SCRAPPLE TV NEWS: Puppy Of The Month

New feature on Scrapple TV News: once a month we will bring our pal Jamie from the SPCA on to talk about some swell new doggie with a hard-luck story and in need of a home. We start off with Mila, who came into the shelter as a stray on April 4, 2010. She was a sad sight, covered in tar and mud, and was immediately a staff favorite because of her amazing spirit and willingness to give us love, even though she clearly hadn’t had anyone to care for her for quite some time. This 2-3 year old pit […]

PHILADELPHIA WEEKLY: The Khyber Past

[Illustration by ALEX FINE] BY JONATHAN VALANIA FOR THE PHILADELPHIA WEEKLY On the afternoon of Nov. 26, 2008, death came ashore at the Indian coastal city of Mumbai in the form of 10 Pakistani assassins aboard a rubber dinghy. Young and cocky, the killers were dressed in bluejeans and cargo pants, pumped up on steroids and ripped from months of rigorous physical training. They brandished AK-47s and carried backpacks loaded with grenades and ammo. When fisherman asked them what was going on, the gunmen told them in fluent Marathi to, in effect, go fuck themselves. The fishermen reported the incident […]

NPR FOR THE DEAF: We Hear It Even When You Can’t

FRESH AIR Philadelphia Daily News reporters Barbara Laker and Wendy Ruderman received the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting for the 10-month series “Tainted Justice,” an expose of alleged corruption among members of an elite narcotics squad on the Philadelphia police force. During their reporting, Laker and Ruderman uncovered allegations against officers that included committing sexual assaults, disabling surveillance cameras during drug raids to hide their misdeeds, and filing fraudulent warrants. During several raids, the police allegedly stole thousands of dollars in merchandise and money from small retailers. As a result of Laker and Ruderman’s investigation, hundreds of drug cases […]