The Phillies spent the trade deadline doing the baseball equivalent of rearranging an entire office while everyone was still working.
Luis Arraez arrived to play second base. Bryson Stott moved to third, where he had all of two major league games of experience. Alec Bohm slid over to first. Bryce Harper returned to right field for the first time since 2022. Trea Turner, despite having the roughest defensive numbers of the bunch, stayed exactly where he was.
Stott’s response was basically: Tell me where to stand. Harper volunteered to move before the trade was even finished. When the two-time MVP agrees to return to the position where he tore his UCL four years ago because it’s what gives the team the best chance to win, everyone else loses the right to be precious about their assigned seat.
For one night, the whole thing looked inspired. Arraez drove in two runs in his debut, Harper caught everything hit his way, and the Phillies won, 5-0. Then Wednesday arrived with an 11-inning loss, two injury scares, six runs allowed in the final frame, and a reminder that moving the furniture around does not repair the entire house.
Still, the Phillies needed something different, and different is certainly what they got. Arraez has already brought the bat and the energy… the rest of the lineup just has to remember where it’s playing.
Katherine Ross, left, and John Pacewicz, right, get married in Love Park surrounded by friends and family and their dog Hoagie, in Philadelphia, October 8, 2025.Jessica Griffin / Staff Photographer
LOVE Park’s 1,000th wedding: A+
The average wedding comes with a carefully curated guest list.
A LOVE Park wedding comes with whoever happens to be walking through Center City that afternoon.
Maybe there’s a SEPTA train rumbling underneath. Maybe someone wanders into the background of your photos. Maybe a guy with a microphone decides this is also the perfect place for his performance. Whatever happens, it’s part of the ceremony, which really is part of the allure.
Shapiro’s cameo in the sequel to Dreams and Nightmares only lasts a few seconds, but it’s enough to make you rewind and ask, “Wait… was that Josh Shapiro?” Turns out it was. The footage came from a backstage meeting at the One Philly: Unity Concert.
It actually makes perfect sense given Shapiro and Meek’s long relationship through criminal justice reform. But context disappears pretty quickly when you’re watching one of Philadelphia’s most iconic rap songs and the governor suddenly walks onscreen.
There are certain questions guaranteed to start an argument in Philadelphia. Pat’s or Geno’s? Wiz or Cooper Sharp? Is Dallas Goedert underrated?
This week, Reddit tackled another one: Does ketchup belong on a cheesesteak? The answer, according to multiple Philadelphians, is… maybe.
The comments were surprisingly reasonable. Plenty of people argued that a great cheesesteak shouldn’t need ketchup, but a dry one absolutely benefits from it. Others pointed out that “salt, pepper, ketchup” has been a standard order for decades, while one former South Philly steak shop worker declared, “The ketchup pump is there for a reason.”
The real plot twist wasn’t ketchup, though. It was the original poster casually revealing that his wife puts mayo and pickles on her cheesesteaks… and dips plain cheese pizza in ketchup. Suddenly, everyone stopped arguing about him.
For once, Philadelphia found common ground.
Los Angeles Dodgers’ Tarik Skubal reacts after a play at home plate during the sixth inning of game against the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday in Chicago. (AP Photo/Melissa Tamez)Melissa Tamez
The Dodgers do it again: D
The Dodgers traded for Tarik Skubal, because apparently the two-time defending World Series champions with Shohei Ohtani still needed the two-time reigning Cy Young winner.
It’s the baseball equivalent of the kid who already got the biggest slice of birthday cake asking if anyone’s going to finish theirs.
The Dodgers have built one of the best organizations in sports. They draft well, develop prospects, spend money, and somehow all at once. GOOD FOR THEM.
It’s also exhausting (and boring). Part of what makes sports fun is believing more than one team has a legitimate shot. When the same handful of franchises keep adding MVPs and Cy Young winners, it starts to feel less like a pennant race and more like everyone else is competing for second place.
Still, nobody in the clubhouse seemed interested in panicking. Stott said the Phillies aren’t scared of anyone, and Schwarber’s message was simpler: First, make the postseason. October has humbled plenty of superteams before.
Still… it would be nice if the Dodgers took a trade deadline off every once in a while.
David Elder cools off with a cold towel draped over his head as he walks through South Philadelphia on Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026. Forecasters are predicting a heat wave across the region over the next several days.Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
Summer’s greatest hits: F
The forecast has basically been on repeat for weeks now.
The weather has reached the point where nobody asks, “Is it supposed to rain today?” We just assume the answer is yes and hope it doesn’t happen during the 15 minutes we’re outside.
The worst part is the false hope. Every time the forecast teases a “slight relief,” it lasts about 12 hours and then we’re right back to sweating through our shirts and wondering whether the afternoon commute will include flash flooding.
Philadelphia drivers looking to save a few bucks at the pump streamed into the city’s newest Freedom Fuel station Friday afternoon, even while the station’s deep discounts remain a mystery.
The station, located in Bustleton on Roosevelt Boulevard, is one of four new Freedom Fuel locations added this week. The other three are in New Jersey, including one all the way up in Morris County.
