A man was critically wounded in a stabbing on a SEPTA bus Friday afternoon in North Philadelphia, police said.
Around 3:30 p.m., a fight escalated into the stabbing on a Route 54 bus near the intersection of Germantown and Lehigh Avenues, said SEPTA spokesperson Andrew Busch.
The victim, who was stabbed in the neck and torso, ran to a nearby apartment, police said. He was reported in critical condition at Temple University Hospital, police said.
The victim said he did not know his attacker, police said.
The suspect, who was wearing a Snoop Dogg shirt, was last seen running from the scene on Germantown Avenue, police said.
The Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency is opening three resource centers this weekend in Philadelphia to aid the hundreds of people who experienced damage from last weekend’s major storms.
Each center will have representatives from state and city agencies, including the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, Pennsylvania Insurance Department, Philadelphia Housing Authority, Peco, and local community organizations.
Visitors can receive resources and assistance with their insurance coverage, avoiding scams, benefits and disability support, and other information related to the storm’s damage and aftermath.
Four “microburst” storms downed hundreds of trees in Philadelphia and Montgomery County Saturday in just a few minutes. The brief storms brought wind gusts between 60 to 70 mph, and toppled trees that had likely been weakened after weeks of heavy snow cover this winter.
The three resource centers will be held at the following dates and locations:
Saturday, July 18: Noon to 8 p.m. at Lucien Blackwell Community Center, 761 N. 47th St.
Sunday, July 19: Noon to 8 p.m. at Vare Recreation Center, 2600 Morris St.
Monday, July 20: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Wynnefield Library, 5325 Overbrook Ave.
The city’s Office of Emergency Management has received more than 1,000 reports of storm damage from residents as of Thursday, according to a PEMA spokesperson. The agency encourages residents who experienced damage to their homes, businesses or other property to fill out the city’s online damage survey so officials can properly document damages and allocate resources appropriately.
Ewart Rouse, 85, of Lawnside, retired award-winning reporter and editor for The Inquirer, author, journalism adjunct professor, mentor, immigrant advocate, and indomitable cricketer, died Thursday, July 2, of age-associated decline at the Samaritan Center at Voorhees.
Born in Trinidad, West Indies, Mr. Rouse immigrated to New York in 1969 and joined The Inquirer in 1974. For nearly 30 years, until he retired in 2002, Mr. Rouse was an award-winning business and news reporter, suburban editor, and mentor to hundreds of young journalists.
He won a 1980 Keystone Award for a news series on city taxi service and was recognized for another series on street gang homicides involving Black youth. Later, he wrote business columns and covered South Jersey news.
He opened a 1975 story about former President Gerald Ford’s first visit to Philadelphia with: “The old man sat alone and dejectedly with his flags against the wall of the Philadelphia National Bank building at 5th and Market Streets. ‘Not one,’ he muttered. ‘I haven’t sold not one flag today.’”
Mr. Rouse worked for the Associated Press in Washington DC.Courtesy of the family
Before The Inquirer, Mr. Rouse was a news and political reporter for the Associated Press in Newark, N.J., Atlantic City, and Washington, D.C. “He was a popular colleague who contributed importantly to the paper’s growth,” Gene Foreman, retired managing editor at The Inquirer, said on Facebook.
Other former Inquirer colleagues called Mr. Rouse “professional and gracious,” “careful and respectful,” and “kind and generous.” Retired Inquirer editor Lil Swanson said on Facebook: “Ewart was filled with wisdom and grace. When he was an editor, young writers flocked to him because he always made their stories better and helped them grow.”
He covered courts and politics for the Trinidad Guardian in Port-of-Spain before leaving for New York, and interviewed Trinidad Nobel laureate V.S. Naipaul for the 1997 book Conversations with V.S. Naipaul. In Philadelphia and South Jersey, he taught news writing, business writing, and investigative journalism at Temple, Rutgers, and Arcadia Universities.
Mr. Rouse loved to play, watch, and write about cricket.Ewart Rouse
Readers called his books “highly entertaining” and “a wonderful addition to cricket literature” in reviews. His daughter Karen said: “The clackety-clack (zing!) of his typewriter was a constant in our home.”
Mr. Rouse played cricket in Trinidad and later in South Jersey, and he cofounded the Philadelphia Cricket League, the New Jersey Cricket Association, and the Echelon Cricket Club. He played the game, managed teams, and became one of the region’s greatest advocates for cricket and its immigrant players.
In 2013, he earned a lifetime achievement award from the South Jersey Caribbean Cultural and Development Organization, and recognition from then-Camden Mayor Dana Redd for his contributions to the community as a journalist, teacher, and cricket activist. “It truly was an honor to be recognized by my own community,” he said on his website, ewartrouse.com.
In a 2016 online interview, Mr. Rouse was asked to advise young writers. “Read anything you get your hands on,” he said, “From books and newspapers … to labels on paint. Each contains nuggets of information that the mind will retrieve for just the right spot in your next project.”
Mr. Rouse and his wife, Vanda, met in Trinidad.Courtesy of the family
Ewart Rigsby Rouse was born Sept. 16, 1940, in Tunapuna, Trinidad. He was an avid reader and creative writer as a boy, and noticed one day that several of his favorite writers — Charles Dickens, John Steinbeck, and Ernest Hemingway — started out as newspaper reporters.
“And now I wanted to be a journalist like them,” he said in a short self-published autobiography.
He met his wife, Vanda, in Trinidad, and they married and had daughters Joann, Karen, and Kristin. They lived in New York, Pleasantville, N.J., and Washington, and settled in Lawnside in the 1970s.
Mr. Rouse was active with the C.C. Morris Cricket Library Association, the South Jersey Writers’ Group, and the Rainy Tuesday Writers Group. He was an avid gardener and routinely gave away bags of home-grown tomatoes to friends and neighbors.
Mr. Rouse enjoyed time with his grandsons. Courtesy of the family
He collected records, listened to Nat King Cole and Frank Sinatra, followed the 76ers, and grilled outdoors as often as possible. He took his family on memorable trips to Trinidad that “opened up a world to us that was accessible, one that we could dare to explore,” said his daughter Karen.
