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  • Upper Darby residents rally to save the ‘Mozino Forest’ from mixed-use development plans

    Upper Darby residents rally to save the ‘Mozino Forest’ from mixed-use development plans

    Upper Darby will consider buying a 15-acre forested property at the heart of a conservation fight after dozens of residents packed a public meeting and demanded the township look into purchasing options before rezoning the parcel for mixed-use development.

    The Upper Darby Township Council on Wednesday considered moving forward an ordinance to create a mixed-use zoning district on a tract of land between State and Township Line Roads. The tract, known by residents as the Mozino Forest, contains unmaintained forest. Though the land is private property — owned by Peter Mozino and under contract to be sold to the Rockwell Development Group — residents have long utilized it as a place to walk, hike, and commune with nature.

    Rockwell Development Group has proposed developing the property with a blend of single-family homes, townhouses, apartments, and ground-floor commercial spaces, as well as dedicated community and recreation spots and pedestrian walkways.

    Rita LaRue, Upper Darby’s director of community and economic development, said Rockwell originally came to the township with a plan to build 56 single-family homes on the site, a proposal that would be allowed under the site’s existing zoning and would not require special zoning approvals. The township then asked Rockwell to consider an alternative, higher-density plan that would combine diverse housing types, retail, and community amenities, LaRue said. Over several months, Rockwell worked with the township’s solicitor, engineer, and planning staff to bring the mixed-use zoning ordinance.

    Upper Darby officials have said putting a denser, mixed-use development on the tract, rather than the 56 single-family homes, would help fulfill core township goals by bringing in more tax revenue and adding diverse housing options.

    “We are very committed to having a mixed-use space that is not simply, you know, brick and mortar. We want it to be a place that adds to community life for everybody in Upper Darby,” LaRue said.

    At the meeting, Rockwell president Greg Lingo touted his Upper Darby bona fides, telling the crowd he was not the ill-intentioned, outside developer he had been portrayed as. The developer said he graduated from Upper Darby High School, is a taxpayer in the township, and has invested significantly in the Drexel Hill neighborhood over the years.

    Lingo said that while he understands residents’ concerns about preserving green space, the land is private property and could be developed into a residential neighborhood regardless of whether the zoning amendment is passed.

    “This isn’t necessarily a decision between open space and a future mixed-use development,” Lingo said. “This property is not open space. I’m pleased to hear that people have just been using it as open space over the years. It’s private property. It’s property that’s been neglected for as long as I can remember.”

    Lingo said he would be willing to sell the property if the township wanted to purchase it, but added that as a taxpayer, he does not “think that that’s a great use.” Lingo approximated the cost of the land at $8 million.

    There were 15 proposals to purchase the property, none of which involved maintaining it as open, green space, planning commission member Debbie Nifong said at a June 8 meeting.

    The planning commission voted 3-2 to recommend approval of the zoning change in June.

    At the Wednesday night council meeting, residents packed the council chambers, donning green shirts and spilling out into the hallway in protest of the proposed zoning change. They described tranquil walks through the Mozino Forest and warned of environmental consequences if the land were to be developed.

    “I believe that having some open space, it’s future gold in terms of urban planning,” said Dolores Lombardi, a resident and former chair of the township’s shade tree commission. “Many cities are preserving open space, and creating more. An overdeveloped heat zone is not an attractive place to live in.”

    “The whole forest is a natural sponge for our area. There will be severe downstream flooding,” said resident Gail Grant, who warned of increased stormwater runoff should the green parcel be paved.

    Residents questioned why the forested tract should be developed when the township has numerous vacant storefronts and existing corridors in need of redevelopment.

    Members of the township’s environmental advisory committee urged the council to strike down or table the zoning ordinance and said that, if given more time, they could put together a proposal for the township to purchase the land with supporting funds from local conservancies or state or federal bodies.

    They cited the $13 million purchase of the Oakwell estate in Villanova by the conservation nonprofit Natural Lands and the Wyncote Foundation. The lush estate was once slated to become athletic fields for the Lower Merion School District but was sold to the nonprofits after significant community pushback.

    The council voted unanimously to table the ordinance, citing a need for more information from both Lingo and the environmental advocates.

    “I know the administration wants to look into seeing what sources we have available to see if we can come to some type of agreement,” council member Kyle McIntyre said.

    McIntyre said he did not want to “get everyone’s hopes up” and described “two trains running parallel to each other.” While the township will “do everything in our power to possibly strike a deal” to buy the land, McIntyre said, he expressed a desire to work with Lingo to “make sure that what we’re building for this community actually does benefit it” if a sale does not happen.

    “We did learn a lot of things tonight, and I’m eager to have those conversations with the township and see where we fit in and what we can do, so that we can make a decision that’s good for everybody,” Upper Darby Mayor Ed Brown said.

    This suburban content is produced with support from the Leslie Miller and Richard Worley Foundation and The Lenfest Institute for Journalism. Editorial content is created independently of the project donors. Gifts to support The Inquirer’s high-impact journalism can be made at inquirer.com/donate. A list of Lenfest Institute donors can be found at lenfestinstitute.org/supporters.

  • Kennedy Center votes to restore Trump’s name and close for 2 years, challenging a judge’s order

    Kennedy Center votes to restore Trump’s name and close for 2 years, challenging a judge’s order

    WASHINGTON — The battle over the Kennedy Center’s future escalated Thursday as President Donald Trump’s allies on the board took new steps to commemorate him with physical changes to the iconic performing arts institution that could defy a federal court order.

