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  • Trump plans blitz of $138 million and counting to save midterm Republicans

    Trump plans blitz of $138 million and counting to save midterm Republicans

    President Donald Trump’s political operation has unleashed its vast financial resources to try to save the Republican Party’s control of Congress, reserving nearly $138 million over the past 10 days to help the party’s midterm candidates.

    The planned spending linked to Trump’s $400 million super political action committee has grown by the day and is set to fuel a massive ad campaign supporting battleground Republican candidates beginning this month. Some Republicans for months have criticized Trump’s super PAC, MAGA Inc., for not seriously engaging in the midterms despite its huge war chest.

    But now a blitz of spending tied to the group has arrived.

    A new super PAC that The New York Times previously reported was linked to MAGA Inc., No Going Back PAC Inc., has booked more than $95 million worth of ads, according to data from AdImpact, a media tracking firm.

    Another $27 million worth of ads is slated to come from another new super PAC called Safety and Affordability PAC Inc. The group is financially backed by MAGA Inc., according to two people with knowledge of the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to disclose a confidential arrangement. The group has not yet begun advertising.

    The paperwork for No Going Back and Safety and Affordability was filed with the Federal Election Commission six minutes apart by the same treasurer.

    So far, Safety and Affordability PAC has appeared to focus on helping House Republicans. It has booked ads in 15 races for the lower chamber. No Going Back PAC, by contrast, has booked two-thirds of its ad reservations on Senate races. And MAGA Inc. itself has booked another $9 million in ads — so far, only in the Texas Senate race.

    The three super PACs seem to have essentially carved up the midterm map; so far, their only overlapping advertising spending is in just two House races: New York’s 17th District and Michigan’s 4th District.

    In addition to the ad reservations, the super PACs have also spent about $6.5 million on direct-mail efforts and about $80,000 on text messages, according to FEC records. Together, the three groups are slated to spend about $138 million on ads, mail and texts to help Republican candidates in about 50 general-election races, spending the most on Senate contests in Michigan, Ohio and Alaska.

    The House races with the most planned spending by the Trump operation are in New York’s 17th District, Florida’s 25th District and Michigan’s 4th District.

    Details on the precise financial arrangement between MAGA Inc. and the two newer super PACs remain unknown and could be revealed in future filings with the FEC.

    The two newer super PACs appear to be so-called pop-up groups, appearing late in an election cycle and spending heavily before they are legally required to disclose their donors.

    The two groups were formed in quick succession on Sept. 1 by Charles Gantt, a Republican political operative who specializes in campaign finance, according to FEC disclosures. Both of the super PACs’ websites are nearly identical in design, down to the same boilerplate text that each group “makes independent expenditures in U.S. federal elections in support of candidates who share the values of the founders and funders” of each group.

    Gantt did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    The spending should quiet Republicans who harbored suspicion that Trump’s political group would hold close to its resources for his own political projects. The trio of Trump groups are, together, slated to be the biggest ad spenders in the November elections outside the super PACs tied to congressional leadership, according to AdImpact data.

    This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

  • Satellites show Earth lost more than 12 trillion tons of ice from Greenland, Antarctica in 47 years

    Satellites show Earth lost more than 12 trillion tons of ice from Greenland, Antarctica in 47 years

    About 12.5 trillion tons of ice from glaciers in Greenland and Antarctica have melted since 1979, which is enough frozen water to stack ice 5 feet deep across the continental United States, according to a major scientific report.

    A warming Earth is accelerating the melting of the planet’s two major ice sheets, with five-sixths of the melt not coming from hotter air, but from warmer waters eating away at the ice sheets from below and the sides, with glaciers flowing into the oceans, according to a study in Wednesday’s journal Scientific Data. That’s bad news for future sea level rise, the study’s authors said.

    “The ice sheets are melting away fast,” said study co-author Eric Rignot, an ice scientist at University of California, Irvine. “We are melting the polar regions, sea level is rising worldwide and will exacerbate the vulnerability of coastal regions.”

    Huge numbers for ice melt, people flooded

    The numbers behind the melt are both mind-bogglingly huge and deceptively small.

    All that melted ice turned into nearly 3 quadrillion gallons of water, which pushed global sea levels up about an inch since 1979, on top of other climate factors raising ocean heights, the report said.

    An inch may not sound like much, but for every third of an inch (or centimeter) of sea level rise, another 2 to 3 million people get flooded at least once a year, said lead study author Ines Otosaka, an ice scientist at Northumbria University in England.

    The Jakobshavn glacier in Greenland is now retreating up to 164 feet a day, Otosaka said.

    The international collaboration of polar scientists, headed by the European Space Agency, had in the past only looked at ice sheet melt since the 1990s based on European satellite data. But by incorporating NASA satellites, the scientists were able to chart ice sheet volumes in Antarctica back to 1979 and in Greenland back to 1972.

