The Philly soul-funk band that got its start busking in Rittenhouse Square in 2020, had high-profile gigs this year. That includes the Newport Folk Festival, where they backed up Ms. Lauryn Hill as well as played their own set, and the Lollapalooza Festival in Chicago.
Now the septet, which was the house band for Jason Kelce’s ESPN late-night TV show, has released a new single. It has also signed with Nashville’s Thirty Tigers, which will handle the band’s label services and distribution. Their other clients include Rufus Wainwright, Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit, and Rosanne Cash, as well as Philadelphians Amos Lee and Eric Slick.
The new single, “Can’t Imagine Why You’d Stay,” features singer Nico Bryant, who joined the group in 2025, after vocalist and sax player Yesseh Furaha-Ali departed.
The song, which was mixed and produced in Los Angeles and Philadelphia by Josh Lucas, who’s previously teamed with Khalid and Daniel Caesar, shows the continued evolution of the group from its horn-happy busking beginnings.
For one thing, Snacktime is (sometimes) less “horn-y” than it used to be. In the accompanying music video directed by the band’s tenor saxophonist Ben Stocker, sousaphone player Sam Gellerstein plays bass, trumpeter Eric Sherman is on guitar, and trombonist Michael Spearman plays keys.
The band can still shift to a four-horn attack when it pleases, but on the snappy dysfunctional relationship song “Can’t Imagine Why You’d Stay,” the only brass heard is Stocker’s sax.
On Thursday, Snacktime will celebrate its new era with a show that’s free (but you must RSVP) at the Bok Bar in South Philly; a party put on by Ilegal Mezcal as part of its Bar Ilegal tour. Tattoo artist Daniel Cottee will also be on hand.
In the country’s premier battleground state, Pennsylvania Democrats believe they’re in striking distance of a tidal-wave victories that would dramatically shift the balance of power in both Washington and Harrisburg.
For the first time in decades, the party could take full control of the legislature. That would give Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro — seeking reelection with a wide polling gap on his Republican challenger Stacy Garrity— significantly more power to shape the direction of the state as he potentially pursues a White House bid in 2028.
Democrats also see a chance to flip four congressional seats and take control of the U.S. House. Republicans, meanwhile, are prioritizing defending the Pennsylvania seats with their House majority on the line as President Donald Trump, who won the state justtwo years ago, sinks in popularity.
The path forpower in Washington inthe high-stakes midterms runs through Pennsylvania and its results will be closely watched as both parties prepare for a presidential race in two years when the state promises to play a pivotal role.
Voters across Pennsylvania will head to the polls in November to cast their ballots for races that will decide the balance of power in the state and nation.
Here are the races to watch and how to vote.
Shapiro’s November could dictate his 2028
Shapiro, widely viewed as a likely contender for the 2028 presidency, has big ambitions this fall when he’ll stand for reelection against Garrity, the state’s treasurer.
More than just securing his own reelection, Shapiro hopes to run up the margin and carry downballot Democrats across the finish line.
Another double-digits win and a string of coattail victories would be ashow of strength about his ability to perform in a key swing state that his party lost in the last presidential election.In a presidential primary, Shapiro could use that result to make an argument that he’s a strong general electioncandidate who can boost the Democratic brand.
Will Republicans hold on in competitive congressional seats?
There are four U.S. House districts in the eastern portion of Pennsylvania, targeted by both parties as must wins. In each, the Republican incumbents are seeking to fend off highly financed challengers amid deep frustration among voters with the leader of their party that could translate into a wave of Democratic victories down ballot.
7th Congressional District: Freshman Republican U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie narrowly flipped the Lehigh Valley district two years ago and is widely seen as one of most vulnerable incumbents in Congress. He’s facing a challenge Democrat Bob Brooks, a retired firefighter and union leader whose blue-collar campaign has attracted support across the party’s ideological spectrum with endorsements from Shapiro and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders.
10th Congressional District: Republican U.S. Rep. Scott Perry, a close ally of Trump, faces a November rematch against Democrat Janelle Stelson, a former TV anchor, in the Harrisburg area district. Stelson has consistently outraised Perry after narrowly losing in 2024.
In addition to these four races both national parties have targeted, Shapiro has argued that the 9th Congressional District, where Democrat Rachel Wallace is taking on incumbent GOP U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser, is flippable — despite the strong GOP lean in the district, which stretches from Berks County to the New York state border. The district is home to two warehouses that ICE was planning to convert into detention centers before abandoning the plan after a backlash from residents.
This year, Shapiro wants to flip the chamber and win a trifecta to push forward his key priorities, such as codifying abortion access, raising the state’s minimum wage, and increasing funding for transit.
