DEAR ABBY: After many years living near and helping my parents, I moved to another state to retire. My dad died three months after I moved. I begged my mother to let me fly back and help her with his arrangements, but she insisted I stay put.
Some weeks later, and two days after we had talked on the phone, she secretly buried my dad’s ashes without telling me. I was devastated to receive a pathetic video of her, my brother, and a priest conducting a private service. Though she won’t admit it, I think she was punishing me for moving away.
Mom is mentally ill and narcissistic, and there have been many betrayals before this one. As the eldest daughter, I appear to be her main target, and my siblings make excuses for her behavior. (My brother said, “It wasn’t my job to call you.”) It has been two years, but she doesn’t think she did anything wrong. How do I get over this? I loved my dad so much.
— MISTREATED IN ARIZONA
DEAR MISTREATED: Please accept my deepest sympathy for the loss of your father. A step in the right direction for getting past this would be to remind yourself that your mother is mentally ill and narcissistic. It appears from what you have told me that you have always been the scapegoat in the family, which may be why your brother didn’t alert you to what your mother was planning.
Of course you loved your father. I am sure he loved you very much. If you know where his ashes are interred, it might be a comfort to visit there. However, if you don’t know, I wouldn’t blame you for moving on with your life and spending it with people who appreciate you for the fine person you are.
** ** **
DEAR ABBY: I’ve known my wife for 22 years. We had a lot of on and off during those years. The last time we got back together, we married. It’s been almost five years now.
Recently, we had an argument that has her not wanting me to touch her. She refuses to discuss the problem. It feels like she hates me. When I asked if she wanted a divorce, she said, “I don’t know.” I don’t want to lose her, but her actions since that argument make me think it’s really over. Silence in my own house is ridiculous to me. And not even allowing me to touch her feels like she has really given up on us.
I mentioned marriage counseling, and again her response was, “I don’t know.” I feel like I should just go file for divorce, but that’s not really what I want. Please give me some advice on what to do.
— BEYOND CONFUSED IN PENNSYLVANIA
DEAR BEYOND CONFUSED: Tell your wife you are not willing to continue being married under the present circumstances. Then return to the subject of marriage counseling. If she is willing to go with you, ask your doctor or your health insurance company to give you a list of qualified marriage and family therapists. The two of you are at a stalemate, and without mediation, your situation won’t change.
ARIES (March 21-April 19). Today activates your fondness for things that need a second chance. Whether it’s furniture by the road, a problem no one could finish or a person left out of the fold, you’ll help. Everything and everyone belongs somewhere.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20) You don’t have to explain yourself completely or invite everyone behind the curtain. Let people wonder. Let them make do with partial information. A little discretion will protect your energy and preserve your freedom.
GEMINI (May 21-June 21). Some focus on the destination. Others are content with traveling. You fall into the second category now, loving all sorts of things that don’t “advance” but make it worthwhile to linger.
CANCER (June 22-July 22). You have this way of tailoring communication to each friend, making sure the conversation, your gestures and your gifts reflect individual preferences and interests. Now you’ll be on the receiving end of that kind of sweet attention.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). You don’t yet know what this situation means. For now, choose the interpretation that gives you the most room to move forward. In the absence of certainty, there’s no harm in assuming it’s working in your favor. The evidence will arrive soon enough.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). You’re focused on what you’ll get out of a situation, which is only natural. But as events unfold, you’ll realize there’s another question worth asking: What is the collective build here? Something interesting is emerging from this mix of strengths.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). Just because you enjoy someone’s company doesn’t mean you need to be around them all the time. You’re usually good about giving people room to breathe. Make sure you’re getting the same consideration in return.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). It’s like you’re trying to put together a puzzle of a maddeningly monochrome picture. It’s hard to see where it fits, so you just have to try things until something clicks. And the more fits you get, the better your chances are for the next fit.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). You’ve been carrying around a lot of “shoulds.” Today, you’ll set one down. There’s a certain freedom in realizing you don’t have to do everything people expect of you. Be yourself and let other people manage their own expectations. The world will keep turning.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). Before you roll up your sleeves to work, make sure the task needs doing. What would happen if you threw up your hands in surrender and walked backward? Zen master suggests, “Do nothing. The grass grows by itself.”