    During an hourslong meeting that was conducted virtually, the board voted to add Trump’s name to the building’s facade so it would read “The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Restored and Renovated By President Donald J. Trump.” The plaza in front of the building would be named after Trump and most of the space at the venue would be closed for two years to allow for substantial renovations.

    The changes, described by Rep. Joyce Beatty, an Ohio Democrat who is an ex-officio board member, and her lawyers, amount to a dramatic test of U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper. He ruled in May that letters affixed to the building that spelled out Trump’s name were added illegally and he ordered their removal, a decision that the Republican administration failed to persuade courts to overturn. At the same time, Cooper blocked a two-year closure that was set to take effect July 5, saying an earlier board vote authorizing the shuttering was “ill-informed and seemingly preordained.”

    “This latest development is a transparent effort to circumvent the Court’s ruling, and flies in the face of the statutes that Congress passed,” Beatty said in a statement. ”I will continue to fight for this treasured national monument.”

    A representative of the Kennedy Center did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    Much of Thursday’s board meeting was expected to focus on the extent of closures required to allow for renovations that the Kennedy Center’s management says are needed to improve safety. In response to the judge’s criticism of the earlier vote, the institution’s leaders said they would provide the board with three options to consider.

    They included a complete closure or a partial closure that would allow “some continued public access and limited programming in spaces unaffected” by the work. A third option would “consider a highly limited series of phased closures to address only the Center’s most serious infrastructure needs while scheduling and maintaining a full slate of programming.”

    Ultimately, the board decided to close the building for two years while leaving the potential for some degree of programming to still happen in an outdoor space known as the Reach. The decision to move ahead with the two-year closure, in addition to the moves to memorialize Trump, could revive questions about whether the board seriously considered the full range of options.

    During Trump’s second term, the Kennedy Center has become an unlikely — and highly visible — metaphor of presidential power. While he largely ignored the institution during his first round in Washington, Trump moved quickly to oust the institution’s leadership when he returned to office in January 2025 and replaced it with a board of trustees that named him chairperson.

    His name was quickly added to the building, before coming down in June in response to Cooper’s order. The area where it once stood is now covered by a massive tarp.

    Trump’s push to remake the nation’s capital

    The Kennedy Center moves are part of Trump’s broader push to reshape the physical landscape of the nation’s capital in ways that have few modern parallels.

    He demolished the East Wing of the White House and is building a controversial ballroom in its place, though an appeals court ruled last week that construction should stop because Congress didn’t approve the project. Trump has said he will take the case to the Supreme Court.

    His remodel of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool has also stumbled after algae returned and U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro refuted his claims that a vandal was responsible for the damage.

    Meanwhile, Trump is planning extensive renovations of a golf course in East Potomac Park, which could significantly reduce the public’s access to running and biking paths. He is also moving forward with a triumphal arch that will sit near Arlington National Cemetery.

    Trump has derided the Kennedy Center as “rusted, rotted, and rat and bug infested” and threatened to hand the building over to Congress after Cooper rejected the closure and the addition of the president’s name to the building.

    The institution’s leadership has argued that it’s in genuine need of repair and updating.

    Matt Floca, the Kennedy Center’s executive director and chief operating officer, guided a group of journalists through the building in April, highlighting severe water damage that he said corroded steel in some places as thin as tissue paper. Some pieces of equipment, including several 800-ton chillers that help cool the building, are decades old and in need of replacement.

    At the time, Floca said he considered doing the repairs individually but insisted it was his recommendation to Trump to close the building and move forward with the renovation all at once.

    “When the president asked: ‘How do you make these projects the best? How do you make them really excellent and deliver them efficiently?’ my recommendation was you close the building and you do everything over a definite period of time, two years,” he said.

    More recently, the legal battles became the subject of barbs and jokes as comedian Bill Maher accepted the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in late June. At the start of the program, Pamella Roland DeVos, a Kennedy Center trustee appointed by Trump, described the institution as a “national cultural center open not just for some but for every American patron who wants to experience the greatest art and expression the world has to offer.”

    “The responsibility that comes with it is one our board takes very seriously,” she said.

  • Luigi Mangione expected to plead guilty in federal case in UnitedHealthcare killing, AP source says

    Luigi Mangione expected to plead guilty in federal case in UnitedHealthcare killing, AP source says

    NEW YORK — Luigi Mangione is expected to plead guilty as early as Friday in the federal case accusing him of stalking and killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, according to a person familiar with the matter.

    The person, who was not authorized to talk publicly about the case and spoke to the Associated Press on the condition of anonymity, cautioned that Mangione could change his mind. If he follows through, it would be a stunning development in a case that rattled business leaders while galvanizing their critics.

    Mangione’s lawyers, and spokespeople for the Justice Department and Manhattan federal prosecutors, declined to comment.

    Mangione is accused of traveling to New York City to ambush Thompson, 50, then shooting him outside a Manhattan hotel on Dec. 4, 2024, as the executive walked to UnitedHealth Group’s annual investor conference.

    Mangione is due in court on Friday for a hastily scheduled hearing in the federal case, which involves two counts of stalking. It wasn’t clear what charge or charges Mangione is expected to plead guilty to. The hearing, in Manhattan federal court, comes as his lawyers have been talking with federal prosecutors about a possible resolution to one of two criminal cases against Mangione in Thompson’s death. Previous talks in June broke down.