Republicans currently hold 27 of the chamber’s 50 seats. Democrats, who currently hold 23 seats, need to win at least two additional seats and the governor’s office to win control of the chamber with the lieutenant governor as a tiebreaking vote.
The seats, drawn advantageously for Republicans, have been stubbornly resistant to political change for decades.
But this year a blue wave could usher in Democratic pickups in Philadelphia suburbs and the Lehigh Valley.
Races to watch include:
Bucks County’s 6th District, where Republican incumbent State Sen. Frank Farry faces a challenge from Democrat Eileen Hartnett Albillar.
Montgomery County’s 24th District, where incumbent Republican State Sen. Tracy Pennycuick is up for reelection against Democrat Chris Thomas.
Bucks and Lehigh County’s 16th District, which will see a rematch race between incumbent Republican State Sen. Jarrett Coleman and Democrat Mark Pinsley, the Lehigh County controller.
What are the important dates to know?
Election Day is Nov. 3.
The deadline to register to vote is Oct. 19. You must be at least 18 years old, a resident of Pennsylvania and a citizen of the United States to vote. You can register online, by mail, at your county elections office, or at one of several other government buildings.
Pennsylvanians can vote by mail with no excuse required. To apply, fill out an application by mail, online, or in-person and send it into your county election office. Applications must be received by Oct. 27 at 5 p.m. and the completed mail ballot must be received — not just postmarked — by 8 p.m. on Election Day.
An application and mail ballot can be completed in one visit at an election office, essentially functioning as early voting.
Staff writer Fallon Roth contributed to this article.
KUHESTAK, Iran — Women with their children were gathered in the house and yard, waiting for the bride and groom to arrive to kick off a wedding celebration in this small town in southern Iran. Then an explosion turned the scene to carnage.
The town of Kuhestak is still reeling from a barrage of strikes that killed five people during an American bombardment of southern Iran on Tuesday evening. Lampposts at the entrance to the town displayed large posters of four of the dead — a 4-year-old boy, a 16-year-old, and two women. Another woman, one of more than 60 people wounded in the blasts, died Thursday at a hospital.
On Friday, an Associated Press team made a rare visit to the town on the coast overlooking the Strait of Hormuz. Within a densely built neighborhood of houses and unpaved alleys stood the compound of the Mallahi family, which was struck as relatives celebrated their daughter’s wedding.
A U.S. weapons expert who reviewed images from the scene said the evidence suggests the strikes were carried out with American guided bombs.
Blast left a gaping hole in the roof
Ali Mallahi, a cousin of the bride, pointed to a gaping hole in the roof of a room that took a direct hit in one of the compound’s four houses. Big cracks ran through walls decorated with floral designs. Windows were shattered, and twisted sections of roofing and metal framework lay across the courtyard, among carpets and household appliances that the family had pulled out of other damaged rooms.
Video of the immediate aftermath aired in Iranian media showed colorful decorations and palm fronds strewn across the ground.
Weddings in the area are traditionally segregated by gender, and on Tuesday evening, roughly 150 women were gathered in the house, while the men held a separate celebration in another building about 50 yards away, Mallahi said.
A strike hit the room where the women were due to be served dinner, but at the time, celebrations were only just getting started, Mallahi said. The bride and groom had not yet arrived.
“Thank God, the casualties were not higher,” he said. The father of the bride, his uncle, is also named Ali Mallahi.
Sasan Zarei, a neighbor, said she rushed to the Mallahis’ home and helped people out of the rubble. “Most of the injured were kids. The scenes were very heartbreaking.”
Vance says US is investigating
U.S. Vice President JD Vance said Thursday that he was briefed on the wedding attack. “We’re investigating it very fully,” he said. He said the U.S. never targets civilians in combat but added, “Sometimes things happen.”
Residents described to the AP how a series of heavy explosions shook Kuhestak, lighting up the night sky. The blasts came amid the latest round of American bombardment in southern Iran that the U.S. military said targeted air defenses, radar systems, and maritime assets.
Also hit was a communications tower by Kuhestak’s port, just over 100 yards from the Mallahis’ home. AP footage showed the tower toppled and heavy damage to the neighboring building that houses the town’s telecommunications department.
Hassan Sayadi, a technician with the department, said the tower had provided telephone and internet connections across the area. The Hormozgan provincial telecommunications department said Wednesday that U.S. attacks had disrupted landlines and mobile phone service in multiple locations, including Kuhestak, and that it was working to restore services. On Friday, mobile phones and data services were operating.
Town is not far from site where U.S. hit a primary school.
Kuhestak is about 18 miles from the town of Minab, where more than 100 children were killed in an American missile strike that hit a primary school on Feb. 28, the opening day of the war launched by the U.S. and Israel.