The gas network, which was promoted by both the White House and President Donald Trump last month, is now up to 29 stations across the Philadelphia region, stretching east to the Jersey Shore.
(function(){function e(){window.addEventListener(`message`,function(e){if(e.data[`datawrapper-height`]!==void 0){var t=document.querySelectorAll(`iframe`);for(var n in e.data[`datawrapper-height`])for(var r=0,i;i=t[r];r++)if(i.contentWindow===e.source){var a=e.data[`datawrapper-height`][n]+`px`;i.style.height=a}}})}e()})();
Nearly all the pumps were full at Philly’s newest Freedom Fuel spot Friday afternoon, with the station selling a gallon of regular gas for $3.79 a gallon. That’s nearly 35 cents a gallon less than a Wawa just up Roosevelt Boulevard, where a gallon of regular gas went for $4.13 on Friday.
A nearby Lukoil was a bit closer to Freedom Fuel’s prices, offering a gallon of regular gas for $3.99.
An enduring mystery remains how Freedom Fuel has been able to consistently offer lower prices than nearby competitors.
Experts told The Inquirer Freedom Fuel was likely suffering losses for selling fuel at such a low price, especially since many of the company’s stations don’t have robust convenience stores or car washes to create revenue.
“It becomes unsustainable,” Eliezer Fich, a finance professor at Drexel University’s LeBow College of Business, told The Inquirer last month. “Unless prices go down. But if they do, they go down for everybody.”
According to public records, the newest Freedom Fuel station is owned by Celik Plaza II l.l.c., which had previously run it under a “Red Lion Fuel” banner. Engin Celik, who is listed as a principal with the company, according to documents reviewed by The Inquirer, did not respond to a request for comment.
Philly Freedom Fuel station faces closure after failing inspection
The Freedom Fuel station on Bustleton Ave. in Philadelphia. Dana Munro / staff
While Freedom Fuel is adding locations, it could soon lose one in Philadelphia.
The station on Bustleton Avenue, one of at least six locations linked to Cherry Hill developer Shamikh Kazmi and his brother Syed Kazmi, has an expired fuel dispensing license and failed an inspection last week, according to city records.
If unresolved, the station could be forced to close by Sept. 4, according to a city spokesperson.
Ravens special teams coach Randy Brown signed Freedom Fuel’s formation papers. Terrance Williams
While Freedom Fuel’s launch was proudly promoted last month by Trump, the company’s owners have remained quiet about the enterprise and how they’re able to maintain low fuel prices.
A White House spokesperson previously told The Inquirer Freedom Fuel is a private company receiving no government subsidies and not accessing fuel at a lower cost.
“Freedom Fuel Network is a privately owned and proudly patriotic company — along with its convenience store operators, haulers, sign companies, and operational partners — that answered President Trump’s call to action to lower prices at the pump,” the company said in a statement on its website.
Baltimore Ravens assistant coach Randy Brown, the former mayor of Evesham Township, N.J., and a self-proclaimed “proud Trump supporter,” signed Freedom Fuel’s certificate of formation in Delaware on June 23. Brown has declined to comment on the enterprise.
Former commodities trader Yoni Gontownik also signed the certificate of formation, and has not responded to requests to comment. Gontownik and his wife, Bellen, have hosted Republican fundraisers through NORPAC, a New Jersey-based political action committee supporting pro-Israel lawmakers in both parties.
Staff writer Ryan W. Briggs contributed to this article.
A 70-year-old man died Friday evening after he was found fatally shot inside a car in the city’s Hunting Park section, police said.
Around 6:25 p.m., police responded to the 4300 block of North Seventh Street, where they found the man inside a gray BMW with a gunshot wound to his upper chest.
Police transported the man, who was not identified, to Temple University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 6:28 p.m.
Inspector D.F. Pace said the man was probably driving at a different unknown location when he was shot and he possibly was trying find help when the BMW crashed into a parked car.
A Mayfair man accused of trying to set fire to a Northeast Philadelphia mosque is now also facing a federal civil rights charge, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Vincent Lang was arrested last month and charged with a federal arson-related offense for allegedly throwing an incendiary device into the Northeast Philadelphia Islamic Center on July 5.
On Thursday, prosecutors announced that they’d also moved to indict Lang on a count of damaging religious property, something U.S. Attorney David Metcalf said “demonstrates our resolve to protect our core constitutional liberty of religion.”
Lang, 60, has been in federal custody since he was arrested for the arson offense, which carries a five-year mandatory minimum prison sentence if he’s convicted.
The new charge means Lang faces a maximum possible prison sentence of 40 years, prosecutors said.
His federal defender declined to comment Friday.
Image from security video of fire started by an incendiary device on July 5 at the Northeast Philadelphia Islamic Center.U.S. Attorney's Office
Lang is accused of attacking the mosque, on the 1400 block of Tyson Avenue, on July 5 around 2 a.m. The building was unoccupied at the time and no injuries were reported, but its front porch sustained significant damage.
