FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Three days ago, Vic Fangio blasted Ty Robinson with a backhanded compliment when asked about the defensive tackle’s strong first preseason game.
“Yeah, he came to life,” Fangio said. “He’s been on life support since he’s been here, but he came to life and hopefully that will continue.”
After Saturday, it’s clear Robinson is alive and well.
The 25-year-old put on a show in the Eagles’ 24-21 preseason loss vs. the Patriots at Gillette Stadium, logging two sacks, four tackles, and three quarterback hits. Through two preseason games, Robinson now has three sacks, four quarterback hits, and three tackles for loss.
Eagles defensive tackle Ty Robinson sacks Patriots quarterback Tommy DeVito during the second quarter on Saturday. Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
So, did Robinson hear what Fangio said?
”I did,” Robinson said. “And you know what, I’ll take that as a compliment. He’s not wrong. Last year I had to find myself. I was on a scout team just understanding how the NFL worked and going up against a pretty good offensive line, so getting to work against those guys and just get better. It’s obviously showing that it’s helped.”
Fangio’s analysis wasn’t wrong. The 2025 Eagles fourth-round pick (111th overall) was buried on the depth chart a year ago, logging just 34 defensive snaps and totaling five tackles and one QB hit.
At the beginning of training camp, he took reps with the developmental group — a clear sign he was sliding down the depth chart. The ex-Nebraska standout looked like a candidate to miss the 53-man roster all together.
Everything changed with a string of great practices and an excellent preseason showing.
Early in the first quarter last Saturday, Robinson blew past Ravens guard Emery Jones Jr. to sack quarterback Tyler Huntley. In the days leading up to the Ravens game, Robinson showed his ferocity in another way when he had a brief skirmish with guard Tyler Steen after a one-on-one rep.
Against the Patriots, Robinson ran the same stunt twice to bring down quarterback Tommy DeVito two times in the second quarter.
The Eagles still have a loaded defensive tackle group. Don’t expect Robinson to dethrone Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis, Moro Ojomo or even Byron Young anytime soon.
But for the first time since he turned pro, Robinson is showing promise — which surely pleases general manager Howie Roseman, who spent an early Day 3 pick on him last year.
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — It would’ve been a heartbreaker for the Eagles, but alas, it’s the preseason.
The Eagles gave up a four-point lead in the final minute of their second game of the exhibition slate against the New England Patriots. Patriots quarterback Behren Morton completed a 37-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Nick DeGennaro over the head of Eagles cornerback Isaiah Bolden to win, 24-21.
Here’s our instant analysis from the Eagles’ second game of the preseason:
Tanner McKee did a good job engineering the Eagles quick passing game on Saturday. Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Tanner Time?
Two games into the preseason, the momentum in the backup quarterback competition could be shifting.
Andy Dalton started for a second straight week, seemingly an acknowledgment that he’s ahead of Tanner McKee in the competition for QB2. But again, Dalton failed to impress through three possessions.
On 21 plays, Dalton went 3-for-10 for 44 yards. He was nearly intercepted twice by Patriots cornerback Kindle Vildor. The ball hit the ground on one of Vildor’s would-be picks, and on the same play, outside linebacker Gabe Jacas was flagged for roughing the passer.
On the ensuing play, Dalton had another close call when his pass for Quez Watkins over the middle of the field almost ended up in Vildor’s hands.
Meanwhile, McKee improved upon his performance in the preseason opener against the Baltimore Ravens. On 36 plays, he went 16-for-22 for 173 yards and two touchdowns, good for a 125.8 quarterback rating.
He was nearly perfect on the Eagles’ scoring drive just before the end of the first half, completing three of four passing attempts for 44 yards and a touchdown. Each of his three completions — 16- and 14-yarders to Carson Steele and a 14-yard touchdown pass to Britain Covey — were short passes in which the receivers picked up ample yards after the catch.
McKee almost made it a second touchdown pass in the third quarter. He attempted to find E.J. Jenkins in the left corner of the end zone on fourth-and-3 at the 9-yard line, but the 27-year-old tight end dropped the pass.