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). History favors good stories. It’s the most memorable accounting of events, not the truest one, that will stand the test of time. As for today’s story: Don’t assume the most widely accepted version is the most accurate.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). You and someone you care about may not see eye to eye. That’s uncomfortable, but it could also lead to a more honest understanding between you. Don’t be so quick to smooth things over. There’s something worth learning here.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (July 19). It’s your Year of the Honeybee; you never stop producing, landing in beauty, and making something sweet out of life. One flower doesn’t make honey. Thousands of small efforts collect into impressive results. More highlights: Lifestyle upgrades. You’ll create a change in yourself, then be paid to teach how. Gatherings filled with love and a celebration of a personal milestone. Libra and Capricorn adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 5, 22,13, 41 and 7.
A weather-weary Philadelphia moved from one extreme to another Saturday as the smoke-filled skies began to clear, only to be replaced by the threat of high winds, heavy rain, flooding, and the threat of tornadoes.
The severe weather forecast came one week after storms uprooted trees, flooded basements, and caused widespread power outages in the region — leading Philadelphia to declare a disaster emergency. That was followed by a wave of smoke from ongoing wildfires in Canada that settled over the city Thursday, driving air quality indexes into the “very unhealthy” range.
A few folks walk around the city wearing masks due to the wildfire smoke from Canada as it continues to pollute the air in Philadelphia, Pa., on Saturday, July 18, 2026.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
While elevated smoke levels were expected to continue Sunday, some relief from the high temperatures were forecast.
Saturday afternoon, the first round of thunderstorms missed Philly and caused flash floods in the New York City region, according to news reports.
“With the early threat, we lucked out,” National Weather Service meteorologist Mike Lee said. “That said, the second round of storms are forming as we speak. ”
Between two and three inches per hour of rainfall was expected, NWS said. That would be enough to cause flash floods in urban areas. River flooding was not forecast but was a possibility. NWS issued a flash-flood watch in eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and northern Delaware, along I-95 and to its northwest. Half-inch thick hail capable of denting a car was also a threat.
But as Saturday progressed, the Philly area was generally spared widespread damage. There were reports of downed trees in North Wales, Montgomery County, and reports of damage in Ocean County, N.J., and Delaware, but it was not a rerun of last weekend.
“Microburst” storms like the ones the city experienced last Saturday were a possibility, Lee said, and there was a high chance that wind gusts would exceed 60 miles per hour.
“In terms of the greatest threat, it’s going to be the damaging wind gusts. There certainly could be a few tornadoes possible as well. These sorts of thunderstorms pack a punch,” Lee said.
The tornado risk is between 5% and 9% for the affected region, comprising a large swath of eastern Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New Jersey. “In addition, the risk of a strong (EF2) tornado is notably high,” the forecasting service stated online, using the Enhanced Fujita Scale, which ranks tornado intensity from 0 to 5 based on estimated wind speed and likely damage.
Wind from an EF2 tornado ranges from 113 to 157 miles per hour, NWS said. Such wind can tear roofs from houses and snap or uproot trees, NWS said. Last Saturday, both of those things happened as a result of microburst storms.
Early Saturday afternoon, the Philadelphia Office of Emergency Management announced a tornado watch in effect until 9 p.m.
“This watch means that conditions are favorable for the development of severe thunderstorms with possible tornadoes,” the city office said in an emailed alert. “Hail and strong winds are also possible. Persons in the watch area should be on the lookout for threatening weather conditions and listen for later statements and possible warnings.”
Philadelphia remains under a disaster emergency declaration as a result of last Saturday’s storms. The city has been addressing the recent spate of severe weather through its emergency operations center, said Dominick Mireles, deputy managing director of the city’s office of emergency management.
With the help of six contractors, the city has cleared nearly 500 trees damaged in last week’s storm, “and we are prepared if today’s storm creates more damage,” Mireles said in an emailed statement.
The Phillies moved up their home game Saturday with the New York Mets to 3 p.m., hoping that starting an hour earlier would prevent a rain delay or cancellation. It was the second such change of this series — on Thursday, the Phillies moved their home game forward an hour to avoid worsening air quality expected after sunset.