In 2016, Mr. Rouse told aspiring writers: “Who knows, maybe you end up with a bestseller. Some might call you a dreamer. But, hey, as the saying goes, you can’t have a dream come [true] if you don’t have a dream.”
The Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office has asked a state appeals court to block the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office from reopening a case that freed three men who spent nearly 30 years in prison for murder, saying state officials are overstepping their authority.
The request is the latest chapter in a legal fight over the scope of the attorney general’s newly expanded power in Philadelphia post-conviction cases. The dispute could determine whether the office can step in only before a judge acts — or whether it can challenge closed cases that are still within the window for appeal.
Common Pleas Court Judge Jennifer Schultz vacated the convictions of Marc Brittingham, Jermal Shuler, and Rasheed Turner in the 1997 killing of Essie Mae Thomas in May, after Philadelphia prosecutors and defense attorneys presented newly uncovered evidence that she said undermined confidence in the jury’s verdict.
The district attorney’s office declined to retry the men, and they were released from prison after 28 years.
Weeks later, after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court issued a landmark decision expanding the attorney general’s role in Philadelphia post-conviction cases, state prosecutors sought to intervene and appeal Schultz’s ruling.
In a motion filed Friday, the district attorney’s office said state prosecutors are twisting the high court’s decision and trying to bypass longstanding rules.
The decision gives the attorney general’s office the chance to weigh in before a judge grants a request supported by prosecutors to change a past conviction or sentence.
But Schultz issued her ruling in the men’s case weeks before the high court’s decision, and the window for state intervention had already closed, prosecutors Matthew Stiegler and Rebecca McDonald wrote in Friday’s filing.
In that interview, Sunday said that cases in which people have already been released from prison “are done.”
Attorneys for Brittingham, Shuler, and Turner made similar arguments in separate filings. They have also argued that reopening the case would unfairly upend the lives the men have begun rebuilding since their release.
The men were convicted of murder in 1998, a year after Thomas, 73, was found stabbed to death in her North Philadelphia home. But the testimony of the lone witness who placed them at the scene was discredited after new evidence upended Thomas’ time of death.
A spokesperson for the attorney general’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.
In earlier court filings, the attorney general’s office has taken a different view, writing that the high court’s decision gave state prosecutors the right to independently review Philadelphia cases — even if a judge ruled before the office had an opportunity to participate.
And in his interview with the Inquirer, Sunday also said his office would “have to take a look” at “cases that are still going through the appellate process.”
Philadelphia prosecutors contend that the Supreme Court has already rejected that reasoning, citing past decisions in which justices said that a case is closed with a judge’s final order — regardless of whether the deadline to appeal has expired.
The attorney general’s office has not challenged the newly discovered evidence that prompted the district attorney’s office to support vacating the convictions.
That evidence included information about the disciplinary history of Bennett Preston, a former assistant medical examiner whose trial testimony about Thomas’ time of death helped to corroborate the account of the only witness who linked the men to the killing. Two independent forensic pathologists later concluded Preston had incorrectly estimated when Thomas died. The experts said Thomas was likely killed as many as two days later than Preston had said.
State prosecutors, however, said they found “troubling inconsistencies” between the findings of Preston and the other pathologists, and believe the case warrants review.
The National Park Service removed early Wednesday the few panels that remained from the slavery exhibit at the President’s House, and replaced them with new panels.
The original displays were deemed to “inappropriately disparage Americans past or living” following President Donald Trump’s 2025 executive order on “restoring truth and sanity to American history.”
The newly installed panels include 11 whose renderings were published on the National Park Service’s website and first reported by The Inquirer in April, as well as smaller panels that weren’t previously made public. Among those are additional references to the nine people George Washington enslaved in his Philadelphia home.
Telling a blatant lie, such as claiming slavery didn’t exist, would be too easily exposed, said Michael Coard, a founding member of Avenging Our Ancestors, a group that advocated for the development of the site.
“The best lie is one that has a little bit of truth,” Coard said.
The new panels make light of slavery, the attorney said, and focus on Washington’s “discomfort” instead of the experience of the nine people the United States‘ first president enslaved in Philadelphia.
Others criticized the panels for drifting away from the site’s original purpose.
When the site open in 2010, the city and National Park Service said the President’s House exhibit “pays tribute” and “honors lives of enslaved Africans in presidential household.”
The Department of Interior said Wednesday the new panels “acknowledge the evils of slavery, including its injustices and hypocrisies, and, by telling the stories of the nine slaves that Washington kept in the President’s House, remind us of their essential humanity.”
The Inquirer photographed the original panels before their removal and the new panels that were installed this week. Here are the differences in the exhibit.
What’s gone
The original exhibit included five screens across the site that played reenactments depicting the daily lives of those enslaved at Washington’s Philadelphia home.
“The site had to tell the stories that are not often told and share the perspectives of the people who up to now have been nameless and voiceless,” said Rosalyn McPherson, the site’s project director, in the 2010 news release.
Those screens were turned off.
Also gone are the artistic panels, which included a portrait of Ona Judge, who escaped from slavery at the house, and another about Washington’s signing of the Fugitive Slave Act.
Workers remove the display of panel for Ona Judge at the President’s House in Independence National Historical Park in January.Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
What’s replaced
The removed panels included information about the suffering of enslaved people.
A panel titled “The Dirty Business of Slavery” included information about the slave trade, the constitutional compromise to appease slaveholders, the growth of the enslaved population during the presidencies of Washington and John Adams (who also lived at the President’s House), and a timeline of slavery from 1619 and through emancipation.
Another panel, titled “Life Under Slavery,” discussed the brutality of the notorious institution, resistance efforts, and slavery in Philadelphia.
It told the story of Absalom Jones and Richard Allen, men who were born into slavery and managed to buy their own freedom.
“Enslaved people of African descent in the North, deprived of fundamental freedom, endured profoundly difficult lives,” the panel read. ”Controlled by others, their families were always threatened by forced separation, and their work, often exhausting, was nearly always unpaid.”
Those panels were replaced with ones that include broad descriptions of slavery that do little to unpack the experience of those subjected to it, and focus on the triumph of emancipation.