Two days after the attack, authorities received a tip that Lang was involved. Investigators who surveilled his house found his black SUV with handwritten messages and stickers saying things like “White Pride” “F- Islam,” and “Federal Terrorist Hunting License,” prosecutors said.
On social media, investigators also found what they believed to be accounts linked to Lang that had expressed anti-Islamic views as well as comments on the arson investigation, prosecutors said. One of the posts about the investigation said: “How can it be a hate crime they might have done it out of love,” prosecutors said.
The local chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, applauded what it called a thorough and meaningful investigation into the attack.
“This indictment sends an important message that attacks targeting houses of worship because of their faith are not ordinary crimes, they are assaults on the fundamental civil rights and religious freedom of entire communities,” said Dr. Ahmet Tekelioglu, executive director of CAIR-Philadelphia.
Immigration advocates say at least 10 people have been arrested by ICE at Philadelphia International Airport since July 12, including a 68-year-old grandmother and the young babysitter of three children.
That comes amid a nationwide push by the Trump administration to increase arrests at American airports, spurring immigration attorneys to warn noncitizens with limited documentation that travel has become risky, including for those with valid work permits or pending applications for relief.
“People might not think Philly is being targeted, but we are,” said Vivian Chang, executive director of Asian Americans United, an advocacy group. “They’re trying to threaten people, trying to intimidate them — you can’t work freely, you can’t travel freely, you can’t fly.”
She said the arrests in Philadelphia include three people originally from Indonesia and others from India, Ukraine, China, Chile, and Argentina. Another person, a religious leader, was briefly taken into custody and released, she said.
Chang described the arrests in Philadelphia as especially troubling because the airport is owned and operated by the city.
She questioned why that property would not be subject to Philadelphia’s recent “ICE Out” legislation, which bars U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from conducting operations on city-owned lands and bans access to city-owned spaces, absent a judicial warrant.
Steve Papelian, 73, drove more than an hour from Nazareth, Pa. to the Philadelphia International Airport to protest the deployment of ICE agents to international airports across the U.S. on March 24. The former school teacher believes that ICE should target criminal activity, not “moms and pops with kids,” he said.Henry Savage / Staff
Sam Scavuzzo, chief of staff for the city law department, said in a statement that “federal law enforcement access to particular areas of the airport is governed by federal law.”
A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said airport arrests are occurring because the Trump administration “reversed the horrendous Biden-era policy that allowed aliens in our country illegally to jet around our country.”
“Under President Trump, DHS will no longer tolerate this. This administration is working diligently to ensure that aliens in our country illegally can no longer fly unless it is out of our country to self-deport.”
The department said “being in detention is a choice,” and the federal government is offering people who are here without permission a $2,600 payment and a free flight home.
Self-deportation can preserve the right to later come back to the U.S., absent the penalties that accompany a government deportation.
DHS said people who do not leave voluntarily “will be arrested and deported without a chance to return.”
On July 11, what started out as a fun soccer trip for a South Philadelphia babysitter ended with her being arrested and ultimately moved across the country to an ICE detention center in New Mexico.
Steven Melchiorre, 35, a health worker, said that at 7 a.m. that day he dropped off his girlfriend, Iliana Lick, 30, to fly to Kansas City. Originally from Buenos Aires, she planned to see the Argentina national team play in the World Cup.
On July 11, what started out as a fun soccer trip for a Philadelphia babysitter ended with her being arrested and ultimately moved across the country to an ICE detention center in New Mexico. Iliana Lick legally entered the U.S. in 2023, though her visa later expired. She cares for the children of two South Philadelphia families.Courtesy of Steven Melchiorre
She texted Melchiorre from inside the airport to say the line was short, then did not answer his reply.
After a while, he said, Lick phoned, crying, to say she had been arrested by ICE. She was moved from Philadelphia to the Cambria County prison, which holds prisoners for the agency in south-central Pennsylvania, and in the following days was transferred to ICE facilities in Louisiana, Texas, and New Mexico.
Late Friday afternoon, an immigration judge in New Mexico set bond for Lick at $10,000, according to her boyfriend. He immediately began working to post that bond and bring her home. It was not clear how quickly Lick might be released.
DHS said Lick was arrested during a targeted operation, having overstayed her visa.
The department noted that work authorization or a pending application for immigration relief, both of which Lick has, do not confer legal status to be in the United States.
ICE began to deploy agents at U.S. airports in March, and the move was announced as a way to assist at checkpoint lines during a partial government shutdown.
The deployment quickly proved controversial, as travelers and labor unions objected, saying the agents were intimidating and lacked aviation training.
A group of federal immigration officers walk through O’Hare International Airport in Chicago on March 23, 2026. From large cities like Chicago and Las Vegas to small suburbs outside Milwaukee and San Antonio, immigrants have been picked up and detained at courthouses, ICE check-ins and traffic stops, with daily arrests doubling in the last week of June and continuing to climb.JAMIE KELTER DAVIS
Airports rank among the most sensitive public spaces in the country, traversed by millions of people, including U.S. citizens, noncitizens, and mixed-status families, California immigration lawyer Andrew Neitor wrote for the American Immigration Lawyers Association, a legal group.