He completed his second touchdown throw late in the fourth quarter to Steele, a 20-yard catch-and-run that put the Eagles up, 21-17. He helped bail the Eagles out from a pair of penalties on the drive — an Erik Ezukanma illegal crackback block and a false start — by completing two passes to Ezukanma for a total of 24 yards and the touchdown pass to Steele.
After the game, Nick Sirianni said that “everything is accounted for” in the competition for the QB2 gig, not limited to preseason performance. Dalton is taking fewer snaps in the preseason, Sirianni said, because he has more experience in similar systems to Sean Mannion’s.
“I think both the guys are battling,” Sirianni said. “I’m really confident in both the guys. And we’ll see where that goes. Again, like I said, that’s still a competition.”
Cole Payton, the rookie fifth-round quarterback out of North Dakota State, took over with less than a minute remaining in the game. He was strip-sacked on the third play of the drive, with the Patriots recovering the fumble to secure the win.
Eagles linebacker Jeremiah Trotter Jr. sacks Patriots quarterback Tommy DeVito in Saturday’s preseason game. Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Back-to-back sacks
Another week, another standout performance from a pair of young defensive players.
Jeremiah Trotter Jr. may not be poised for a starting role behind Zack Baun and Jihaad Campbell, neither of whom played on Saturday. But the 2024 fifth-round inside linebacker out of Clemson continues to make an impact in the preseason on minimal snaps.
On the Patriots’ second possession of the night, Trotter gave Patriots quarterback Tommy DeVito fits. On third-and-3, DeVito fled the pocket with Smael Mondon and A.J. Epenesa in the backfield. Trotter ran from the defensive left hashes to the right side of the field outside of the numbers to tackle a scrambling DeVito, limiting a would-be double-digit-yard gain to just seven yards.
Two plays later, Trotter blitzed the “A” gap unblocked and sacked DeVito seemingly in an instant for a loss of four yards.
“As far as my career, that was probably the fastest [sack],” Trotter said. “I was surprised how it split open like that. But I was able to get good timing on that blitz. So it worked out nice.”
Defensive tackle Ty Robinson also reprised his strong preseason performance against the Ravens. Last week, he had one sack. On Saturday, he notched two on DeVito.
Halfway through the second quarter, Robinson beat Patriots left guard Mekhi Butler on the first sack for a loss of nine yards. Later in the second, the 2025 fourth-round defensive tackle out of Nebraska had another sack, this time on a stunt with Jose Ramirez on the right side of the line.
“That was Coach Vic [Fangio]’s play call,” Robinson said. “Jose’s an awesome person to run those types of games with. And he really did a great job coming in there and picking the guard for me to wrap around and that tackle stayed on him. So I told him I owed him one, especially since we ran two in a row. So I told him I’ve got him next time.”
Will Shipley and the Eagles running game posted an encouraging effort in Foxborough. Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Sail the Ship, Steele the show
After Eagles running backs combined for just 31 yards on 11 carries (2.8 yards per carry) against the Ravens, the entire rushing unit fared better on Saturday.
Will Shipley and the game’s starting offensive line — which included left tackle Fred Johnson, left guard Drew Kendall, center Willie Lampkin, right guard Jake Majors, and right tackle Markel Bell — dominated the Patriots defensive front.
On the second Eagles possession of the game, the offense rode Shipley into the end zone. He had seven carries for 30 yards on the drive, including a 5-yard touchdown run up the middle behind the stellar blocking of Kendall and Lampkin that put the Eagles up, 7-0.
Shipley finished the night with 11 carries for 56 yards (5.1 yards per carry).
Steele, the 2024 undrafted free agent out of UCLA who spent the last two seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs, picked up where Shipley left off. He had some solid runs, but he was particularly eye-catching as a pass catcher.
After the two-minute warning in the first half, Steele caught a check down three yards behind the line of scrimmage on first-and-10 from the Patriots’ 28. Steele scurried downfield, hurdling Patriots cornerback Brandon Crossley in the process.