The new “Fighting for Freedom” panel discusses the Underground Railroad, quotes Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln’s rise to the presidency, and the Emancipation Proclamation.
Another panel about “The Constitution and Slavery” begins by stating: “The words ‘slave’ and ‘slavery’ are not in the U.S. Constitution as ratified, nor the word ‘property’ in connection with language alluding to slavery.”
It discusses “compromises with pro-slavery delegates,” and ends with a section titled “fulfilling the promise” that quotes the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech.
A panel about “Slavery in the British Colonies” pays homage to Benjamin Franklin and Black abolitionists, and shows the declining numbers of enslaved people in Philadelphia between 1767 and 1847.
And in a trio of displays called “History Lost & Found,” the Trump administration focuses on how the 2007 archaeological dig of the site worked and discovery of primary sources documents it presents as non-controversial: Washington’s letters and a map of the property.
Unlike the original panels about the archaeological dig, the new ones have no mention of slavery, the nine people Washington enslaved, or the National Park Service’s initial apprehension about helping to develop the memorial.
But starkest difference comes in the treatment of slavery at the President’s House itself.
An original panel included a timeline of the site’s history from the time Indigenous people lived in the area and through the 2002 discovery of slavery at Washington’s household.
It continued to discuss the collaboration between the city, federal government, and community groups to develop the site.
The panel’s section on slavery at the house focused on George and Martha Washington ownership of enslaved people, the president’s secret efforts to evade Pennsylvania’s Gradual Abolition Act, and the escapes of Ona Judge and Hercules.
In contrast, the new panel titled “The Executive Mansion” follows a mention of slavery at the house with a statement that Washington’s views evolved and that he freed his slaves in his will.
Another new panel that addresses “Presidents Washington and Adams on Slavery” head on says Washington was “caught between his private doubts about slavery and his public responsibilities as president” and privately “often expressed discomfort with the institution.”
“Slaves living in the President’s House experienced a greater modicum of autonomy than elsewhere in the South such as to explore the city and sometimes even attend the theater, with Washington buying the tickets,” the panel reads.
On the same wall, a new smaller panels lists the nine people Washington enslaved alongside short bios. The panel tells visitors that Washington “knew and trusted his enslaved house staff,” and repeats that he used to “buy them tickets to the circus and the theater.”
The wall also includes a smaller panels that briefly tells escape stories of Judge and Hercules, and references Washington’s attempt to recapture them.
What’s new
Multiple panels throughout the exhibit share facts about U.S. history, but bear no connection to the site or slavery. These include “Celebrating Independence” and “Throughout the Years,” which denote the nation’s 100, 150, and 200 year celebrations.
And a series of panels provide a civic lesson about the history, powers, and role of the commander in chief. Another panel discusses “the need for an executive branch.”
New panels detail the biographies of George and Martha Washington, John and Abigail Adams, and Benedict Arnold. The biography of William Howe, a British commander who occupied Philadelphia during the Revolutionary War and lived at the President’s House, is also attached to the wall.
Finally, the new exhibit pays homage to Robert Morris, known as the “financier of the American revolution” and offered Washington the house as the executive mansion with a panel dedicated to his biography.
Morris’ ownership of a company that traded slaves is never mentioned.
A detailed image of one of the new panels installed by the National Park Service at the President’s House this week.Aidan T. Gallo / Staff Photographer
Smoke from Canadian wildfires continues to blanket the region, casting a haze across the sky and posing a risk for people with respiratory issues.
With massive fires burning across Western Ontario, forecasters said wind patterns shifted this week to allow the smoke from those fires to enter the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic United States.
The city raised the air quality alert level from code red to code purple — meaning the air is “very unhealthy” and can cause health issues for all people.
Friday morning, at least six of the city’s air quality sensors were registering above 200 in the amount of fine particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide in the air, a metric called the air quality index. The city website tracking air data warned people to stay inside, keep windows and doors closed, and run air purifiers if possible. Those who must venture outside should wear N95 or KN95 masks.
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An AQI between 150 and 200 is still considered unhealthy to breathe with prolonged exposure, according to the EPA. Children, older people, and those with respiratory issues could be particularly susceptible to health issues. In air quality alerts issued by the National Weather Service, forecasters recommended avoiding prolonged outdoor exposure, particularly activities like exercise.
By Friday a prior heat advisory had been lifted, with temperatures expected to near 90. Air quality tends to worsen in dense, urban environments during hot weather.
Forecasters urged residents across the eastern United States, particularly those with respiratory issues, to monitor alerts from local officials and be mindful of conditions where they live or work.
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If you’re not able to zoom in on the above map, click here for another version.
The wildfire smoke in Philly is forecast to last into the weekend — and be followed by storms
A man gets back into his car from the side of the highway as hazy skies cover the city skyline caused by wildfires in Canada on Friday, July 17, 2026, in Philadelphia.Aidan T. Gallo / Staff Photographer
Impacts from Canadian wildfire smoke increased throughout the Philadelphia region Friday, degrading air quality enough to prompt a code purple alert, and force the closure or suspension of some city amenities and services.
It was the latest bad weather event in Philadelphia’s run of tough luck in July, which has so far resulted in record-setting heat and destructive storms that have marred back-to-back weekends. Smoky conditions arrived Thursday, and were bad enough Friday to prompt the closure of city pools and spraygrounds, and temporarily stop trash pickup.
“Our worsening air quality is a dangerous development,” Palak Raval-Nelson, commissioner of the city Department of Public Health, said in a statement. “I strongly encourage all residents to take action to protect themselves by staying indoors, unless they need to be outdoors.”
Likewise, the Philadelphia Zoo remained closed Friday, saying in a statement that its animals were being “closely monitored.” The city, however, stopped short of recommending the cancelation of outdoor events, and large productions like comedian Shane Gillis’ performance at Lincoln Financial Field and a Death Cab for Cutie performance at the Highmark Mann Center for the Performing Arts were still set to go on as of late afternoon.
Officials said that venue owners had been advised of the conditions, and were able to make their own decisions as to whether those events would happen.
Trash collection in the city was expected to cautiously resume Saturday, officials said. Resumption of services was contingent upon improvement in air quality conditions, which vacillated between code purple and the comparatively less severe code red Friday.