The Canada wildfire smoke continues to pollute the air in Philadelphia, Pa., on Saturday, July 18, 2026.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
The effects of the wildfire smoke and looming storms could be seen across the city Saturday.
In Rittenhouse Square, plenty of people were outside, determined to enjoy the slightly less polluted air and lower temperatures before more storms ripped through the city.
Sally Linnett wore an N95 mask as she carried a bouquet of fresh-cut flowers across the square. The retired nurse said she watched the “pyrotechnics” of last Saturday’s storms from her 13th-floor Center City apartment. She’d been avoiding the outdoors since Thursday but decided to get in a walk before the next round of severe weather begins.
“I’m 78. I need to walk. I need to keep moving,” Linnett said.
Jennifer Ferd and Kyle Gavin walked through the park wearing silver-colored finisher medals from the Diplo 5K, a “run and rave” that took place in South Philly and at Lincoln Financial Field Saturday morning.
“It was more of a power-walk for me,” said Gavin, a 35-year-old finance professional based in Hoboken, N.J.
Gavin and Ferd, who lives in Washington Square West, said they signed up for the run a month ago, shortly after they started dating, and they didn’t want the weather to slow down their interstate relationship.
Gavin said climate change is forcing Americans to get used to more severe weather events.
“Obviously it wasn’t great,” Gavin said of the smoke-tinged air, “but at least it was kind of early in the morning.”
It was a bit surreal to see people running in N95 masks, said Ferd, a 29-year-old who just earned a doctorate in biological engineering from the University of Pennsylvania. The couple was mulling whether to cancel their plan to visit the suburbs Saturday evening due to the flood risk.
“I don’t let it discourage me, but maybe that’s a little dumb,” Ferd said.
When will it end?
Once those thunderstorms end, the smoke is likely to return.
“Interestingly, the storms probably won’t have much effect. We need a whole new change of an air mass before they clear out,” Lee said. “So, essentially we need to wait until a cold front comes through.” He referred people to the federal Airnow.gov website for updates on air quality.
Sunday should bring some relief, Lee said. If not from the smoke, at least from the storms: Sunny skies, a high of 85 degrees, no chance of rain.
Peco workers ratified their new union contract on Saturday, officially adopting an agreement that includes raises and pensions for all workers.
“Local 614 members stood together and won a great contract, and we’re proud to be back at work serving the public,” Larry Anastasi, president of IBEW Local 614, said in a statement when the results were announced. “They said it couldn’t be done, but we brought back pensions, medical coverage, and raises for all our members.”
IBEW local 614 represents roughly 1,500 Peco employees, including linemen and call center workers, who have been without a contract for months. Their most recent five-year agreement expired on March 31, and workers walked off the job on the Fourth of July after the union and Peco couldn’t reach an agreement. The work stoppage was the first in the company’s history.
A tentative deal was reached just before midnight on July 6, bringing an end to the three-day strike. The agreement was described as “historic” by the union that evening.
The vote took place on Saturday between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. Of the union members who voted, 97% were in favor of ratifying the agreement.
The five-year contract is effective immediately and goes through March 31, 2031.
In a statement Saturday night, Peco said it was pleased IBEW Local 614 had voted to ratify the contract.
“This agreement reinforces our shared commitment to maintaining a safe workplace and delivering exceptional service to the communities we serve,” the company said.
The new agreement includes 4% annual raises for field workers in the first four years of the contract and 4.5% in the fifth year. Call center workers will get 3% raises annually throughout the five-year contract.
During bargaining, Peco had said that on average, its customer service employees earned $45.12 an hour. Average annual pay in 2025 for a lineman was over $243,500, including overtime.
The agreement also includes cash-balance pensions for all workers. Previously, some 600 workers hired after 2021 didn’t have access to a pension, while those who did have one were on different plans.
In 2001, Peco gave workers the option to switch over from a traditional pension plan to what is known as a cash-balance plan, union spokesperson Melissa McCleery said.
A cash-balance plan, like a traditional pension, is employer-funded, typically doesn’t require the employee to make their own contributions, and often the employer manages how the funds are invested. But like a 401(k), the amount available to the employee upon retirement is based on a stated account balance rather than monthly payments for the rest of the retiree’s life – though the amount can be split up over time.