Following Tuesday’s strikes, residents and Iranian media showed fragments of munitions found at the scene, including a thermal battery unit, a segment of a control fin, and part of the exterior body of the munition.
Weapons experts told the AP that they believe imagery of fragments found at the site points to an American guided munition. Trevor Ball, a former U.S. Army explosive ordnance disposal technician and an analyst at Armament Research Services, said the imagery shows remnants of both a JSOW and GBU-39, which are types of guided, air-delivered glide bombs.
The images were “being evaluated to determine if one of these munitions, or another model, was responsible,” he said.
Videos released by U.S. Central Command of its operations that night in Iran show aircraft heading on missions, including an F/A-18E loaded with a JSOW.
The AP could not immediately determine where the remnants were collected or whether they all came from the wedding venue or also from the communication tower.
The spotlight keeps growing on Cavan Sullivan, Neil Pierre, and the Union’s push for a playoff berth. But interim manager Ryan Richter remains steadfastly unmoved.
“I’m not just saying this when you guys ask,” he said heading into Saturday’s home game against CF Montréal (7:30 p.m., Apple TV). “The reality is, there’s too much work to do on a game-to-game basis to worry about the big-picture stuff, and where we’re at in the league, and what the next 10 games might look like. There’s too much to focus on today, and what we want to see out of training, and the environment that we want to create to get the best out of the guys — and I really mean that.”
Richter proved his sincerity when asked if the team would get a boost in spirits from rising above the playoff line. The Union enter the weekend in 12th place in the East (6-10-6, 24 points), but just one point back of ninth-place Orlando. Toronto and D.C. are also on 25 points, while eighth-place Red Bull New York is on 26, and seventh-place New York City FC is on 28.
The three teams beneath the Union — Atlanta, Montréal, and Columbus — are on 21, 21, and 20 respectively. And no one expects Columbus to remain in the basement, having just signed former NYCFC winger Santi Rodríguez.
Though the Union are on a seven-game unbeaten run in league play, Ryan Richter (left) knows there’s still a lot of work to do.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
“It’s not important to me,” Richter said. “There’s no psychological bounce of being above that line. … There’s too much to focus on here that takes all the attention away from what-could-be types of things.”
An eight-point difference from seventh to 15th makes for a pretty big traffic jam. It probably won’t clear up any time soon, with 12 games still to play in the last two months of the season and a two-week FIFA international window in the middle. It’s so much congestion that there will be a full round of games during the first weekend of that FIFA window, a practice the league used to swear off.
That includes the Union’s quick turnarounds to their next two games: Wednesday at home vs. FC Cincinnati (7:30 p.m., FS1, Apple TV), then the longest road trip of the year to play San Diego next Sunday (9 p.m., Apple TV).
But a team can make its situation worse by not doing what it should. That certainly applies to Saturday’s game at Subaru Park. Not only is Montréal beneath the Union in the standings, but it played a Canadian Championship cup game in Vancouver on Wednesday. Another midweek game awaits next Wednesday, at home against Charlotte.
MLS’s schedule flip next year will fix much of this, because the league won’t have to jam games in places to make room for breaks during major tournaments. Until then, Richter offered sympathies to the visitors.
“It’s a tough week for them,” Richter said. “I don’t want to say it’s a break for us, but it makes it a tough week for them, playing in Vancouver. And sometimes you need these breaks in your schedule. But we know that doesn’t mean it’s going to be an easy game.”
Nor might it be the easiest to scout from film. Montréal is still integrating its two big summer signings, former Colorado Rapids winger Dante Sealy and Chilean legend of many big European clubs Alexis Sánchez.
Though Sánchez has only played as a substitute so far, the 37-year-old is one of those players who could pull a rabbit out of his hat at any time.
Alexis Sánchez (right) has played for a slew of big clubs in his career, including Spain’s Barcelona, England’s Arsenal and Manchester United, and Italy’s Inter Milan.Graham Hughes
“For us, it’s a little unpredictable what kind of lineup they’ll go with,” Richter said. “We’ll see where Alexis Sánchez is exactly fitness-wise: if he’s ready to start a game, if he’s available for that. But they’ve added some quality pieces, so it’s a dangerous team.”
The Union have filled the role of technical director in their front office for the first time since Chris Albright’s departure.
Roberto Giménez, who was the club’s head of academy scouting from 2021-24, has returned to Chester and been hired for the new title. He spent the last two years as U.S. Soccer’s talent identification manager for the West Region.
