Inquirer.com – Zurich DR

Author: Rob Tornoe

  • Philadelphia releases initial schedule of pool openings amid record heat

    Philadelphia releases initial schedule of pool openings amid record heat

    Philadelphia public pools finally began to open Friday, just in the nick of time as a suffocating mixture of heat and humidity are breaking city records.

    Those looking for relief will be limited to just a handful of spots this week, as the city rolls out pool openings and ramps up hiring lifeguards.

    “We are moving with urgency and intention to ensure every neighborhood has dependable spaces for recreation and relief,” Mayor Cherelle L. Parker said in a statement. “These pools reflect our commitment to fairness in access to healthy public spaces where children can learn, play, and thrive safely during the summer months.”

    The city plans to open 63 pools this summer, up from 41 pools last year. The rollout began Friday with two locations — Hunting Park Pool and Kelly Pool in Fairmount Park.

    By Sunday, six pools will open, increasing to 10 by Tuesday. The city is aiming to have the rest of the pools open by the second week of July at the latest.

    The issue, as it is every year, is hiring enough lifeguards to staff the pools. Philly aims to hire and train nearly 400 lifeguards and maintenance staff to keep pools open across the city during the summer.

    “Our pools and spraygrounds are essential community assets during the hottest months,” said Susan Slawson, commissioner of the city’s Parks & Recreation department.

    A new sprayground at Wharton Square Park will open Saturday, with City Council President Kenyatta Johnson joining community leaders at noon to celebrate. There are more than 90 spraygrounds and splash pads spread across the city, with a new one planned for Miles Mack Playground in Mantua.

    To find pool hours, swimming lessons, and updated opening information, visit the Parks & Rec Finder App at phila.gov/parks-rec-finder.

    2026 Philadelphia Public Pool opening schedule

    Friday, June 12

    • Hunting Park Pool – 1101 W. Hunting Park Ave.
    • Kelly Pool – 4231 Lansdowne Dr.

    Saturday, June 13

    • Max Myers Pool – 1601 Hellerman St.
    • Sacks Pool – 400 Washington Ave.

    Sunday, June 14

    • Gathers Pool – 2501-19 W. Diamond St.
    • Bridesburg Pool – 4625 Richmond St.

    Monday, June 15

    • Marian Anderson Pool – 740 S. 17th St.
    • Lackman Pool – 1101 Bartlett St.

    Tuesday, June 16

    • Tiffany Fletcher Pool – 743-81 N. 48th St.
    • Schmidt Pool – 113 W. Ontario St.

    7 Philadelphia pools won’t open this summer

    The city said seven pools will remain closed all summer as long-term improvements totaling $70 million, which includes upgrades and reconstruction, are completed.

    • Lonnie Cohen Recreation Center 
    • Cecil B. Moore Recreation Center
    • Vogt Recreation Center 
    • Feltonville Recreation Center
    • McVeigh Recreation Center
    • Lawncrest Recreation Center 
    • Cherashore Recreation Center
  • U.S. plays first World Cup match tonight. Here’s what you need to know for TV and streaming.

    U.S. plays first World Cup match tonight. Here’s what you need to know for TV and streaming.

    The United States men’s national soccer team kicks off their 2026 World Cup schedule Friday night against Paraguay (9 p.m., Fox 29) in a rebranded SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. Here are our predictions for the game.

    The U.S. got a lucky draw by landing in Group D, avoiding the European powerhouses and South American superpowers. And the U.S. has faced all three of their opponents — Paraguay, Australia, and Turkey — in matches over the past year.

    Whether that’s a good thing or not remains to be seen. The U.S. defeated Paraguay 2-1 during a friendly meeting at Subaru Park in Chester back in November and enter the World Cup with a talented roster filled with Philly connections.

    Complete coverage of the 2026 World Cup

    Fox is broadcasting the World Cup for the third time, but it could be the network’s last. TV rights in the U.S. for the 2030 World Cup in Morocco, Portugal, and Spain (plus three opening matches in South America) have yet to be sold, and Fox might not be able to afford keeping the tournament if the NFL is successful in squeezing the network for more money.

    The network’s going all out, with a roster of studio talent that includes NBC’s Rebecca Lowe and CBS soccer analyst (and ex-French star) Thierry Henry. Fox also took a big swing by adding former Sweden striker Zlatan Ibrahimović (better know as Zlatan) to its top World Cup studio team that will also include the polarizing Alexi Lalas.

    “The other ones follow a script, and I’m there just to be myself,” Ibrahimović said on Jimmy Kimmel Live Wednesday night. “They want Zlatan. I’m going to bring them Zlatan.”