Roughly 80% switched over to a cash balance plan when the choice was offered, according to McCleery. Since then, the benefits of those cash balance plans have been reduced twice, she said.
“Like many employers, Peco transitioned from traditional pension plans to cash balance pension plans and, more recently, to enhanced 401(k)-based retirement programs,” the company said in a statement Friday. These programs “have evolved over time in a manner consistent with broader employer and utility industry practices.”
Roughly 20 to 30 workers still have the traditional pension and are able to keep it under the new union contract, said McCleery.
Peco did not share how much the new contract will cost the company.
“While specific contract details remain confidential between the company and the union, the tentative agreement will not result in any immediate changes to customer rates,” a company statement noted.
Eagles running back Saquon Barkley’s home was burglarized early Saturday morning, Tredyffrin Township police said.
Officers were called to the Malvern home about 5:10 a.m. to reports of a burglary in progress, according to a police account. At least one person made it inside the home, Tredyffrin Township Police Capt. Tyler Moyer told The Inquirer. By the time police arrived, the burglars had fled.
Barkley and his family were unharmed, according to police and a statement from Chester County District Attorney Christopher de Barrena-Sarobe. No arrests have been announced.
“We are incredibly grateful that the Barkley family was not injured during this incident,” de Barrena-Sarobe said.
A spokesperson for the Eagles could not immediately be reached for comment late Saturday.
No additional information about the break-in or possible suspects wereimmediately available, but police were investigating a white SUV that may be connected to the crime.
Authorities are also asking the public for home security footage or reports of suspicious activity. Moyer said there is believed to be no ongoing threat to the community and no other break-ins were reported.
Anyone with information should contact Detective Sgt. Stephanie Bills at sbills@tredyffrin.org.
On his way home for the All-Star break last Sunday, Trea Turner spent some time pondering his season so far.
It has been a disappointment for the Phillies shortstop overall, on both sides of the ball. He was especially frustrated with his performance on the team’s last road trip before the break, where he felt like he was making the contact he wanted but the results weren’t following.
“Looking up expected numbers, and have the guys tell me what it looks like, and I’m getting half the production that I should be getting,” Turner said. “That’s just frustrating.”
After winning the National League batting title in 2025, Turner entered the break with a subpar .236 average. He spent the plane ride mulling it over, and then tried to turn his brain off for the next three days he spent with his family.
Perhaps the reset did him some good at the plate. Turner’s 414-foot homer in the fifth inning of Saturday’s 6-1 win over the Mets was his second home run in as many games after the break. He also picked up two singles for a three-hit, three-run day.
“Obviously, he’s hit a couple balls out of the ballpark, but he’s kind of controlled the zone a little better, where he’s getting the ball in the strike zone,” said interim manager Don Mattingly.
There is room for improvement defensively, though. In the second inning, Turner botched a routine ground ball for his 14th error of the season. It also happened to be his second error in as many games after the break, after a misplay during Thursday’s series opener.
Turner committed just eight errors last season. He did extra drills with infield coach Bobby Dickerson ahead of Saturday’s game as he tries to recapture the improvements he made in the field last year.
“I just want to, I think, read the ball a little better,” Turner said. “I feel like physically, I feel good. I feel like I’m making moves that I want to make. It’s the last few mistakes I’ve made has just been judgment on a hop I think I’m going to get, and then the second or third hop’s not exactly what I envision, and I just put myself in a bad spot.”
Saturday’s error did not wind up biting the Phillies much, as starter Jesús Luzardo struck out the next two batters to end the inning. Along with the back-to-back walks he issued in the first inning, though, it did cost Luzardo some pitches and he was lifted at 90 after the fifth.
A solo homer from Tyrone Taylor was just one of two hits the Mets managed against Luzardo, as he struck out seven. Juan Soto, one of the most disciplined hitters in the game with just a 12.7% strikeout rate, accounted for two of those.
The first time, Luzardo got Soto to chase his signature sweeper low and away in the third inning. The second time, in the fifth, he stunned Soto with a left-on-left changeup. Luzardo and Soto, who briefly coincided earlier in their careers in the Nationals minor league system, both smiled as they walked off the field.