A man adjusts his mask before crossing the Benjamin Franklin Parkway on Friday, July 17, 2026, in Philadelphia.Aidan T. Gallo / Staff Photographer
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection early Friday evening said air quality continues to improve throughout the state and storms on Saturday will help.
The agency issued a Code Orange air quality alert for Saturday in Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery Counties. The rest of the state is expected to remain in the Code Yellow, or moderate range.
This is an improvement from the Code Red and Code Purple conditions that resulted Friday from the wildfire smoke from Canada.
Rain and thunderstorms on Saturday are expected to help, but improvements will be slower in Southeastern Pennsylvania because the rain will arrive later, the agency said.
During Code Orange alerts, people should avoid long or intense outdoor activities, the agency said. Sensitive groups, including children, elderly residents, and those with respiratory illnesses should avoid all outdoor activities.
The agency storngly advised people to check airnow.gov for current air quality conditions in their area, as conditions may change throughout the day.
Saturday evening gospel concert at Dell Music Center postponed due to air quality
The “Praise Under the Stars” gospel concert at the Dell Music Center scheduled for Saturday evening has been postponed, the center said Friday.
A new concert date would be announced soon, the center said.
“Due to the hazardous air quality conditions affecting our region as a result of the ongoing Canadian wildfires, Praise Under the Stars, scheduled for Saturday, July 18, 2026, at 7:00 PM at the Dell Music Center, has been postponed out of an abundance of caution,” the center said on its website.
“The safety and well-being of our guests, artists, vendors, and staff remain our highest priority. While we are disappointed to postpone this special event, we believe it is the responsible decision given the current environmental conditions,” the center said.
“A new concert date will be announced as soon as possible. All previously purchased tickets will be honored for the rescheduled event,” the center said.
“We sincerely appreciate your understanding, patience, and continued support of the Dell Music Center. Please stay safe, and we look forward to welcoming you back soon,” the center said.
Flights were delayed into Philadelphia due to low visibility
Air traffic at the Philadelphia International Airport is seen here in November 2025.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
The Federal Aviation Administration issued a ground delay on flights headed into Philadelphia International Airport Friday afternoon due to low visibility caused by wildfire smoke.
According to FlightAware, 170 flights have been delayed heading into PHL Friday. Currently, the average delay for flights into Philly is 67 minutes, while the longest top out more than two hours.
Departing Philly, there have been 72 delays due to poor visibility.
Travelers are encouraged to check with their airlines for the latest flight information, as the impact of Canadian wildfires is expected to linger across the Philadelphia region Saturday.
The amphitheater at Rose Tree Park in Media, Pa.Alejandro A. Alvarez / Staff Photographer
Delaware County is canceling two events in Media due to unhealthy air quality conditions — Friday night’s Summer Concert Series at Rose Tree Park and Saturday’s Upper Darby Summer Stage Shooting Stars performance.
“While we understand Delco looks forward to these award-winning performances, we will always continue to put our resident’s health and safety first,” officials said in a statement.
Philly reduced its air quality alert and plans to resume trash collection as well as reopen city pools
A biker wearing a mask along South Broad Street due to the poor air quality.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia officials said city sanitation services would cautiously resume Saturday, when smoky conditions brought to the area by Canadian wildfires are expected to improve.
City pools, which were closed Friday amid code purple air quality, were also expected to reopen, pending the air conditions the weekend brings, officials said at a Friday afternoon news conference.
“We will make judgment decisions as to when we will resume collections in terms of a start time tomorrow,” said Carlton Williams, director of the Philadelphia Office of Clean and Green Initiatives. “But we do plan on working all day Saturday and Sunday to ensure that last week’s trash and recycling is collected in time for our services to be on a regular schedule starting Monday.”
Palak Raval-Nelson, the commissioner of the city’s Department of Public Health, said air conditions had at least temporarily improved by Friday afternoon, moving from the more serious code purple to the less severe code red.
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Despite that change, air conditions remained unhealthy, and officials advised that residents remain inside if possible, and limit their exposure outside to no more than 90 minutes at a time.
Air conditions, Raval-Nelson added, could also change again back to code purple, and officials were monitoring the situation.
Pools, said city Parks and Recreation Commissioner Susan Slawson, would reopen Saturday if air conditions were code red or below. If air conditions creeped back into code purple territory, they would remain closed, Slawson said.
Officials said that venue owners had been advised of the conditions, and were able to make their own decisions as to whether those events would continue to go on.
“We provide them with the information, and they make their decisions,” said city Managing Director Adam Thiel.
Storms could clear wildfire smoke Saturday, but flooding is possible
Lightning over Center City Philadelphia is seen from above the Camden Childrens Garden last week..Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
The city is warning people to prepare for potential flooding Saturday as heavy rainfall is expected to douse the region.
The forecasted Saturday storms likely will clear the wildfire smoke that has hung over the city since Thursday, the National Weather Service said. However, these “multiple rounds of storms” may cause flooding.
The flood watch is in effect from 10 a.m. Saturday through 2 a.m. Sunday, the city’s office of emergency management said. Storms may produce rainfall of two or three inches per hour.
“Be prepared to take action in the event that flooding develops,” the city said. It directed people to a website offering tips and resources.
Berks, Carbon, Delaware, Chester, Montgomery, Lehigh, Bucks, Monroe, and Northampton Counties also are all at risk. So are portions of northern Delaware and parts of New Jersey, including Camden and Gloucester Counties.
“Excessive runoff may result in flooding of rivers, creeks, streams, and other low-lying and flood-prone locations,” the city said. “Creeks and streams may rise out of their banks. Flooding may occur in poor drainage and urban areas.”
Flooding may not be the only problem. Friday morning, the National Weather Service said high winds and a potential tornado could also hit the area Saturday. On Saturday, high winds from four “microburst” storms downed nearly 300 trees in Philadelphia and left tens of thousands of residents without electricity. Philadelphia remains under a disaster emergency declaration as it recovers from those storms.
