Inquirer.com – Zurich DR

Blog

  • Trea Turner gets ‘on a good track’ with three hits in return to the Phillies lineup

    Trea Turner gets ‘on a good track’ with three hits in return to the Phillies lineup

    Trea Turner didn’t waste any time in his return to the Phillies lineup.

    The shortstop sat out Tuesday’s game with a bruised wrist after getting hit by a fastball the day prior. But once the swelling went down, he was back in the lineup on Wednesday — and was back atop the order for the first time since May 25.

    Turner singled to lead off the first inning against Marlins starter Sandy Alcantara and then picked up two more hits, including a double, to finish 3-for-5 in the 12-4 loss. It marked his first game with at least three hits since May 9.

    After his latest rough start, can Andrew Painter keep pitching for the Phillies?

    For the past three weeks, Kyle Schwarber has been leading off for the Phillies, and interim manager Don Mattingly even used Brandon Marsh in the No. 1 spot for a one-game experiment on Tuesday. But Mattingly said he always planned for Turner to return to being his long-term leadoff hitter because of his base-stealing ability.

    “He’s able to run up there,” Mattingly said. “He gets behind Schwarb, and he’s on, he’s not able to run. Always wanted him there.”

    Turner’s three hits on Wednesday raised his season batting average to .233, and he also stole his 15th base of the season. There’s still work to be done for him to dig out of this slump, but he saw positive signs on Wednesday.

    “I think I did a lot of good things today from my standpoint, just kind of competing, and two-strike hitting,” Turner said. “Fouled off some pitches I probably would’ve swung and missed at, and I feel like I was doing what I wanted up there. I felt like real positive individually today from just my at-bats standpoint, and felt like I’m on a good track.”

    Phillies pitcher Jesús Luzardo allowed two runs in seven innings in an 8-2 victory over the Marlins on Tuesday.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer

    Luzardo’s splits

    Jesús Luzardo describes himself as a “creature of habit.”

    A lot of it is because of superstition. The glasses Luzardo wears on the mound don’t actually correct his vision, but he wears them because in the past, he didn’t pitch well without them.

    The lefty is strict about his routines, so he would know better than anyone if there was an underlying change causing the discrepancy in his home and road splits.

    And this year, the difference between the numbers has been stark: he has a 1.55 ERA in seven road starts, compared to a 6.60 ERA in eight starts at Citizens Bank Park. His strikeout and walk numbers are around the same, but the contact that Luzardo has given up has been much harder at home. Of the nine homers he’s allowed this season, eight were at home.

    Is there a better duo in baseball than Zack Wheeler and Cristopher Sánchez? We asked the experts.

    Luzardo doesn’t have an explanation for it.

    “I just really think it’s a coincidence,” Luzardo said. “It’s unfortunate, obviously. No one wants to pitch bad, especially at home, but the routine stays the same.”

    Luzardo was slightly better on the road in 2025, his first season as a Phillie. He posted a 3.67 ERA in 16 away games compared to 4.16 in 16 home games. But the difference has never been this extreme.

    Luzardo hopes the start he made at home Tuesday, when he held the Marlins to two runs over seven innings, could be the beginning of a new trend.

    “Obviously, I know I can do it,” he said. “I felt really good. So, hopefully, just keep building on that.”

    Brandon Marsh is third among National League outfielders in All-Star voting.Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer

    Marsh on All-Star vote

    MLB released its first voting update for the 2026 All-Star Game, and Brandon Marsh is on track to make it to the next phase.

    Marsh, who entered Wednesday with a .327 batting average, good for third in baseball, accumulated 668,191 votes as of June 15. That places him third among National League outfielders, behind the Dodgers’ Andy Pages (800,496) and the Braves’ Ronald Acuña Jr. (693,472).

    Once Phase 1 of voting concludes on June 25, the top two position players and top six outfielders in each league will advance to the second round. After Phase 2, the top position player and top three outfielders will be named starters.

    ‘Phillies Extra’ Q&A: Caleb Cotham talks aces, the development of Andrew Painter, and more

    If his trajectory holds, Marsh will be an All-Star for the first time in his career. He said last week that it would be “really, really cool” to be included in the group, especially at home in Philadelphia. But for now, he isn’t paying much attention to the voting.

    “I really haven’t even looked at it, to be honest with you,” Marsh said. “Really, just trying to enjoy now, and just take it day by day, and see where it all falls out at the end.”

    Extra bases

    Aaron Nola (3-4, 5.86 ERA) is scheduled to start Thursday’s series opener against the Mets’ Sean Manaea (1-2, 4.78 ERA). It marks the Phillies’ first meeting against the Mets this season. … Shane Victorino and Larry Bowa will serve as managers for the All-Star Futures Game on July 12 at Citizens Bank Park, Major League Baseball announced Wednesday.