    The melting is accelerating

    “There is a clear trend that the ice sheets are losing more mass and it has been increasing from decade to decade, especially if you look at the ice being discharged to the ocean,” Otosaka said. “And that’s quite clear that there’s a link to climate change.”

    It showed that in the 1970s, 1980s and into the 1990s, the ice sheets were relatively stable, but then melt started happening and it really kicked in during the 2010s, Otosaka said.

    “That’s something to be concerned about as it shows that the changes are tracking decades behind global warming, which means we can expect them to continue for decades more — even if we are able to stop heating the planet,” said study co-author Andrew Shepherd, also of Northumbria.

    The accelerating numbers seemed to pause from 2020 to 2023, but the study’s authors said it more reflected short-term weather variations not long-term trends. Otosaka said the study stopped with 2023 data, but she’s looked at measurements since and found the accelerating trend has picked back up.

    A lot of the stability in Antarctica was because East Antarctica had record snowfall, which compensated for the rapid melting in the less stable West Antarctic Ice Sheet, the authors said.

    The three-year hiatus was “just a bump in the record,” Rignot said. “The long rise is climate and the threat is crystal clear.”

    Worrying about a collapse scenario

    The biggest changes scientists saw are in what they call dynamic processes, which are more abrupt and active than the slow steady melting from the air, and that’s something prone to trigger runaway “tipping points,” Otosaka said.

    New York University ice scientist David Holland said that’s what concerns him “because most of the ice loss is dynamical and that is exactly what you would expect in an ice sheet instability collapse scenario.”

    The international team used 45 independent surveys and 27 different satellites. “The use of relatively independent methods gives me greater confidence in the result,” said Holland, who wasn’t part of the study. “The upward trend is real.”

    “The ‘wild cards’ of Antarctic mass loss continue to pose a challenge for human management of the planet — a clear and present danger, but many decades in the future,” said University of Colorado ice scientist Ted Scambos, who wasn’t part of the study. “We are now as a society smart enough to know the future, but not prudent enough to act upon the knowledge.”

  • GOP defections widen as House passes measure intended to halt the Iran war

    GOP defections widen as House passes measure intended to halt the Iran war

    The House on Tuesday passed a largely symbolic measure intended to halt the war in Iran — the latest bipartisan attempt to limit President Donald Trump’s war powers.

    The vote, which advanced by a margin of 220 to 204, came after similar efforts this summer. Seven Republicans joined Democrats in supporting it, the largest number of GOP lawmakers so far to publicly oppose the war.

    Rep. Zach Nunn and Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Iowa and Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina joined four Republican lawmakers who had voted for previous measures: Reps. Tom Barrett of Michigan, Warren Davidson of Ohio, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Thomas Massie of Kentucky.

    The measure, led by Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Massachusetts), directs the administration to “remove United States Armed Forces from hostilities against the Islamic Republic of Iran” except for personnel needed to defend American or allied bases in the Middle East.

    The vote relects Democrats’ months-long strategy to force votes on war powers resolutions in order to highlight Republican support for the unpopular conflict, which after seven months has roiled global energy markets and depleted the Pentagon’s stocks of precision weaponry.

    The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office released a report Tuesday estimating that the war had cost about $38 billion through July, and an additional $2 billion to $3 billion per month depending on the intensity of the fighting.

    The Pentagon did not respond to the CBO’s requests for information and has previously estimated the war would cost $37.5 billion through the end of September — though that total does not account for the substantial damage to U.S. bases targeted by Iran throughout the region.

    In June, the House and Senate passed a similar measure calling on Trump to end the war in Iran, though the White House has asserted that the measure is not legally binding and Democrats and Republicans disagree on whether it has the force of law. The House again voted to limit Trump in July, but a similar measure failed in the Senate.

    U.S. Central Command, which oversees America’s military operations in the region, has maintained a footprint of around 50,000 troops in the Middle East and has periodically struck Iran following the collapse of a ceasefire the Trump administration reached with Tehran in June.

  • PHL ranked last among peer airports for the sixth straight year in a JD Power customer survey

    PHL ranked last among peer airports for the sixth straight year in a JD Power customer survey

    Philadelphia International Airport has once again landed at the bottom of JD Power’s traveler satisfaction survey among similarly sized airports — for a sixth year in a row.

    The biggest thing holding PHL back continues to be its aging building.

    “They’re in dire need of new terminal facilities,” said Michael Taylor of JD Power, later adding, “The building needs to be renovated or replaced.”

    “When you run out of space, that’s a very limiting factor,” Taylor said. “There isn’t much you need to do other than get more space.”

    Last year, some 30.1 million passengers traveled through PHL — nearly 70% of them with American Airlines. While its ranking remained poor, its score on the JD Power survey improved by 26 points, to 596 out of 1,000.