Bebe Rexha’s FIFA Fan Festival performance appears to still be on
FIFA Fan Festival is going on as scheduled, despite air quality issues.Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
As FIFA Fan Festival at Philly’s Lemon Hill winds down in its last week of activity, Friday’s Bebe Rexha performance is still a go.
The dance pop artist’s free performance at Fan Fest is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. with gates opening at 5 p.m.
So far, organizers haven’t announced any schedule changes. On Thursday, DEADMAU5’s free performance also went on as scheduled despite the air quality concerns.
The grounds are also scheduled to be open this weekend for the World Cup’s closing matches.
A Death Cab For Cutie and Japanese Breakfast concert at the Mann Center Friday is still on
Death Cab For Cutie play the Highmark Mann on Friday, with Japanese Breakfast opening.Ryan Russell
Friday’s Death Cab for Cutie headlining show at the TD Pavilion at Highmark Mann was expected to proceed as scheduled.
That’s according to officials at the Highmark Mann Center for the Performing Arts. Neither Death Cab for Cutie nor Japanese Breakfast, who is opening, have commented so far.
Anticipation is high for the show, featuring Japanese Breakfast, whose front woman Michelle Zauner has Philly ties. Friday’s show would mark Zauner’s first Philly performance since announcing her pregnancy at her band’s Governors Ball show.
On social media channels, fans have started game-planning: discussing wearing N95 masks to the show as a precaution as questions about the air quality linger.
And while the show must go on (for now at least) at the Highmark Mann and Shane Gillis at the Linc, smaller shows, like a Friday night concert and movie night, are being canceled.
According to a statement, the Chicago 9’s performance at Lindenwold Park and Movies with Metro at Von Nieda Park in Camden are off, citing the air quality.
“Not canceling cause of the smoke,” the Mechanicsburg, Pa., native and Eagles die-hard fan posted on his Instagram story, with a sneak peek at the outdoor stage.
Shane Gillis says his comedy show at Lincoln Financial Field Friday night won’t be canceled.Shane Gillis / Instagram
Gillis is expected to perform his edgy, often controversial comedy to a near-capacity crowd. Unnamed special guests are also billed to make appearances.
Gillis cut his teeth in the Philly comedy scene after graduating from West Chester University. He landed a gig at Saturday Night Live butwas fired from the show for having made homophobic and racist jokes on a podcast.
As smoke from Canadian wildfires continues to impact air quality across the region, New Jersey is handing out masks to commuters forced to be outdoors.
“I’ve directed NJ TRANSIT and the New Jersey Turnpike Authority to make select quantities of masks available to commuters and at rest areas along the Turnpike and Parkway. The Port Authority will also be distributing masks,” Gov. Mikie Sherrill said in a statement shared on social media.
Air quality across New Jersey was in the “unhealthy” range as of 10 a.m. Friday morning, with South Jersey faring worse than the northern part of the state.
A station in East Greenwich Township, Gloucester County, reported an air quality index of 191, while Atlantic City was 173, both in the unhealthy range.
During Phillies game, smoke-filled skies were ‘not ideal’ for players
Smoke-filled air lingers over Citizens Bank Park Thursday night. Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
The Phillies aren’t scheduled to play again until late Saturday afternoon, but Thursday’s game was moved up an hour early because air quality was expected to worsen after sunset.
The forecast proved correct. When the game started, the air quality index was at 157, according to airnow.gov, categorized as “unhealthy.” It rose to 166 by 8 p.m., with the Center City skyline no longer visible from South Philly. By 9 p.m., it was 192.
“It’s not ideal,” Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola said. “But it is what it is. Can’t really do anything about it. It’s one of those days where it was smoky. But I mean, it’s an outdoor stadium. You’ve got to get the game in and play through different conditions.”
Brandon Marsh said home-plate umpire Dan Iassogna, also the crew chief, repeatedly asked players throughout the game if they didn’t feel well or if the conditions were disruptive in the game.
“Yeah, multiple times they were checking with us, asking us players — which was cool to see — if we were good to go, and obviously we were all ready to go,“ Marsh said. ”That was good by them. I wasn’t expecting that, but that was good.”
The Phillies and Mets also altered their pregame routines. Neither team took batting practice on the field and spent “as little time as possible on the field,” interim manager Don Mattingly said.
“Just doing what you absolutely feel like you have to do after being gone for three days,” he added. “Not trying to absorb a bunch of energy when you’re getting heated.”
Current look at air quality in Philly and across the area
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// Timestamp 07/17/26 9:13am
Smoke likely to stay until Saturday afternoon, National Weather Service says
Hazy skies over the Navy Yard in Philadelphia Thursday.Aidan T. Gallo / Staff Photographer
Shifting winds may give Philly a break from the smoke today, but the air quality is likely to remain poor until at least Saturday afternoon, the National Weather Service said Friday.
Wildfires continue to burn in Western Ontario, and northwest winds are blanketing the region with particulate-filled air that gives the sky its hazy appearance, said meteorologist Joe DeSilva.
“As winds shift more northerly today, that’ll push the majority of the smoke south of our area briefly. A resurgence of the smoke is expected tonight as winds shift again,” DeSilva said.
The smoke is forecast out over the next 48 hours, and it’s difficult to predict what happens beyond that timeline, DeSilva said.
However, a storm system expected Saturday should clear the smoke out, he said.
That system will bring its own hazards. DeSilva predicted “multiple rounds” of showers and thunderstorms Saturday, bringing the potential for flash flooding. In addition, “damaging winds” are likely, with the potential for a tornado.
“It definitely looks like damaging winds will be the primary hazard type,” he said.
‘Hazardous’ air quality recorded in Chester as smoke lingers across the region
Air quality across the Philadelphia was poor Friday morning due to wildfire smoke from Canada, with most of the area in the “very unhealthy” zone.
The city of Chester was among the worse, hitting an air quality index of 312 at 7 a.m. Friday. A reading over 300 is considered “hazardous,” with air quality so poor it could be dangerous to everyone.
By 9 a.m., the number dipped down a bit to 279, solidly in the “very unhealthy” category.
An air quality station in Philadelphia The Inquirer is tracking peaked at 291 Thursday night, but had dropped to 250 by Friday morning.