The introduction of ICE agents, he said, blurs critical lines between airport security and immigration enforcement, around what authority is being exercised and by whom, and over the legal protections due to people who may be arrested.
“ICE was not intended to be omnipresent in daily civic life,” Neitor said. “Yet its footprint has expanded from courthouses to neighborhoods, workplaces, and even parking lots, shifting from targeted enforcement to visible, normalized presence.”
Last year, the Transportation Security Administration and ICE signed a memorandum of agreement that outlined how ICE would share information with TSA to identify people in whom ICE was interested, according to the memo, obtained through the Freedom of Information Act by the watchdog group American Oversight. The agreement said sharing the data would enhance national security, transportation safety, and immigration management.
On Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan introduced a bill, the No TSA Data for ICE Act, that would bar the agencies from coordinating to conduct what her office called “a dramatic violation of privacy rights.”
The bill would ban TSA from sharing passenger names, birth dates, and other data that enable ICE to target immigrants who are in the process of changing status, including those awaiting visa extensions or who recently married U.S. citizens.
“TSA is readily offering up our immigrant residents to suffer at the hands of ICE agents so they can fulfill their daily arrest quota,” Tlaib said in a statement. “Immigrants should be able to safely fly in this country without the fear of arrest or deportation.”
Today ICE is making record numbers of arrests across the country, not only at airports but also at places that were once considered off-limits, including routine immigration check-ins.
A hat belonging to Iliana Lick sits on a table in the home she shares with her partner, Steven Melchiorre, in the Point Breeze neighborhood of Philadelphia on Tuesday, Aug. 4. Lick has remained in ICE custody since her detention at Philadelphia International Airport on July 11, 2026.Erin Blewett / For The Inquirer
In June in Philadelphia, a 36-year-old survivor of slavery who had fled Mauritania, a mostly desert land in West Africa, filed suit in federal court over the issue. He accused ICE of having unlawfully rescinded a policy that generally allowed immigrants to pursue their cases without fear of arrest.
Nationally, the rate of ICE arrests topped 1,300 a day in June, and grew again to a record 1,474 a day during the first 11 days of July, Syracuse University professor and immigration-data analyst Austin Kocher reported.
Some of those being arrested at airports had legally entered the United States, then stayed after their visas expired. That includes some, like Lick, who were seeking to legally change their immigration status while in the U.S.
Lick, now of Point Breeze, legally entered the country in 2023. She held and extended a visa, and holds work authorization and a REAL ID driver’s license, her boyfriend said. She was trying to adjust her status before her visa expired and continued to do so afterward, Melchiorre said.
Lick works taking care of three children for two South Philadelphia families.
Britni Zahodnick and her husband, Zane Schultz, have employed Lick as a babysitter for their two young children, ages 4 and 1, for more than a year. They described her as soft-spoken, kind, attentive, funny, thoughtful, and a good listener.
“She was very quickly thought of as family,” Schultz said.
Trust does not come easily for any parent preparing to place their children in another’s hands, but Lick won theirs, the couple said.
“All the things you would look for in a caretaker for your kids,” Zahodnick said.
Illiana Lick with partner Steven Melchiorre in New York City. On July 11, what started out as a fun soccer trip for a Philadelphia babysitter ended with her being arrested and ultimately moved across the country to an ICE detention center in New Mexico. Iliana Lick legally entered the U.S. in 2023, though her visa later expired. She cares for the children of two South Philadelphia families.Courtesy of Steven Melchiorre
Melchiorre acknowledged that ICE had legal authority to detain Lick. He said people should follow immigration laws — but the couple thought Lick was doing so. They did not know domestic flights were in question, having flown in the past without incident.
Melchiorre said he was surprised and frustrated by her arrest, “because Iliana has not committed any crime, hasn’t missed any fees, hasn’t missed any court dates. She wasn’t trying to dodge immigration. Being detained, it’s similar to how criminals are treated.”
Think you know your news? There’s only one way to find out. Welcome back to our weekly News Quiz — a quick way to see if your reading habits are sinking in and to put your local news knowledge to the test.
Question 1 of 10
Sixers fan Joey Abel went viral for sunburning his back down the Shore with a faux LeBron James jersey outlined with sunscreen. But for work, he actually lives here:
CorrectIncorrect. XX% of other readers got this question right.
Abel works in insurance in New York. For the past few months, the 28-year-old has been surrounded by hordes of Knicks fans, reveling in their long-sought championship. It hasn’t been pleasant for the lifelong Philadelphia sports team fan. When James’ signing was announced, he took action the only way he knew how.
Question 2 of 10
Employees at this Philly museum adopted their first union contract this month:
CorrectIncorrect. XX% of other readers got this question right.
Fabric Workshop and Museum employees are the latest museum workers to get a union contract. The 22 workers covered by the new contract are represented by the AFSCME District Council 47, Local 397, and work in visitor services, education, marketing, and communications roles, among other jobs.
story continues after advertisement
Question 3 of 10
Irish singer Glen Hansard was working on an album in Philadelphia before his death. Who was his producer and key collaborator on the unnamed project?