    Mangione, 28, has been charged in both federal and state court in New York and still faces the possibility of a trial in his unresolved state case. Mangione’s state murder trial is set to begin Sept. 8. Both sets of charges carried the possibility of a life sentence.

    Mangione has pleaded not guilty and has spoken out publicly against the prospect of two trials, telling a judge in February: “It’s the same trial twice. One plus one is two. Double jeopardy by any commonsense definition.”

    Under New York law, a state prosecution could be barred if the federal case is resolved first, but it isn’t automatic.

    The state’s double jeopardy protections kick in if a jury has been sworn in a prior prosecution, such as a federal case, or if that prosecution ends in a guilty plea. Mangione’s cases involve different charges arising from the same course of conduct.

    Once Mangione pleads guilty, his lawyers could then ask the judge in the state case to throw out those charges on double jeopardy grounds. State prosecutors argue their case is distinct and double jeopardy shouldn’t apply.

    Mangione’s federal charges allege that he traveled across state lines by bus to stalk and kill Thompson and that he used means such as a cell phone, the internet, interstate highways, and staying at a hostel that serves out-of-state customers while planning and carrying out the attack. The state charges pertain to the killing itself, as well as firearms offenses.

    In a letter last month, state prosecutors objected to the possibility of a guilty plea in the federal case wiping out the state case.

    “Obviously, any guilty pleas in these matters must account for the seriousness of defendant’s offenses, the loss of an innocent life, the impact of those crimes on the victim’s family, and the other state interests that are implicated, including the sanctity of life principle that underpins the state homicide charges,” Seidemann wrote.

    Mangione’s apparent decision to plead guilty comes after a series of setbacks for his defense.

    In January, U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett took the death penalty off the table but ruled that prosecutors could use items collected from Mangione’s backpack during his arrest as evidence against him.

    They included a 3D-printed pistol that investigators said matched the one used to kill Thompson and a notebook in which authorities say Mangione described his intent to kill an insurance executive.

    In June, Mangione’s lawyers said they would pursue a psychiatric defense in the state case but reversed course a day later. The defense, involving claims that he was suffering from extreme emotional disturbance at the time of the killing, isn’t allowed in federal court.

    Surveillance video of the killing showed a masked gunman shooting Thompson from behind. Police say “delay,” “deny,” and “depose” were written on the ammunition, mimicking a phrase used to describe how insurers avoid paying claims.

    Mangione, an Ivy League graduate from a wealthy Maryland family, was arrested five days later at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pa., about 230 miles west of Manhattan.

    He has become a cause célèbre for people upset with the health insurance industry.

    An online fundraiser for his legal defense fund raised more than $1.5 million, and several dozen supporters have shown up to his court appearances, some wearing green clothing — the color worn by the Mario Bros. video game character Luigi — and “FREE LUIGI” T-shirts.

  • Cheltenham is trying to move past its football scandal. Here’s what happens next.

    Cheltenham is trying to move past its football scandal. Here’s what happens next.

    As it faced parents and community members during an emotional meeting Tuesday, the Cheltenham school board laid out several steps to address concerns about the scandal over the 2025 locker-room assaults that led to criminal charges against four coaches and six players.

    The board announced new leadership — with plans to appoint veteran educator Chris McGinley as interim superintendent — and an independent review of district policies, with recommendations to follow in 60 days.

    But questions remain about how the board will respond to the district’s alleged mishandling of the situation, including by employees faulted in a grand jury report. Parents on Tuesday, including some who have alleged the district’s safety problems extend beyond the football program, voiced skepticism of the board’s promises.

    The district will pay former Superintendent Brian Scriven, who resigned last week, as part of a separation agreement, according to a spokesperson, but terms have not been disclosed.

    Here is what happens next as the board deals with the aftermath of the criminal charges announced two weeks ago, and the lack of confidence expressed by community members:

    A former superintendent returns

    The board said it plans to tap McGinley, a longtime educator who served as Cheltenham’s superintendent in the early 2000s, to lead the district following Scriven’s resignation.

    McGinley, who more recently worked as an education professor at Temple University, will be appointed by the board at a special meeting Tuesday at 6:30 p.m., district spokesperson Kevin Kaufman said Thursday.

    Chris McGinley, center, and Angela McIver, right, at a meeting of the Philadelphia Board of Education on Jan. 30, 2020.Charles Fox / Staff Photographer

    McGinley, who began his education career as a teacher in Philadelphia, joined Cheltenham in 1999 as an assistant superintendent, where he oversaw efforts to address the district’s racial achievement gap. He then became Cheltenham superintendent, leaving the district in 2006 before becoming superintendent two years later in Lower Merion, which he led through 2014.

    McGinley then served on the Philadelphia School Reform Commission, which oversaw the city’s schools while they were under state control. He was later named to the Philadelphia school board by former Mayor Jim Kenney, leaving the board in 2020.

    McGinley could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

    Scriven had received a new five-year contract in December. Kaufman said in an email Thursday that “the terms and conditions of Dr. Scriven’s separation agreement will be negotiated (in accordance with Dr. Scriven’s contract and applicable law) and approved publicly at a future meeting.”

    An outside lawyer’s review

    The board has enlisted Leigh Dalton, an education attorney based in York, Pa., with the Saxton & Stump firm, to review its policies and procedures and produce recommendations to the board in 60 days.

    Board president Leah Mulhearn said Tuesday that the review would “include consideration of the grand jury’s findings and how to address them.”