“Roberto has a strong understanding of our club, our identity, and strategy, and our approach to identifying and developing talent,” Union sporting director Jon Scheer said in a statement. “His time with U.S. Soccer has broadened his perspective on best practices across the landscape, while allowing him to collaborate with club and federation leaders domestically and internationally. … We are excited to welcome him back, as he will play an important role in advancing our sporting strategy across every level of our professional player pathway — from the academy through Union II and into the first team.”
Union sporting director Jon Scheer.Alejandro A. Alvarez / Staff Photographer
That work has been done by a range of people in recent years, especially Scheer before he was promoted to the top job. His previous title was head of academy and professional development.
Now the front office’s leaders are Scheer, Giménez, assistant sporting director Matt Ratajczak, and director of scouting Chris Zitterbart.
The standings
Since it’s September, it’s time to start looking at the Eastern Conference standings. Here’s how the bottom end stacks up heading into this weekend, with eight teams separated by eight points.
The first standings tiebreaker is total wins, then goal difference.
7. New York City FC: 7-8-7, 28 points, +5 goal difference
In what Joey Termini of Termini Brothers Bakery is calling the “most South Philadelphia thing ever,” a Route 47 bus drove through wet concrete after two people reportedly hopped off to move street barricades so the bus could pass Thursday.
The sinking bus, which tilted on a slight edge as it got stuck on South Eighth Street outside Termini Bros., drove through the concrete only two minutes after city crews poured it into the road.
In surveillance footage provided by Termini, the bus, aptly adorned with Top Dog Law advertisements, slows to a halt in front of two A-frame street closure signs on Eighth Street. Two passengers are then seen hopping off the bus, casually moving the signs out of the way and directing the bus driver like air traffic controllers around the patch of concrete in the middle of the road. As the bus gets stuck and tilts to the side, smacking the pavement in the process, hardly any of the passengers on the bus can be seen visibly reacting.
“In South Philly, people are like, “I’ll find a way,” Termini said. “At the time I was a little frustrated because we waited months to get that pothole fixed, but you know looking back at it now, it really is funny. I’m just glad nobody was hurt.”
The brothers Termini have been coordinating with the city to get the pothole-turned-sinkhole resolved since it formed 14 months ago, Termini said. He knew it was getting bad when the sinkhole started swallowing traffic cones placed inside it — a time-honored Philadelphian quick fix.
Their prayers were answered Thursday when city crews came in the afternoon to repair the street. But right after the concrete was poured and the street blocked off at 7:21 p.m., a 47 bus found its way into the concrete pit at 7:23 p.m., according to Termini’s surveillance footage.
The bus was towed within about 45 minutes, SEPTA spokesperson Andrew Busch said. According toan inspection, the only damage to the bus was from cement on one tire, so it will not be out of service for an extended period of time, Busch said.
The city posted notices about the scheduled maintenancealong the street in the days preceding the repair and no-parking signs were posted. “This wasn’t something that they just decided to do on a whim,” Termini said.
SEPTA had a detour in place for this block along Route 47 on Thursday, which is standard operating procedure during planned road maintenance, Busch said. All internal notices of the detour were made, including to operators working on the 47.
“We have an internal review underway to determine exactly why this occurred,” Busch said. “We will also see what we can learn from it and possibly improve on moving forward.”
Termini feels for the driver, who wasn’t the first to have trouble on Eighth Street, as he saw at least three other buses making difficult turns to move around detours — something he felt could have been coordinated better by the city and SEPTA.
“I know the driver was probably really stressed out,” Termini said. “But the guy getting off the bus to move the barriers and then run back on the bus, even after the bus got stuck in concrete, I was like, ‘This is Philly.’”
And to make the ending sweeter, when city crews came out Friday morning to repair the bus-botched repair job, Termini handed out cannolis to those working on the road.
“There’s enough craziness going on in the world out there,” Termini said. “Sometimes, we just have to laugh.”
Ben Simmons, a former No. 1 overall pick of the 76ers, is making an NBA comeback.
Simmons, 30, has agreed to sign a one-year, $3.5 million deal with the Sacramento Kings, according to ESPN.
Simmons’ NBA return comes after he stepped away from basketball for a year following several seasons plagued by injury and mental health struggles.
Simmons traveled to visit the Kings in Sacramento on Monday, undergoing in-depth medical exams, an on-court workout and meetings with coach Doug Christie and other staffers, sources said. In late August, Simmons also worked out for general manager Scott Perry and met with Perry… https://t.co/27tzlWXjXf
Simmons was a can’t-miss prospect out of LSU when the Sixers selected him No. 1 in the 2016 NBA draft. That proved true early in his career. After missing his entire first year with a foot injury, Simmons was named Rookie of the Year in 2018 and became an All-Star, All-Defensive, and All-NBA performer before his 24th birthday.