CorrectIncorrect. XX% of other readers got this question right.
Beginning in 2025, and continuing this past winter, Hansard spent weeks working on an album with producer Charlie Hall of the War on Drugs. Hansard first came to Elm Street to work with Hall and his crew in March 2025 and then again in January this year.
Question 4 of 10
Who is the Met’s Costume Institute honoring and spotlighting for its 2027 exhibit?
CorrectIncorrect. XX% of other readers got this question right.
John Galliano, a lauded fashion designer with a checkered past, will be honored at next year’s Met Gala. The decision has sparked mixed reactions because of Galliano’s past, which includes a racist and antisemitic rant that ended his career at Dior.
Question 5 of 10
Relics from the now-closed Gillian’s Wonderland Pier are up for sale following the beloved attraction’s closure. They’re on the market at an antique shop here:
CorrectIncorrect. XX% of other readers got this question right.
Nearly two years after the iconic Ocean City, N.J., boardwalk amusement park closed, and with the future of the site still uncertain, 20 of the kitschy and spooky disembodied artifacts from Wonderland remain unsold at Obnoxious Antiques in Burlington.
Subscribe to The Philadelphia Inquirer
Our reporting is directly supported by reader subscriptions. If you want more journalism like this story, please subscribe today.
A vast collection of 19th-century manuals focused on this topic has made its way into the Library Company of Philadelphia’s shelves:
CorrectIncorrect. XX% of other readers got this question right.
Fruits of Philosophy is one of 1,500 19th-century clandestine hardcovers that are part of the Library Company’s most recent set of acquisitions from respected medical historian, author, and avid book collector Charles E. Rosenberg. The books focus on sex, sexual health, abortion, self-pleasure, birth control, and more — all of which were considered extremely taboo topics at the time.
Question 7 of 10
Local music producer Will Yip recently spoke with The Inquirer about one of his fandoms. The Grammy winner has an extensive collection of:
CorrectIncorrect. XX% of other readers got this question right.
Yip became a part of what he calls an “underground market” of people who become friends as they help each other find game-used Phillies memorabilia. He has hundreds of jerseys that he keeps in storage and has lost track of how much money he’s spent over the years.
Question 8 of 10
Independence Mall is getting a new sculpture. What will the sculpture portray?
CorrectIncorrect. XX% of other readers got this question right.
A 46-foot-long sculpture of Benjamin Franklin’s “Join or Die” snake is set to be unveiled this fall on the Liberty Bell Center block of Independence Mall, near the corner of Fifth and Chestnut Streets. The sculpture will feature eight pieces that represent segments of the snake’s body. These will be carved out of granite, each marked with the initials of the respective colony it’s meant to represent.
Question 9 of 10
Which popular figure was seen across the Philly area sampling local pizza slices for future social media content?
CorrectIncorrect. XX% of other readers got this question right.
Dave Portnoy, the Barstool Sports founder and “One Bite Pizza Reviews” host, made at least five stops in the region, leaving some pizzeria owners celebrating and others refreshing social media to learn their scores.
Question 10 of 10
Ellen Yin’s newest Philly restaurant, Bar Cicci, is promoting itself as an all-day:
CorrectIncorrect. XX% of other readers got this question right.
Bar Cicci will bring Italy's slower-paced drinking culture to Rittenhouse Square as an all-day aperitivo bar, with a menu of small plates, old-school Italian pastries, and spritzes.
Your Results
You have skipped .
You scored XX out of 10.
The average reader scored XX out of 10
Seems like you’ve been skimming more than reading there, buddy. There’s always next week.
You’ve read some articles (or made some educated guesses) but we wouldn’t come to you first for our local news recaps. Better luck next week!
Do you work here? You’re a local news stan with the latest updates on Philly happenings. Your friends definitely ask you for summaries on what’s going on and it shows.
AI-powered cameras on SEPTA buses and trolleys have captured about 212,000 parking and stopping violations that delay trips since automated enforcement began last year, according to the Philadelphia Parking Authority.
The median travel time of buses in the enforcement areas dropped 41 seconds in March compared with the same month last year before the cameras, SEPTA said.
“It’s not massive, but it is appreciable,” said Matthew Zapson, manager of planning programs for SEPTA.
The parking authority has issued $14.5 million in fines from May 2025 through June 30.
But violations have trended down from the high numbers recorded in May 2025, when enforcement began.
That means hefty fines seem to be nudging more drivers to avoid adding to congestion, particularly in Center City.
In just over a year, no-stopping violations in bus-camera enforcement areas were cut in half, said Gabriel Roberts, interim executive director of the PPA, while violations for blocking bus stops decreased by 27%.
“Drivers are learning, in large numbers, to not park illegally in no-stopping zones, bus lanes, and bus stops,” Roberts said.