  • A Chesco couple cared more for drugs than their young son, judge says before sending them to prison for decades

    A Chesco couple cared more for drugs than their young son, judge says before sending them to prison for decades

    Hunter Hawa would have turned 11 in April, his aunt, Jennifer Back, told a Chester County judge Wednesday.

    But the boy known for his smile and laugh died three years ago on the filthy carpet in his parents’ Coatesville apartment. Prosecutors say he had fentanyl and cocaine in his system, powerful narcotics that his parents used and sold that ended his life before it had been given a chance to begin.

    Mousa Hawa and Holly Back failed in their ultimate duty as parents to protect Hunter, according to Judge Analisa Sondergaard, who sentenced them both to decades in prison for their son’s murder.

    “This was the culmination of many bad days and bad choices,” a visibly angry Sondergaard said. “You chose drugs over Hunter every single day. You put your wants and desires before your son every single day.

    “You loved drugs more than your son.”

    The couple was convicted of third-degree murder, aggravated assault, and endangering the welfare of a child after a trial in February.

    Back was sentenced Wednesday to 20 to 40 years in prison, while Hawa was sentenced to 22½ to 45 years. Their sentences included a mandatory minimum of 15 years for third-degree murder of a victim under 13.

    District Attorney Chris de Barrena-Sarobe said Wednesday that Sondergaard’s sentences were “justice for a child that deserved so much more.”

    “This was a case about parents who continually disregarded every basic parental responsibility and allowed their child to ingest fentanyl and cocaine,” he said. “Because they chose to put themselves above their child, we prosecuted them to the fullest extent of the law.”

    Their attorneys said both had been in the throes of drug addiction since their teenage years, and suffered from previously undiagnosed mental health conditions. Hunter’s death, they said, was a horrible accident.

    In a tearful statement, Back said the images of her son, lying dead in her living room, are forever burned into her mind.

    “I never meant to fail him,” the 42-year-old woman said. “I did not murder my son. The last thing I wanted to do was harm him.”

    First Assistant District Attorney Erin O’Brien, who prosecuted the case, rebuked Back’s statement, saying the couple showed extreme indifference to their son and his health.

    The two had kept their son in squalor in a home where drugs were “ubiquitous” — Hunter, she said, was surrounded by narcotics and the materials Hawa used to package them. Their attempts to prevent him from touching the toxic substances, she said, were half-hearted at best.

    “Hunter didn’t get to make plans for his future; he didn’t even make it to the third grade,” she said. “I could attempt to go through everything he missed out in life, but that list is endless. His life mattered.”

    Hawa had called police to his home on July 26, 2023, just before 2:30 a.m., after Back awakened him in a panic, prosecutors said. She had found Hunter “folded like a sandwich,” pinned between the recliner he had fallen asleep on hours earlier and the wall behind it.

    When Coatesville Police Officer Jennifer Schreiber arrived at the home, Hawa was performing CPR on his son, who had ashen skin and blue lips. He showed no signs of life, Schreiber said.

    Clear signs of drug abuse were found feet from the boy’s body: small glassine bags filled with heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine, as well as a scale and a syringe.

    Doses of Narcan sat unopened on a coffee table, and, O’Brien noted, might have saved the boy if used.

    An autopsy later concluded that Hunter died of an overdose of fentanyl, morphine, and cocaine. Exactly how the boy ingested the drugs remains unclear. But samples of his hair showed that he had previously been exposed to those narcotics, according to O’Brien.

    Hawa and Back initially lied about their drug use when interviewed by police, but confessed to being regular users weeks later when confronted with their son’s autopsy report, investigators said.

    Hawa, 43, told detectives he did not believe his son had overdosed, saying the amount of the drugs found in his blood was too small to be fatal. He said he and Back had repeatedly warned the child not to touch the drugs in their home, telling him that it was their “medicine” and that he could get sick from it.

    The fentanyl that killed Hunter was stamped with the same distinctive logo, “Bad Bunny,” as the kind that killed Tyler Stout in Phoenixville in March 2023.

    Prosecutors also deemed Hawa responsible for Stout’s death, charging him with drug delivery resulting in death and related crimes. His trial in that case is pending.

  • A judge told the Philly school board it can’t vote to close a charter school Thursday

    A judge told the Philly school board it can’t vote to close a charter school Thursday

    A judge has blocked the Philadelphia school board from voting to close a charter school Thursday amid a legal fight over the school district’s treatment of charter schools.