    None of those findings were discussed by the board Tuesday. In a scathing report accompanying the recommendation of criminal charges, the grand jury accused the district of “incompetence” while describing the actions of three employees at the high school.

    Taryn Knox (left) speaks to School Board President Leah Mulhearn and Director of Business Joshua Sweigard during the Cheltenham School Board meeting in Elkins Park on Tuesday, August 11, 2026. The school board was meeting for the first time since criminal charges against four football coaches and six players were announced, and since Brian Scriven resigned as superintendent. .Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer

    The trio — labeled in the report only as Employees #1, #2, and #3 — texted one another after the mother of the 15-year-old victim reported her son’s assault on Sept. 7. One said the student had a “chip on his shoulder” from not making varsity and said he had steered the mother away from coming to the high school in person.

    The employees also indicated they trusted the head coach, Terence Tolbert, and did not believe the mother that Tolbert — who, along with three other coaches, has since been charged with conspiracy and endangering the welfare of a child — had instructed the victim not to tell his parents what had happened. The report said the district then included Tolbert in its investigation.

    Asked about the status of the three employees, Kaufman said Thursday that the district “doesn’t comment on specific personnel matters.”

    On Thursday, Cheltenham High School principal Benjamin Hammond informed families that Mark Hoff, who was vice principal at the high school last year but had been reassigned to Wyncote Elementary in July, would be returning to the high school this fall.

    The player’s mother said she initially reported her son’s assault to Hoff on Sept. 7.

    “Due to the heightened environment about student safety and culture, and acknowledging community concerns, the district has decided to continue Mark Hoff’s assignment as vice principal at Cheltenham High School,” Hammond said in a message to families, adding that Hoff would “provide stability this upcoming school year.”

    Kaufman said that Dalton’s hourly rate was $265.

    Dalton was hired by Central Bucks last year to investigate special-education abuse allegations; the district did not publicly release her conclusions.

    “While communications between counsel are privileged, the board does intend to report out on the recommendations that she makes where appropriate,” Kaufman said.

    Football is still canceled

    The board will also be reviewing all athletic programs, “top to bottom,” Mulhearn said. And there is no timetable for when football, which the district already canceled in May, will resume.

    “Football will not return until we address this, no matter how long it takes,” Mulhearn said.

    Safety changes

    Mulhearn said some safety changes were already underway. The district is “ensuring that all staff members have current criminal history and child abuse clearances on file,” she said. The grand jury report had said that at least five of the district’s football coaches last year were not up to date on clearances related to child abuse reporting requirements.

    She also said the district was “communicating and reinforcing coach expectations and plans for improved locker-room supervision.” While there was an office in the football locker room, coaches did not use it last season, leaving players unsupervised, according to the grand jury report.

    Cheltenham has “begun implementing” recommendations from an audit by the Center for Safe Schools, Mulhearn said. She also said the board had retained the Bucks County Intermediate Unit “to audit our human resources function.”

    Some parents of football players recently told The Inquirer they had urged the district not to hire Tolbert, who they said was hired as coach without an interview because he was already a teacher in the district. The district has not responded to questions about Tolbert’s hiring.

    The Cheltenham school board meeting Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026, in Elkins Park.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer

    The criminal cases

    Three coaches and the two players charged as adults by the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office will face a district judge at a preliminary hearing scheduled for Aug. 27. (Ralph Burnley, the fourth coach charged, has not yet been arraigned in the case, and there is no indication he has hired an attorney. He did not respond to a request for comment.)

    The four players charged as juveniles will face separate proceedings in juvenile court that are not open to the public.

    At the preliminary hearing for the other defendants, prosecutors will present evidence to the judge to support the charges through witnesses. Defense attorneys will be given the opportunity to cross-examine those witnesses and make arguments to the judge for their clients’ innocence.

    After the hearing, the judge will determine whether the prosecution has proved the validity of the charges and, if so, will send the cases to county court.

    Staff writer Jess Rohan contributed to this article.

  • Shooting of Philly couple was likely retribution for earlier killing, sources say

    Shooting of Philly couple was likely retribution for earlier killing, sources say

    The gunfire that killed a North Philadelphia woman and wounded her husband as the couple sat on their porch Sunday night may have been an act of retaliation for an earlier homicide, law enforcement sources said.

    Shariff Perry, who police say killed Michelle Wilson, 61, and shot her 67-year-old husband, is the brother of a man authorities say was killed by the couple’s son, Evans, in 2022, according to the sources.

    Authorities have not publicly disclosed a motive for the crime, but sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation, said retribution was the likely cause.

    Surveillance video obtained from a business near Wilson’s home showed a man wearing a surgical mask and a hat approach the couple’s front porch, pull out a handgun, and open fire just before midnight. Wilson was pronounced dead moments later. Her husband survived.

    On Wednesday, police identified Perry, 35, as the suspected shooter. He remained at large Thursday.

    Reached by phone, Wilson’s husband tearfully declined to be interviewed, as did his daughter.

    The Wilsons’ son, Evans, is one of three people charged in the death of James Dunbar, 20, who was shot in the head on the 2800 block of North Taylor Street, less than a mile from where the Wilsons were shot, sources said.

    Another man was also shot, but survived, police said.

    Witnesses told detectives at the time that they heard a barrage of gunshots, then saw two armed men fleeing in a Hyundai Sonata. Detectives recovered 17 bullet casings from the scene, authorities said.