(function(){function e(){window.addEventListener(`message`,function(e){if(e.data[`datawrapper-height`]!==void 0){var t=document.querySelectorAll(`iframe`);for(var n in e.data[`datawrapper-height`])for(var r=0,i;i=t[r];r++)if(i.contentWindow===e.source){var a=e.data[`datawrapper-height`][n]+`px`;i.style.height=a}}})}e()})();
Violations fell from 1.8 to 0.75 per camera per hour,Zapson said.
Windshield-mounted cameras, powered by artificial intelligence, on buses in Center City and West Philadelphia are scanning for violations for about 14,000 hours per month — a rate that has stayed steady, Zapson said.
“I think that is perhaps the most telling point about the success of the program,” he said.
Measuring violations per camera hour avoids the possibility that violations appear to be down only because of lower camera use.
The penalty for parking and stopping violations is $76 in Center City and $51 elsewhere.
Tickets are sent to the owners of vehicles based on evidence gathered by windshield-mounted cameras on 152 buses on 16 routes. But human parking enforcement officers have to verify violations first.
PPA, SEPTA, and the city have partnered on the program.
Buses navigating Philadelphia traffic averaged 8 mph in Center City, slower than the national average of about 14 mph. Every year, congestion in Center City causes 1.7 million hours of passenger delays and adds $15.4 million to the transit agency’s operating costs, according to a 2019 Econsult Solutions study commissioned by SEPTA.
On April 1, cameras were added to 38 trolleys in Philadelphia, making SEPTA the first transit system to use them on streetcars. Early PPA numbers show 30,856 violations for cars and trucks blocking trolley lanes and stops.
City ordinance authorizes the camera program in Center City from river to river from the northern edge of Spring Garden Street to the southern edge of South Street. Violations also can be camera-enforced on Chestnut, Walnut, and Market Streets westward to 63rd Street. The law also covers any roadway in Philadelphia that conveys trolleys.
Zapson cautioned that a variety of factors influence bus speeds, including continued growth in ridership since the pandemic, which increases the amount of time the vehicles spend at stops to load and unload people.
So, more work is needed.
“Parking on trolley tracks or in bus lanes is a recurring issue, despite having these cameras,” Zapson said. SEPTA is working with the city and PPA “to see what other policies might be available to us,” he said.
Joseph LaForte was once the charismatic head of Par Funding, a Philadelphia-based lending firm that collapsed in spectacular fashion as prosecutors said he misled investors to the tune of $400 million and resorted to brutish loan shark tactics to collect on unpaid debts.
Now, despite the fact that LaForte pleaded guilty to racketeering and wire fraud charges, a website has been set up to lobby President Donald Trump to free him from a 15½-year prison sentence — part of a campaign that describes LaForte’s prosecution as a “witch hunt.”
“Stand Up for What’s Right, Free Joe LaForte,” says a scrolling banner on the website, FreeJoeLaForte.com. The site’s homepage also prominently features several images of Trump and says the goal is to “fight for [LaForte’s] presidential pardon through activism and exposing the truth.”
Websites dedicated to overturning convictions are not unusual. But the existence of the LaForte campaign comes as Trump, in his second term, has shown a willingness to grant clemency to political allies or people he believes have been unfairly prosecuted — including those convicted of fraud. And well-connected lobbyists and lawyers have reportedly started charging defendants eye-watering sums for promises of presidential relief.
LaForte does not have an official clemency application pending with the Office of the Pardon Attorney, according to that agency’s website. But the LaForte website is clear about its intent to lobby Trump for freedom.
How the campaign came together — and whether LaForte has a role in it — is something of a mystery.
LaForte’s lawyer in his criminal case, Joseph Corazzo, said he didn’t know of the site until he was contacted by The Inquirer and said he’s had no role in any potential efforts to seek clemency from Trump for LaForte.
LaForte, meanwhile, is incarcerated at a federal prison in Fort Dix, N.J., and is not scheduled to be released until 2035.
Unidentified creators
The LaForte website, FreeJoeLaForte.com, does not say who owns or runs it. And phone messages and emails left through its contact pages in recent weeks went unanswered.
One of the calls was directed to a number associated with John Sirmans, of Fanwood, N.J. And Sirmans’ name is listed as an author on dozens of PDFs that were published on the LaForte site.
It is not clear how or if Sirmans and LaForte know each other, and Sirmans did not respond to requests for comment.
PDFs on the site list another author as “Lisa Mac.” LaForte’s wife, Lisa McElhone, was sentenced to one day in federal custody for her role in the Par Funding scandal, and the Justice Department said LaForte sometimes used the alias “Joe Mack” while working at Par Funding.
Attempts to reach McElhone — including by visiting Lacquer Lounge, the nail salon she owns in Old City — were unsuccessful.
Meanwhile, a petition on change.org — which urges people to visit FreeJoeLaForte.com — is even more forceful its views on LaForte’s case, calling his imprisonment “unlawful” and saying he is “an innocent man targeted by a weaponized justice system that bends to partisan agendas.”
But the creator of the petition, which has 40 verified signatures, is listed only as “Truth Seeker,” and attempts to reach that person through change.org were unsuccessful.
