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Peter Mucha

'Secret Santa' hands out $100 bills

Last updated Friday, December 2, 2011 - 6:31pm

READING, Pa. -- Calling himself Secret Santa, an anonymous businessman doled out scores of $100 bills Tuesday in Reading, Pa., one of America's poorest cities.

In all, about $20,000 was given out by the light-haired, clean-shaven man, who sported a red shirt and a red cap with the word "Elf" on the back as he was accompanied by police at a bus station and other locations.

Anonymous, Charity, National Read more Comments

Town spooked as lightning kills man whose father died the same way

Peter Mucha The Philadelphia Inquirer

Last updated Friday, July 15, 2011 - 12:00pm

HAMMONTON, N.J. -- A freakish coincidence has left a New Jersey town grieving and shaken, as lightning took the life of a man who lost his father the same way 48 years ago.

Fatal, Lightning, Weather, National Read more Comments

In this Nov. 2, 2010 photo, U.S reality television personality and daredevil Ryan Dunn attends the Jackass 3D UK Premiere at a central London cinema. Police say Dunn and a passenger in his 2007 Porsche died early Monday, June 20, 2011, of injuries sustained in a car crash in suburban Philadelphia. (The Associated Press)

'Jackass' star Ryan Dunn dies in car crash

Jeremy Roebuck, Peter Mucha The Philadelphia Inquirer

Last updated Monday, June 20, 2011 - 12:58pm

PHILADELPHIA -- "Jackass" star Ryan Dunn, known for his gross-out, daredevil stunts on the MTV reality show, was killed in a car crash in Chester County, Pa., early Monday, police said.

Dunn, 34, of West Chester, Pa., was driving his Porsche 911 GT3 along Route 322 near the intersection with Pottstown Pike just after 2:30 a.m. when it veered off the road, careening into a wooded area. The vehicle burst into flames, severely burning both Dunn and his passenger, according to a statement issued by officers.

Investigators were able to identify Dunn through his tattoos and hair, but so far the identity of the second person has not been determined, police said. Autopsies are scheduled for later Monday.

Features, Crash, Accident, Celebrities, Fatality Read more Comments

'Planking' fad leads to death

Peter Mucha, The Philadelphia Inquirer

Last updated Thursday, May 19, 2011 - 2:09pm

PHILADELPHIA -- Randi Sether hadn't even heard the term planking until it led to the death of an Australian man on Sunday.

He lay facedown on a balcony railing to pose for a photo -- and fell seven stories.

Quickly, the term was all over the Internet -- it was one of Yahoo's most popular searches on Tuesday -- with stories describing it as an online craze Down Under.

But Sether, 25, of Philadelphia, knows the Aussies can't take all the credit.

Features, Fads, Prank Read more Comments