    In a first, FIFA has introduced mandatory three-minute water breaks in the middle of soccer’s famous uninterrupted play, due to the heat. They will take place midway through each 45-minute half, and Fox took full advantage Thursday to cut away for a two-minute commercial break during Mexico’s 2-0 victory over South Africa, cutting back after play resumed.

    Fox sure did!

    [image or embed]

    — Douglas Reyes-Ceron (@dreyesceron.bsky.social) June 11, 2026 at 4:43 PM

    Here’s everything you need to know to watch or stream U.S. vs. Paraguay Friday:

    What TV channel will U.S. vs. Paraguay air on?

    Fox’s top soccer broadcasting team, John Strong (left) and Stuart Holden (right).Fox Sports

    Tonight’s World Cup matchup between the U.S. and Paraguay will air on Fox, which once again has American TV rights to the tournament.

    U.S. vs. Paraguay is scheduled to begin at 9 p.m. Philly time.

    Calling the game will be Fox’s lead play-by-play announcer, John Strong. He’ll be joined in the booth for the third-straight World Cup by former U.S. midfielder Stu Holden.

    Jenny Taft will report live from SoFi Stadium (which has been rebranded Los Angeles Stadium for the tournament).

    Telemundo will broadcast the Spanish-language telecast, with Andrés Cantor and Omar Zerón calling the game.

    FIFA World Cup Today, Fox’s studio show, will air beginning at 6 p.m.

    All U.S. World Cup matches will stream for free

    While Fox has its own subscription streaming service in FOX One, all Team USA World Cup matches will stream for free on Tubi. All that’s required is a free account.

    If you live in or near Philadelphia, you can also stream any match airing on Fox 29 for free using a digital antenna.

    Fans looking to stream a Spanish-language telecast will need to turn to Peacock, NBC’s subscription streaming service. You can also stream the game on the Telemundo app, but it’ll require a cable subscription.

    Today’s World Cup schedule

    Friday is Day 2 of the 2026 World Cup. Here’s a complete schedule of all the matches Friday:

    • Canada vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina (Group B): 3 p.m., Fox, Telemundo
    • United States vs. Paraguay (Group D): 9 p.m., Fox, Telemundo

    U.S. full 2026 World Cup schedule

    The U.S. will play three games during the group stage of the tournament. Here is their full schedule:

    • United States vs. Paraguay: Friday, 9 p.m. (Los Angeles)
    • United States vs. Australia: Friday, June 19, 3 p.m. (Seattle)
    • United States vs. Turkey: Thursday, June 25, 10 p.m., Fox (Los Angeles)

    Philadelphia 2026 World Cup schedule

    Lincoln Financial Field has been transformed into “Philadelphia Stadium” for the World Cup. Kerith Gabriel

    Philly will host at least nine teams and six World Cup games, beginning with Sunday’s match between Ivory Coast and Ecuador.

    It’s highly unlikely the U.S. will end up in Philly during the Round of 16 on July 4, but it’s not impossible. Here’s what would need to happen.

    Here’s Philly’s full World Cup schedule:

    • Ivory Coast vs. Ecuador: Sunday, June 14, 7 p.m. (FS1)
    • Brazil vs. Haiti: Friday, June 19, 9 p.m. (Fox)
    • France vs. Iraq: Monday, June 22, 5 p.m. (Fox)
    • Curacao vs. Ivory Coast: Thursday, June 25, 4 p.m. (FS1)
    • Croatia vs. Ghana: Saturday, June 27, 5 p.m. (FS1)
    • Round of 16: Saturday, July 4, 5 p.m. (FOX)

    More coverage of the 2026 World Cup

    U.S. men’s national team manager Mauricio Pochettino.Jonathan Tannenwald
  • The body of a Philly teen who disappeared on a class trip to Wildwood has been recovered

    The body of a Philly teen who disappeared on a class trip to Wildwood has been recovered

    The body of a Philadelphia teenager who vanished earlier this month while swimming in the ocean at the Jersey Shore has been recovered, the Wildwood Police Department said.

    Davoris Carter III, 14, was on a class trip to Wildwood when he disappeared on the afternoon of June 1. Carter’s body was found Tuesday near the U.S. Coast Guard Training Center in Cape May, and a forensic analysis confirmed it was that of the missing teen.

    “Our sincere condolences are with the juvenile victim’s friends and family during this very difficult time,” Wildwood police said in a statement.