    Common Pleas Court Judge Damaris Garcia had previously barred the district from moving forward with nonrenewal proceedings against Philadelphia Montessori Charter School, which in a lawsuit last month claimed the school system violates state charter law. But on Tuesday, the board appealed that decision and added votes on Philadelphia Montessori and Global Leadership Academy Southwest Charter School to its Thursday meeting agenda.

    Philadelphia Montessori filed an emergency motion Wednesday to stop the vote, and Garcia granted its request — ordering the board to delay its vote on the charter’s future.

    “It is further ordered and decreed that all actions related to the subject matter of the motion, including but not limited to the vote currently scheduled before the Board of Education of the School District of Philadelphia on June 18, 2026, are temporarily stayed pending further order of this court,” Garcia said in the order.

    It was not immediately clear what would happen Thursday. Wanda Odom, a spokesperson for the board, said it does not comment on litigation. Two charter votes, including on Philadelphia Montessori, remained on Thursday’s publicly posted agenda after the ruling was released.

    Philadelphia Montessori, a K-4 school in Southwest Philadelphia, sued the district in May, arguing that it should be barred from closing any charters due to “shifting standards, inconsistent methodologies, and procedures that do not provide fair notice or a neutral adjudicative structure.”

    The city’s charters, which are publicly funded but independently run and educate about one-third of Philadelphia public school students, have long argued they are subject to an unfair evaluation process.

    Following those complaints, the district is revising its evaluation framework; charter advocates have called on the board to pause renewal decisions until new standards are complete.

    District officials recommended nonrenewal for both Philadelphia Montessori and Global Leadership Southwest last month, citing significant academic concerns.

    Philadelphia Montessori, which enrolls about 250 students, lags similar schools and the district as a whole in academics, according to district officials. The charter has called the district’s assessment methodologies “flawed” and “unreliable.”

    In its emergency motion Wednesday, the charter accused district officials of a “transparent and deliberate tactic” in adding the nonrenewal vote 48 hours before Thursday’s meeting, despite Garcia’s earlier order on June 9.

    The district “waited until the last possible moment” to file its notice of appeal while also scheduling a vote on Philadelphia Montessori “that directly violates the court’s order,” the charter said in the filing. Garcia had previously scheduled a court hearing for July 27.

    If the board votes to start nonrenewal proceedings for Philadelphia Montessori on Thursday, it will cause “immediate and irreparable” harm, likely prompting families and teachers to leave the school even if a court later reverses the decision, the charter said in its filing.

  • Youth summit turns teens into Philly lawmakers: ‘You are the change, ultimately’

    Youth summit turns teens into Philly lawmakers: ‘You are the change, ultimately’

    The City Council chambers looked as they always do: a sea of slacks and blazers, votes and debates, bills and budgets. The only difference? Every Council member was a teenager.

    Around 100 youths entered Philadelphia City Hall on Wednesday to take part in the Greater Philadelphia YMCA’s Government Youth Summit. The event, hosted by the YMCA for the first time, gave teens from Philadelphia and the surrounding area a hands-on way to learn about their city government.

    “This is our first shot at it. I think it’s been real successful,” said Shaun Elliott, president of the Greater Philadelphia YMCA. “And there’s two things we want to do: teach kids about civic government and how it works, but also help them develop the competencies of leadership.”

    At the beginning of the day, the participants were presented with a bill on spending and initiatives during the FIFA World Cup, which they then discussed, debated, and reshaped in line with their roles.

    Sitting alongside teens representing other districts, Justina Ndebhleh, 17, who was representing the Sixth District in Lower Northeast Philadelphia, led a discussion on SEPTA funding.

    “We’re talking about whether increasing SEPTA prices will be beneficial or not,” Ndebhleh said. “Because we know increasing the fare would be a regressive tax since lower-income communities do take SEPTA on a daily basis.”

    Students hold discussions after meeting with City Council President Kenyatta Johnson.Joe Lamberti / For The Inquirer

    Between debates and meetings, teens were given the chance to speak with Mayor Cherelle L. Parker and City Council President Kenyatta Johnson.

    Lindsay Doyle, director of youth civic engagement for the YMCA, said she hoped the participants left understanding that their opinions matter and that they can help make change.

    “It’s really incredible to see them in these spaces,” Doyle said, “and have them interact with City Council members, and have those elected officials reinforce the idea that their thoughts … and their beliefs really matter, and they can utilize those to change the entire city, state, and nation.”

    Kailey Reinboth, 18, from Boyertown Area Senior High School, said the experience gave her a better understanding of what it means to be an engaged citizen, especially at a young age.