Late in the fourth quarter, Steele scored the go-ahead touchdown on another short pass from McKee. Steele turned two yards into 20 with his legs, bolting into the end zone and pulling the Eagles ahead, 21-17.
Steele had 12 carries for 33 yards (2.8 yards per carry). He was also the Eagles’ leading receiver with six catches for 84 yards and a touchdown.
“I had a blast,” Steele said. “Unfortunately, we didn’t get the win, but we executed a lot more things. Definitely took our game up a level from last weekend. Just got to keep progressing from there.”
Eagles running back Ja’Quinden Jackson is taken off the field in a stretcher after suffering an injury on the opening kickoff Saturday night. Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Injury report
Eagles depth running back Ja’Quinden Jackson was stretchered into an ambulance on the field after going down during the opening kickoff. The team announced later in the first quarter that he had strength and movement in all extremities and he was taken to a local hospital for further evaluation.
Mac McWilliams, the 2025 fifth-round cornerback out of Central Florida, visited the medical tent in the first half. He eventually headed indoors and did not return to action.
Bell, the 2026 third-rounder out of Miami, also visited the medical tent in the first half. He remained on the bench but did not return to action.
A few short weeks ago, the Phillies struck out looking for a back end starting pitcher at the trade deadline.
Three days prior, out of options for the fifth slot in their rotation, the team recalled top prospect Andrew Painter, who’d struggled through his first go-round in the majors.
On Saturday against the Cardinals, Painter showed exactly why the Phillies and everyone else were so high on him in the first place, striking out eight in a one-run, seven-inning performance in the Phillies’ 12-3 win, the best start of his major league career.
“The whole outing today, he looked like — he was a dog on the mound,” J.T. Realmuto said. “He wanted to get guys out. He wanted to attack the strike zone. He looked really confident out there.”
Painter earned a big standing ovation from the Citizens Bank Park crowd after throwing the last of his 102 pitches.
“The guy we saw today, the ceiling is so high for him,” Realmuto said. “If he has that demeanor and that much confidence on the mound, he can be whatever he wants in this game.”
Painter gave up just one run in the sixth inning, an RBI single from Alec Burleson.
Since his 2024 Tommy John surgery, Painter has been trying to rebuild his fastball, which was identified as his best weapon as a prospect. He threw 32% of his fastballs for either called strikes or whiffs on Saturday.
“It doesn’t look as hittable,” interim manager Don Mattingly said. “ … I think one of the things they talked about is him working sideways when he was here. I don’t know. I look at it from a hitter standpoint, guys that are going sideways, they’re dragging the barrel. Pitchers, when they’re going sideways, they’re dragging the arm, and they’re also showing the ball early.”
The Phillies worked with him on getting down the mound, and also on “letting go” and being more aggressive.
After a blow-up first inning in his last start in Minnesota, Painter said he focused on using that first inning against St. Louis to attack and win the at-bats, instead of “falling into the trap” of using it to “feel stuff out.”
He started Saturday’s game with a 1-2-3 inning, including two strikeouts. Painter didn’t walk a single batter and generated 20 whiffs total. He also made heavy use of his new changeup, something he worked on in his stint in triple A. He got six whiffs and averaged 92 mph on the pitch.
Having that changeup in the mix, which he threw 28 times compared to 25 fastballs, could be helping his fastball tick back up where he and the Phillies want it.
Andrew Painter fired off the best start of his career today!
After struggling to find his pre-injury fastball shape, Painter showcased a stupendous 4-Seam which exhibited +2" iVB compared to prior starts. If these traits hold Painter could be a postseason menace for the Phillies pic.twitter.com/4cUDOnpINm
“It tends to widen out the fastball grip, probably a bit less forearm fatigue, but I think it’s harder, and it moves more too,” Painter said. “Being able to play those two pitches off of each other helps a lot.”
Even deep into the seventh inning, Painter threw a 99.6 mph fastball on his 100th pitch.