Philly pools are closed and trash pickup suspended as residents are encouraged to stay indoors
The Philadelphia Museum of Art is behind a smoky haze Thursday.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia pools and spraygrounds will be closed Friday and trash pickup is suspended due to “very unhealthy” air quality caused by Canadian wildfires.
“Our worsening air quality is a dangerous development,” Palak Raval-Nelson, the commissioner of the city’s Department of Public Health, said in a statement. “I strongly encourage all residents to take action to protect themselves by staying indoors, unless they need to be outdoors.”
As of 7 a.m., Philadelphia’s air quality index was 267, solidly in the middle of the “very unhealthy” range, which means the the general public is at risk for serious heath effects.
Especially at risk are residents with heart or lung conditions, who should take “extra special care” outdoors, Raval-Nelson said. Children, older adults, pregnant women, and people with weakened immune systems are also at higher risk.
Raval-Nelson said residents should avoid going outdoors unless necessary, and those that do leave should wear an N95 or KN95 mask.
“This situation is dangerous, and if we all take care and look out for each other we will get through this,” Raval-Nelson said at a news conference Thursday night.
People experiencing symptoms including trouble breathing, heart palpitations, nausea, or dizziness are encouraged to seek immediate medical attention.
Despite the warning, most city services will operate normally. The city is not recommending outdoor events be canceled, and employees working outdoors are being encouraged to take frequent breaks and mask up.
A ‘code purple’ air quality alert is in place across Pennsylvania
John Burns Jr., of Grays Ferry, Philadelphia, Pa., sits out at Cherry Street Pier with the wildfire smoke from Canada Thursday.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
The smoke, which is expected to blanket the region at least through Friday, originated from fires burning in Western Ontario, said Sarah Johnson, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Mount Holly office.
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has declared a Code Purple Air Quality Alert for Friday. Code purple signifies very unhealthy air, meaning people should avoid long or intense outdoor activities, and sensitive groups should avoid all outdoor activities. The department suggested not using gas-powered lawn and garden equipment, and avoiding the burning of leaves or trash.
The smoke was swept in by winds that mixed to keep it closer to the ground.
“It’s just a factor of the winds at all levels kind of working together,” Johnson explained.
It is difficult to pinpoint when the air quality might return to normal, she said. Those forecasts come from state environmental protection departments and are usually no more than 48 hours out.
Rain forecast for Saturday could help suppress the smoke, Johnson said, but it’s too early to be sure.
What to know about the wildfire smoke in Philly and its health impacts
Penn State graduate student Ray Boone waits for the bus with a face mask because of the air quality Thursday.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
As Canada grapples with hundreds of active wildfires, the rest of North America is feeling the impacts with air quality alerts.
In Philadelphia and elsewhere, the air quality score is considered very unhealthy, particularly for the most sensitive people.
Whether you are planning to go out or stay home, here’s what three experts had to say about staying healthy and what precautions are needed:
What makes this smoke so toxic?
Exposure to this particular fire smoke is a serious matter due to “photochemical aging,” said Eric Balaban, a pulmonary and critical care fellow at Temple University.
As smoke travels, it interacts with oxygen, heat, and sunlight, creating a toxic profile that helps generate high levels of ground-level ozone and highly irritating aerosols, Balaban said.
Ground-level ozone is a pollutant that forms when nitrogen oxides and volatile organics emitted by vehicles, power plants, and industry react in sunlight, especially during hot days such as Thursday.
The pollutants aren’t the only problem.
The fine particulate matter within the smoke is small enough to cross from the lungs directly into the bloodstream, Balaban said, increasing the risk of heart attacks and strokes, in addition to causing acute chest tightness, shortness of breath, and dizziness in otherwise healthy people.
This map shows air quality in the Northeastern U.S.
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The sun peeks through a blanket of smoke over the Chicago skyline Thursday.JAMIE KELTER DAVISThe Statue of Liberty, seen from the Staten Island Ferry as smoke from wildfires blankets the sky.Yuki IwamuraA man walks along the Detroit River during poor air quality due to smoke from Canadian wildfires.Paul SancyaChildren look out at downtown Toronto from the observation deck of the CN Tower.IAN WILLMSA watercraft sits in the Detroit River near the skyline during poor air quality due to smoke from Canadian wildfires.Paul Sancya
Canadian wildfire photos: How things look elsewhere
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
When did the Trump administration carry out the replacement of the President’s House exhibit at Independence Mall?
CorrectIncorrect. XX% of other readers got this question right.
President Donald Trump’s administration has installed its own version of history at the President’s House, swapping panels on the brutality of slavery at the site for displays that experts say sanitize George Washington’s role as an enslaver. The change happened overnight Tuesday into Wednesday, hours after the city hosted MLB All-Star Game events near the site, allowing the government to switch out the displays and shut down the television screens without public scrutiny.
Question 2 of 10
How are SEPTA and Amtrak responding to the current heat wave?
CorrectIncorrect. XX% of other readers got this question right.
The extreme heat warning led transit agencies to slow down trains to ensure safe travel amid highs in the upper 90s. Amtrak and SEPTA were slowing trains down by 5 to 10 mph.
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Question 3 of 10
There’s a 1920s house for sale on Canterbury Road in Abington whose prior residents may include the heir to an internationally known local ___ company.
CorrectIncorrect. XX% of other readers got this question right.
The $1.2M house is thought to have ties to a famous shoe heir. The previous owners who sold the house in 2013 passed on a framed print from the early days of Laird & Schober Shoes, a Philadelphia company that rose to international prominence in the early 20th century. The company won an award from the Franklin Institute in 1900 for shoe manufacturing, and collaborated with famed Italian designer Elsa Schiaparelli.
Question 4 of 10
During his scheduled appearance at a defense industry summit in Central Pennsylvania, President Donald Trump took the opportunity to take some jabs at Gov. Josh Shapiro as the governor runs for reelection. Trump called Shapiro this:
CorrectIncorrect. XX% of other readers got this question right.
“This guy Shapiro is totally overrated. I watched him the other night doing a speech, and he does not have what it takes,” Trump said in Carlisle. “Maybe he’ll win, and he’s expected to win, but I hear things about Stacy [Garrity], and I’m hearing some poll numbers that are very good. But Shapiro is — he doesn’t have what it takes.” Shapiro, who also attended the summit, held back from pointedly criticizing Trump’s foreign aggression during his panel, and he left the summit before the president’s appearance.
