The Philadelphia Inquirer
Why Shapiro, Pa. Dems are thinking about an elusive Capitol trifecta
HARRISBURG — Contentious, compromising, and gridlocked. Those are just a few ways to describe Pennsylvania’s split legislature during the last four years, as Democrats narrowly control the state House and hold the governorship, while Republicans lead...
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At Villanova’s ceremony at Vatican, ‘watching and ... praying’ for Leo
ROME — The scene could not have been more picturesque as Villanova University awarded its inaugural sustainability medal to a cardinal at the papal retreat in Italy on Tuesday evening. Several hundred attendees, many of them from Villanova, filled the...
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Philly port to get $837M in public and private funds, Shapiro says
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro on Tuesday announced the state will invest $371 million in the Port of Philadelphia, a commitment he said will help create thousands of jobs and boost the port’s capacity to handle container cargo and...
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Star alum Pope Leo has brought Villanova closer to the Vatican
ROME — The Rev. Peter M. Donohue, Villanova University’s president, emailed his former classmate and friend last May, congratulating him on the one-year anniversary of his new position. “It has been quite a year,” Donohue wrote to his fellow Villanova...
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In a London fog
Fans watch the players warm up at Tottenham Stadium before the Eagles played the Jaguars in London on Sunday. While the game ended with the Eagles losing, 19-17, plenty of supporters enjoyed the trip overseas.
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W. Philly ambush leaves officer dead, another hurt
A Philadelphia police officer was killed and another was critically wounded after authorities said a man ambushed them with a shotgun early Saturday outside his West Philadelphia home. The suspect, who continued to shoot at responding officers before...
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Chesco school closed due to measles case
In the latest sign of the concern over a Pennsylvania measles outbreak that is now the nation’s largest, Oxford Area High School was closed on Friday due to a confirmed measles case. Districts in other outbreak areas have not been closing schools as...
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After record-setting 265 days at sea, USS Lincoln returns to California
CORONADO, Calif. — Sailors disembarked the USS Lincoln on Thursday following a deployment that included a record 265 uninterrupted days at sea supporting the Iran war and reports of supply shortages and deteriorating mental health among the...
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For twins abducted in Oct. 7 attacks, freedom is challenging adjustment
TEL AVIV, Israel — On Wednesday, Israelis marked the third anniversary of the deadliest day of violence in the country’s history. On the morning of Oct. 7, 2023, a Jewish holiday, Hamas led a cross-border assault from the Gaza Strip on southern Israel,...
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Philadelphia’s population of children is dropping
Philadelphians can expect to see fewer children darting through water geysers in front of City Hall and paddling around the pond at Sister Cities Park in the coming decades. The city and suburbs are losing their populations of kids, and fast. Between...
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Soldiers wounded in Iranian strike say the U.S. military failed them
The shrapnel hit Army Lt. Col. Arturo Lincón’s body like shattered glass. One chunk of metal lodged into the left side of his jaw. Another piece sliced through his salivary gland before bouncing off his jaw and piercing the back of his neck, severing...
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Misery in the rain
It was a dreadful Sunday afternoon for the Eagles. Despite losing several key players to injury — running back Saquon Barkley, defensive back Quinyon Mitchell, and linebacker Jonathan Greenard — the Eagles carried a 10-point lead against the Los...
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Gambling’s ground zero
Reynaldo Rivera had little interest in sports betting. He preferred playing slots and table games at casinos around Philadelphia, where he’d unwind a couple times a week after covering the graveyard shift as a tow truck driver. But when the COVID-19...
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Cornell rape accuser was ‘failed’ by authorities, N.Y. governor says
NEW YORK — The woman who accused members of a Cornell University fraternity of gang rape was “failed” by people obligated to protect her, including campus police and the county prosecutor, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said Friday. Hochul said at a news...
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Tenn. woman survives injection
Media witnesses in Nashville recount the moments before the execution of Christa Pike was halted Wednesday after she received two doses of pentobarbital and continued breathing.
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Ka-Bohm!
Alec Bohm celebrates his game-winning home run in the 10th inning against the Braves in Game 2 of the wild-card series in Atlanta. The Phillies rallied to win, 4-3, behind three innings of shutout relief from rookie Andrew Painter. Kyle Schwarber and...