But things went off the rails during the 2020-21 season when the Sixers lost to the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference semifinals. In that series, the Sixers lost a tightly contested Game 7, and Simmons bore the brunt of the burden after he passed up an open dunk attempt to pass the ball with the Sixers trailing 88-86 with 3 minutes, 30 seconds on the clock.
He subsequently orchestrated a holdout and forced his way out of Philly, landing with the Brooklyn Nets in a trade that sent James Harden to Philly.
Simmons never regained that early flash after leaving Philly. After averaging 15.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, 7.7 assists, and 1.7 steals for the Sixers, his numbers dipped severely with the Nets and Los Angeles Clippers.
Joining Sacramento could provide a real opportunity for Simmons. The Kings have been in a perpetual rebuild for decades, so there will be chances for Simmons to get playing time and show if he’s fully healthy mentally and physically.
Ben Simmons last played in an NBA game on April 29, 2025.Adam Hunger / AP
“I plan on getting as strong as I can physically, getting my ass on the court, and then the team realizing that my abilities will be needed,” Simmons said.
Asked where he would like to play, Simmons didn’t have a specific destination but named a few franchises he had his eye on.
“Maybe I’ll go back to Philly,” Simmons told Men’s Health. “Miami would be nice. And not because it’s Miami — I like Erik Spoelstra, I like the Heat, I like their organization, I like the culture.”
He ended up in Sacramento for what could be one of his final shots at an NBA career.
KATHMANDU, Nepal — Rescuers in Nepal pulled two workers alive from an underground tunnel at a hydropower plant Friday, raising hopes of reaching dozens of others believed to be trapped nine days after deadly floods swept away villages and submerged the Himalayan region in mud and debris.
Search teams first heard voices from inside the tunnel in the morning, allowing them to locate the two men, Nepalese lawmaker Shri Ram Neupane said. Images showed a rescuer carrying one of the workers, covered in mud, on his back, while soldiers on either side helped.
One of those rescued said more people are alive inside the tunnel, according to army spokesperson Brig. Gen. Raja Ram Basnet, and the search is ongoing.
“I can’t explain what we are feeling at the moment. We are just grateful to god,” Amir Maharjan, the brother of one of those rescued, told the Associated Press.
Basnet confirmed the first trapped worker’s rescue, and Neupane posted about the second on his Facebook page shortly after.
Both men were flown to a hospital in Kathmandu, and Maharjan said his family was on its way there. One of the survivors was in critical condition, according to a statement from the prime minister’s office.
Officials identified the men as a mechanical foreman and a mechanical supervisor. They were rescued from a tunnel at the Trishuli 3A plant.
About 900 workers are missing from 12 hydropower projects in Nepal, with roughly 500 believed to be trapped in various tunnels, according to authorities.
About 115 are believed trapped in the tunnel at Trishuli 3A alone, according to the Independent Power Producers Association of Nepal.
Nepal’s Communication Minister Bikram Timilsina wrote on his Facebook page that officials “are waiting for the rescue of more and more people.”
At least 1,287 people were killed in the Aug. 26 floods, likely caused by a glacier collapse, and more than 5,000 remain missing, according to Nepal’s disaster management agency. China said Friday 31 people were killed and 531 were missing on the Tibet side of the border, according to Chinese official news agency Xinhua.
Nepal’s disaster agency estimated Friday that flooding caused at least 387.5 billion Nepalese rupees ($2.5 billion) in damage to infrastructure and property.
PLYMOUTH, Mass. — A judge in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial declared a mistrial Friday after jurors failed to reach a verdict in a case that sharply divided many Americans over whether the Massachusetts woman should be held criminally responsible for killing her three young children.
The trial generated intense interest for more than a month, drawing attention to issues around maternal mental health after childbirth.
Clancy, a 36-year-old former labor and delivery nurse, never disputed that she killed the children. But her attorney said she had a rare condition called postpartum psychosis when she strangled her kids, the youngest just 8 months old, then tried to take her own life in 2023. Prosecutors said Clancy knew what she was doing.
Friday’s mistrial, on the seventh day of deliberations, leaves the case unresolved. In the end, the decision seemed to surprise no one in the courtroom. Neither Clancy nor her family showed any emotion as the judge announced the trial was ending without a resolution.
Her parents and her sister were escorted by state police from the back of the courthouse, saying nothing to reporters. Her ex-husband Patrick Clancy, the trial’s first witness, has said in past interviews that he forgives her and believes her actions were the result of mental illness.
Lindsay Clancy could face another trial
The prosecutor who originally decided to charge Clancy said there would not be an immediate decision about a second trial. He said public opinion would not influence any decision.
