Inquirer staff report:

The Rev. John “Bootsie” Wilson, the last surviving member of the Philadelphia doo-wop group the Silhouettes, has died.

The Associated Press reports that Wilson, who was lead singer for the group from 1961 through 1968, died Sept. 21 in Spartanburg, S.C. His funeral was Saturday.

The group was best known the 1958 hit “Get a Job.”

Survivors include his wife, Pauline.

Read more breaking news in our From The Source blog.

Inquirer staff writer Tom Infield today won a first place award from the Military Reporters and Editors for best domestic print coverage in the largest newspapers/magazine category for his series, “Alpha Company,” a deep and penetrating look at a Pennsylvania National Guard unit on its return from Iraq. The series, edited by Avery Rome, also won a host of state and local awards.

Here's an excerpt from the series.

More than two years after coming home, and on the eve of the Iraq war's fifth anniversary, the 131 survivors of Alpha Company are still trying to sort out the meaning of their sacrifice.

These were citizen-soldiers, many of them family men, drawn from across the Philadelphia region. They are, today, police officers and prison guards, construction workers and drugstore clerks. One is an airport screener, one carries mail, and one digs graves.

The Inquirer set out almost a year ago to track down every Alpha member. About a third have left the Guard, and others have transferred to units as far away as Texas and Arizona. One died in a car accident, one went to prison, one melted into the shadows of Army Special Forces. It took court records to find some. Others, although still in the Guard and in the area, were wary of talking.

The newspaper ultimately reached all but one veteran, and all but five cooperated in reporting on how they were doing.

Read more breaking news in our From The Source blog.

Inquirer staff report

A 16-year-old South Jersey girl has pleaded guilty to drowning her newborn in a fairgrounds toilet.

Isamar Sanchez, of Bridgeton, told a Cumberland County juvenile court yesterday, that she gave birth inside the bathroom stall and drowned the baby boy in the toilet tank during a Cinco de Mayo celebration last year, the Press of Atlantic City reports.

She pleaded guilty to a charge of reckless manslaughter and will be sentenced Monday.

The newspaper says the girl, who was 14 when she gave birth, had another child when she was in seventh grade. That child is living with relatives.

 Read more breaking news in our From The Source blog.

Inquirer staff report

About 100 members of Delaware’s National Guard,  including Vice President Biden’s son, are returning home today after a year in Iraq.

The group is expected to arrive at Fort Dix later this afternoon.

Among those returning is Capt. Beau Biden, a military lawyer who also is Delaware’s attorney general.

The vice president is not expected to greet his son, the married father of two, at Fort Dix,  but is slated to attend a homecoming ceremony next week in Dover.
 

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Staff photographer Clem Murray reports:

It must be autumn.

On this brisk morning, students at the Laboratory Charter School on Orianna Street in Northern
Liberties engage in a game of catch-the-football before school starts. The K-8 school has 230 students.

The weekend forecast promises more autumn-like weather with partly cloudy skies or rain and temperatures getting only up to the mid 70s.  

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Inquirer staff report:

Philadelphia police today released surveillance photos of two men who robbed a store in the Feltonville and beat a customers with a bottle on Sept. 3.

Detectives are hoping someone will recognize the men and notify the police.

The armed stickup occurred about 10 p.m. at Paulino’s Grocery Store, 140 E. Wyoming. The bandits robbed the owner and three customers, one of whom was hit over the head with a bottle.

The injured customer was treated at a hospital and released.

Anyone with information is asked to contact East Detectives at 215-686-3243 or call 911.

Read more breaking news in our From The Source blog.

Staff photographer Clem Murray reports:

Residents fled in their pajamas and even towels this morning to escape a two-alarm fire that ripped through a row home in North Camden.

No injuries were reported but the dozen residents of the home at 734 State St. were left homeless by the blaze.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

It was first reported around 6 a.m. and declared under control about 40 minutes later.

Read more breaking news in our From The Source blog.

This 33-page report by the Human Relations Commission was released Tuesday by an attorney for four of the campers.

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Inquirer staff writer Joseph Slobodzian reports:

Katoya Jones, one of the eight defendants in the Piazza murder, has agreed to plead guilty to two counts of murder and will testify against her alleged accomplices.

The development was revealed this morning as a preliminary hearing got underway for defendants in the case at the Criminal Justice Center. Check back at Philly.com for more details from today's hearing.

Read this morning’s Inquirer story here.
 

Read more breaking news in our From The Source blog.