Extensive coverage
One of the more prominent sections on LaForte’s website, meanwhile, is a list of more than a dozen news articles written by Milton Allimadi, a New York-based journalist who runs an outlet called Black Star News.
On LaForte’s site, Allimadi’s stories are labeled as being part of a series “dedicated to exposing the truth and corruption involved in the wrongful persecution of Joseph LaForte.”
Allimadi said via email that he did now know who started FreeJoeLaForte.com or how the Black Star News articles ended up being highlighted there.
He said he learned of LaForte’s case after speaking with the father of an inmate housed alongside LaForte. He declined to identify the person.
Allimadi said he wrote about LaForte for Black Star News because the Par Funding founder’s story had “many interesting angles.” He said he’s never spoken to anyone associated with FreeJoeLaForte.com and was not paid by anyone connected to the site for writing or publishing his articles.
Still, he said, he didn’t mind having his work promoted by LaForte’s site because that had already led to what he said was a modest but noticeable uptick in traffic and donations to Black Star News.
“Our site’s major support comes from readers who donate … and some of his supporters who read and like the articles also definitely contributed, because there was a little spike,” Allimadi said.
Another case that Allimadi covered extensively in recent months led to a sizable legal judgment against him.
Last month, a jury in Michigan awarded more than $12 million to a doctor who said Allimadi and Black Star News targeted him with a “relentless, vindictive, and malicious online smear campaign” centering on allegations of domestic abuse and sexual assault of his ex-wife.
Allimadi said his journalism was solid, and he is trying to get the verdict thrown out.
As for LaForte, Allimadi said his coverage included references to LaForte’s history of criminal convictions, and he said it was “clear from [LaForte’s] background that he’s no saint.”
But Allimadi said he also explored angles that hadn’t received much attention as Par Funding collapsed, including by raising questions about the conduct of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the court-appointed receiver in the case, which each contributed significantly to LaForte’s downfall.
“I can see why [LaForte’s supporters] would want to post such articles on their site,” he said.
Newsroom researcher Ryan W. Briggs contributed to this article.
Dozens of Haitians, allies, and supporters rallied in Center City on Thursday, demanding that Pennsylvania’s U.S. senators help restore temporary protected status (TPS) for thousands now in danger of being deported to the shattered Caribbean nation.
They gathered outside the office of Republican U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick near 20th and Market Streets, then marched to the office of U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, a Democrat, near Second and Chestnut Streets.
People held up signs that said, “Our Haitian community is here to stay,” even as protections and work permits have ended for about 350,000 Haitians in the U.S. The Haitian community numbers about 11,000 in Philadelphia, and leaders say it seems everyone knows someone who had TPS or has it themselves.
Speakers said that TPS is more than an immigration status, that it is what allows neighbors, friends, and family members to live here, to work, pay taxes, and help build the country.
They called on the senators to help pass Senate Bill 4814, which would require the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security to designate Haiti for TPS through April 2029.
A spokesperson for McCormick said: “We respect everyone’s right to come together and voice their opinion. We appreciate the input.”
Efforts to reach a spokesperson for Fetterman were not immediately successful.
Pastor Kenel Stevenson said he knows of no local Haitians who have been taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or fitted with ankle monitors, as the ACLU says is happening elsewhere.
But the mood among his fellow Haitians is grim, he said.
“There is fear, fear of repatriation, of being returned to a place where there is no safety,” Stevenson said.
Nearly 100 people gathered before moving east toward Fetterman’s office shortly before noon, filling the breadth of Chestnut Street as police officers stopped traffic for the group to pass. Oppressive heat and humidity caused some older people to lag.
Reverend Jennifer Joseph of Zion Community Church in Delaware County addresses the crowd outside of U.S. Senator Dave McCormick’s office in Philadelphia on Thursday.Aidan T. Gallo / Staff Photographer
TPS has expired for an estimated 350,000 Haitians, ending their ability to legally work in this country and putting them at risk of deportation to a homeland riven by natural disaster and violent crime.
He searches himself to offer hope at a moment when people are desperate for some sense of tranquility.
“I had a mother called me the other day and asked if I could take custody of her child if she’s taken away,” Ulysse said.
Community leaders fear mass family separation, as Haitian nationals have married U.S. citizens and are raising American-born children.
“We are not criminals,” he said. “We have engineers, doctors, professors,” people who are eager to help and contribute.
“If people go back to Haiti, they will die, and if they stay as things are, they are in hiding, scared, and can’t leave their house,” he said, joining others outside Fetterman’s office.
Still, he said, he has not given up hope.
“America is a country of immigrants, and I believe they will stand with us,” Ulysse said. “Help us fight until the end!”
Hundreds of Haitian nationals have been told by immigration officials to appear at ICE offices to be fitted with ankle monitors, according to the ACLU.
Temporary protected status provides permission to live and work in the United States for people whose homelands are riven by war, natural disasters, epidemics, or other extraordinary circumstances.