“This was and has always been about getting justice for those three little babies,” said Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz. “This case is not about the healthcare system, or about how women are treated in it, or what diagnoses there are.”
He pointed out that the two trial prosecutors were “both mothers themselves.”
The deliberations took a dramatic turn when the judge said he was going to declare a mistrial Friday before suddenly changing course and letting her defense attorney appeal that decision to the top court in Massachusetts. But the court declined to stop the judge from declaring a mistrial.
Prosecutors said Clancy acted deliberately when she strangled 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson, and 8-month-old Callan Clancy with exercise bands. They said she contrived to get her husband out of the house on Jan. 24, 2023, by sending him to pick up medicine for one of their children and dinner for the family.
Clancy’s lawyer, Kevin Reddington, said she should not be held criminally responsible because of her postpartum psychosis, a rare mental illness linked to the stress, sleep deprivation, and hormonal changes that follow childbirth.
Trump weighs in on Lindsay Clancy case
Three times this week, jurors said they were unable to reach a unanimous decision. The jury’s foreperson told the judge Thursday that a single juror wouldn’t follow the court’s instructions about reasonable doubt.
Outside the courthouse Friday, Reddington blasted the juror he believes stood in the way of an acquittal by other jurors.
“They (the jury) know they were robbed by one man, for whatever his agenda was, who stole seven weeks of the life of these other jurors that were so attentive, so beautiful, so wonderful,” he said.
“You could see how defeated they were sitting there,” he said. “I got a funny feeling they would have gone on for another week if they had to. So I hope that guy can sleep well at night.”
Millions across the U.S. watched the livestreamed trial. Even President Donald Trump said he was following the coverage.
“It’s a terrible situation. Look, she did a horrible, horrible thing,” Trump said Friday. “Can’t be worse. But you’ll find out what the price to pay is. There’ll be a price — a mental institution or jail or something.”
The judge acknowledged early during deliberations that the trial had been emotionally and physically exhausting for everyone. Much of the testimony was excruciating to hear, from the heartbreaking 911 call made by the children’s father who found their bodies, to the descriptions of how they died.
Clancy was brought to tears several times. At one point, the judge called a short break as Clancy’s loud sobs filled the courtroom while the children’s autopsy photos were shown.
Clancy’s mental health was the focus of the trial
Over 21 days of testimony, jurors heard how Clancy’s mental health collapsed after Callan’s birth.
Deeply anxious about a planned return to work, unable to sleep, and experiencing what she described as a disturbing brain fog, Clancy sought care from experts in postpregnancy mood disorders, who prescribed multiple psychiatric medications.
Clancy’s family members testified that she expressed concern about her mental health decline. Her former mother-in-law, Susan Clancy, described her as a “very nurturing, very loving mother” who was “begging for help.”
In early January, she checked herself in to a psychiatric hospital for more intensive treatment, but her stay was short. She killed the children 19 days after she was discharged, leaving their bodies in the basement of the family’s home in coastal Duxbury, Mass. Clancy jumped from a second-story window immediately after and remains paralyzed from the waist down.
Clancy jurors heard differing views from experts
Prosecutors conceded that Clancy had severe mental illness, but insisted she was able to understand and control her actions. They emphasized that although she claimed to have heard a male voice commanding her to kill the children, she never disclosed hearing voices to her mental health providers before the killings.
In its latter stages, the trial became a battle of medical experts.
Kirk Heilbrun, a forensic psychologist hired by prosecutors, testified he didn’t believe her story about hearing voices or that she had acute psychosis. He said she took the children’s lives so they wouldn’t “suffer” after she killed herself.
Phillip Resnick, a forensic psychiatrist who testified for the defense, said Clancy was “clearly psychotic” and not in control of her actions. “It was almost like she was a puppet and someone else was pulling the strings,” he said.
Before you can understand Abington Township’s historically African American unincorporated community of Crestmont, you have to understand Willow Grove Park.
Not the mall with that name, but the Willow Grove Park that predates it: One of the largest and most famous amusement parks on the East Coast.
It opened in 1896, built by the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Co. It had roller coasters, a lake, restaurants, concerts, a massive music pavilion, and crowds pouring in.
It shaped the entire local economy and brought thousands of people out to the suburbs every week. A place like that needed labor. Real labor. Constant labor. And that’s where Crestmont’s story begins.
The “Welcome to Crestmont” sign sits directly across from the Willow Grove Mall.DJ Atkins
I didn’t grow up in Glenside or Willow Grove. I came out here for work, almost 15 years ago, and eventually I moved here. Eight years living in these suburbs gives you time to notice things, to ask questions, to wonder about the layout of the place. And one question kept coming back to me: Why is Crestmont, a mostly Black community, sitting right in the middle of overwhelmingly white suburbs?