    “I believe that it is really [giving] me insight into my roles and responsibilities as a citizen and being someone that needs to be civically engaged,” she said. “You are the change, ultimately. And being … the change that you want to see, not just in the future, because, you know, they talk about the youth being the future — the youth aren’t the future. They are the present, and we really need to enforce that in making sure that we’re not making change in the future. We are making change now.”

    Elliott said he hopes to see the program grow in future years, providing more teens with the experience to learn about local government.

    “We have 100 young people here. So how about 200 or 250 next year?” he said.

  • Phillies send Andrew Painter down to triple A after another ugly start

    Phillies send Andrew Painter down to triple A after another ugly start

    The bullpen door swung open as the third inning began, and the question couldn’t be held back any longer.

    Can Andrew Painter keep pitching for the Phillies?

    The answer: Not right now.

    Painter was sent to triple A Wednesday evening, a few hours after his hard-to-watch rookie season got even uglier. The Marlins pounded him for six runs on six hits, including two homers, and knocked him out after two innings of a 12-4 matinee rout in Citizens Bank Park.

    And so, Painter heads back to the minor leagues with a 1-8 record and a 7.06 ERA, the second-worst mark among 115 pitchers with at least 60 innings.

    Is there a better duo in baseball than Zack Wheeler and Cristopher Sánchez? We asked the experts.

    The Phillies announced Painter’s demotion at 6:15 p.m., a little more than two hours after the final out. They will make a corresponding roster move Thursday before opening a three-game series against the Mets.

    After the game, interim manager Don Mattingly wouldn’t commit to having Painter make his next start, saying “it’s something we’ll probably talk about.”

    The conversation happened quickly. After Mattingly spoke with reporters, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski and general manager Preston Mattingly poked their heads into his office, just as they do after most games.

    It seems Painter was Topic A.

    Phillies rookie Andrew Painter gave up six earned runs on six hits, including two home runs, in two innings against the Marlins on Wednesday.
    Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer

    The situation is nuanced. The Phillies remain bullish on Painter as a high-end starter. For now, they’ve asked only that the 23-year-old righty keeps them in games. He hasn’t done that lately, allowing six, five, six, and four runs in his last four starts and pitching a total of 15 innings for a 12.60 ERA.

    So, although the Phillies continue to believe in Painter, and while they don’t have appealing alternatives in triple A, they couldn’t allow him to continue to pitch every fifth game.

    “The fastball’s just getting hit right now,” Painter said after the game, before the demotion. “So, you know, I think we’ve just got to evaluate. Just trying to find out who I am as a pitcher right now.”

    And who is he?

    “I’ve had to lean heavily on spin,” Painter said. “Sweepers and sliders have been great for me. Earlier in the year, the changeup was great, and right now, I’m kind of searching for it.”

    What if the Phillies’ most impactful addition was a resurgent Trea Turner? He’s working to make it happen.

    More than anything, though, Painter can’t locate his fastball. At least not the one that overpowered hitters in the low minors.

    It hasn’t been the same since he returned from a two-season absence after Tommy John elbow surgery in July 2023. It came and went last year in triple A, where he had a 5.40 ERA in 22 starts. Major leaguers were hitting .382 and slugging .573 against it entering the week.

    And that was before the Marlins’ Kyle Stowers and Owen Caissie teed off on center-cut heaters for two-run and solo homers, respectively, as Painter left the Phillies in 2-0 and 6-2 holes.

    “I don’t know if he feels like he can really get down the mound and really get after guys because he’s searching for that feeling that he had before,” catcher Garrett Stubbs said. “And it’s really hard.”

    Andrew Painter fell to 1-8 with a 7.06 ERA, second-worst among 115 pitchers with at least 60 innings.Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer

    Painter’s fastball velocity hasn’t dipped. His trust in the pitch, however, clearly has. Mattingly wants Painter to pitch with more “aggression.” Painter has talked about having greater conviction.

    Neither is apparent.

    “It’s just trying to get him to get out there and have that dog mentality that Philadelphia represents,” Stubbs said. “Go out and just kind of say [bleep] it and get after ‘em.

    “He knows that it’s in there. He just needs to go find it.”

    Painter has appeared downcast after recent starts. He sat facing his locker, dressed in full uniform, last Friday in Milwaukee. Even as Mattingly and pitching coach Caleb Cotham highlighted the positives, the results have been wholly negative.

    ‘Phillies Extra’ Q&A: Caleb Cotham talks aces, the development of Andrew Painter, and more

    Painter said his confidence is “about as good as it can be right now under the circumstances.” But he’s also human. Mattingly guessed Painter’s belief in himself “almost has to waver some.”

