Philadelphia Inquirer

Joseph R. Biden has been elected the 46th president of the United States, and much of the nation, and the world, is breathing a sigh of relief. Going to the White House with him is Vice President-elect Kamala Harris — the first woman, first Black woman and first Indian American to hold a nationwide elected office.After a prolonged count, Biden secured victory by winning key states, including Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan, to give him the 270 votes needed to win the Electoral College. The Trump administration has filed lawsuits and demands for recounts in key states. Even though Biden’s...

U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew, who infuriated Democrats when he switched parties and declared “undying support” to President Donald Trump, was declared the winner Friday over Democrat Amy Kennedy in New Jersey’s 2nd Congressional District.Van Drew himself declared victory Tuesday night with a 10,000-vote margin, and his lead has only increased since then, even as Kennedy vowed to fight to the last ballot.By Friday afternoon, results from The Associated Press showed 81% of precincts reporting and Van Drew’s lead widening to 15,867. Earlier Friday, with tens of thousands of ballots left to count and t...

PHILADELPHIA — The attorney for the family of Walter Wallace Jr. on Friday criticized the Philadelphia Police Department for failing to follow through on recommendations made by the U.S. Department of Justice in 2015 that all officers be equipped with Tasers, saying the officers’ lack of nonlethal options during a confrontation with Wallace was among the systemic shortcomings that helped lead them to fire their guns.Speaking at a news conference outside Philadelphia City Hall alongside Wallace’s relatives, attorney Shaka Johnson called for broad reforms in the Police Department and the city’s ...

PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia police detained two men late Thursday night after receiving a tip that a Hummer vehicle from Virginia with two or three people armed with firearms was headed to the Pennsylvania Convention Center, where ballot counting is underway for the presidential election.Just after 10:20 p.m. Eastern time, police reported they had received information about a 2003 gray or silver Hummer with Virginia tags that was occupied by several people armed with AR-15 rifles.A few minutes later a Hummer fitting the description was found parked and unoccupied in the 200 block of North 13th...

PHILADELPHIA — President Donald Trump’s campaign vowed Wednesday to halt Pennsylvania’s election count with a barrage of lawsuits that it contended — without evidence — were needed to stop the state from “baking in a backdoor victory for Joe Biden with late, illegal ballots.”Repeating the president’s claim that Democrats were “scheming to disenfranchise and dilute” GOP voters, Trump’s team unleashed a pack of new filings on state and federal courts disputing issues that included the state’s decision to count late-arriving mail ballots and how much access Republican monitors had to watch the co...