last time.” Riegel was a passionate Eagles fan who owned season tickets for more than 30 years. Sadly, the Eagles never won a Super Bowl during his lifetime. Riegel’s friend, Lou Jiacopello, tells the Press of Atlantic City he couldn’t help but laugh at his friend’s humor. Eight friends wearing Eagles jerseys were to lay Riegel to rest on Thursday.
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Conversation starters and Features
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Police and civic leaders in the cradle of America’s free speech movement will struggle to balance liberty of expression with safeguards against violence as demonstrators of various political viewpoints travel to the San Francisco Bay area for weekend rallies. Saturday, a politically conservative group called Patriot Prayer will host a “freedom rally” at the foot of the Golden Gate Bridge over the objections of San Francisco’s Mayor Ed Lee.
In nearby Berkeley on Sunday, a transsexual supporter of President Donald Trump plans a “No to Marxism in America” event in a city park. Opponents will mobilize as well. The challenge for law enforcement comes after a rally of white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia that turned deadly.
NEW YORK (AP) — A New York City couple who met on a bus 13 years ago have now gotten married on one. Random passengers and 50 guests joined Kara Mullins and Osvaldo “O.J.” Jimenez for their wedding on an M14 bus on Sunday. Jimenez told Mullins, “I’m glad I found my way to you!” Mullins told her groom, “I love you, and I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you.”
A video of the ceremony aired on TV station NY1 . Jimenez first spotted his future bride 13 years ago on an M14, a Manhattan local crosstown bus. He tells NY1 that when he suggested getting married on the same bus she replied, “Heck, yeah, let’s do it.” A friend performed the ceremony as a Universal Life minister.
DENVER (AP) — The head of a national cheerleading group says newly released video of a Denver teen crying while a coach and teammates hold her down shows techniques that are outdated and damaging. Cheerleading Coaches and Administration Association director Jim Lord says forcing athletes into painful stretching used to happen decades ago. But he said coaches are now required to learn safe stretching practices. TV station KUSA says the videos were shot on the phones of two team members and were sent anonymously to the station. At one pointthey show a girl repeatedly asks a coach to “please stop.”
WOODBRIDGE, N.J. (AP) — Some talk and laughs paid off for a waitress in New Jersey. Brianna Siegel served a couple on Tuesday evening at Bar Louie in Woodbridge. After they paid their $20 bill, they handed her an envelope and told her to open it when she got home.
Siegel tells News 12 New Jersey (http://bit.ly/2itXswq ) she nearly fell on her knees when she got home, opened it and found a check made out to her for $1,200. The couple also included a note that said, in part, “Whenever it gets hard, know God got you.” Siegel says she deposited the check and plans to use the money toward nursing school and a new car.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A star-studded TV special aimed at reinventing American high schools will air simultaneously on all four major networks on September 8. “EIF Presents XQ Super School Live” will feature Tom Hanks, Samuel L. Jackson, Common, Jennifer Hudson, Sheryl Crow, Yo-Yo Ma and other celebrities. The XQ Institute, the group behind the special, encourages collaboration between communities and industries to modernize high schools.
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