    “He’s been pretty resilient to this point,” Mattingly said. “But I’m sure it’s wavering.”

    Painter will search for his fastball in Lehigh Valley. His replacement isn’t apparent. The triple-A rotation consists of Tucker Davidson (6.50 ERA), Alan Rangel (3.74), Bryse Wilson (6.29), Brian Keller (4.35), and Chuck King (4.02). Rangel, the best of the bunch, started Wednesday night for the IronPigs and could slide into Painter’s spot.

    Mattingly said the Phillies were encouraged by Painter’s between-starts bullpen session. But Painter’s fastball failed him again. And after a 33-pitch second inning, which included an 11-pitch at-bat that ended with Xavier Edwards’ two-out infield single, Mattingly went to the bullpen.

    Painter said he can feel it in his hand when he throws a fastball that has “a little more life.” He’s trying to recapture that feeling more consistently. It’s elusive.

    “It’s tough,” he said after the shortest start by a non-opener Phillies starter since Jesús Luzardo lasted two innings last July 4. “You can have the best secondary stuff in the world, but everything kind of plays off the fastball.

    Is it finally time for Mike Trout to be traded? The all-in Phillies make too much sense.

    “We’ve been searching for some things, and it’s gotten a little better than what it was. But it’s still obviously not to the extent of what it was pre-[surgery]. So, just trying to make adjustments and figure out what’s going to have the most success.”

    Maybe the answers are in triple A.

    “It’s going out there and having a few good outings in a row where you can keep getting after it and know that my stuff’s going to be in the zone and get guys out like he wants to,” Stubbs said. “And a lot of it probably is that confidence piece, right?

    “The expectations are high, and everyone wants to win, and the city wants to win. He’ll get there. I have full confidence that he’ll get there.”

    Not before taking a detour.

  • Federal Reserve keeps rate unchanged, but nearly half of policymakers would support hike this year

    WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve kept its key rate unchanged Wednesday, yet almost half the central bank’s policymakers said they could support a rate hike later this year.

    The unexpectedly aggressive tilt toward higher rates would disappoint President Trump and suggests heightened concerns about persistent inflation among Fed officials.

    In an unusually short statement after their two-day meeting, the officials dropped language that had suggested their next move would be to cut the key rate. The brief statement reflects the influence of new chair Kevin Warsh, appointed by Trump, who has previously criticized the Fed for commenting too broadly on the economy.

    Still, Warsh’s 18 colleagues on the Fed’s rate-setting committee sent a clear message in a set of quarterly projections released Wednesday: Nine signaled they supported higher rates this year, with six of those supporting two quarter-point increases. It’s a sharp change from March, when no policymakers penciled in a hike and the committee as a whole forecast one cut in 2026. The change is an acknowledgment that inflation is at its highest level in three years, and many officials have said in recent speeches that if inflation doesn’t decline, higher rates may be necessary in the coming months.

    All told, another eight officials signaled they would support keeping the rate unchanged, and one penciled in a cut. Warsh did not submit a forecast for how the Fed might change its key rate. He said he encouraged his colleagues to do so, but he has previously criticized the projections for potentially locking the Fed into a specific policy outlook. The Fed also struck forward guidance from its policy statement.

    Warsh also told reporters at a news conference that he is forming five task forces to examine such areas as how the Fed communicates, the sources of data it uses in making policy decisions, and the frameworks it uses to evaluate inflation, all with the goal of making sure the Fed is “clear-eyed and focused on the future.”

    Wednesday’s policy meeting was the first for Warsh, who was appointed by Trump after the president sharply criticized Warsh’s predecessor, Jerome Powell, for not reducing rates deeply enough. The attacks largely backfired because they prompted Powell to stay on the Fed’s governing board, where he voted Wednesday in favor of keeping rates at about 3.6%.

    Warsh now faces a difficult choice: The Fed typically seeks to combat inflation by lifting interest rates to slow borrowing and spending and cool the economy. Yet taking such a step would likely attract the ire of the White House, and could lift the cost of mortgages, auto loans, and other borrowing, just before the midterm elections.

    If the Iran war is resolved, gas prices will likely continue to decline and inflation may cool in the coming months. But prices of many goods and services — such as clothes, dental care, and childcare — were rising before the Iran war, and inflation has been above the Fed’s 2% target for five years, suggesting that there may still be inflationary pressures in the economy.

    Warsh repeatedly stressed that Fed officials are committed to delivering price stability.

    “We’ve missed [on inflation] for five years and we’re gonna fix that,” he said.