Jesús Luzardo allowed just two hits and one run in five innings on Saturday.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
“Hadn’t struck him out in a couple years, I think, so that was nice,” Luzardo said. “But finding any way to get him out is always a pleasant surprise.”
The Phillies capitalized on a sloppy Mets team that committed three errors on Saturday, but the win was a positive sign for their bats overall. They racked up 12 hits in a game that was delayed for just over 45 minutes due to heavy rain during the bottom of the seventh.
Kyle Schwarber gave the Phillies some breathing room with a towering 399-foot two-run blast in the first inning. And after Turner’s homer in the fifth, they continued to tack on. Schwarber drew a walk and advanced from first to third when catcher Francisco Alvarez’s pickoff attempt sailed high and wide. He then scored easily when Alec Bohm punched a single to left field.
A single from Edmundo Sosa and a J.T. Realmuto walk kept the line moving, but the rally ended when Derek Hill struck out to strand the bases loaded.
“Had a couple innings there that type of innings that make you nervous,“ Mattingly said. ”Leadoff double, we don’t score. First and third, we don’t score. You look at those and you feel like sometimes they’re going to come back to haunt you. Today it didn’t. Obviously, we were able to keep pushing.”
The Phillies loaded the bases again in the sixth inning, and this time they capitalized. Bryson Stott tripled and Turner and Schwarber drew back-to-back walks against Mets right-hander Kodai Senga to put three on for Bryce Harper.
He got hold of Senga’s signature forkball for a two-run single that gave the Phillies’ bullpen a comfortable cushion.
Not that they needed much. Orion Kerkering had pitched a 1-2-3 sixth, striking out Carson Benge with a 97.8 mph fastball. José Alvarado sidestepped an infield single for a scoreless seventh, and Chase Shugart retired six consecutive Mets in the eighth and ninth to seal it.
Bryce Harper (right) delivered a two-run single in the sixth inning.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
Following the rain delay in the bottom of the seventh, Turner picked up his third hit of the day on an infield single against Mets reliever Xzavion Curry.
“Once you get some of those infield singles and hits to fall, you start having stuff to build on,” Turner said. “I feel like early on, I didn’t have anything to build on. I feel like in the last 30, 40 games if I have something wrong, I can fix it real quick, and hit the ball the other way or whatever it may be, and make the adjustments faster. And that’s the way I am.”
Ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, Gov. Josh Shapiro is using his broad popularity and giant cash stockpile to boost Democratic candidates downballot in competitive elections across Pennsylvania while he campaigns for his own reelection bid.
At a union hall in Harrisburg, Shapiro joined Pennsylvania Democratic Party members Saturday to launch a new effort that will pool donations to fund field offices, signage, and volunteers to support Democrats in key state Senate seats and congressional districts.
“We have an opportunity here in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the birthplace of our democracy, the swingiest swing state in the country, to decide what the future of the Congress of the United States looks like, and to be a model for good governance right here in Harrisburg,” he said.
He referred to the effort, called Rise Up Pennsylvania, as “the most coordinated, well-funded, well-organized campaign in the history of the Democratic Party here in the commonwealth.”
Shapiro, a first-term Democrat, is in a strong position as he faces a challenge from his Republican opponent, State Treasurer Stacy Garrity, for the governor’s mansion. He’s leading Garrity 53% to 40%, according to a poll of registered Pennsylvania voters released this week from Quinnipiac University. Both Shapiro and Garrity faced no opposition in their party’s primary.
And he remains popular in the state, with 51% of respondents in the poll reporting a favorable opinion, and 56% approving of the way he is handling his job as governor.
He also boasts a massive war chest that continues to grow. Between April and June, Shapiro brought in $12 million toward his reelection bid, bringing his total fundraising to $50 million since January 2025, his campaign told The Inquirer this week. Garrity’s campaign did not share its fundraising numbers, which are not due to the state until Sept. 22. During the last cycle, he outraised her 10-1.
But the larger test this November for Shapiro, widely expected to be considering a run for president in 2028, will be whether he can translate his political influence to other candidates. If Democrats flip the state Senate, four Democratic congressional candidates Shapiro backs beat Republican incumbents, and he wins, the governor could become somewhat of a Democratic kingmaker in one of the nation’s biggest battlegrounds.