Haiti suffered a massive earthquake in 2010 that led the Obama administration to announce that undocumented Haitian immigrants in the U.S. would be eligible for TPS. Thousands more would be welcomed over time under humanitarian programs and become eligible as Haiti grew mired in crisis ― a deadly cholera epidemic, hurricanes, the collapse of basic government functions, and the rise of armed gangs.
Reverend Katie Aikins, of West Philadelphia, prays for the Haitian people alongside faith leaders and community members before the march begins outside of U.S. Senator Dave McCormick’s office on Thursday.Aidan T. Gallo / Staff Photographer
Haitian American pastor Ketty Pointe-Jour said Thursday that her immigrant parents would not believe what is happening today.
They fled Haiti for their lives, she said, and “the U.S. opened its arms for them. The America they knew in the ’60s and ’80s is completely different from what we are seeing now.”
The Trump administration has sought to end TPS for Haiti and other nations. In June, the Supreme Court ruled that the administration could terminate temporary protected status for countries like Haiti and Syria.
More broadly, the ruling appears to make Department of Homeland Security decisions about TPS unreviewable by lower courts, creating deep uncertainty for the future. The White House has pledged to deport people who lose legal status, including those who had TPS.
Haitians are not the only population affected.
TPS is set to lapse for more than 170,000 people from El Salvador in September, and in October 100,000 from Ukraine face the same termination.
Advocates say the Trump administration’s promise of deportations will hurt families that include spouses and children who are American citizens.
What is more, immigration researchers and organizations say, the country will pay a financial price ― in lost taxes, wages, spending, and services, as large numbers of workers and dollars exit the U.S. economy.
The nation’s 1.3 million TPS holders work at higher proportions than the country as a whole, pay billions of dollars each year in federal and local taxes, and contribute to the solvency of a Social Security system from which they are unlikely to ever draw benefits.
Outside Fetterman’s office, Dottie Baumgarten said she came from her Cheltenham home to support the Haitian community. She hoped the presence of supporters helped immigrants feel less alone.
“The Haitian challenge is not just Haitians,” she said, “it’s immigrants in general, and we have to support them. We are destroying their families.”
Assistant District Attorney Alyssa Amoroso withdrew the charges the Philadelphia DA’s office had filed against Eugene Albert Horsch for illegal gun and drug possession Thursday morning, telling a city judge that the U.S. Attorney’s Office would instead handle the case.
Horsch, 44, has been in federal custody since June after a U.S. park ranger encountered him and another woman inside a black BMW near Independence Hall, acting suspiciously. Police said they searched Horsch — who was not allowed to possess guns because of felony convictions — and found a switchblade and a glass pipe in his pants, as well as two illegal guns, drugs, and a phony federal drug enforcement badge in his car.
And then, in an unsettling twist, the woman with Horsch presented a fake ID bearing the name of a woman, Blair Tonzelli, who had been reported missing in 2023.
Horsch was charged with illegal gun and drug possession after his June 19 arrest, and was held on $500,000 bail.
Eugene Albert Horsch, 44, of Philadelphia.Courtesy of Philadelphia police
In the days after Horsch was arrested with the weapons in Center City, local and federal investigators searched his decrepit twin house on Chew Avenue and found another gun, as well as materials to grow marijuana.
They also discovered a trove of more concerning materials — barrels of chemicals in the basement, several urns holding cremated remains, supplies to make counterfeit IDs, documents tied to at least two women who have been missing for years, and a handwritten letter that described hurting people and mentioned the serial killer Ted Bundy.
A woman also told investigators Horsch had told her he knew how to use chemicals to melt bodies in the basement.
As officials investigated the whereabouts of Tonzelli, the woman whose name appeared on the ID handed to park rangers, they learned that she was reportedly last seen at the Chew Avenue house in late 2022.
They also found that another missing woman was last seen at the address. Amy McHale, the ex-wife of Horsch’s deceased father, Raymond “R.C.” Horsch, disappeared in June 2016.
In the months since the investigation began, police have repeatedly searched Horsch’s home, excavated its yard to recover pipes to test for DNA, and pored over hundreds of pieces of documents and Horsch’s devices in hopes of learning the fate of the missing women.
Law enforcement sources said none of the items recovered from inside the home — including what initially appeared to be significant amounts of blood — tested positive for blood or either woman’s DNA. It was not immediately clear if the tests of the excavated pipes have been completed.
Raymond “R.C.” Horsch in 1999.S. E. Stokowski / Wikimedia
Raymond Horsch was a porn actor and director who produced films and self-published novels that often featured women in addiction in violent fantasies — including some that depicted various ways to kill women. He cast himself in some of the stories as an “empathetic” serial killer who preyed on addicted women to end their suffering, and billed the books as stories that combined real details from his life story with his fantasies.
Investigators have since found themselves working to sort fact from fiction in discerning whether anything more sinister happened inside the home, or if it was just a den for troubled drug users.
Eugene Horsch’s lawyer, Jerome Brown, has said his client did nothing wrong. Brown did not attend Thursday’s hearing.
Horsch, too, did not appear in court. He remains in federal custody as Philadelphia homicide detectives and federal officials continue to investigate.