    Warsh also faces a sharply different economic environment than when he appeared to campaign for the job of Fed chair last year. Back then, he was outspoken in favor of lower interest rates, as Trump has demanded. He pointed to the development of AI as a technology that could vastly expand the economy’s ability to produce goods and services cheaply, which would over time bring down inflation.

    Even then, many economists were skeptical of his claim. At least in the short run, analysts note that soaring investment in semiconductors and computing equipment is contributing to higher inflation.

    Indeed, since the Iran war began Feb. 28, inflation has accelerated to a three-year high of 4.2%, lifted mostly by costlier gas stemming from the Iran war. The Fed typically fights higher inflation by raising its key interest rate to cool spending and growth.

    Trump has announced an initial peace agreement that could bring the three-month conflict to an end, but it’s not clear if peace will hold. And even if oil flows freely out of the Middle East again, it could take months for prices of gas, groceries, and items such as airline fares, to cool.

    At the same time, hiring has picked up in recent months, removing a key rationale for cutting rates. In January, the Fed forecast that it would reduce rates twice this year, as part of its quarterly economic projections. A big reason for those potential cuts is that employers were shedding jobs and policymakers worried that the unemployment rate would rise. The central bank typically cuts its key rate to spur economic growth and hiring.

    But earlier this month a government report showed that hiring jumped in May, when employers added 172,000 jobs, the third straight month of solid job gains.

    On Wall Street, the S&P 500 fell 1.4% after the release of the Fed officials’ rate expectations. When asked whether changes, such as revising what’s included in the economic projections, could spook markets, Warsh said, “I think financial markets perform best when they react to incoming data. They work less effectively when they ask, ‘How will the Federal Reserve react to that information?’”

  • Luigi Mangione will assert psychiatric defense in murder case in UnitedHealthcare CEO’s killing

    NEW YORK — Luigi Mangione plans to assert a psychiatric defense at his state murder trial, claiming he was suffering from extreme emotional disturbance when he gunned down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, a judge said Wednesday. It wouldn’t absolve him of the Dec. 4, 2024, killing, but could free him from prison sooner.

    If a jury accepts that defense, the panel would convict Mangione of manslaughter and he would face up to 25 years in prison. Alternatively, the jury could reject the extreme emotional disturbance defense and convict him of murder, which carries a potential life sentence. That defense isn’t available in his federal case.

    Judge Gregory Carro announced the decision in court Wednesday, two weeks after holding a secret hearing on the matter at the defense’s request. He said he will unseal a transcript and other records from that proceeding once redactions are made.

    Mangione’s lawyers first raised the possibility of a psychiatric defense in a sealed letter in September and confirmed the decision at the June 3 hearing, Carro said. They could still change their minds. Prosecutors want Mangione evaluated by a psychiatric expert.

    “The reasons for the sealing was to give the defense an opportunity to determine whether they were going forth with that defense and the nature of that defense,” Carro said.

    Carro said he didn’t expect the development to delay Mangione’s trial, which is scheduled to start Sept. 8. The federal trial, which involves stalking charges, is set to begin on Oct. 13.

    Mangione, a 28-year-old Penn graduate, has pleaded not guilty in both cases.

    Sitting between his lawyers and wearing a blue suit, he tried to block his face with a large envelope as news photographers crowded near him at the start of Wednesday’s hearing. He didn’t appear to have any reaction as Carro spoke about the planned psychiatric defense.

    At a February hearing, Mangione had railed against the prospect of two trials, telling Carro: “It’s the same trial twice. One plus one is two. Double jeopardy by any commonsense definition.”

    An emotional disturbance defense is not the same as a not guilty by reason of insanity defense, which would allow a defendant to go to a psychiatric facility instead of prison.

    To establish an emotional disturbance defense, Mangione’s lawyers must demonstrate that the disturbance was so extreme it robbed him of self-control; that, in his mind, there was a reasonable explanation for the disturbance; and that it influenced him to kill Thompson.

    Heather Cucolo, a New York Law School professor and expert in mental health law, said Mangione’s lawyers could try to accomplish that by having a psychologist testify about his mental state at the time of the killing and the extent of any trauma, abuse, or emotional instability he’s suffered. But, she said, they aren’t required to show any proof of a mental illness or show he was in danger.

    The circumstances of Mangione’s case could make it tough for his lawyers to convince jurors to accept a defense that people often associate with crimes of passion or a sudden outburst where someone is given shocking information that evokes a strong response, Cucolo said.