Question 5 of 10
This local personality has the most-searched Wikipedia pages of celebrities born in Lower Merion or Narberth:
CorrectIncorrect. XX% of other readers got this question right.
Topping the list is Narberth native Kylie Kelce, who is also among the top 100 searched celebrities in the region, ranking No. 50 overall. Part of her online rise came about after her podcast “Not Gonna Lie” launched in late 2024.
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A 17-year-old from Lower Merion was booed during the Home Run Derby. How did he respond?
CorrectIncorrect. XX% of other readers got this question right.
“I loved that,” 17-year-old Reed Weiner said of the boos. “I think it’s an honor, to be honest. Like, when I go to Phillies games, I love that stuff. I’ll boo everyone.”
Question 7 of 10
What is the goal of the Sunshine Protection Act, which passed in the House?
CorrectIncorrect. XX% of other readers got this question right.
The House passed the Sunshine Protection Act, which aims to extend the amount of daylight when Americans are most active by making daylight saving time permanent. Critics say the concept has drawbacks.
Question 8 of 10
Listed on Margate restaurant Tideline’s drink menu, the ‘Liquid Asset’ is a pricey cocktail. That’s because it comes with this item on the side:
CorrectIncorrect. XX% of other readers got this question right.
The drink consists of top-shelf tequila, a big ice cube, and a red chili pepper — for the hefty price of $1.1 million. It comes with a custom-built 39-foot speedboat. If someone buys the “cocktail,” they’ll be presented with a contract to sign off on the purchase price, the boat, and all its features — plus a special engraved bottle of Clase Azul Gold tequila and the cocktail itself.
Question 9 of 10
The Emmy Awards will be a Philly affair. Fresh off concluding its fifth season, the Emmy-winning powerhouse Abbott Elementary returns to the awards ceremony with how many nominations?
CorrectIncorrect. XX% of other readers got this question right.
Abbott Elementary received seven nominations, including outstanding comedy series and outstanding casting. West Philly’s Quinta Brunson, Abbott’s star and creator, was nominated for outstanding lead actress in a comedy series for her role as Janine Teagues and outstanding writing for a comedy series for the episode “Team Building.” Brunson won an outstanding lead actress Emmy for the same role in 2023 and an outstanding writing award for the Abbott pilot in 2022.
Question 10 of 10
Call Your Mother, the Washington, D.C.-based bagel sandwich shop, has signed for a third Philadelphia location. Where did the married couple and owners, Andrew Dana and chef Daniela Moreira, first meet?
CorrectIncorrect. XX% of other readers got this question right.
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.
After taking the pulpit at the First Haitian Church of God of Prophecy on Sunday, the Rev. Frantz Ulysse immediately spoke to the calamity that confronts families in his congregation:
The end of the special immigration status that for years has allowed thousands of Haitians to live and work in Philadelphia and across the United States with their homeland in chaos ― ruinous natural disasters, governmental collapse, and gang violence that has displaced more than a million people.
“We, as Haitians, we are in trouble,” Ulysse told worshipers at the Olney church. “We need to pray, because our God is a faithful God, and I believe he’s going to do something for us. … Our homeland, Haiti, it is not a safe place to go back to right now.”
Prayers have been buttressed by petitions and by pleas to Congress to help before it’s too late.
President Donald Trump is poised to return roughly 350,000 Haitians to a country that the U.S. government says is too dangerous for Americans, after the Supreme Court ruled last month that he could end temporary protected status for immigrants from Haiti and Syria.
TPS is a humanitarian status that the U.S. can grant to foreign nationals whose nations are embroiled in war, environmental disasters, epidemics, or other extraordinary circumstances. It provides work authorization and protection from removal, but no path to permanent residency or citizenship.
Among Philadelphia’s 11,000-strong Haitian community, disbelief over the court decision has turned to misery and fear, advocates say.
The U.S. State Department has told Americans to stay out of Haiti, issuing its highest “Do Not Travel” advisory and warning those who insist on going to prepare a last will and testament.
Many Haitians ask: How can Haiti be safe for my family if it’s not safe for others? Some face the prospect of separation from spouses and children who are U.S. citizens. Some will not step outside their homes to go to work, church, or school, afraid that federal agents could be watching, advocates said.
“A lot of people are suffering now,” said Clifford Solomon, a church usher who is the father of four American children and whose wife is about to deliver a fifth. “A lot of my family is here [under TPS], my friends, my neighbors, all of them.”
Clifford Solomon, a church usher at the First Haitian Church of God of Prophecy, poses for a portrait before service in Philadelphia on July 12.Sarah Silbiger / For The Inquirer
The Trump administration insists that “temporary” means temporary. The president tried and failed to end TPS for Haiti, the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere ― two-thirds of residents live in poverty ― during his first term.
While running for president in 2024, he falsely accused Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, of eating cats and dogs, and blamed those in tiny Charleroi, Pa., set on the Monongahela River about 20 miles south of Pittsburgh, of causing “massive crime.”
The court decision did not immediately terminate TPS for people from Haiti and Syria, but started the process for implementing an order that typically takes 32 days. Once TPS ends, holders revert to their previous immigration status, meaning those Haitians who were undocumented or have no other protection will be subject to arrest and deportation.
Meanwhile, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services says work authorizations for Haitians will expire on July 24.
“We are seeing the impact on the community in Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia, and across the country,” said Guerline Jozef, founder of the California-based Haitian Bridge Alliance, a national nonprofit. “The fear of deportation, the fear of family separation, the fear of losing everything.”
The alliance has helped commence a series of pro-TPS rallies led by labor unions, faith leaders, and immigrant rights groups in cities from San Diego to Boston, proclaiming that “families who have built their lives, careers, and communities in the United States deserve stability, dignity, and protection — not fear and uncertainty.”
Supporters of the Haitian community rally at City Hall in Springfield, Ohio, June 25. In Springfield, some residents see the end of an economic boom after the end of a humanitarian program for immigrants. Others see still darker possibilities. AMY POWELL
Yet uncertainty rules, and many Haitians with TPS are investigating options even as they hope for relief from Congress.