    JD Power surveyed 24,710 U.S. and Canadian travelers between July 2025 and July 2026. The survey asked about seven areas:

    • ease of travel through airport
    • level of trust with airport
    • terminal facilities
    • airport staff
    • departure/to airport experience
    • food, beverage, and retail
    • arrival/from airport experience

    PHL competes among the large airport category, which includes airports that see between 10 million and 32.9 million passengers annually. America’s busiest airports, including LaGuardia Airport and Boston Logan International Airport, are in the next larger category, with at least 33 million passengers per year.

    The top-ranked large airport was Tampa International Airport, with 715 points. Portland International Airport came in second, and Dallas Love Field came in third.

    On Tuesday, ahead of the release of the JD Power survey, Mayor Cherelle L. Parker and PHL interim CEO Tracy Borda welcomed hundreds of attendees at the Convention Center in Philadelphia for an aviation industry conference and spoke to the media about PHL’s recent improvements.

    “We know that there is more work to do at PHL,” said Parker, adding that an investment of nearly $2 billion in modernization is underway.

    In a news release Tuesday, the airport acknowledged the expected JD Power report, adding that “JD Power has previously reported that passenger satisfaction rises when airports complete renovations and create a stronger sense of place.”

    “PHL is in the midst of that work, not at the end of it, and the airport recognizes that construction itself can affect a traveler’s experience,” Borda said in the news release. “Each completed project, however, moves PHL closer to a more seamless journey and gives passengers new ways to experience the transformation for themselves.”

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    What could be better at PHL?

    PHL’s score increase this year can be attributed in part to the airport’s food, beverage, and retail options, which have historically been a bright spot for survey respondents.

    PHL has a good selection of local businesses including La Colombe and Chickie’s & Pete’s that root customers in Philadelphia, Taylor noted, as well as other recognizable national brands.

    But the airport suffers from small waiting areas for passengers and a lack of natural light, Taylor said.

    High ceilings, natural light, and vistas can be found at the airports rated highest by consumers, he said.

    Mayor Cherelle L. Parker and Philadelphia International Airport’s interim CEO Tracy Borda spoke at a news conference at the Convention Center on Tuesday before the JD Power ranking was released.Ariana Perez-Castells

    Taylor says PHL wasn’t built to serve the number of passengers it does today.

    O’Hare International Airport in Chicago, which ranked last among the mega-airport group with at least 33 million passengers annually, has a similar problem, Taylor said: “Too many people flying … to have a building that can accommodate them.”

    PHL has been renovating bathrooms, adding lactation rooms, and spending millions on new landscaping, paint, tiles, and carpeting in terminals. At Tuesday’s news conference, Parker and airport leaders discussed how the airport is in the midst of a nearly $2 billion investment to upgrade the airport, which started a few years ago. The airport also appears to be adding square footage.

    The Department of Aviation purchased a 441,000-square-foot property near the airport, at 8800 Tinicum Blvd, in July. The airport doesn’t yet have definitive plans for the $42 million building, but it could be used for the department’s headquarters.

    PHL chief commercial officer Kate Sullivan said in a city hearing in June that compared to many of its “peer airports,” PHL has “very little room to grow,” given its geographic location.

    “PHL is just incredibly land-constrained … we’re hemmed in by highways, by rivers, by towns,” Sullivan said. “Policy-wise, when an adjacent parcel comes available for us to look at, we at least want to have a conversation about it.”

    Parker said Tuesday that she is hopeful about and looking forward to a “historic capital investment” that would lay the foundation for Philadelphia’s airport for generations to come.

    But she didn’t elaborate on what that will entail, adding: “I won’t go into detail because the lawyers are somewhere going to be saying no, you’re going to go overboard, you’re not allowed to say that.”

  • A Doylestown garden designer’s 1.3-acre property was his blank canvas

    A Doylestown garden designer’s 1.3-acre property was his blank canvas

    Standing on his back porch and looking past a meadow of native wildflowers, Nate Reuther says his tiny home feels much farther away from the road than it seems.

    That was exactly the point.

    Reuther, a garden designer and wildlife enthusiast, has a 1.3-acre property in Doylestown, with a cottage and a tiny home. He moved into the tiny house two years ago and started renting out the main cottage as an Airbnb.

    The view of the tiny house from a sculpture garden on Reuther’s property.William Thomas Cain / For The Inquirer

    “I’ve always loved this place,” Reuther said. “After my divorce, I wanted to share the property and create some new memories here.”

    Reuther, a New Jersey native, and his former wife were living in Dublin before they found the site in 2017. A two-bedroom, 1,200-square-foot Cape Cod, painted purple, sits near a main road and close to several historic sites in Doylestown. Nestled between a stone farmhouse and another Cape Cod, the house was in disrepair when they found it.