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Bummer
Relief pitcher Jhoan Duran reacts after giving up a three-run homer to Austin Riley in the eighth inning as the Phillies lost to the Braves, 5-3, in Game 1 of their wild-card-series in Atlanta. The Phillies will try to keep their season alive in Game 2...
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Looking good, LeBron!
LeBron James, one of the NBA’s all-time greats, dons a blue No. 23 jersey at the Sixers’ media day ahead of the start of training camp Monday in Camden. “I didn’t leave my family to lose in the second round,” James said. “I know that, for sure. Work...
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A stroke robbed Joe Mihalich of his voice. La Salle helped him find it
Joe Mihalich loves coffee. Dunkin’, specifically. For years, it has been part of his morning routine: picking up a large decaf, hot, with cream, en route to a basketball arena. Employees at his home Dunkin’, in Mt. Airy, call him by name (“Mr. Joe”)....
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Incoming set
Surfers in Ocean City, N.J., check out the group of waves helped by an approaching nor’easter Friday. Forecasters warned that heavy rains and flooding were possible throughout the weekend, along with gusts as high as 70 mph at the Shore.
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‘ I thought he was going to kill her’: ‘ R. C.’ Horsch accosted her daughter
It was early on a Friday evening, a week after her ninth birthday. Ashley Rivera, already in her pajamas, walked from her home to the 7- Eleven across the street to grab a snack. She was within eyesight of her stepdad, who sat on the front porch of...
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Trump welcomes China’s Xi
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump walk with China’s President Xi Jinping and wife Peng Liyuan during a welcome ceremony Wednesday at Joint Base Andrews, Md. The ceremony, which included a flyover and a presentation of the flags and...
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Trump says U. S. and Iranian officials met Tuesday after his U. N. address
UNITED NATIONS — President Donald Trump said U. S. and Iranian officials met on Tuesday, an unexpected engagement that came even as he threatened in his address to the U. N. General Assembly that he may “annihilate” the Islamic Republic if a deal isn’t...
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Seven corridors are most dangerous among South Jersey’s roadways
Even in an age where driving is as safe as it has ever been, hundreds of people still die on New Jersey roads each year. Across South Jersey, an analysis shows, there are seven corridors that are particularly problematic — stretches where four or more...
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Nashville Two-Step
Eagles wide receiver Darius Cooper catches the game-winning touchdown with 9 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter at Nissan Stadium in Nashville on Sunday. The Eagles logged their first win in Music City, beating the Tennessee Titans, 24-20. For...
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BUILDING PHILLY, BREAKING DOWN
When Buddy Osborne’s phone rings, it’s because something has gone wrong. An accident. A death. A traumatic event on a job site. This past April, it was a catastrophic collapse. A parking garage had fallen, and three construction workers were...
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Landing gracefully
At Friday’s opening of Philadelphia Ballet’s new building on North Broad Street, from left: ballet artistic director Angel Corella, City of Philadelphia cultural czar Val Gay, ballet CEO Shelly Power, and Pa. House Speaker Joanna McClinton. The new...
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How a midwife in Amish country became an advocate for vaccines
LANCASTER — Amish families peer into Roberta Devers’ Honda Passport as she drives between prenatal checkups along the rolling hills of Lancaster County. They ask her increasingly frequent questions about the vaccine: Do you have some measles in your...
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More images of lifeless women recovered at Horsch home in Olney
Police have recovered images they believe show two additional women dead inside the residence of the late Raymond “R.C.” Horsch, officials said Wednesday — bringing the total number of dead or missing women linked to the violent pornographer’s Olney...
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QB makes a play for AC
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (center) and Mayor Cherelle L. Parker (left) are greeted by students Tuesday at Northeast High School, where Hurts announced he was giving the school $600,000 to air-condition its auditorium.
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Rally outside City Hall calls for a moratorium on data centers
The battle over data centers and the artificial intelligence they power has officially reached Philadelphia City Hall. A coalition of activist groups and environmental advocates gathered at City Hall Monday to call on local lawmakers to pass a...
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Eagles hold on!
Top: The Eagles’ Moro Ojomo celebrates a two-point conversion stop late in the fourth quarter of the season opener against the Commanders on Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field. Right: Dallas Goedert, who had a pair of scores, runs for a touchdown in the...
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Entering his 50th year, Reese wants to broadcast Eagles games ‘forever’
Merrill Reese sat in his living room chair, awaiting the rapid- fire questions from his wife as she prepared the longtime Eagles broadcaster for another game. “Thirty-one,” said Cindy Reese, reading off an index card listing Cincinnati Bengals running...