    Wilson and two teenagers were charged with murder and related crimes, court records show. Wilson has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial.

    Wilson’s attorney, David Mischak, did not return a phone call on Thursday.

    Dunbar’s death came during a wave of crime in the city following the pandemic.

    Michelle Wilson’s killing was one of six homicides in Philadelphia between Friday morning and Sunday night, a burst of bloodshed in what has otherwise been one of the city’s least violent years in decades.

    Hours before her death, Wilson’s family had gathered for a Sunday afternoon barbecue, with children and relatives on the porch, a neighbor said. The neighbor — who asked not to be identified for fear of retaliation — said the couple were “quiet” and “friendly.”

    Police have offered a $20,000 reward for information leading to Perry’s arrest and conviction and have asked anyone with information to contact the department’s homicide unit at 215-686-3334 or its tip line at 215-686-TIPS (8477).

    Staff writer Ellie Rushing contributed to this article.

  • Philadelphia’s Colombian community rallies to help earthquake victims

    Philadelphia’s Colombian community rallies to help earthquake victims

    Joy Huertas, 33, woke up Monday morning in her Philadelphia home to multiple messages in her family’s WhatsApp group: Her parents were nowhere to be found.

    A 7.4-magnitude earthquake had struck her hometown of Pereira, Colombia, as well as other areas of the country, leaving more than 200 people dead and thousands missing.

    Huertas knew her father had a doctor’s appointment in the center of the city that morning before heading to the airport for a flight to Bogota.

    A quick look on social media showed her that Pereira’s airport had a half-collapsed roof and that the building in which the doctor worked had been reduced to rubble.

    “I started to panic,” Huertas said.

    Volunteers and rescue workers search for survivors at the site of a collapsed building, one of several destroyed during Monday’s 7.4-magnitude earthquake in Pereira, Colombia, on Tuesday.JUAN ARREDONDO

    An hour later, she managed to get hold of her brother. Her parents were safe.

    Fortunately, her father’s doctor had rescheduled his appointment to an earlier time, before the earthquake. But, with the power out and the internet connection spotty, she had not been able to contact any family members until well past noon.

    “My mom said that it felt like the land had turned into the sea, and that it went on for so long, everything around them was shaking,” Huertas said, holding back tears. “She said everyone was so scared to go back inside.”

    By Tuesday, conditions had not improved. The aftershocks had Huertas’ Pereira neighbors dragging mattresses out and sleeping in front of their homes.

    People camp out in a park on Wednesday, after after an earthquake damaged their homes.Fernando Vergara

    “Mom said it feels like being back in the pandemic because the lines to buy supplies are so long, and when your turn comes mostly everything is gone,” Huertas said. “They have no water, people are running out of food, and the trucks with supplies can’t access the area to put food back in the grocery stores.”

    Still with a heavy heart, Huertas found solace in a Wednesday night vigil organized by Acción Colombia. The Philly community nonprofit provides resources, coordinates events, and serves as a cultural bridge for the more than 8,000 Colombian nationals living in Philadelphia, as well as folks in New Jersey and Delaware.

    Dozens of people, many with Colombian flags, gathered outside City Hall to hold one another through the sense of loss. Through live music and a moment of silence to pay respect to the dead, one thing was clear: The community wanted to help.

    “We’ve come to give Colombia a hug and show our solidarity so that people find the strength to rebuild after such a catastrophic event,” said Leity Rodriguez Largo, director of Acción Colombia.

    Moved by how many people in Philadelphia reached out to the group looking to help people back home, Acción Colombia began organizing to send resources to the earthquake-affected areas.

    “Philadelphians have been wonderful. They need to know that every ounce of help counts and is appreciated,” Rodriguez Largo said.

    On Saturday and Sunday, Acción Colombia will be holding multiple events in and around Philly to collect donations. Here is how to help:

    Resources needed

    Before donating, make sure perishable items have not expired and other items have not been opened.

    • Food: Canned goods such as chicken, tuna, sardines, beans, vegetables, and fruit. Also: rice, cereal, pet food, and powdered hydration drinks.
    • Hygiene and baby products: Diapers (for all ages), baby wipes, formula, feminine hygiene products, soap, shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrushes, and deodorant.
    • Emergency equipment: First aid supplies, flashlights, batteries, work gloves, helmets, and face masks.
    • Packing tools: Scissors, packing tape, and medium boxes.

    What not to bring

    According to Rodriguez Largo, water bottles are not being accepted because they are hard to transport and can be found in areas not affected by the earthquake. Clothing items will not be accepted, either.

    Where to donate in Philadelphia

    Acción Colombia will be at these locations both Saturday and Sunday:

    5 a.m. to 3 p.m.: Amigo’s Colombian Bakery, 6216 Bustleton Ave., Oxford Circle.

    3 to 8 p.m.: Lighthouse Field/Oblea Fusion, 101 E. Erie Ave., North Philadelphia.

    Where to donate outside Philadelphia

    Donations will be collected in Malvern on Saturday, between noon and 8 p.m., near Mi Pais restaurant, 477 Lancaster Ave.

    How to volunteer

    Philadelphians who would like to volunteer to pack and classify the items are welcome to text Acción Colombia at 267-423-9020, Rodriguez Largo said.

    For monetary donations

    Rodriguez Largo recommends directly supporting groups already on the ground in Colombia. She advises monetary donations go to Manos Visibles, a nongovernmental organization helping people in the most affected areas.

