DEATH ON THE PIAZZA: Alleged Mastermind To Surrender
“The man authorities say planned a drug-linked robbery that turned into a double homicide at a posh Northern Liberties apartment complex last month intends to surrender to police today. James “Pooh” Wilson, 40, who has been the target of an intense law enforcement manhunt for two weeks, will turn himself in at the Police Administration Building this afternoon, said Christopher Warren, a prominent defense lawyer who said Wilson had retained him.” [via the INQUIRER]
REVERSED DISCRIMINATION: Swim Club Wants Minority Kids Back
“The Montgomery County swim club that sparked a racial furor when it disinvited a Philadelphia day camp of mostly black and Hispanic children last month wants to invite the group back, a club official said today. “The board decided we would reach out to Creative Steps to . . . get the kids back to the club in a safe environment,” John G. Duesler Jr., president of the Valley Club in Huntingdon Valley, said late this evening. A storm of controversy has surrounded the club since it barred a return by Creative Steps’ 65 children after the group’s first visit there June 29. Asked why the club was reversing course, Duesler said, ‘Because it’s the right thing to do’.” [via the INQUIRER]
Cheney Directed CIA To Lie To Congress About His Private Assassination Squad
“In the latest twist in a story that rocked Washington over the weekend, the Wall Street Journal reported today that the Central Intelligence Agency program recently shut down by current Director Leon Panetta was an attempt to kill or capture al-Qaida leaders. A 2001 presidential finding authorized such an endeavor. The Ford administration banned assassination of foreign leaders in the 1970s. Panetta informed members of two Congressional intelligence committees about the secretive C.I.A. directive on June 24, a day after he terminated the effort. Democratic lawmakers were especially roiled by the revelations, which came in the wake of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s controversial claims that the intelligence agency has lied to lawmakers. What really kicked the story into high gear was the revelation that it had been Vice President Dick Cheney who instructed the CIA to keep the program hidden from Congress. (It also revived interest in a staggering, earlier report by The New Yorker’s Sy Hersh, who had previously reported allegations that Cheney ran an assassination ring during his time in office.)” [via SALON]