And his efforts in these races are not just a simple show of support.
Earlier this week, Shapiro’s campaign announced he has given more than $3.3 million to the state party and its election effort since the fall of 2025, with $1.5 million of that since April.
The party, which is operating Rise Up Pennsylvania, can use the money toward door-knocking and phone-banking efforts.
Shapiro has endorsed union leader and firefighter Bob Brooks in the Lehigh Valley-based 7th Congressional District. Brooks is running against Republican U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie. He has also endorsed Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti, who is running to unseat Republican U.S. Rep. Rob Bresnahan in the 8th District. And he has backed Bucks County Commissioner Bob Harvie in his quest to defeat Republican U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick in the Bucks County-based 1st District.
On Saturday, Shapiro appeared alongside former local TV anchor Janelle Stelson, who is challenging Republican U.S. Rep. Scott Perry for the second time in the Harrisburg-based 10th District.
“I know we’re frustrated right now. I know we’re angry right now,” Shapiro said. By “making sure Janelle is our next congressman, we can stop this chaos, this cruelty, and this corruption in D.C.”
Stelson blasted Perry for his votes on supporting U.S. military action in Iran and for his involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021, riots at the U.S. Capitol. She said voters have been concerned about corruption and wants to institute age limits for members of Congress.
Shapiro has also sought to strengthen Democrats’ chances by installing his allies to lead the state party.
“From now through Election Day, we are going to keep our foot on the gas to make sure that we are not only taking advantage of the moment that the delusional president has given us with this political opportunity, but also expanding on our state House, flipping the state Senate, reelecting our governor, and making Donald Trump a lame duck president,” said Eugene DePasquale, chair of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party.
Democrats have already opened 27 field offices across Pennsylvania, hired 100 full-time organizers, and knocked on 63,000 doors, DePasquale said.
A moderate Democrat who boasts about his success cutting taxes, Shapiro has struggled to get top Democratic priorities through the Pennsylvania legislature, where the GOP controls the Senate.
Also on stage Saturday were State Sen. James Malone, who is running for reelection, and Sarah Agerton, a former Mechanicsburg Borough Council member who is running for the state House.
If Democrats flip the Senate, Shapiro said his priorities would be raising the state minimum wage, codifying access to abortion, and funding more affordable housing.
“All of this is possible, and this, in many ways, is the center of what is going to decide whether we have a trifecta in Harrisburg and a Democratic majority in Washington,” Shapiro said.
Jordan Mailata knows all too well that this Eagles season is going to look very different.
The team’s left tackle is experiencing firsthand the sweeping changes that were made this offseason — like moving on from its offensive coordinator, longtime offensive line coach, and No. 1 wide receiver — and he knows it’ll take time for them to sink in.
So, with training camp just over a week away, the sixth-year veteran said he and his teammates are focused on just one thing.
“It’s just learning the playbook,” Mailata said, speaking at Art History 101 Clothing Co. in Mayfair to celebrate the launch of the store’s T-shirt made in his honor. “There’s no, like, pressure to come in any sort of way. The season’s long, training camp’s long, so the mindset of the team has never changed. I mean, daily deposits. Yeah, it’s good to even have the same vets that carry over.
“Just because we’re in a new system doesn’t mean that the daily grind changes.”
The new playbook in question is the brainchild of new offensive coordinator Sean Mannion, who is expected to implement a wide zone scheme with concepts that look similar to those of Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan. If executed properly, the wide zone blocking concepts will stretch opposing defenses horizontally. Mailata said he is excited about the potential of this new scheme.
Jordan Mailata said of Sean Mannion implementing a wide zone run scheme: “It’s going to stress defenses and it’s going to be fun.”Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
“I absolutely love it,” he said. “It’s a new challenge. Very easy to follow along, but hard to remember, just because there’s so much to setting up the plays. But so far it’s been fun. You’re having a great time just learning this new offense because it’s something that we’re not familiar with. It’s a whole new direction, going into an outside direction.
“It’s going to stress defenses and it’s going to be fun.”
Teaching Mailata and Co. these concepts is offensive line coach Chris Kuper, who replaced 13-year line coach Jeff Stoutland in February. Getting used to a new face has been an adjustment — especially for Mailata, a former Australian rugby player who learned to play the sport from Stoutland — but the early reviews of Kuper, who played eight years in the NFL, have been positive.