“There’s a lot of mechanical things that lead to a little bit more gas in the tank later in the games,” Painter said. “ … I know that’s probably my last at-bat. I didn’t want to walk off that mound with anything left in the tank.”
Brandon Marsh (left) greets Kyle Schwarber after Schwarber’s solo home run in the eighth inning.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
But the Phillies didn’t even need a gem from Painter to pick up the win, thanks to their thriving offense. The Phillies have long been a team that relied on the long ball, but by the time Bryce Harper hit the Phillies’ first home run of the game in the sixth inning, they’d already scored eight runs thanks to their small-ball game.
Alec Bohm, who hit the walk-off triple in Friday’s win, stayed hot in the first inning, knocking a single to left to score the Phillies’ first run after Kyle Schwarber and Trea Turner walked and singled to get on base. Edmundo Sosa followed with a double to make it 3-0 in the first.
In the third, Bohm, Sosa, and Luis Arraez loaded the bases with singles, then Bryan De La Cruz knocked in two more runs with a single. J.T. Realmuto added a sacrifice fly, and Derek Hill doubled to put the Phillies up by 7-0. Schwarber added another sacrifice fly in the sixth, followed by Harper’s three-run homer. Schwarber homered in the eighth off position player Pedro Páges to cap off the Phillies 12-3 win.
Arraez was removed from the game with lower body cramps in the third inning. Hill was removed with neck stiffness in the sixth. Both will be evaluated.
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Eagles running back Ja’Quinden Jackson was stretchered into an ambulance on the field after the opening kickoff of Saturday night’s preseason game against the New England Patriots.
Jackson, 24, went down on his back during the play and appeared to go into a fencing position. Medical trainers placed Jackson onto a backboard, and then a stretcher, before he was wheeled into the back of an ambulance that drove onto the field.
Later in the first quarter, the Eagles announced that Jackson has strength and movement in all of his extremities. He was taken to a local hospital for further evaluation.
Early Sunday morning, the Eagles said Jackson returned to Philadelphia with the rest of the team.
“It’s always a tough thing to [see] and we’re always praying for him,” Eagles running back Carson Steele said after the game. “But he was supposed to be out there a lot tonight, too, as well. He’s a great athlete, great player. Just had to go out there and do it for him and do it for the rest of the team as well.”
The Eagles signed Jackson on Aug. 10. The 2025 undrafted free agent out of Arkansas spent his rookie season on the Jacksonville Jaguars’ practice squad.
The entire Eagles sideline came on the field to support Ja'Quinden Jackson before he was stretchered into the ambulance. pic.twitter.com/XQ78dIgmIL
The Phillies haven’t faced a true left-handed starting pitcher since Aug. 15, a full week ago. After facing Quinn Mathews on Saturday, they’re not set to face another anytime soon.
That’s why Bryson Stott, who’s hitting .317 with a .905 OPS in August, wasn’t in the starting lineup against the St. Louis Cardinals. Neither were Brandon Marsh or Justin Crawford. Derek Hill, Bryan De La Cruz, and Edmundo Sosa got the start in their place.
“I’ve just got to keep everybody in the mix a little bit,” interim manager Don Mattingly said. “We hardly see any lefties right now, and these guys got to be ready to play. If I don’t ever put them in there, it’s tough. He doesn’t need a rest. He’s fine. It’s just trying to keep everyone in the mix.”
Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly says he wants to keep other players fresh, especially against a run of right-handed starting pitchers.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Stott, despite being a lefty hitter, actually has hit lefties better than righties this year, hitting .301 with an .839 OPS against lefties vs. .251 and .727 against righties. Saturday was the first game he hasn’t started since the All-Star break.
The Mariners are set to throw three righties when the Phillies roll into town. The Cardinals haven’t released their starting pitcher for Sunday, but Matthew Liberatore, the rotation’s only lefty, pitched on Aug. 19, so he almost certainly won’t take the mound for the series finale.
Reliever Tanner Banks has been on the injured list since July 9 with a left forearm strain, but he threw about 30 pitches in a live bullpen session before Saturday’s game.