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AMERICA REMEMBERS
Gordon M. Aamoth Jr. Edelmiro Abad. Marie Rose Abad. A quarter-century after the terrorist attacks that shook New York City and the world — an ashen morning followed by years of grief and repair, rebuilding and war — dignitaries and mourners gathered...
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GRAPPLING WITH A TRAGIC LEGACY
Retired Philadelphia Police Capt. Mark Fisher gets winded and lightheaded while emptying the dishwasher or pushing his gas-powered lawnmower, his lungs forever scarred by the ankle-deep ash that he trudged through at ground zero. When Fisher arrived...
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‘We want this to be a legacy’: How teammates honored a Sept. 11 pilot
Tom Schafer was a hulking man when he played one preseason game with the Eagles in the summer of 1984. The undrafted free agent center stood at 6-foot-2 and 270 pounds, with a booming voice and an unabashed confidence to match. By the fall of 2009, his...
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Shades of Spectrum
The 76ers and Flyers released the first renderings of the privately funded arena Tuesday that will be built at the former site of the Spectrum, next to where Xfinity Mobile Arena sits. The new design features inspiration from the Spectrum, the former...
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Fuel for thought: Getting around without a car
Architecture Critic If you have ever considered giving up your car, now is the time. There’s the price of gasoline, which has shot up by more than 35% since President Donald Trump launched the war against Iran in February. Even if you never start the...
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Pa. 9/11 veterans reflect on enduring impact of war
Within weeks of the Sept. 11 terror attacks, the U.S. government launched airstrikes and sent American troops to Afghanistan. In March 2003, spurred by claims that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction, the U.S. bombed and invaded the country. In...
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Loss of Control
When he was told of the bomb threat, Brian Maguire was where he was supposed to be and doing what he was supposed to do: on the grounds of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens, just 100 feet from the complex’s security command...
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Judge declares mistrial after pause in Lindsay Clancy child killings case
PLYMOUTH, Mass. — A judge in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial declared a mistrial Friday after jurors failed to reach a verdict in a case that sharply divided many Americans over whether the Massachusetts woman should be held criminally responsible for...
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A potent voice and symbol of the women’s movement
NEW YORK — Gloria Steinem, the celebrated author and activist who became one of the most visible symbols and potent voices of the U.S. women’s movement and a fierce advocate for feminist causes throughout her life, has died. She was 92. With her...
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Stormy night
Enright’s Tree Service works to clear a large tree off a home on Martel Street in Mantua Township. Strong storms hit Gloucester County on Tuesday night, causing damage to homes, electric outages, and school closures.
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The Academy of Natural Sciences is closing its museum at month’s end
Philadelphia’s Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University is closing its museum after nearly two centuries in existence, citing financial pressures and dwindling attendance. The museum, which opened to the public in 1828, will cease operations...
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She’s a piano prodigy. She’s enrolled at Curtis. And she’s 7
In the lobby of the Curtis Institute of Music’s Lenfest Hall, Olivia Li, in a frilly-sparkly red dress, is running back and forth through a turnstile. A few minutes later, she is at the piano transformed — playing Chopin eyes closed, a countenance most...
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Seeking shelter
A man stands with a boy and a dog under a blanket near a damaged residential building Thursday following a Russian barrage of drones and missiles that left 16 people dead in Ukraine’s Kyiv region. The nighttime aerial assault lasted for hours.
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Human error, gaps in FAA oversight probed in fatal N.E. Philly jet crash
A series of human and oversight failings is being eyed by federal investigators as possible contributors to the fatal crash of a medical jet in Northeast Philadelphia last year, according to documents filed by the National Transportation Safety...
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Make it a slow song
Loris Assadian, a French singer-songwriter and animal advocate, serenades the tortoises at the Philadelphia Zoo on Tuesday with his signature flamingo-pink guitar. It was the first appearance at a U.S. zoo for Assadian, who is professionally known as...
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60 days after he hailed Iran deal, Trump and nation stuck in quagmire
Sixty days ago, seated beside French President Emmanuel Macron at a lavish dinner at the Palace of Versailles, President Donald Trump signed a memorandum of understanding with Iran and declared the beginning of the end of the U.S. conflict with...