    “When we saw this place, we didn’t have a lot of money,” he said. “We were into the tiny house idea.”

    For the last eight years, Reuther has spent his spare time gutting most of the rooms, drywalling, and painting. He replaced the roof and added a new HVAC system. Upstairs, he created a bedroom with a vaulted ceiling and a cozy plant nook. He took great care to update all the lighting.

    The outside of the Cape Cod house, which Reuther renovated and around which he built a garden.William Thomas Cain / For The Inquirer
    The nook at the top of the stairs in the renovated two-bedroom Cape Cod.William Thomas Cain / For The Inquirer
    The living room of the Cape Cod, which Reuther lives in during the winter and rents as an Airbnb for part of the year.William Thomas Cain / For The Inquirer
    The kitchen of the renovated house.William Thomas Cain / For The Inquirer

    Reuther, who runs his business, Five Senses Garden Design, from the property, also focused on the garden.

    “All of the garden was built” by Reuther, he said. “There was nothing here.”

    Under a large pin oak tree sits a metal picnic table. A rustic door found at a salvage yard adorns the well-stocked chicken coup.

    “My mom was a big gardener as was my grandmother who lived across the street,” he said. “We always had a big meal at lunch. They would sit and talk about the plants.”

    The garden behind the house, including a trellis, hydrangeas, and winding tree.William Thomas Cain / For The Inquirer
    A seating area in the garden.William Thomas Cain / For The Inquirer

    Reuther, who graduated from Longwood Gardens’ Professional Horticulture program, ripped out an existing deck and centered the garden on a large fantail willow tree. He wanted to protect the roots so he made a pea gravel patio with a flagstone walkway.

    For privacy from the neighbor, he added a Brazilian teak trellis and laced it with native honeysuckle vine. He added several white Annabelle hydrangea bushes and clustered them throughout the garden.

    “I love the simplicity of the white and green flowers. The repetition pulls you along,” he said.

    The tiny house, which Reuther added to the property and lives in for much of the year.William Thomas Cain / For The Inquirer

    After talking to his neighbors and following the township’s regulations, he turned the main cottage into an Airbnb for use during the summer. He still lives in the purple house during the winter months.

    On a windy February day, he drove to a Camping World store in Manassas, Va., and chose his tiny home, a 13-by-6-foot tractor trailer. It came fully equipped with a washer and dryer combo, full bathroom, tall windows, and plenty of storage. He had done so much work on the Cape Cod that he wanted to buy something complete.

    The kitchen was outfitted with a farmhouse sink, a three-burner stove, and natural wood tones. “The kitchen is what sold it for me,” Reuther said. “I love how the kitchen dips down.”

    A door found in a salvage yard is the entrance to the chicken coop.William Thomas Cain / For The Inquirer
    An assortment of pots sits by the chicken coop. Reuther says he always has plans in the works for the large property’s outdoor space.William Thomas Cain / For The Inquirer

    The view from the porch embraces a meadow filled with milkweed and goldenrod, a sculpture garden, and a newly planted border.

    “There are always plans,” he said. “I’m creating a mixed shrub border here. I put three birch trees in.”

    He added, “It’s away from the road. It’s very peaceful.”

    Is your house a Haven? Nominate your home by email (and send some digital photographs) at properties@inquirer.com.

  • Coffee with a side of cow nuzzles | Let’s Eat

    Coffee with a side of cow nuzzles | Let’s Eat

    Coffee, cream, and cows. Now that is how to spend a dreamy morning.

    Also in this edition:

    • Hot dinnerware: Jono Pandolfi, who makes the cult-favorite ceramic dinnerware from The Bear, is holding a pop-up sale in Philly.
    • Core issues: Apple farmers are pivoting because of a poor 2026 crop.
    • Bird feed: What’s on the Eagles’ menu at Lincoln Financial Field this season, besides the Tush Push Tater?

    — Mike Klein

    If someone forwarded you this email, sign up for free here.

    Coffee with a side of cow nuzzles

    Brew and a moo? Maybe a little calf-feine? At a suburban animal sanctuary, you can enjoy your morning coffee while cuddling affectionate baby cows. Beatrice Forman tried it while on assignment and came back udderly enthralled.

    ‘The Bear’ dinnerware comes to Philly

    Jono Pandolfi’s ceramics turn up at some of Philly’s top restaurants — and on The Bear. Now, writes Zoe Greenberg, you can snag them for up to 70% off at a limited-time pop-up.

    What’s the Tush Push Tater on the Eagles’ menu?

    It’s called a Tush Push Tater, and it starts with a fried baked potato, then layers on breaded chicken cutlets and pimento mac and cheese, and finishes with hot honey-bacon jam. Ariel Simpson checked in on the Eagles’ new menu at Lincoln Financial Field and explains what’s in store this season. Go Birds.