Mattingly said if Banks continues to feel good, he could go on a minor-league rehab assignment during the Phillies’ road trip.
Before the injury, Banks was in the middle of by far the worst season of his major league career, with a 7.14 ERA and a 2.00 WHIP in 28 appearances, compared to a career 4.01 ERA and 1.26 WHIP. Per Statcast, his expected ERA is only 4.41, which would be his second-worst ERA, but it indicates he could be due for some positive regression.
Phillies pitcher Tanner Banks has been on the injured list since July 9 but threw a live bullpen session on Saturday.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
When he returns, Mattingly said the Phillies are still considering all options for how to use him, including in a bulk role.
“The last time he went down, we did think about bulk a little bit, obviously he’s throwing 30 pitches [Saturday],” Mattingly said. “I don’t think it would be all one-inning stints in the minor leagues. They’re going to try and get him one-plus, build him up, as long as he’s ready for that.”
Kyle Schwarber took a few grounders pregame at first base, but Mattingly said there haven’t been any recent conversations about giving Schwarber another game at first. Schwarber has appeared in four games at first, most recently on Aug. 10.
“He may be thinking that because he came out here today,” Mattingly said. “Usually when he comes out, he might be thinking that, but we haven’t really talked about it.”
Pregame, Schwarber met with Brandon Graham and Joe Eitl, a heart and liver transplant recipient, who threw out the first pitch pregame with the Gift of Life Donor Program.
SEPTA is eliminating seven bus routes, debuting two new ones, and adjusting more Sunday as the first phase of a bus network redesign gets underway.
In all, riders will find changes to 30 routes, including more frequent service on those with high ridership, and buses coming less often on some lower-performing routes.
Highlights include:
Routes 35, 47M, 62, 78, 80, 89, and 106 will disappear. SEPTA says they are less used or have nearby alternatives for passengers.
The new Route 72 will connect Frankford Transportation Center and Cedarbrook Plaza, running mostly along Cheltenham Avenue.
Route 76, the second new route, will travel between South Philadelphia’s Columbus Commons shopping center, anchored by Ikea and Lowe’s, and the intersection of Rising Sun and Olney Avenues.
SEPTA is using this graphic to summarize bus-route changes at a glance for the first phase of the redesigned system.SEPTA
SEPTA launched its bus system redesign efforts in earnest after ridership declined 13% from 2013 to 2019, a drop attributed to slow speeds, reliability problems, and competition from rideshare companies. And that was before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Originally called Bus Revolution, SEPTA’s redesign was set to launch in 2025 but faced significant community pushback and coincided with the state funding crisis that halted many planned transit initiatives. It was officially shelved in November 2024.
Along with the additions and subtractions, there are a few route extensions:
Route 45 will extend southward to serve the Navy Yard, the first time in a decade that a bus will serve the development seven days a week. There will be nine stops inside the Navy Yard for the 45. Currently, the route ends at Broad Street and Oregon Avenue. Route 17 will no longer stop at the Navy Yard on weekends.
Route 79, which ended at Snyder Avenue in South Philly, will cross the Schuylkill, go through Grays Ferry and University City, and end at 40th and Market Streets, where there is a stop on the L train, SEPTA’s new name for the Market-Frankford Line.
Route 53 is to be extended both east and west, to connect the Carpenter Regional Rail station on the Chestnut Hill West Line and the Richmond-Westmoreland Loop, via Aramingo Avenue. The 53 will no longer serve the Broad Street-Hunting Park Station on the B subway.
SEPTA says it is redesigning the bus network to modernize an outdated route structure and enable more efficient travel.
“We function as a network,” said Brandon Miller, manager of planning programs at the transit agency.
The changes will require riders to transfer to other bus routes, as well as metro trains, more often than they do now. And discontinuing low-ridership routes while beefing up popular ones is a needed trade-off to strengthen the overall system, Miller said.
Additional rounds of changes are scheduled for February and June 2027, with a fourth round in the fall.
A tornado touched down in Downingtown during a barrage of severe storms Thursday evening, the National Weather Service confirmed Saturday.