    Shyara Hill, Carter’s mother, told The Inquirer her son and other special-needs students traveled to the beach with school staffers to celebrate graduating eighth grade from Delta School in Philadelphia.

    Davoris Carter was recently accepted into the Philadelphia Police Department’s “Explorer Cadet” program, according to his mother. Courtesy of the family

    There were no lifeguards at the beach when the students entered the ocean, and around 1:30 p.m. on June 1, police responded to several swimmers in distress. Officials said three were rescued, but Carter disappeared.

    Delta School did not respond to a request for comment. The school’s director of education told NBC10 last week school officials were cooperating with the investigation and that the class trip was “appropriately supervised with the right number of staff members.”

    The school said in a message posted on its website: “Delta School is heartbroken over the recent loss of student Davoris Carter III. As we navigate this difficult time, we continue to hold Davoris, his family, and every member of our school community in our thoughts and prayers.”

    Carter, the oldest of four siblings, was a good student and a kind and funny kid, Hill told The Inquirer. She said he was recently accepted into the Philadelphia Police Department’s “Explorer Cadet” program, which introduces young people to aspects of law enforcement, as well as the Philadelphia City Rowing program.

  • Philly pools to start opening Friday, but details are scarce

    Philly pools to start opening Friday, but details are scarce

    Philadelphia will begin opening pools across the city Friday, just in time for an uncomfortable heat wave.

    Public pools will begin opening on a rolling basis on Friday, the city announced. No word yet on which pools will open first, and Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    Why can’t Philadelphia open all its pools at once? As with previous years, it is all based on lifeguard staffing. The more lifeguards the city hires and trains, the more pools it can open.

    More than 60 public pools are expected to open throughout the summer, the city said, up from 41 pools in 2025. It took until July 7 for the final pools to open for the season last year.

    The pools will open amid a heat emergency in Philadelphia, with temperatures expected to top 90 degrees through Friday. The emergency could extend into the weekend if the high temperatures linger. The all-time high temperature for both Thursday and Friday in Philly, 95 degrees, could be threatened.

    “The Health Department declares a Heat Health Emergency when the temperature gets high enough that vulnerable people — especially our elderly neighbors and family members — are at an increased risk of getting sick or dying from the heat,” Health Commissioner Palak Raval-Nelson said in a statement.

    To find pool hours, swimming lessons, or accessibility details, visit the Parks and Rec Finder App at phila.gov/parks-rec-finder.

    This story will be updated when the city releases more information on pool openings.

  • Bucks County man accused of creating child porn using X’s AI chatbot, Grok

    Bucks County man accused of creating child porn using X’s AI chatbot, Grok

    Police have arrested a Bucks County man accused of creating child sexual abuse material using Grok, the chatbot linked to the social media platform X.

    Harry Tiffany IV, 66, of New Britain Borough, was arraigned Tuesday and faces multiple felonies, including sexual abuse of children and possession of child pornography.

    The Bucks County District Attorney’s Office said the investigation began last month after the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received automated reports from X flagging 37 images Tiffany allegedly uploaded or shared through Grok in April.

    The investigation led to email and IP addresses linked to Tiffany’s home. During a search by authorities Friday, investigators found “multiple computer-generated files depicting minors” on Tiffany’s Grok application, according to the district attorney’s office.

    “Whether a predator is utilizing AI applications to generate illicit material or hiding behind gaming platforms to lure our children, the dangers are immediate,” said Bucks County District Attorney Joe Khan.

    The Center for Countering Digital Hate, a nonprofit focused on “making the internet safer,” estimated Grok created about 3 million sexualized images during an 11-day period between Dec. 29 and Jan. 9, including 23,000 that appear to depict children.

    X limited Grok’s ability to create sexualized images of real people in January after photos flooded the social media platform. But those restrictions appear easy to bypass, according to a risk assessment conducted by Common Sense Media.

    X did not respond to a request for comment.

    X and Roblox added to Buck County’s lawsuit against social media companies

    Tiffany’s arrest came one day after Bucks County expanded a federal lawsuit against tech giants and social media companies accused of harming children to include X, Roblox, Discord, and Meta, the parent company of Facebook.

    The lawsuit, first filed in California in 2023, previously included TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Google’s YouTube, and Snapchat. It aims to halt what the complaint described as deceptive practices by tech companies, especially when they market their platforms as safe for children.

    Last week, Alec James Magill, 32, of Upper Southampton, Bucks County, was sentenced to just under two years in prison after using Roblox and Telegram to target young girls and manipulate them into sending explicit material, despite protections put in place by the platforms.