    The apple crop suffers this year

    A spring freeze ruined much of the local apple crop this year. Sarah Nicell writes that farmers are getting creative, but they say they’re not sure if the experiments can fully make up for the apple losses.

    The best thing we ate last week

    There’s retro style and there’s genuine 1950s retro: We can attest that the Charcoal Pit in Wilmington, where a teenage Joe Biden once lodged a civil rights protest, still delivers quality burgers and ice cream.

    Scoops

    Fiorella, Marc Vetri’s bustling Italian Market pasta bar, is getting a big expansion. Big by Fiorella standards, at least. The 14-seat dining room, in the old Fiorella’s butcher shop at 817 Christian St., will allow an additional six to eight diners after an interior wall is popped out into part of the adjoining alley. Bonus: A six-top table will be available for a larger party. (There’s also a 30-seat streetery.) Vetri says he expects the project to be finished in a few weeks.

    Lost Time Brewing Co. in Kensington is adding a second taproom, as it replaces Our Time Brewery at 1519 Ridge Ave. in Francisville. Partner Andrew Mattes expects a mid-0ctober opening, “once we put our lipstick and fingerprints on it.”

    Restaurant report

    🤤 Butter chicken served on a cheesesteak is the secret-menu attraction at Pronto Pizza on South Street near Broad. Owner Umair Cheema explains its long path from Pakistan to his mom’s kitchen in Northeast Philadelphia.

    ☎️ Call Your Mother’s first of three Philly locations opened last week in Fishtown. Beatrice Forman calls it “America’s preppiest bagel shop, closer to a viral tween clothing store than a neighborhood deli.”

    😟 “The building may be gone, but our dream is not,” say the owners of Roxborough’s 76-acclaimed White Yak, who were weeks away from opening a second location in Montgomery County before fire destroyed it. Jess Rohan has the story.

    💣💣 Bomb Bomb Bar was the only Philadelphia spot to make the New York Times’ best restaurants list this year.

    🏆 Honeysuckle chef/owners Omar Tate and Cybill St.Aude-Tate were named to Food & Wine’s annual Best New Chefs list, putting them in august company. The McDonald’s Money Burger (shown below) wowed the magazine, in particular.

    🥟 Little Susie’s, the coffee-and-pie mini-chain, has overcome the zoning issues that delayed its Fairmount opening for months. Owner Daniel Martino says he expects to open the window at 2206 Fairmount Ave. by Halloween.

    🛫 Workers at five airport restaurants have asked management to voluntarily recognize their affiliation with Unite Here Local 274.

    Briefly noted

    Sisterly Love Collective’s fourth annual Cookbooks & Convos series returns Oct. 25-Nov. 7 with more than 15 events pairing cookbook authors and food personalities with Philadelphia women-owned restaurants, bars, and businesses. Guests will include Toni Tipton-Martin, Katie Button, Kay Chun, and Mia Castro, with dinners, tastings, demonstrations, and happy hours around the city. The Oct. 25 launch is a 5K/10K Bakery Run stopping at women-owned bakeries with an afterparty at the finish line featuring a book-signing by Alex George. Tickets and the schedule are here.

    Paws in the Vineyard brings adoptable Brandywine Valley SPCA dogs to Penns Woods Winery in Chadds Ford, from 5-7:30 p.m. Oct. 2. Guests can “check out” a shelter dog for a walk through the winery’s normally private vineyard, then stick around for music, wine, and food trucks. Tickets are $35, including a glass of wine, with proceeds benefiting the SPCA and Pennsylvania Restaurant & Lodging Association’s Brandywine Valley Chapter. Tickets ($35) include one glass of wine; info is here.

    Feastival, the FringeArts’ fundraiser that fuses Philadelphia’s performance and culinary arts under one roof across from Penn’s Landing, will return for its 15th year on Oct. 28, starting at 7 p.m. Tickets ($200 for general admission, and $350 for VIP) are here.

    The pop-up PHS Beer Garden in Manayunk will close permanently in about three weeks because its site is in line for development. Meanwhile, PHS is scouting a new location.

    Two Robbers Spirits Co. has teamed with the Eagles on two co-branded canned-cocktail variety packs of its 4.5% ABV vodka-soda, iced tea, and lemonade drinks. The Philly company, which also operates a bar-restaurant in Fishtown, started partnering with the team last year. Fan events are planned this fall, with individual Eagles-branded cans coming later in the season.

    The Cacia’s Bakery location in Haddonfield appears to be permanently closed.

    ❓Pop quiz

    What’s driving Reading Terminal Market’s latest honor?

    A) its complement of cheesesteaks

    B) a record for foot traffic

    C) a food-waste program

    D) a move to a 4 a.m. opening time

    Find out if you know the answer.