The tornado landed in the Chester County borough at 5:40 p.m. Thursday, the weather service said in a statement, as major thunderstorms passed through the area.
The twister was considered an EF-0, which is considered the least destructive on the Enhanced Fujita rating scale. The tornado touched down for less than a minute, according to the weather service, traveling just over a fifth of a mile along Quarry Road near the Quarry Crossings commercial development. Its winds reached speeds of 60 to 70 mph and brought down several tree branches, the weather service said.
Downingtown’s tornado was one of three to land in the region on Thursday, according to the National Weather Service. A slightly more intense EF-1 tornado touched down in Dover, Del., at 6:09 p.m., while a tornado with an unknown Enhanced Fujita scale rating occurred at 4:41 p.m. in Estell Manor, in Atlantic County, N.J., about 19 miles inland from Ocean City.
The tornado in Dover lasted roughly five minutes and traveled just over three miles with winds ranging from 100 to 110 mph, the weather service said. After landing in an open field, the twister caused “extensive damage” to the Dover Little League baseball diamonds at Schutte Park, the weather service said: Two scoreboards were crushed or knocked down, and several lighting fixtures were snapped.
Then the tornado struck the Van Sant Generating Station — a power plant owned by the City of Dover located across from Schutte Park — before zigzagging through downtown Dover, where it downed trees. The tornado dissipated at the intersection of Kings Highway and North DuPont Highway after peeling the roof off a motel, the weather service said.
The tornado in Estell Manor lasted approximately 30 seconds or less, according to the weather service, and landed in a wooded area across from the Great Egg Harbor River. There were no reports of associated damage.
Thursday’s storms were the latest in a summer marked by intense wind and rain. The storms arrived in the Philly region just after 5 p.m. and set off a barrage of flash-flood warnings for Philadelphia, the Main Line, and sections of Delaware and New Jersey. Portions of Delaware and Chester Counties were also under tornado warnings.
The downpours led to flash floods that made many streets impassable in the Montgomery County townships of West Norriton and Lower Providence, according to the weather service. And in Chester County, fallen trees cut off sections of heavily trafficked Route 322 in Honey Brook.
The forecast for the rest of the weekend was looking similarly wet.
“Multiple rounds of scattered showers and thunderstorms expected through tomorrow afternoon,” the National Weather Service at Mount Holly wrote Saturday on X, and forecasters “cannot rule out a few strong to severe thunderstorms” for Sunday.
A man was killed early Saturday when he walked onto the road and was struck by an SUV in the Logan section of Philadelphia, police said Saturday.
The Philadelphia Police Department said it is investigating the fatal crash, which happened at 20th Street and Belfield Avenue. The Y-shaped intersection is located near La Salle University.
Around 1:50 a.m., a white Jeep Cherokee driven by a 41-year-old man was traveling south on 20th Street, police said.
The Jeep was attempting to go around a stopped vehicle when a pedestrian stepped into the roadway, police said. It struck the 36-year-old man, “causing critical injuries.”
Fire department medics took the man to Jefferson Einstein Philadelphia Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Police have not released the name of the driver or the pedestrian. The police crash investigation division is leading the inquiry into the circumstances around the incident.
With the midterm election nearing — and months of inactivity behind him — New Jersey U.S. Rep. Tom Kean Jr. hit the campaign trail Friday, speaking to a few dozen people at a breakfast fundraiser held at a private golf club.
It was one of Kean’s first known campaign stops since he returned to Congress at the end of June following a long absence, which he said was due to depression. Though the congressman at times has sought to avoid media attention, he attracted just that as someone at the event called police on a New York Times reporter.
Kean, a Republican, represents New Jersey’s 7th District, widely seen as a key race in the battle for control of the House of Representatives. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R., La.) attended the breakfast, seeking to boost support for the congressman.