“He brings a lot to the table, especially for me, who’s had the same coach for the last eight years,” said Mailata, who added that Kuper’s experience has been a “tremendous boost“ with Mannion’s new scheme. “Having someone new coming to the table with a new technique, new things to offer me, it’s refreshing. It’s nice because I’m not one to always say, ‘I know everything, I’m the best.’ That’s not me. So if you have something to offer me, I’m always going to sit down and say, ‘Yes, sir.’ And he has a lot to offer.”
The offensive line will need to play much better than in its injury-riddled 2025 season, when Lane Johnson missed half the season, and Cam Jurgens and Landon Dickerson played through injury. Mailata played well, allowing just two sacks and 28 pressures on 566 pass protection reps, but the unit will need more cohesion (and better injury luck) if it is to return to its dominant 2024 form.
As a transformative offseason winds down, Mailata is taking in his last few days by giving back. At the meet-and-greet event in Mayfair on Saturday, Eagles fans lined up for hours just to speak to and take photos with the 6-foot-8 lineman. He greeted every fan as if he knew them for years.
“Everybody needs some positivity right now,” said Brian Fritz, who helped organize the event at Art History 101. “There’s no better representative of Philly than Jordan Mailata. He’s not from here, but it feels like he is.”
THUNDER BAY, Ontario — Out-of-control wildfires in Ontario continued to force evacuations and affect major cities in Canada and the United States on Saturday as the province’s leader made his first visit near the devastated area.
Speaking from a parking lot in Thunder Bay on Saturday, Premier Doug Ford said that 191 wildfires — seven more than Friday — were burning northwest of the city and that 73 were raging out of control.
Ten communities have been evacuated, and 300 people have been rescued from campsites in 40 operations, Ford added. Roughly 1.7 million acres have burned in Ontario, data from the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Center shows.
In a short address, Ford said it was critical that people in the area did not return to their campsites or homes, especially because water bombers did not drop fire suppression loads when they saw people in the bush from overhead. He said there were 155 fire crews at work and 80 water bombers and helicopters flying, with 40 additional aircraft ready to deploy.
Ford has faced harsh criticism by his political opponents for budgeting 150 million Canadian dollars ($107 million) for the current wildfire season after spending CA$271 million, last year.
“It’s not time to politicize these emergencies,” Ford said. “It’s absolutely disgusting in my opinion that they want to politicize and play games when people’s lives are on the line,” he added, vowing there would be “no limit to spending.”
Under Canada’s division of powers, most forest lands are owned and managed by provinces, which collect royalties for commercial tree cutting and, with some exceptions like national parks, are also responsible for firefighting.
On a late flight to Thunder Bay from Toronto on Friday night, the pilot was forced to make three approaches on landing because of unsafe conditions from the thick smoke, earning loud applause from the passengers when the twin turboprop touched down at Thunder Bay Airport. At least one plane could not land in the smoke and was forced to return to Toronto.
On the ground, smoke hung heavy over the road and diffused the light of street lamps, casting an eerie glow that was replaced at dawn Saturday by the piercing orange light from the sun breaking through the hazy sky.
Mount McKay, a landmark in Thunder Bay visible from most places in the city, was mostly lost in the smoke, only a faint outline visible.
While Thunder Bay remains safe from flames — the closest fires are burning roughly 90 miles to the northwest — heavy smoke has seriously affected air quality.
There was rain in the region Friday, and on Saturday temperatures remained fairly cool at 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Local air quality alerts warned of a high health risk caused by toxic particles in the smoke that drifted on light wind and smelled like a campfire.
Provincial officials said they had delivered 3,000 N95 masks to an evacuation support center to be distributed to residents.
Thunder Bay is quickly becoming overcrowded with people fleeing their homes. Some evacuees have been sent to Toronto and other locations. Indigenous communities have been among the worst affected by the fires.
All week, smoke from the Ontario wildfires has darkened skies from Toronto to Detroit, New York, and beyond. Air quality for millions of people across the United States and Canada has plummeted to unhealthy, even hazardous levels.