If you know the area, you know exactly what I mean. Roslyn, Glenside, Willow Grove, Abington … they’re all majority white, and have been that way for generations.
Then suddenly, right next to the Willow Grove Mall parking lot, there’s Crestmont.
Houses closer together. A different feel. A different history. A different story.
Crestmont’s density, the layout, the architecture, the vibe, the community identity — all of it comes from early working‑class development, limited access to loans, limited access to improvements, township decisions, generational continuity, racial boundaries, economic exclusion, and the strength of the people who lived there, writes DJ Atkins.DJ Atkins
I started talking about Crestmont to people who grew up here. I started learning about Willow Grove Park, looking at the geography, thinking about the era, and the truth became impossible to ignore.
It’s a truth all of us need to hear, because it shows exactly how racism shapes the places we live.
Willow Grove Park opened only 31 years after slavery ended. That was the same year Plessy v. Ferguson legalized segregation. Old newspaper coverage, township references, and public history written about the park all describe a large-scale operation with ties to the trolley company, township officials, police, contractors, and local business owners.
A machine like that needed workers who could show up every day, early, late, and in all seasons. Black workers came to fill Willow Grove Park jobs and stayed because the work kept coming. In line with what the public record shows, people with long family histories in Crestmont talked to me about how common it was for their relatives and neighbors to all work at the park.
A vintage postcard showing the Willow Grove Park midway. Willow Grove Park opened in 1896; it was closed in 1975 and demolished a year later.Courtesy of D.J. Atkins
But many of those workers didn’t have cars, and walking through certain neighborhoods wasn’t safe. Black people weren’t welcome. Renting was restricted, and loans for home purchases were denied. Still, the workers needed to live close. Close to the park, close to the trolley line, close to the commercial strip that fed the park.
Exactly where Crestmont is.
Once a few Black families moved in, the neighborhood took shape. Word spread. More families followed. White buyers stayed away. Black buyers were directed toward the same area. The lots stayed small. The houses stayed close. The community grew through necessity, connection, and resilience.
People who grew up here remember the tensions between high schoolers. They remember buying packaged goods in Crestmont because they couldn’t get them elsewhere. They remember the social boundaries. They remember how Crestmont stood out from the surrounding suburbs. None of that is random. It’s the long-term result of how the neighborhood began.
Crestmont exists because Willow Grove Park existed. Segregation created the boundary. The park created the need. Together, they created the neighborhood.
One of the homes in Crestmont, photographed in 2026.DJ Atkins
Crestmont isn’t unique.
Across the country, Black neighborhoods formed near major employers because segregation blocked housing everywhere else.
In Ardmore, Black families lived near the railroad and the estates they worked in. In Bryn Mawr, the Black neighborhood grew beside the service corridors of the Main Line mansions. In Atlantic City, Black workers lived near the Boardwalk hotels they kept running. In Pittsburgh’s Hill District, Black families settled near the steel mills and rail yards. In Baltimore, Black neighborhoods formed beside the shipyards and factories.
Wherever a big employer needed labor, and wherever white neighborhoods refused to open their doors, a Black community formed in the one pocket where the pressure made it possible — and they look the way they do today because of their origins.
One of the homes in Crestmont, an unincorporated community in Abington Township that owes its existence to Willow Grove Park and to housing segregation in the surrounding communities.DJ Atkins
Crestmont’s density, the layout, the architecture, the vibe, the community identity — all of it comes from early working‑class development, limited access to loans, limited access to improvements, township decisions, generational continuity, racial boundaries, economic exclusion, and the strength of the people who lived there.
It’s not a mystery. It’s not random. It’s not accidental. It’s a product of American racism and Black survival.
People around here know Crestmont. But they don’t necessarily know its origin or see in it an example of how racism shapes geography and how Black communities build life anyway.
Once you see that, you can’t unsee it.
DJ Atkins is a Philly‑area DJ, radio host, and cultural writer. He also works in poetry, blending storytelling, music, and community history in his creative work.
WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert is retiring at the end the year, bringing to a close her seven-plus years at the helm of the league and a stewardship that has been transformative and at times tumultuous.
Engelbert is the second-longest tenured WNBA president or commissioner, and she helped negotiate a lucrative collective bargaining agreement this past spring that resulted in the league’s first set of million-dollar player salaries. Philly-based lawyer Deb Willig helped lead negotiations for that CBA.
“Cathy has presided over the WNBA through the most significant period of growth in the league’s 30-year history,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said Friday when announcing Engelbert’s decision. “We are grateful for Cathy’s leadership and unwavering commitment to the advancement of women’s basketball.”