FILE — House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) speaks to reporters in Washington on July 22, 2026. Johnson joined Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-N.J.) on his campaign trail on Friday, Aug. 21, 2026. A reporter for the New York Times, trying to cover Kean’s fundraising event in New Jersey, was blocked at the door. (Alex Kent/The New York Times)ALEX KENT
Kean’s reelection bid got a late start: Beginning in March, he was absent from Congress for 116 days and missed about 140 votes. As calls for an explanation mounted, Kean stated in a speech on the House floor in June that he had been seeking treatment for depression.
Friday at the Hawk Pointe Golf Club in northwestern New Jersey, Kean talked about his issues with WFMZ-69, an Allentown, Pa.-based TV station.
“I’m feeling great,” Kean said. “I had to focus on my mental health. I had depression. I’m back, feeling stronger than ever. And I’ve been helping people throughout the entirety of the year.”
Police called on New York Times reporter
WFMZ and Fox News each had a reporter present at the country club, according to the New York Times. However, Kean spokesperson Harrison Neely barred a Times reporter, Tracey Tully, from entering the event.
Tully reported that as she waited in the parking lot for a chance to interview Johnson or Kean, she was approached by a local police officer.
“Someone apparently had called the police from inside the club to report that there was a trespasser — this reporter — on the premises,” Tully wrote, adding that New Jersey State Police and Johnson’s security detail were already outside the venue.
A police officer spoke with people inside the event and told Tully that it was OK for her to remain in the parking lot, the report states.
Kean’s Democratic challenger, former Navy pilot and healthcare executive Rebecca Bennett, weighed in Saturday morning by email.
“Tom Kean Jr. is doing what he’s always done: serving his D.C. party bosses and prioritizing his stock portfolio while hiding from anyone who wants to hold him accountable, whether that’s the press or his constituents,” Bennett said.
Messages and calls to Kean’s office and spokesperson were not returned Saturday. On social media, Kean shared his TV appearance along with a message saying Bennett is hiding behind a campaign script.
I do the most local press engagements of any NJ Member of Congress. Meanwhile, my opponent @RebeccaForNJ07 stays hidden from voters behind a campaign script.https://t.co/7ZUVlggK6W
While Democrats face an uphill battle in winning a majority in the Senate, they hold more favorable odds of seizing the House, according to pollsters.
With all 435 House seats up for reelection, few are seen as more competitive than Kean’s district. Political analysis sites Cook Political Report and Sabato’s Crystal Ball each rated the race as a “toss up.”
In 2022, Kean ousted Rep. Tom Malinowski, the district’s Democratic incumbent, and won reelection in 2024. In 2025, Democrat Mikie Sherrill won the district by 2% in her successful bid for governor.
TORONTO — For decades, Canada built much of its prosperity on privileged access to the United States. Now, after the collapse of trade talks, one of the world’s closest and most durable alliances has been fundamentally altered, with both countries facing the risk of a full-scale trade war.
Prime Minister Mark Carney acknowledged the break after last-ditch negotiations failed Friday, saying Canada had recognized that “America has changed” and that the countries would “not return to our old relationship.”
The United States imposed 50% tariffs on about $20 billion worth of Canadian goods early Saturday. Carney said Canada would retaliate dollar for dollar beginning Sept. 8, targeting sectors including steel, dairy, appliances, agricultural equipment, pulp and paper, and electronics.
Carney foreshadowed the shift at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January, declaring that the world was experiencing “a rupture, not a transition” and urging countries such as Canada to reduce their vulnerability to economic coercion by strengthening their economies at home and diversifying abroad.
He said in Ottawa on Saturday that warning had been borne out. He accused the U.S. of using “economic integration as a weapon” and said its “signature was written in pencil.”
“The collapse of the tariff talks points to the fact that the old Canada-U.S. relationship is over and, for many Canadians, it also confirms the perception that Canada can’t trust the Trump administration,” said Daniel Béland, a political science professor at McGill University in Montreal.
The pressure from Republican President Donald Trump has gone well beyond tariffs.
He has questioned Canada’s economic viability, repeatedly talked about making it the 51st U.S. state, and used trade measures to encourage production to move from Canada to the United States. That has angered many Canadians and fueled a sense of betrayal in a country that had long regarded the U.S. as its closest ally.
