Deportation

ESPN Deportes Radio, the national Spanish-language sports radio network, has secured a local affiliate, effective 6 a.m. Monday. It's WWDB-AM (860), whose stock in trade has been money-talk shows. 'DB owner Beasley Broadcast also added ESPN Deportes on stations in Atlanta and Boston in a package deal that shut out ESPN's English-language partner in Philadelphia, Greater Media, which broadcasts sports talk at 950 AM and 97.5 FM. Natalie Conner , who heads Beasley's Philly operations, says she will use the network feed but plans live and local programming, as well as tie-ins to the Latino community and local sports teams.

At least two city officials appear to be ready to vote Friday morning to continue sharing arrest information with federal immigration authorities - an agreement recently opposed by Mayor Nutter and reviled by immigrant advocates. District Attorney Seth Williams appears ready to vote in favor of continuing the arrangement, given his public statements. The other parties to the agreement are Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey and Municipal Court President Judge Marsha H. Neifield. Everett Gillison, deputy mayor for public safety, confirmed late Thursday that Ramsey would vote in favor of the agreement.

Taxi driver Daniel Dzeble yesterday raised his right pants leg to reveal an electronically monitored ankle bracelet he has been ordered to wear so federal immigration officials can monitor his movements. Cabbie Souleymane Drame has one clasped to his ankle, too. Dzeble, of Ghana, and Drame, of Mali, were two of the 23 drivers arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents last week during a sting at a Philadelphia Parking Authority office. ICE contends the drivers are in this country illegally and have put all 23 in removal proceedings.

MAYOR NUTTER IS prepared to decree that Philadelphia is to be a de facto "sanctuary" city, meaning that U.S. law will be ignored here, at least the part applying to those who are here illegally. Doing so will put Philadelphians at risk. Any other U.S. laws Philadelphia won't be enforcing? Treason? Counterfeiting? Skyjacking? I'm not equating the undocumented with serious criminals, although a few of them are, without doubt. But illegal immigrants made a conscious choice to ignore the process of legal immigration, which means filling out forms, paying fees and waiting their turn.

FBI tries to catch 'Granddad Bandit' ST. LOUIS - A bald, heavyset man who has robbed 21 banks in the eastern and central United States since January 2009 is proving so elusive that the FBI has given him a name - the "Granddad Bandit" - and it announced plans Tuesday to post a digital picture of him on billboards in several states in hopes of catching him. The man, believed to be 50 to 60 years old, is suspected in 21 bank robberies in 12 states,...

The disease likely to put 8-year-old Mohamed Ali Fathi in a wheelchair by his teens and end his life by 25 is in an early stage. When he runs, he falters. When he climbs stairs, he must press his palms against his thighs for extra lift. Doctors at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia diagnosed him last year with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a genetic disease in which muscles progressively weaken. They say Mohamed is a potential candidate for forthcoming trials of an experimental treatment.

The New Jersey Supreme Court yesterday overturned the conviction of a legal U.S. immigrant deported from Camden to the Dominican Republic after he admitted that he repeatedly sexually assaulted his teenage neighbor. Attorneys successfully argued that Jose Nunez-Valdez had not been properly warned that by pleading guilty in 1998, he faced deportation. The judges tossed out the plea, and the case of Nunez-Valdez, who was deported in 2002, may now go to trial. "This is a big case," said Jason Laughlin, a spokesman for the Camden County Prosecutor's Office.

In a closely watched case with implications for U.S. diplomacy, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia yesterday blocked Bush administration efforts to deport an Egyptian Christian seeking asylum, who fears torture in prison if returned to Egypt where he was convicted in absentia for a murder he denies. Sameh Khouzam flew to the United States in 1998. Before his plane landed, Egyptian authorities notified U.S. officials that he was wanted for a murder committed in Cairo earlier that night.

THE ECONOMY! Washington Mutual going belly-up! Potential second-in-lines-to-the-presidency appearing scarily uninformed about policy and historical facts in interviews! Potential second-in-line-to-the-presidency Sarah Palin appearing . . . at the Irish Pub last night? Yes, it may appear that it's the end of the world as we know it. But if you're like SatTatt, you've developed a certain tolerance over the last few months for the apocalypse, so let's return to normalcy with some good, old-fashioned gossip!

A privately employed social worker charged with eight others in the starvation death of 14-year-old Danieal Kelly was in federal custody yesterday facing deportation, accused of lying on his application for U.S. citizenship. Julius Juma Murray, 51, was arrested Aug. 5 by immigration agents and charged with making a false statement under oath when he applied for a U.S. visa in 1997 and in his naturalization application on July 10. The U.S. Attorney's Office said Murray was scheduled for a hearing today before a federal judge in Philadelphia.