    And in more Reading Terminal news: Here are the dramatic results of an economic-impact study.

    Ask Mike anything

    We are subscribers at Lantern Theater and before/after theater dining options a close walk away have really narrowed with the closing of Barra Rossa, Iron Hill, and Jones. Any suggestions? — Russ W.

    Good point about relatively few dining options right by 10th and Ludlow, though I will point out that Iron Hill has reopened. Before an evening show, I’d suggest High Street (Ellen Yin’s bistro), Oloroso (Townsend Wentz’s Spanish restaurant), or Mi Vida (the stylish Mexican newcomer in East Market). For later, I’d suggest the charming Soufiane at the Morris House or a stop amid the 13th Street dining cluster, such as Bud & Marilyn’s, Pearl & Mary, Darling Jack’s, or Charlie was a sinner.

    Does 333 Belrose plan to return to serving lunch or is that a thing of the past? — Fred M.

    Chef Ross Essner at the Radnor landmark, which reopened over the summer, says lunch will come back in “early fall,” though the date is still in flux.

    📮 Have a question about food in Philly? Email your questions to me at mklein@inquirer.com for a chance to be featured in my newsletter.

    By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirer’s Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10.

  • Trump administration has cut or frozen $177 billion in grants across every state, analysis shows

    Trump administration has cut or frozen $177 billion in grants across every state, analysis shows

    The Trump administration has cut or frozen up to $177 billion in federal grants since the president took office for his second term, according to a tracking tool released Wednesday by a pro-democracy nonprofit and a group of researchers and scientists.

    The cuts affected all 50 states and the District of Columbia, with health, nutrition, the environment, and disaster relief making up the largest share of cuts, the States United Democracy Center and Grant Witness organization found.

    Among the grants that were eliminated, frozen, or delayed were ones related to maternal health in Michigan, education research in Mississippi, and assistance to minority farmers in Iowa, the researchers found. California, Texas, New York, Illinois, and North Carolina saw the highest amounts of interrupted grant money. The tracking tool is called Lost Funds.

    “By bringing thousands of funding disruptions from the Trump administration together in a publicly accessible, verified database, Lost Funds puts the magnitude of their impact on full display,” Scott Delaney, co-founder of Grant Witness, said in a statement.

    The $177 billion finding represents nearly 10% of federal discretionary spending, the groups said.

    The tracker’s organizers said the disrupted grants were beyond the kind of cuts that typically happen when administrations change.

    “Lost Funds shows the extraordinary scale and real human impact of these disruptions, and how states are once again on the front lines protecting their residents,” said Kelly Rader, States United Democracy Center’s research director.

    In some cases, courts have ruled against the administration’s grant funding cuts.

    The new tool, which is being made available for public use, relies on data from USASpending.gov, an open data source of federal spending information, according to the groups’ methodology. They said the tracker would be updated regularly as the administration takes new action and lawsuits move through the courts.

    States United bills itself as a nonpartisan group dedicated to the rule of law and free, fair, secure elections. It was cofounded by Norm Eisen, an attorney who has been involved in prominent lawsuits against the Trump administration, including over the Kennedy Center. Eisen left the States United center in 2024.

    Grant Witness is a group of scientists, researchers, and attorneys who document how funding is changing under President Donald Trump’s administration.

    A message seeking comment on the analysis was sent to the White House.

  • Driver arrested in bus collision that happened before news helicopter crash in LA

    Driver arrested in bus collision that happened before news helicopter crash in LA

    LOS ANGELES — A motorist was arrested on murder charges after authorities say she slammed her SUV into a city bus in Los Angeles, killing at least two people and injuring six others in a prelude to a second deadly tragedy: the fiery crash of a TV news helicopter that was covering the collision.

    Bailee Lynn Rios, 36, of Simi Valley, was arrested Monday night and is being held at a Los Angeles jail with bail set at $4 million, police said. The case is being forwarded to the district attorney’s office, which will decide whether to file the charges in court or pursue different ones. Information on a lawyer who could speak on her behalf wasn’t immediately available.

    The helicopter, which was used by NBC and Telemundo, crashed about two hours after police say Rios drove her 2004 Ford Expedition the wrong way down a busy avenue, ran a red light and struck a vehicle before hitting the bus. One passenger was fully ejected from the bus and another was partially ejected, police said.

    NBC4 Los Angeles reported that two people aboard the helicopter — reporter Eliana Moreno and pilot George Marciniw — were killed when the chopper went down Tuesday in the Chatsworth neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley north of downtown. A person on the ground, identified as 29-year-old Edy Gutierrez Mejia, died in a parking lot, the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office said.

    The crash happened as news crews were reporting on the collision.

    There were no immediate details on what caused the helicopter crash, but an alarm could be heard sounding inside the helicopter’s cockpit as it lost altitude in the final seconds of video the crew broadcast before the crash.