Canadian travel to the U.S. remains sharply lower than before the dispute, with July return trips down nearly 29% by car and 27% by air from July 2024, Statistics Canada said.
The failed negotiations underscored how far the relationship had shifted. Canada had been prepared to accept some U.S. tariffs for market access and greater certainty — a break from decades of policy aimed at eliminating trade barriers.
For Canadians accustomed to preferential access under the 1989 Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement, NAFTA, and its successor, even reduced tariffs would mark a retreat from the old relationship.
The collapse also puts Carney’s approach to Trump to the test.
The prime minister’s “elbows up” posture — hockey shorthand for playing aggressively and refusing to be pushed around — has helped keep him popular at home. His decision to resist U.S. pressure could also resonate abroad with those impressed by his Davos call for countries to resist economic coercion and reduce dependence on great powers.
Provincial and conservative leaders broadly backed Carney. Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said, “The old status quo is not possible,” while Ontario Premier Doug Ford praised Carney for rejecting what he called a bad deal for the auto, steel, and manufacturing sectors.
Ford said Trump “is not to be trusted whatsoever.”
Former Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said Canada was “not cravenly surrendering in the face of constant economic and political aggression.”
Lana Payne, national president of Unifor, Canada’s largest private-sector union, accused Trump of trying to weaken Canada’s industrial base.
“What we have seen from the U.S. administration, or Donald Trump, is this consistent attempt to try and destroy the industrial economy of Canada with tariffs that have been strategically designed to attack us,” Payne said.
Economic risks of fighting back and a shift seen as perhaps lasting
Nearly three-quarters of Canada’s goods exports go to the United States. The U.S. economy is roughly 10 times larger than Canada’s, limiting Ottawa’s ability to retaliate dollar for dollar without inflicting disproportionate damage at home.
Royal Bank of Canada economists estimate the tariffs directly affect about 0.4% of Canada’s GDP because they cover only about 5% of Canadian exports to the U.S. The damage could grow if retaliation broadens, more sectors are targeted, or the dispute curbs investment and disrupts supply chains.
Carney himself acknowledged the cost of retaliation, saying the Canadian measures would “raise costs and reduce choice for Canadians.” He said his government would announce additional assistance for affected businesses and workers.
Béland said the countries were witnessing “the beginning of a full-scale trade war,” though he cautioned that the situation could change rapidly.
The dependence is not one-sided.
Carney said Canada supplies 99% of U.S. natural gas imports, 85% of its electricity imports, and 60% of its crude oil imports. Trump has focused much of his pressure on autos, steel, and aluminum, fueling resentment among Canadians who see the push as an effort to hollow out key industries.
Goldy Hyder, president and CEO of the Business Council of Canada, said businesses still view the U.S. as Canada’s most important trading partner but increasingly see the shift as lasting beyond Trump.
“There is a new trade and investment model, one that could well be kept in place by future U.S. administrations whether Democrat or Republican,” Hyder said.
Canada looks beyond U.S. because ‘things will never be the same’
The breakdown adds urgency to Carney’s push to diversify beyond the United States. He has traveled abroad seeking investment and new trade ties, aiming to attract $1 trillion Canadian (US$730 billion) by 2030 and to double non-U.S. investment over the next decade. Canada has signed more than 20 trade and security agreements across five continents in the past year.
That made Washington’s effort to restrict Canada’s ability to negotiate trade agreements with other countries particularly significant.
In July, Ottawa and Alberta advanced plans for a new Pacific Coast oil pipeline to give Canadian crude greater access to Asian markets and reduce reliance on U.S. buyers.
The immediate question is how long the latest tariff confrontation will last.
Béland said the deeper change probably will, partly because U.S. protectionism is likely to remain influential under future administrations.
“The idea that things will return to ‘normal’ once Donald Trump leaves the White House is probably just wishful thinking,” Béland said. “It doesn’t mean the relationship might not improve in the future but that things will never be the same.”