New York, Toronto, and Washington, D.C., had the worst air quality in the world Saturday morning, and the plume of smoke floating far above Earth’s surface since Wednesday had not drifted clear.
On Friday, President Donald Trump threatened to charge Canada tariffs to pay for harms caused by the wildfire smoke, joining a handful of Republican lawmakers who have criticized the Canadian government over what they called poor forest management.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney did not immediately address the accusations Friday, but he suggested this past week that the United States should do more to combat climate change.
Ford on Saturday called the U.S. lawmakers’ comments “unacceptable” and said they should focus more on helping a neighboring country — Canada has often contributed firefighting resources to the United States — than assigning blame.
“I find it a shame the administration in the U.S. and congresspeople writing these letters and blaming us and so on and so forth,” he said. “They have a very short, short memory.”
It might be too cliché to say that, as Kai Wagner walked off the Union’s practice field on Saturday, it felt like he’d never left.
But considering that he was only gone for six months, he really did fit right back into things when he returned to Chester.
Of course, the clearest sign that he really did leave is the Union having the worst record in MLS (1-10-4, 7 points) as the league returns from its World Cup break. The quest to change that will begin Wednesday when Red Bull New York visits Subaru Park (7:30 p.m., Apple TV) for the first of the 19 remaining regular season games.
“We have to step with the right mindset on the field, and go in there and get the fans back behind us,” Wagner said. “And then we will see what the second half of the season brings for us. But I came here because I want to go back to the playoffs, and that’s the main target.”
Some of what Wagner said sounded a little more like his side of the story than the full story. He didn’t go too deep on how much his family wanted to return here, and he didn’t say anything about the Union paying a $4 million transfer fee to bring him back — one of the higher sums in team history, and well above the $2.5 million they sold him for.
But it was nonetheless clear that Wagner had kept a close eye on the Union after leaving, and wasn’t happy about the team’s collapse this year.
“It’s sometimes hard to say, maybe stupid to say for myself, but I also personally felt a little bit guilty that the team doesn’t do that well anymore,” he said. “When I see all my friends here and how they wrote me the whole time after each game — I was watching the games at 1:30 in the morning [in England] … I couldn’t [bear to] see the ship going down.”
So when Jon Scheer called to make the first big deal of his tenure as sporting director, Wagner was open to it.
Kai Wagner (left) in action for the Union during last year’s playoffs.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
“When Jon called me and told me the clear message of what he wanted to bring to the team and what he wanted to change in the team, for me it was straight [away] clear that I wanted to talk to the club to try to make this happen,” he said.
Wagner enjoyed his time in Europe, as brief as it was. He wanted for years to go, as the perennial offseason rumblings from his camp showed. But the Union got the point, and ultimately agreed to help make it happen.
“I would always do that step again,” Wagner said of going abroad. “For me this experience was something really special. I hopefully have a lot of years left, but at the end of my career if I would say to myself I never tried it or I never did it, I would always say to myself why I never did it — even if it was just seven months, the experience was unbelievable.”
Being at Birmingham City specifically came with some extra perks. Though he didn’t meet part-owner Tom Brady, they exchanged text messages a few times. And in a February FA Cup home game against Leeds United, Wagner got his first chance to play against a Premier League opponent — one that happened to have an old friend in Union alum Brenden Aaronson.
“We had a long, long chat after the game, and that was a special game,” Wagner said, adding that he got to talk with Brenden’s father, Rusty Aaronson, too. “I saw one post from you guys where you said you thought that I would tackle Brenden, but Brenden tackled me the first time. It was really fun to play against him — I got his jersey, too, at home, and we had a really good relationship with each other.”
Though the penalty shootout loss after a 1-1 tie didn’t go Birmingham’s way, Wagner still called it “one of the top three games probably of my career, just with the atmosphere and all that stuff.”
He particularly noted that he “was not the main guy anymore, and maybe also had a little bit of pressure off my shoulders.” That won’t be the case with the Union, and he knows it.
“That was the main target from Jon, just bring mentality and leadership back to the team,” Wagner said. “He knows that I can step in and I don’t need a lot of time to adapt to everything. … I think these are all players who really have belief now on the field again, and just to see them this morning, I felt so, so happy that I made that step back.”