    Just after the beeping noise starts, a woman’s voice says “uh oh.” The helicopter moves quickly away from the bus crash site and starts losing altitude. The woman says “You can’t pull up?” before the video stops as the chopper nears the ground.

    The helicopter, a Eurocopter AS350, went down near a large storage facility. At least four cars and two storage containers burned after the helicopter caught fire. NBC4 reporter Robert Kovacik was at the bus scene, saw black smoke, and rushed to the helicopter crash site.

    News station identifies those on the helicopter

    The station identified the helicopter crash victims as Moreno, a familiar voice for NBC4 and Telemundo 52 during the station’s aerial coverage, and Marciniw. Both were employees of Angel City Air, which operated the chopper for the station.

    Moreno, born in Orange County, joined Angel City Air in 2010, the same year she earned a broadcast journalism and political science degree from Chapman University. She reported for several news outlets and began flying with Marciniw in 2023, the NBC4 website said.

    Marciniw grew up in Southern California and graduated from Burbank High School in 1974.

    “I think a lot of us are still trying to process what happened, this terrible loss,” NBC4 reporter Lauren Coronado told viewers early Wednesday as she stood near the crash site. A hazmat crew was cleaning up jet fuel, she said.

    In a tribute to Moreno and Marciniw, the newscast referred to them as “the team in the sky,” saying Moreno would often post videos from her job and was in awe of the view.

    In an interview with the station, Esteban Jimenez, a pilot, said he had known Marciniw since the 1990s. He said Marciniw had been his instructor.

    “I just talked to him on Sunday. We were talking about the aviation business and retiring,” he said.

    Expert talks about what may have caused the crash

    Aviation safety expert Jeff Guzzetti said the alarm sounding in the helicopter’s final video sounds like the low rotor RPM warning horn that signals the main rotor is no longer spinning enough to keep the helicopter in the air.

    “It just has all the earmarks of a potential loss of engine power and a dangerous decrease in the main rotor speed,” said Guzzetti, who used to investigate crashes for both the NTSB and FAA.

    Guzzetti said the pilot appeared to be trying to perform an emergency maneuver to use the wind to force the rotor to spin again much like a breeze turns a windmill. Doing that can create a bit of lift that could help cushion the impact, but Guzzetti said there would have been little opportunity to do that because the helicopter had been hovering at a low altitude beforehand.

    There are risks to news helicopters particularly in a major city like Los Angeles where multiple helicopters respond to an incident, but the pilots all coordinate closely over the radio to ensure they maintain a safe distance from each other. The industry also shares best practices to help keep these news flights safe.

    Condolences for the victims and their families

    NBC4 and Telemundo 52 Los Angeles said in a statement they “are deeply saddened” and extended “heartfelt condolences to the families, friends and colleagues of those who lost their lives.”

    “Losing five Angelenos is very painful,” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said. “And I know this community of Chatsworth, hit hard, will be grieving for some time.”

    California Gov. Gavin Newsom thanked the emergency crews responding to both crashes and said in a post on X that “our hearts are with the victims and families.”

    The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration said personnel will arrive Wednesday to begin an investigation into the cause of the helicopter crash.

  • Letters to the Editor | Sept. 16, 2026

    Letters to the Editor | Sept. 16, 2026

    Inciteful speech

    As Ted Cruz spoke during the two-day Trumpapalooza (a.k.a. Republican midterm convention) in Dallas, each time he mentioned a Democratic politician, a voice from the sparse crowd yelled, “He should be shot!” Cruz’s reaction? Nothing. He just kept speaking, with no attempt to denounce or even acknowledge the outbursts. Three times. No pushback. Republican reaction, in general, has been muted. Neither Dave McCormick nor Brian Fitzpatrick nor Democrat John Fetterman has responded in any way to these calls for violence against political opponents. First, it was “Lock her up!” against Hillary Rodham Clinton. Now it has escalated to “He should be shot!” against Abdul El-Sayed, James Talarico, and Zohran Mamdani. The anemic-to-nonexistent Republican pushback to these calls for violence smacks of condonation and quiet, passive encouragement. Is any opposing Democrat now fair game?

    In addition, in complete disregard for the Constitution, Donald Trump begged the attendees to pledge an oath to him, “the greatest president in the history of the United States, that loves us so much he can’t even breathe, that I will go out with my family, my friends, I’ll do it any way — I don’t care if I’m registered or not, I’m going to cheat like hell like they do.”

    Cheat like hell. They should be shot. How did we get here?

    This is a president and a conservative machine that knows they are on the ropes. The threat is real, and has been building for months. As others have said, Trump wouldn’t be working so hard to suppress our votes if our votes didn’t matter. The Dallas midterm convention is just the latest alarm bell tolling loudly and clearly, telling us in no uncertain terms that this November our vote matters more than ever.