    A firefighter working on rescue efforts holds a Colombian flag amid the rubble on Thursday.Ivan Valencia
  • Rescuers call for silence around earthquake rubble as window for survival narrows in Colombia

    Rescuers call for silence around earthquake rubble as window for survival narrows in Colombia

    CALI, Colombia — With arms raised and fists clenched, rescuers in Colombia called for silence Thursday as they listened for signs of life in the rubble left by a deadly earthquake that has killed more than 270 people and left hundreds more missing.

    The call for quiet was part of last-ditch efforts to find survivors in the aftermath of the 7.4-magnitude quake that struck the South American country Monday. Aid agencies consider the first two to three days after a quake to be the prime window for retrieving survivors. But that time frame can be extended if those trapped have access to food and water.

    “There might be two more people alive here, and I’m hopeful,” rescuer Daiana Rojas, 25, told the Associated Press. “We have been hearing sounds since 2:30 a.m., so our hope remains.”

    Rojas and her family were unharmed by the quake, the most powerful to hit Colombia in this century. She has been working as a volunteer to help search for survivors in Cali, one of the most affected cities, along with Pereira, Manizales, and Quibdó.

    “I thought that was going to be my last moment alive,” she said, recalling the terror of the quake. “Seeing this situation in my city breaks my heart.”

    Rojas has witnessed two people being pulled alive from the debris, as well as the recovery of bodies.

    “They are not a relative or a friend of mine, but it feels as they were,” she said of the survivors who have been found. “Whenever rescuers ask for silence, everyone stays still and tries not to move, speak, or whisper. But when signs of life are found, all the teams start to applaud.”

    The mayor of Cali, Alejandro Eder, told reporters Wednesday that rescue teams continue to find signs of life under the rubble and race to save anyone within reach. “The next 20 hours are the most critical to find and rescue people alive,” he said.

    But authorities recognize that the rescue effort is entering a grim phase as search teams begin shifting toward recovering bodies.

    “The removal of debris begins now; more than 72 hours have passed,” Milton Castrillón, who works in the Cali mayor’s office, told AP, adding that the teams now lean on “miracles from God to find survivors.”

    The death toll rose Thursday to 273, authorities said.

    Over 3,800 people were reported injured, with nearly 12,600 homes destroyed and more than 74,800 homes damaged, according to David Santiago Tamayo, director of the National Unit for Disaster Risk Management.

    The devastation has tested Colombia’s new president, Abelardo de la Espriella, and his government as they scramble to respond while aid groups seek to help the most heavily damaged communities.

    De la Espriella said Wednesday that nearly 500 people were reported missing, though civilian-run databases put that number at more than 4,200. In total, more than 25,800 families have been affected, de la Espriella said.

    Meanwhile, Colombia received more international aid from around the world.

    A group of rescuers from the Los Angeles County Fire Department arrived Thursday to help with search efforts and structural engineering assessments. Other countries, including Peru, El Salvador, Mexico, and Brazil, have also offered assistance.

    De la Espriella announced on X that Colombia will receive a $10 million donation from the United Arab Emirates.

    The South American Football Confederation and the Colombian Football Federation also jointly announced a $1 million donation to support reconstruction efforts.

    “Soccer transcends the pitch and remains close to its people, especially in the most difficult times,” they said in a joint statement.

    The Colombia disaster unfolded less than two months after neighboring Venezuela endured back-to-back earthquakes, and the contrast between the two countries’ responses was stark.

    In Venezuela, acting President Delcy Rodríguez waited nearly four hours before addressing the nation. In Colombia, de la Espriella announced an emergency command post to oversee rescue efforts barely an hour after the earthquake. For weeks, Venezuelan civilians were clawing through rubble by hand. Hours after the earthquake in Colombia, rescue teams were searching for survivors with cranes and excavators.

    The contrast was a reminder of the differences between the nations — their political systems, resources, and the strength of their institutions — and a demonstration of how those can take on life-or-death importance.

  • We’ll soon get a glimpse of future temperatures, thanks to this record El Niño

    We’ll soon get a glimpse of future temperatures, thanks to this record El Niño

    This year’s record-smashing El Niño will do more than just shift and enhance patterns of heat, extreme rainfall, and drought around the world.

    It will also give the planet a preview of the late 2030s.

    That’s because this El Niño will act like a climate time machine, temporarily pushing global temperatures to levels that might not otherwise be reached for another decade or so.

    According to an analysis by climate scientist Zeke Hausfather that was shared with the Washington Post, there’s around a 95% chance that 2027 will become Earth’s hottest year on record — soaring past the last record in 2024 — because the combination of El Niño and climate change could spike global temperatures to around 3.17 degrees Fahrenheit above preindustrial averages.

    Described as “stunning” by Hausfather, who researches and analyzes the climate for Stripe, Carbon Brief, and Berkeley Earth, this value would be so far above the warming trend of the past decade that it could bring global temperatures to levels not otherwise expected under that trend until around 2037.

    “I’m not sure folks have realized just how crazy the second half of 2026 and 2027 will be for global temperatures — on the back of a record-smashing El Niño event,” wrote Hausfather on X.

    It’s currently close to a coin flip whether 2026 would become the warmest year on record, according to Hausfather’s analysis, which considers the average of several different temperature data sets. It’s possible that 2026 sets a record in some, but not all, of these data sets.