Esaie Pierre, founder of Men Anpil, a Philadelphia-based nonprofit that helps Haitian migrants, said he is assisting people who want to apply for asylum in the United States. Others who come to him are considering where else in the world they might be able to live.
One young man is thinking about Chile, Pierre said.
“They are not wanted here, but have established some kind of life here,” Pierre said. “We’ve assimilated. I’ve assimilated.”
The events that led to this moment began in January 2010, when Haiti suffered a massive earthquake ― the 7.0-magnitude seism followed by a 6.1-magnitude aftershock ― that, as the National Immigration Forum put it, fundamentally altered the nation’s trajectory.
Estimates of the death toll ranged from 100,000 to 300,000 people, while about 1.5 million were forced into unsanitary, overcrowded camps. The damage crippled the government.
Three days after the initial quake, the Obama administration announced that undocumented Haitian immigrants in the U.S. would be granted TPS.
Thousands more would be welcomed over time under humanitarian programs, and become eligible for TPS, as Haiti grew mired in crisis ― a deadly cholera epidemic the same year, Hurricane Sandy in 2012 and Hurricane Matthew in 2016, and a 7.2-magnitude earthquake in 2021 that killed more than 1,000.
That year the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse ― elected four years earlier amid allegations of fraud and corruption ― saw the collapse of basic government functions and the rise of armed gangs.
“You send them back, it’s like you’re signing a death sentence for them,” said Esther Emmanuel, a church soloist who has family members here under TPS. “We’re asking God to do a miracle and to hear the cries of his people, and to also soften the hearts of Congress.”
Esther Emmanuel, a church soloist who has family members in the United States under temporary protected status at the First Haitian Church of God of Prophecy in Philadelphia on July 12.Sarah Silbiger / For The Inquirer
Today the United Nations estimates that 90% of Port-au-Prince, the capital and largest city, is under the control of criminal groups, the violence having left thousands dead and displaced more than 1.4 million people.
The State Department warns of robberies, carjackings, and sexual assaults. It advises U.S. citizens who go to Haiti to establish plans in case they are kidnapped ― including a “proof of life” protocol, so family members can ask specific questions to kidnappers as a way to determine if their loved one is still alive.
“The only general hospital in Port-au-Prince has been closed for over two years,” Jozef said. “There’s no infrastructure in Haiti for people to be received. … We find ourselves as a community without a home, without a home to go to, without a home to stay in.”
Talie Cerin, who lives in Philadelphia’s Cobbs Creek neighborhood, was visiting Haiti at the time of the 2010 earthquake. She watched her childhood home crumble.
She has lived here under TPS, graduating from Immaculata University, then earning a master’s degree in education from Eastern University, and now working as the founder and lead editor of Woy Magazine, an internet publication about Haitian experiences.
“The toughest part about being a TPS recipient is the ambiguity,” Cerin said. “The confusion keeps you from making long-term plans. It traps you in a prison of conjecture, whispers of ICE raids, and stories of people in detention centers.”
Her sister, Lunise Cerin, was born in Philadelphia but lived in Haiti from age 5 to 16 before returning here to attend high school and college. The worry of losing her sister, and possibly their home, has been disorienting, Lunise Cerin said, generating “an enormous cloud of grief.”
Her family has lived in Philadelphia since the 1980s, she said, and for them the end of TPS would mean the end of an established, multigenerational life.
“Are we going to be gone?” she wondered.
Congregants sing during service at the First Haitian Church of God of Prophecy in Philadelphia on July 12.Sarah Silbiger / For The Inquirer
Many at the First Haitian Church of God of Prophecy ask the same.
The pastor’s office has been deluged with phone calls. Some people tell Ulysse that they might as well die, that returning to Haiti is impossible, but trying to stay here without TPS means they cannot work to pay rent or to buy food for their children.
“They don’t know what to do,” Ulysse said. “I let them know God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, to trust the Lord. … Me, my heart is telling me something good is going to happen.”
A 60-year-old Mayfair man was arrested Thursday and charged in connection with the arson fire last week at a Northeast Philadelphia mosque, U.S. Attorney David Metcalf said Thursday.
On July 5 around 2 a.m., Vincent Lang allegedly threw an incendiary device into the entrance of the Northeast Philadelphia Islamic Center on the 1400 block of Tyson Avenue. The mosque was unoccupied and no injuries were reported.
Two days later, investigators received a tip that Lang allegedly was the perpetrator.
Federal investigators conducted surveillance at Lang’s home and observed his black 2009 Hyundai Santa Fe had handwritten messages on the rear and passenger side windows that included “White Pride” and “F- Islam,” the criminal complaint said.
The aftermath of a July 5 arson attack at the Northeast Philadelphia Islamic Center.CAIR
Stickers on the back of Lang’s vehicle included one that appeared to say “Federal Terrorist Hunting License,” the complaint said.
Investigators found what they believed was a Facebook account allegedly used by Lang. On July 10, a post was created on the account that included anti-Islamic comments and also a comment using racial slurs about the rape of a young girl.
Lang also allegedly commented on posts about the arson investigation: “How can it be a hate crime they might have done it out of love,” the comment said with a red heart emoji.
Lang was charged with one count of maliciously damaging or destroying by means of fire any building or property used in interstate commerce, or attempting to do so.
If convicted, Lang faces a maximum possible sentence of 20 years in prison, with a mandatory minimum of five years’ imprisonment, Metcalf said.
After the attack, Masukul Islam Khan, the mosque’s president said: “Our mosque is more than a place of worship. It is a welcoming community center that has served families, neighbors, and people of all backgrounds for many years.”
He added: “Any act of violence or hatred directed at a house of worship is an attack on the values of safety, religious freedom, and unity that our city cherishes.”
Metcalf said the case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Arson and Explosives Task Force, with assistance from the FBI, Philadelphia Fire Department Fire Marshal’s Office Special Investigations Unit, Philadelphia Police Department, and the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Amanda R. Reinitz and J. Jeanette Kang, with the assistance of the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, Metcalf said.