    Deborah DiMicco, Newtown

    . . .

    I am horrified at the response of “He should be shot,” which seemed to be directed at Democrats during Ted Cruz’s speech at the midterm convention in Dallas. But now I am more horrified that The Inquirer has not responded. We always count on you to validate our values of nonviolence. Your writing is so eloquent and true, and we know you are not afraid to stand up to violent threats or the people who normalize them. Please help us to condemn violence.

    W. Walker, Philadelphia

    No Kings

    The 22nd Amendment, which was added to the Constitution in 1951 after President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected four times, states that “no person shall be elected to the Office of the President more than twice.” President Donald Trump, elected twice, affirmed that “there are methods” for him to win a third term and lead the country after 2028.

    Historically, the nation’s founders opposed a president for life or anything that resembled a monarchy. As the nation’s third president, Thomas Jefferson opposed presidential terms exceeding two. He stated that if a presidency exceeds two terms, it will “easily degenerate into an inheritance.”

    Unfortunately, Trump will continue to explore ways to stay in office. We need to stand in unison and demand an end to Trump’s unchecked power-grab. We cannot bring our democracy to the brink.

    Ed Vreeswyk, Yardville

    Join the conversation: Send letters to letters@inquirer.com. Limit length to 150 words and include home address and day and evening phone number. Letters run in The Inquirer six days a week on the editorial pages and online.

  • A shuttered bakery | Inquirer South Jersey

    A shuttered bakery | Inquirer South Jersey

    Good morning, South Jersey.

    Cacia’s Bakery in Haddonfield shut its doors after two years in business, and the property is now on the market.

    And South Jersey Republican U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew accused state Democrats of a “cover-up” over New Jersey’s noncitizen voter registrations during a Tuesday congressional hearing.

    Plus, a new book fact checks Bruce Springsteen, and more news of the day.

    — Taylor Allen (southjersey@inquirer.com)

    If someone forwarded you this email, sign up for free here.

    For sale on Haddon Avenue

    Cacia’s Bakery in Haddonfield has a “closed” sign on the front door, and the property on South Haddon Avenue is up for sale.

    The original location in South Philly is a family-owned operation that is more than 70 years old. It’s known for its square pizzas and rolls with thick crusts.

    The name has since expanded across the bridge with locations in Williamstown, Cherry Hill, and Hammonton.

    The Inquirer’s Sarah Nicell shares the short history of the downtown Haddonfield bakery, and explores possible reasons behind the closure.

    ‘Whose side is New Jersey government on?’

    South Jersey Republican Jeff Van Drew re-upped New Jersey’s noncitizen voting issue during a Congressional hearing Tuesday without anyone directly involved in the matter to testify.

    The hearing comes a day after the Supreme Court rejected President Donald Trump’s mail ballot restrictions, which means states can continue their standard procedures related to how they send ballots.

    Meanwhile, there’s still an ongoing investigation. Gov. Mikie Sherrill hired an independent firm to conduct it and said she will release the findings publicly.

    On the local level, Burlington County has confirmed there were ineligible voters who were removed from rolls and Gloucester County has not been notified of any questionable voters.

    Reporter Aliya Schneider has the full recap of the hearing, which includes Van Drew’s accusations of a “cover-up.”

    What to know today

    🧠 Trivia time

    What was the word that house hunters from New Jersey searched for most on Zillow last year?

    A) Patio

    B) Historic

    C) Waterfront

    D) Ranch

    Think you know? Check your answer.

    What we’re …

    🎉 Congratulating: Tom Pelphrey from Howell Township, who won an Emmy for outstanding supporting actor in a drama series for his role as Robbie Prendergrast in Task.

    🎧 Listening to: The latest episode of unCovering the Birds, in which Jeff McLane and David Murphy discuss Jalen Hurts’ performance.

    🥣 Perusing: The ceramic dinnerware seen on The Bear made by designer Jono Pandolfi, whose studio is based in New Jersey.

    🧩 Unscramble the anagram

    Hint: 🦈

    AQUA RADIUM VENTURE

    Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here. Cheers to Tom Pawlowski, who solved last Wednesday’s anagram: Springdale Farms. It’s the only working farm in Cherry Hill.

    🏡 On the market

    A custom new construction in Haddonfield

    The standouts of this three-story, five-bedroom home with five bathrooms are a kitchen with a breakfast nook and quartz countertops, a family room with a gas fireplace, a finished basement, and a fenced backyard.

    The new construction also includes a primary suite with two walk-in closets and its own bathroom complete with a double vanity and a soaking tub.

    See more photos of the property here.

    Price: $1.7 M | Size: 3,926 SF | Acreage: 0.13

    And that is all I have for you this morning. Have a great Wednesday!

    By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirer’s Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10.