    Jim Hansen, director of the Program on Climate Science, Awareness, and Solutions at Columbia University, said he expects 2026 to become the warmest year, but to hold that crown only until 2027 exceeds it.

    There is a much stronger signal for record warmth in 2027 because increasing air temperatures caused by El Niño lag slightly behind increasing ocean temperatures.

    A global temperature of 1.76 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels in 2027 would be about 0.29 degrees Celsius higher than what’s expected based on the warming trend of the past decade.

    According to Hausfather’s temperature predictions for next year, the middle 50% of forecasts range from 1.67 degrees Celsius to 1.85 degrees Celsius above the preindustrial average.

    At the high end of that range, global temperatures in 2027 would jump roughly 13 years ahead of the recent warming trend, reaching levels that might otherwise become typical around 2040. The low end would represent a 7-year boost, to around 2034.

    Hausfather said that this El Niño event is happening on top of a “strong acceleration in the rate of warming associated with continued emissions of greenhouse gases.”

    Both Hausfather and Hansen also mentioned that decreasing atmospheric aerosols — which have historically offset some warming — are contributing to the acceleration in warming.

    Although Hausfather expects 2028 to be cooler than 2027, he added that “human emissions are adding a permanent El Niño worth of heat to the climate system each decade.”

    In other words, global temperatures in 2027 will take a big but temporary upward stairstep, and they are unlikely to permanently continue at or above those levels for now.

    These temperature increases will also have consequences for atmospheric water vapor. Because the water vapor-carrying capacity of air increases at a rate of 7% per degree Celsius, it’s possible — if not likely — that 2027 also sets a new global moisture record, surpassing 2024. In 2025, the Post mapped the planet’s rising moisture zones and showed how they are closely connected to an increasing risk for rainfall extremes.

    The role of El Niño

    During El Niño, huge stores of ocean heat from the western Pacific spread eastward, eventually reaching the west coast of South America. Thunderstorm activity shifts with that warmth, transferring heat from the ocean and pumping it high into the atmosphere. Winds and atmospheric circulation then redistribute that heat beyond the tropical Pacific and around the globe, raising global temperatures.

    That’s why strong El Niño events often appear as an upward stairstep in long-term plots of global temperatures.

    But this El Niño isn’t just going to be strong. Boosted by the planet’s long-term warming trend, it’s probably going to dwarf the six strongest that came before it in 2015, 1997, 1982, 1972, 1888, and 1877 — the latter contributing to a global famine that caused 3% to 4% of the global population to perish.

    Ocean temperatures in the central equatorial Pacific, where El Niño’s strength is measured, have already broken records for 75 days straight.

    That streak isn’t expected to end anytime soon.

    Temperatures in the equatorial Pacific Ocean may surge more than 7.2 degrees F above average by December, breaking the previous record.

    Those weather effects will vary from place to place.

    But the temperature spike will briefly push the entire planet into its warmer future.

  • Trump’s vaccine plan would require millions of individual shots last used decades ago

    Trump’s vaccine plan would require millions of individual shots last used decades ago

    WASHINGTON — Public health experts have been quick to condemn an executive order from President Donald Trump aimed at upending childhood vaccinations in the U.S., but the biggest obstacles may be the unprecedented financial and logistical challenges it would impose on parents, health providers, and drugmakers.

    Monday’s announcement by the Republican president calls for separating combination shots — including the measles, mumps, and rubella, or MMR, vaccine — into separate injections. Appointments for that and other vaccinations should be spaced out whenever possible, the order states.

    To accomplish that, drugmakers would need to revive a slate of individual vaccines that have not been marketed separately in the U.S. for decades. They would also have to build new manufacturing plants capable of producing millions more vaccine doses than the nation currently uses.

    For parents, unbundling the MMR vaccine and spacing out the shots would mean returning to the doctor’s office many more times than is currently needed. Those appointments could also strain pediatricians who typically administer the shots, while driving up costs tied to syringes and other medical supplies.

    Studies in the U.S. and other countries have shown that combination vaccines increase the likelihood that children will be fully protected from infectious diseases before starting school.

    Health experts say there is no scientific basis for changing course.

    “We do things that are less convenient and more expensive if there’s a good reason to do it,” said Anna Durbin, of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. “There is no good justification for this. I think it’s very bad public health policy.”

    Trump’s plan would require vaccine manufacturing overhaul

    Under Trump’s executive order, federal officials are instructed to develop within 90 days plans for breaking up the MMR shot and spacing out other vaccines.

    But pharmaceutical scientists and former regulators say those changes would likely take years and require drugmakers to spend tens of millions of dollars on new studies and manufacturing facilities.

    Currently, there are no individual vaccines in the U.S. for measles, mumps, or rubella. All the vaccines approved for those viruses by the Food and Drug Administration are combination shots. That three-in-one approach has been the standard in the U.S. since the early 1970s.

    Jesse Goodman, a former FDA vaccine chief, said companies would have to conduct large studies showing new individual shots produced immune system-boosting reactions in children similar to the current versions.

    Companies might also have to demonstrate the safety of new manufacturing facilities and procedures, given that individual measles shots haven’t been widely produced in the U.S. for roughly a half-century.

    “The question is how much has changed since then and how comfortable will the FDA and the companies be relying on those comparisons?” said Goodman, who is now a professor at Georgetown University.

    Designing, constructing, and getting federal sign-off for new vaccine plants typically takes about five years, according to industry experts.

    Additionally, Goodman said, the FDA would have to review and license each unbundled vaccine separately, a process with no precedent.