Engelbert, a Collingswood native who turns 62 in November, told the Associated Press that she has been thinking about retiring for months.
“When I first came to the league, I intended to do this for 3½ years,” she said in a phone interview. “The 7½ years exceeded that time. This is a really good time, given the financial transformation journey we’ve been on. Getting the collective bargaining agreement done, getting a long-term media rights deal done, getting expansion done.”
Engelbert insists that the decision to leave was her own and that she did not feel any pressure to step down from NBA or WNBA stakeholders.
Who’s next?
The commissioner said she has been working on a succession plan over the last few years. While she didn’t give any specifics on who might be considered for the position, Engelbert did say there are both internal and external potential candidates on the league’s radar.
“It’s a good time to hand it off to the next leader to take the ‘W’ into a better phase,” she said. “I’m proud of the team we built and everything we accomplished. A leader knows when it’s time to drop the mic and move on after building a powerhouse team in the league office.”
Engelbert said she has mixed emotions about leaving.
“I love women’s basketball, and am not going anywhere yet,” said Engelbert, who was a point guard for Muffet McGraw at Lehigh. “We’ll run a real succession process in the remaining four months. If we don’t find someone, I’ll stay on. I had no transition. I walked in the door, and I was by myself as no one transitioned me into this role.
“Hopefully I can help this next leader transition in especially considering the elevation of this league.”
The WNBA has grown at an exponential rate during Engelbert’s tenure as commissioner, with record television ratings, strong attendance, a new long-term media rights deal and expansion to 18 teams by the end of the decade. That run of expansion will be capped by a team coming to Philadelphia in 2030.
“I was brought in as a business leader to transform the business,” she said. “I look at revenue and merchandise, viewership and attendance,” she said, noting how they’ve all improved. “A great leader senses when it’s time for someone else to come in. When I came in, this league was facing questions about our long-term viability and sustainability.”
Cathy Englebert announces that she will retire as WNBA commissioner at the end of the year. She took over in 2019, and next 2 team sales in 2021 were for $2-3M (Las Vegas) and $5M (Atlanta). W average value is now $427M, and No. 1 based on avg revenue multiple. pic.twitter.com/Mf3CmaqgNl
Engelbert said the growth of the league has “blown away her expectations” since she stepped into her role after leaving her previous position as president of Deloitte in 2019.
Besides the new CBA, the list of things she is most proud of includes getting charter travel for players, keeping the league going during the coronavirus pandemic, the historic media rights deal and exponential increase in the value of WNBA franchises. In 2019, the average value of a WNBA franchise was $10 million; in 2026, it is about $460 million.
Along with the financial gains, however, turmoil and tension have accompanied the WNBA’s growth.
Players say they have seen more social media vitriol directed toward them over the last few years, and some don’t feel the league has done enough to ensure their safety. The league also has been at the center of discussions about transgender athletes playing in the league.
Engelbert has repeatedly said the online attacks of players are unacceptable and she backs league initiatives to protect players. She also said there should be no confusion on the transgender question.
“We have no current eligibility issues in the WNBA,” Engelbert said, adding that “if we did, we would have a thoughtful policy discussion with the [players’ association] and the players.”
While there was a strained partnership between the commissioner and players during the recent CBA negotiations, Engelbert insists she has a good relationship with them.
Talks between the commissioner and players have been complicated.
New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart, who’s vice president of the WNBA players’ union executive committee, said before the All-Star Game that there is a respect for Engelbert among the players, just not much of a relationship.
New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart (30) defends as Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark looks to pass in the first half of a game on Aug. 11 in Indianapolis.Michael Conroy
Engelbert’s future
Engelbert said she is ready to do what most retirees plan: spend more time with family.
She also admitted that the online hate she receives has affected her family as well, though she did not share details of the impact.
“There have been some hard parts of that on my family with the vitriol and hate I get online,” Engelbert said.
Sixers majority owner Josh Harris (left), Detroit Pistons vice chairman Arn Tellem, WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert, and Cleveland Cavaliers CEO Nic Barlage celebrate the announcement of three new teams, including a franchise coming to Philly.Jonathan Tannenwald
Her retirement will make her mother happy. Her father, Kurt, was a Hall of Fame basketball player at St. Joseph’s who died in 1987. Her parents were from Northeast Philly, and five of her siblings attended Villanova, according to a 2019 Inquirer article.
“My mom is turning 90 this year, and she said that ‘it would be good if you were retired to spend more time with me,’” Engelbert said, laughing. “I have two children, one I barely see.
“I’m one of eight kids [and I] have five brothers. They always say can you retire so you can spend more time with us.”
