Once again, we have a plethora of topics and only a wee amount of time to blog, so here we go, in rapid fire fashion:

Death visits Philly yet again. The city recorded its 97th homicide of the year early this morning in Frankford. Ironically, Mayor Street will offer opening remarks at a tri-state summit on crime and public safety at the Constitution Center tomorrow morning. Perhaps he can give the visiting pols a tour of the city on one of the Ducks. "Folks, to our left is a series of abandoned homes used by squatters and drug deale -- hey! Look! It's a 14-year-old with a Tec 9! Everybody wave!"

Welcome to Pennsyltucky! Further proof that crazy people live outside of Philly, too: a Greensburg, Pa., family kidnapped a 19-year-old girl for six months, refused to let her leave and beat her to a pulp when she didn't do her chores. No, really:

A family beat a woman living with them when her chores weren't done or for no reason at all, repeatedly promising her she could leave to see her mother once the bruises cleared up, the woman testified Thursday.

Emily Nicely, 19, spoke during the preliminary hearing for a couple and their three teenage children, who are accused of holding Nicely captive for six months, beating her with broom handles, boards and a metal pipe and calling her their "slave."

Think Brady Bunch meets Leatherface, I guess.

Readers with big hearts. A handful of readers wrote and called me after reading a story on Wednesday about Leon Harris, an Upper Darby High School honor student who was shot and paralyzed earlier this week by a band of stupid, heartless would-be robbers. The readers, who don't know Leon from Adam, have willingly pledged to contribute money to help Leon's family with their newfound struggles. To this I can only say, "Thank you, guys." It's nice to run into people who restore your faith in humanity.

Baltimore sucks, too. A good friend of Philly Confidential forwarded us this article about uproar in the Charm City over cops who arrested a 7-year-old boy for riding a motorized bike. Later, they locked up his mom, too. The NAACP is seriously pissed off, too. See, Nicole? I do read my e-mails. Even the ones that aren't offering me money from a bank in Nicaragua or Viagra by the boatloads.

More on the barber. Some wrinkles have emerged in the case of Michael White, a West Oak Lane barber who was shot several times in the head and chest on Tuesday. Police sources told Phily Confidential that White's house was broken into Tuesday evening, and the burglars went directly to a basement safe that they apparently already knew of. Sources said it's possible the shooting was drug-related.

Yikes! Philly cop investigated for having sexual contact with another man in his police cruiser. On that note, good night and good luck.