    “I don’t think there’s any comparable example of removing hugely effective public health measures that protect babies for no documented scientific reason,” he said.

    Individual shots for measles and related diseases tend to be used by lower-income countries that can’t afford the MMR shot. Merck, GSK, and the handful of other companies that supply U.S. childhood vaccines make only the combination shot.

    In separate statements, Merck and GSK said they stand by the safety and effectiveness of their products. Neither discussed plans to unbundle their shots.

    “To date, there has been no published scientific evidence that shows any benefit in separating the combination MMR vaccine into three individual shots,” Merck said in an emailed statement.

    Many more trips to the doctor

    The MMR shot is currently delivered in two doses — the first at the age of 1 and the second dose after age 4. Splitting up the shot into its three separate components would mean six office visits. Spacing out other shots for pertussis and other infectious diseases could multiply the number of visits many more times.

    As the number of visits goes up, parents are more likely to miss appointments or stop making them, according to Durbin.

    “It’s going to be less convenient, more expensive, and you’re going to have fewer people getting vaccinated,” she said.

    Since last year, Trump has repeatedly expressed concern about the number of vaccinations U.S. children are receiving and called on Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to reduce the number. Kennedy and other officials have pointed to smaller countries, such as Denmark, that recommended slightly fewer vaccines than the U.S.

    But breaking up combination shots will result in kids receiving many more individual shots than other comparable nations, Durbin notes.

    White House spokesperson Kush Desai said the Trump administration’s efforts on the MMR vaccine “will give parents more options on timing and frequency for their children, which ultimately will increase vaccination rates for all three diseases.”

    Vaccine order is not legally binding

    Despite the precedent-breaking nature of Trump’s order, some experts are skeptical it will result in meaningful changes.

    Neither the White House nor the FDA can compel drugmakers to develop and seek approval for new vaccines. And from a business perspective, companies have little incentive to develop individual versions of vaccines they already sell in combination shots.

    “They’d be competing against themselves, and there’s no reason to do that,” said Paul Offit, a Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia vaccine researcher and former government adviser.

    While Trump’s order calls for more federal research and recommendations, only state governments have the legal authority to require vaccinations for schoolchildren. The order simply advises states to consider updating their laws to reflect the Trump administration’s approach.

    “I think states will ignore this,” Offit said. “I think that bottom line is that we don’t need to look to Donald Trump for our medical advice.”

  • A Philly man who said he killed his wife for disrespecting him is sentenced to state prison

    A Philly man who said he killed his wife for disrespecting him is sentenced to state prison

    A Holmesburg man who killed his wife after he said she disrespected him was sentenced to 25 to 50 years in state prison by a Montgomery County judge.

    Jose Luna, 59, pleaded guilty to third-degree murder late Wednesday before Judge Wendy Rothstein. The plea, negotiated with prosecutors, spared him from a trial scheduled to begin next month on first-degree murder and related charges.

    Luna shot Alisett Schubert, his wife of seven years, five times on Feb. 21 as she drove them home from a family party in Rockledge, according to prosecutors. The murder weapon was Schubert’s .38-caliber revolver, which Luna had grabbed from his wife’s purse as they began to argue.

    Luna’s attorneys, Scott Frame and Joe Schultz, said he pleaded guilty to spare his wife’s family the pain of sitting through a trial.

    “This was his wife, he loved his wife, and he has to live with this rest of his life,” Schultz said. “He feels the weight of what he’s done.”

    The sentence handed down by Rothstein effectively puts Luna behind bars for the rest of his life, something Frame said Luna has acknowledged and accepted, remorseful for his actions on the day of the shooting.

    Jose Luna shot Alisett Schubert, his wife of seven years, five times in February, according to prosecutors.Vinny Vella / Staff

    In Schubert’s obituary, her family described her as “a spirited soul whose love for life was unparalleled.”

    “The circumstances surrounding her passing are a heartbreaking reminder of the fragility of life,” her family said. “Suddenly and tragically taken from us, Alisett’s absence leaves an unfillable void in the lives of those who knew her.”

    In a statement read in court, Brinda Millican, one of Schubert’s best friends, said her death “has left an emptiness that cannot be repaired.”

    “She should have been able to continue living her life and making new memories with the people who loved her,” Millican said. “Instead, her life was violently taken from her by the person who should never have been the one to cause her harm.”

    From the outset of the case, Luna admitted he killed Schubert, 48, prosecutors said.

    During an interview with detectives hours after the shooting, Luna said he slapped Schubert during a family party after she disrespected him, according to the affidavit of probable cause for his arrest. He told her, after hitting her, that he didn’t care if her family saw the dispute.

    The couple continued to argue on the drive home from Rockledge. During the dispute, Schubert stopped the car and told Luna to get out and walk home.

    Luna saw that his wife was holding her purse, and he knew her gun was inside it. The two began to fight over the bag, the affidavit said. Luna grabbed it, pulled out the gun, and shot his wife once.

    As Schubert turned to get out of the car, Luna shot her four more times, according to prosecutors. He then fled, pausing to throw away his hat and jewelry to avoid being recognized.

    Officers in Rockledge found Schubert on the ground, unresponsive. She was later pronounced dead at Jefferson Abington Hospital.

    Luna was arrested about a mile away from the crime scene, still holding the gun. He raised the revolver to his head, telling responding officers that he had lost everything, and pulled the trigger.

    The gun was empty.