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Garrity tests GOP support
Seated behind his desk in the Oval Office earlier this month, President Donald Trump spoke directly to the camera in front of him. He turned to his right and looked up at the Pennsylvania Republican who, as he had indicated just a few weeks earlier,...
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ISLANDS STREAM IN THE
The Delaware River flows 330 miles between Delaware and New York, harboring roughly 123 islands as it carves a ragged border between Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Some islands are mere shoals or sandbars, while others span hundreds of acres. Some are...
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Olney
Philadelphia police this week acknowledged that the sprawling missing persons investigation in Olney has evolved into something even more complex — a death investigation without any dead bodies. Adding to the challenge is that there are now at least...
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Stalking that movie magic
Phillies left fielder Brandon Marsh makes his way through towering rows of corn at the “Field of Dreams” Movie Site before the Phils played the Minnesota Twins in Thursday’s game in Dyersville, Iowa. After some recent struggles, the Phils were hoping...
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Totally awesome
Across Britain, where the sun was more than 90% obscured, people flocked to hilltop parks and anywhere with an open view of the sky Wednesday to see the best eclipse since 1999. In Greenwich Park, with views of the River Thames and central London, the...
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Absorbing the aftershocks
People react as rescue teams and volunteers search for survivors amid the rubble of a collapsed house after an earthquake in Cali, Colombia, on Tuesday. Colombian volunteers and rescuers cleared rubble with their bare hands to search for survivors...
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Earthquake
CALI, Colombia — A powerful 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck western Colombia on Monday, killing at least 111 people, damaging hundreds of buildings, and leaving many trapped under debris while their loved ones and rescue workers searched through...
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Father seeks justice in son’s fatal ATV crash
The father of a Philadelphia man who was killed in an ATV crash this spring said police officers pursued his son moments before he drove the wrong way down a one- way street, ran a red light, and collided with a sedan. Sterling Jones, 22, was killed...
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Former Cabrini University campus gets a $100M Wildcat makeover
The former Cabrini University campus has undergone a more than $100 million, Villanova-fueled rebirth, and students will begin attending classes and living there this month. Large signature blue and white V’s for Villanova University are everywhere....
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Court halts building of White House ballroom
WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court on Friday ordered President Donald Trump’s administration to halt construction of its $ 400 million ballroom at the White House because the project lacks congressional approval. Trump doesn’t have the unilateral...
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A plea for protection
With thousands of Haitians at risk of deportation, community members, faith leaders, and allies marched along Market Street in Center City on Thursday to urge Pennsylvania’s U. S. senators to help restore temporary protected status for migrants from...
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Bethel grilled by City Council over crowd control at Pride celebration
Several members of Philadelphia City Council and a bevy of LGBTQ+ community leaders on Wednesday sharply criticized Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel, who testified about the department’s response to Pride festivities in the city’s Gayborhood in June...
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Death of detained immigrant brings fresh scrutiny to N. J.’ s Delaney Hall
A 41- year- old man from El Salvador who was detained at the Delaney Hall ICE facility in New Jersey died following a medical episode, U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed Monday evening, hours after his family and a member of Congress...
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A boy’s plea at the border
A 12- year- old unaccompanied minor who crossed into Spain is escorted Monday by a Spanish soldier to the Spain- Morocco border as the child begs not to be sent back from the Spanish enclave of Ceuta. The forced deportation was stopped by a high-...
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Man faces deportation despite legal residence
Abdoulaye Cherif was asleep when his phone rang that morning, and he answered only because the display showed the call was coming from a prison. He was shocked to hear the voice of his father, who was supposed to be at work, driving for Uber. Mamadou...
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DARK ARTS
Note: This article covers sensitive topics, including drug use and violence against women. Some people spoke with reporters on condition of anonymity to discuss illegal activity or out of fear of reputational harm. Quotes attributed to Raymond Horsch...
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Latino voters for Trump look to back Shapiro
Jorge Luis Burgos of North Philadelphia, a registered Democrat, was one of many Latino voters who shifted to the right and voted for President Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election. Now he’s planning to shift back and vote for Democratic Gov....
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A year after fire, Curtis embarks on ambitious $ 25M plan for Art Alliance
It is hard to imagine, given the charred smell, wrecked plaster, and thick web of scaffolding and structural supports evident these days inside the Art Alliance on Rittenhouse Square. But a year after a devastating fire, the Curtis Institute of Music...
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