    The lawsuit also demands unspecified financial damages for the rising costs of mental health services that Bucks County offers to young people.

    According to screenings conducted during the 2021-22 academic year, 34% of the country’s school-age youth were at risk for moderate to severe depression, and 40% percent were at risk for significant anxiety. More than 25% of students reported a history of suicidal thoughts.

    “An entire generation has now reached maturity with social media and without the protections they deserved,” Diane Ellis-Marseglia, chair of the Bucks County Board of Commissioners, said in a news conference Monday. “So now we will look forward to preventing such failures, stepping up to make sure that things change, and to attempt to make reparations to those youth.”

  • Brooklyn man is convicted of fatally stabbing a Philly dancer at a gas station

    Brooklyn man is convicted of fatally stabbing a Philly dancer at a gas station

    A Brooklyn man has been convicted in the killing of beloved Philadelphia dancer O’Shae Sibley, who was stabbed to death at a New York City gas station in 2023.

    Dmitriy Popov, 20, was convicted of manslaughter as a hate crime and other charges related to “taunting, stabbing, and killing” Sibley, which included “hurling homophobic and anti-Black slurs,” Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said in a statement.

    Sibley, 28, was a gay Black man, while Popov, who was 17 at the time of the killing, is white. Popov, who was tried as an adult, faces up to 25 years in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for June 30.

    O’Shae Sibley at the Ailey Extension dance school in Manhattan.Courtesy Whitney Brown & Alvin Aliey

    While filling up their car with gas on a Saturday night in July 2023 after a trip to the beach, Sibley and four of his friends blasted music by Beyoncé and started dancing, according to Joan Myers Brown, founder of the Philadelphia Dance Company and Sibley’s former teacher.

    Popov and two associates approached the car and threatened the group with racist and homophobic slurs, telling them they did not want to see gay men dancing in their neighborhood, Gonzalez said.

    His associates left the gas station, but Popov remained and continued to taunt the group of dancing friends. Ultimately, he stabbed Sibley on the side of his chest with a knife, puncturing his heart, Gonzalez said. Sibley was pronounced dead a short time later at a nearby Brooklyn hospital.

    “O’Shae Sibley moved to New York to pursue his dream of being a dancer and choreographer, and his life was cut short when he was killed by this defendant, who couldn’t stand the sight of O’Shae and his friends just being themselves and living their lives openly as Black gay men,” Gonzalez said, offering his hope that the verdict would “bring O’Shae’s family, his friends, and the larger community some measure of solace.”

    O’Shae Sibley’s parents Jake Kelly (left) and Onetha Sibley visit their son’s casket at The Met in Philadelphia on Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023.Allie Ippolito / Staff Photographer

    A North Philadelphia native, Sibley moved to New York before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and landed a job as a dancer and choreographer with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s Ailey Extension. He danced in several music videos and performed at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York.

    During a celebration of O’Shea’s life at the Met in Philadelphia in 2023, Otis Pena, who was with Sibley the night he was killed, recalled his friend as authentic and unapologetically himself.

    “O’Shae was a beacon of light for a lot of us in our community that was engulfed in darkness,” Pena said then. “But O’Shae rejoiced. O’Shae was O’Shae.”

  • ‘A breath of fresh air’: Jamie Apody’s role at Fox 29 expands following difficult 6abc departure

    ‘A breath of fresh air’: Jamie Apody’s role at Fox 29 expands following difficult 6abc departure

    Ahead of anchoring her first Philly sportscast in more than two years (947 days for those counting), Jamie Apody’s focus was squarely on her feet.

    “I’m mostly rusty with high heels. Oh god, it’s a disaster,” Apody said Monday night before making her debut as a sports anchor on Fox 29.

    Apody, who spent 18 years as part of 6abc’s Action News team, is getting an expanded role at Fox 29. In addition to her regular appearances on The Phantastic Sports Show, which began in 2024, Apody will anchor the station’s Saturday 10 p.m. newscast and pop in elsewhere as needed.

    “It’s not a full-time thing, but who knows? Maybe it’ll become that. That’d be awesome,” Apody said. “But I’m so thrilled to be doing what I love again.”

    The expanded role will also include reporting, which will put her back into the stadiums during a busy year for Philly sports, featuring the World Cup, the MLB All-Star Game, and the Eagles heading to London.

    “I’m more than ready,” Apody said. “I do think it’s going to be a little weird … not to mention starting with a different station’s name on the microphone after all this time.”