    Prosecutors say Mangione planned the attack, wrote in a notebook about wanting to “wack” a health insurance executive and traveled from out of state to ambush Thompson, 50, as the CEO walked to a Manhattan hotel for an investor conference. “Delay,” “deny,” and “depose” were written on the ammunition, police said, mimicking a phrase describing how insurers avoid paying claims.

    “People want to view this within a relatively short period of time and they want it to be simply laid out,” Cucolo said, giving the example of a spousal killing over infidelity. As time passes, she said, “people are not as willing to accept this emotional response that ends up in the death of a human being.”

    Mangione’s lawyer, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, protested Carro’s decision to unseal materials related to his psychiatric defense, saying it will be “prejudicial to his defense to the exact same facts” in his federal case.

    Last month, Carro ruled that the notebook and a 3D-printed pistol, which prosecutors say matches the gun used to kill Thompson, can be used as evidence against Mangione. But he said a loaded gun magazine and other items were seized during an “improper warrantless search” when he was arrested in Pennsylvania five days after the killing.

    On Wednesday, Carro dismissed a charge related to the magazine.

  • Why did a firearms instructor who promoted gun safety shoot three Philly cops? Those who knew him struggle for answers.

    Why did a firearms instructor who promoted gun safety shoot three Philly cops? Those who knew him struggle for answers.

    In videos posted online, firearms instructor Eric Franks taught others how to handle guns safely.

    “If you don’t have a leg strap on … your firearm’s going to be flapping out,” the 57-year-old Wynnefield man said in an Instagram video demonstrating how to properly secure a “battle belt,” a tool for holstering guns and equipment.

    So some people who knew him found it hard to fathom that Franks, a retired Philadelphia firefighter, father, and business owner, walked up to a group of police officers on a West Philadelphia street and got into a confrontation that ended in gunfire.

    On Saturday night, police said, Franks shot and wounded three officers, and they returned fire, killing him.

    “The biggest thing he taught was restraint, situational awareness,” said Randy Robinson, a friend and fellow member of That Gun Talk, a firearms training organization Franks helped found during the pandemic.

    Robinson said Franks taught students: “The last thing you want to have to do is pull your firearm.”

    Like others grappling with conflicting emotions about Franks’ role in the shooting, Robinson is struggling to understand why his friend of seven years fired the shots that cost him his life.

    Police were called to the block around 10:30 p.m. that night for a report of a shooting on 54th Street, not far from Mingle, a popular event space Franks owned that had hosted a teenager’s birthday party that evening.

    Alerted by his son to the nearby gunfire, Franks made his way to Mingle, near where he began to argue outside with several police officers who told him they were trying to establish a crime scene, according to surveillance footage and police accounts.

    As officers investigated a vehicle that had been struck by bullets, Franks approached and began complaining about crime and policing in the area, said a source familiar with the case who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.

    He appeared frustrated, the source said, that officers had not yet cordoned off the area around the vehicle with crime scene tape, and became increasingly agitated as officers repeatedly asked him to step back so they could do their jobs.

    Video obtained by The Inquirer appears to show Franks yelling at officers, then pushing one, before stepping back and pulling a gun from his waistband.

    Franks then fired multiple shots at the officers, who took cover behind nearby vehicles, according to the video and police accounts, and four officers returned fire. Three officers — including a sergeant — were struck by gunfire. Franks was shot in the chest and the leg and later died at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.

    Police have not released the names of the injured officers or identified those who discharged their weapons that night. One officer was shot in the face, one in the hip, and another in the leg, officials said. A 43-year-old officer was released from the hospital on Tuesday, police said, following the release of a 39-year-old sergeant on Monday.

    The shooting remains under investigation by the police department’s officer-involved shooting unit and the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office.

    DA Larry Krasner said investigators from his office had visited the scene, spoken to witnesses and Franks’ family, and reviewed video footage and other evidence. He said his office — like Franks’ family and members of the community — has questions about what happened that night.

    James Funt, an attorney for Franks’ wife, Michelle, and his two children, said he, too, is looking for more information on what transpired in the moments before the gunfire.

    “That’s all the family is looking for — a full, fair, and thorough investigation,” Funt said.

    Meanwhile, those who knew Franks say the shooting ran counter to the behavior of the man they knew — an advocate for responsible gun ownership and reducing crime in the neighborhood.

    Franks was a founding member of That Gun Talk, a local chapter of the National African American Gun Association formed in 2020 to promote self-defense training among Black gun owners, according to Robinson.

    He said he was puzzled that Franks would resort to violence in a neighborhood he had urged local leaders to make safer.

    In recent years, Franks had brought his concerns to City Councilmember Curtis Jones Jr., who grew up near the Franks family in West Philadelphia and was familiar with his older brothers.