    Jamie Apody has been working with Fox 29 since 2024.Fox 29

    She certainly has plenty of experience. For the bulk of her tenure at 6abc, Apody anchored the 5:30 p.m. edition of Action News five days a week and was a regular at the city’s stadiums covering the teams.

    All that ended when she lost her job in 2023, a gut-wrenching experience Apody wasn’t even able to talk about publicly until almost a year later. Her unexplained departure and lengthy absence was the talk of the town, and some viewers launched a Change.org petition asking 6abc to bring her back.

    It was even difficult for Apody to return to Citizens Bank Park and Lincoln Financial Field as a fan, something she avoided for about a year. Ultimately, she was forced back to the stands by her three young sons, all of whom are diehard Philly sports fans.

    “It was really hard. Harder than I thought,” Apody said. “For a while there, those stadiums and ballparks really reminded me that I wasn’t able to do what I love more than anything, so it was hard for me to face. I actually made the choice not to face it.”

    After leaving 6abc, Apody reached out to most of the stations around town and had meetings with both NBC10 and CBS3. But she really hit it off with Fox 29 executives Jim Driscoll and Dennis Bianchi, and said working for the station has been “a breath of fresh air,” recalling the words of former 6abc sports director Gary Papa, who hired her in 2006.

    “He once told me, ‘You don’t know what you don’t know. You don’t even know what you know,’” Apody recalled. “The first time I walked in the door [at Fox 29] two years ago, I couldn’t believe what I’d been missing.”

    She’s not the only Action News alum at the station. Former 6abc sports anchor Jeff Skversky, who also sparked speculation by his sudden TV exit in 2021, joined Fox 29 as a freelance reporter in 2025 after first contributing to The Phantastic Sports Show.

    “I think it’s such an amazing fit,” Apody said of Fox 29. “I almost wonder what things would have been like if our paths crossed earlier.”

  • Body of missing Philly swimmer found in New Jersey, officials say

    A body believed to be a swimmer who went missing in the Delaware River was found by police after it washed ashore in Palmyra, Burlington County, Monday.

    Carlos Gil-Reyes, a 31-year old Philadelphia barber, was identified by friends after diving into the Delaware River in the city’s Torresdale section early Friday. He never resurfaced.

    New Jersey State Police said the body they found matched the description of Gil-Reyes. The case remains under investigation.

    Gil-Reyes was among about 20 people who gathered at the Delaware River in boats off Pleasant Hill Park in Philadelphia’s Torresdale section around 1 a.m. Friday, according to police.

    At some point, Gil-Reyes jumped into the water with another person, but wasn’t able to get back to the boat.

    “He swam out of the boat with my other friend and the last word he told my friend, ‘Hey, I can’t no more, I love you,’” Argeni Infante Reyes, a friend of Gil-Reyes, told reporters. “That breaks my heart because the last word he said is, ‘I can’t swim anymore and I love you.’”

  • How much snow, and when will it begin snowing in the Philadelphia region?

    How much snow, and when will it begin snowing in the Philadelphia region?

    As much as two feet of snow could fall in and around Philadelphia in what forecasters are warning could be a “historic winter storm.”

    Philly snow updates: Live coverage, latest closures and timing

    The National Weather Service is forecasting 18 to 24 inches of snow to fall in the city, which would make it one of the top 10 snowstorms in Philadelphia history. Though it’s not expected to top the nearly 31 inches of snow that blanketed Philly over a two-day period during the Blizzard of 1996.

    Philadelphia, Bucks, Delaware, and eastern Montgomery Counties, and all of New Jersey and Delaware, are currently under blizzard warnings through 6 p.m. Monday. That’s prompted by forecast wind gusts of up to 45 mph, combined with the heavy snow. The western suburbs are covered by a winter storm warming, with slightly lower wind speeds forecast.

    The storm is expected to begin as rain before shifting to snow by midday Sunday. It’s forecast to strengthen overnight, possibly at a rate of more than 2 inches an hour, which would make driving dangerous and nearly impossible.

    The last time the city experienced more than two feet of snow was 2010, when nearly 29 inches fell in early February 2010. Over a five-day period, the city was buried under 44 inches of snow, which thankfully isn’t expected this time due to a warm-up in the middle of next week.

    This time around, the Jersey Shore is expected to be hit hardest, with snowfall totals in and around Toms River forecast to reach as high as 30 inches.

    The National Weather Service puts out forecasts for every few square miles of land in the United States four times a day through a system called the National Digital Forecast Database.

    The maps below display that data. Use it to find how much snow is expected anywhere in the eastern United States. It will show the most recent forecast over the next few days.