    Jones said in a recent interview that Franks had spoken with him multiple times about his frustrations with crime and policing on the business corridor near Mingle.

    “What he wanted was better enforcement of laws, and felt frustrated with the reality of our ability to patrol in a way he thought [the corridor] deserved,” Jones said.

    And Franks once visited Jones’ office to discuss firearms education for city residents, as well as the possibility of opening a Black-owned shooting range in the neighborhood, an idea Jones said he did not agree with.

    The Council member recalled that Franks’ relatives were among the first to open a business on the 54th Street corridor in Wynnefield in the 1970s, a variety store not far from where Franks was killed.

    “This whole tragedy, it’s bizarre, ironic, and I grieve for everybody,” Jones said. “The officers that were shot, the family — Franks was a patriarch, the community respected him.”

    Funt, the family lawyer, agreed.

    Franks cared about “getting more police on the beats, trying to get drugs out of the neighborhood,” Funt said. “I think it was in that spirit that he went there,” to the block in West Philadelphia, on the night he was killed.

    How that instinct led to the gunfire that wounded three police officers and ended Franks’ life is a question police and prosecutors will seek to answer as their investigation continues.

    Staff writer Ellie Rushing contributed to this article.

  • U.S. tells states to deal with unemployment fraud — or face penalties

    The U.S. Department of Labor told states Wednesday to take immediate action to combat fraud, waste, and abuse in their unemployment insurance programs — and that they could have administrative funds withheld if they don’t comply.

    The letters, which went to the governors of every state, are the latest in a series of actions from President Donald Trump’s administration focused on fraud, waste, and abuse in state-run programs that include federal funding. Like with most of the other similar announcements, the administration focused on issues in states where Democrats control the government.

    “We are officially putting governors on notice,” acting Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling said in a statement Wednesday. “The American people will no longer tolerate the blatant waste, fraud, and abuse of their hard-earned tax dollars — no state should allow it either. If states allow it, they will suffer the consequences.”

    Labor Department offers few details

    The Labor Department said Wednesday that poor oversight, outdated technology, weak identity verification, and lax controls have “allowed unprecedented fraud to flourish.”

    In its announcement, it cited problems in California, Illinois, and New York — three states where Democrats control the governments.

    California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office blasted the move and criticized “lax regulations and rushed distribution” of unemployment benefits by the first Trump administration during the COVID-19 pandemic.

    “Meanwhile California outperforms other states in addressing fraud,” Newsom spokesperson Marissa Saldivar said in a statement.

    The federal Labor Department did not immediately respond to questions from the Associated Press about the details of the alleged fraud.

    The unemployment insurance program has come into question before

    The nonpartisan Government Accountability Office estimated that fraud accounted for between 11% and 15% of the amount paid out through unemployment insurance programs from April 2020 through May 2023, when the nation was under a public health emergency for the pandemic.

    During that time — which included the last months of Trump’s first term and over half of former President Joe Biden’s time in office — access to the funds was eased, and the government noticed the issues as the money was going out.

    In the new letter to the states, the department said that consequences from pandemic-era fraud “are still playing out.”

    The Labor Department said states would receive further directives in coming weeks.

    The administration has focused on fraud in state-federal programs

    Vice President JD Vance is overseeing an anti-fraud task force focused on potential misuse of social programs.

    The Department of Health and Human Services tried to withhold money for childcare subsidies and other social service programs from five states — all governed by Democrats — but has been rebuffed by a court. The department has also announced it’s using artificial intelligence to police how states and other recipients of federal dollars are auditing their program.

    The Department of Agriculture has threatened to withhold administrative funds from states that don’t provide data on participants in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, including their immigration status.

    Sophie Austin in Sacramento, Calif., contributed to this article.

  • Flyers draft: Jaxon Cover and Ryder Cali grew up playing roller hockey in the Cayman Islands. Now they will be drafted into the NHL.

    Flyers draft: Jaxon Cover and Ryder Cali grew up playing roller hockey in the Cayman Islands. Now they will be drafted into the NHL.

    BUFFALO, N.Y. — Ryder Cali and Jaxon Cover were two of 90 players invited to the NHL’s scouting combine in western New York during the first week in June.

    They interviewed with NHL teams, including the Flyers, and members of the media. Together in the same group, they went through fitness testing on Saturday, with Cover finishing in the top 25 in two tests, including fifth in the dreaded Wingate test, and Cali getting on the board for seven tests, tying for first in the right-hand grip test.

    Cali and Cover’s hockey careers were intersecting once again. The two had first crossed paths in a locale not often associated with ice hockey greatness — the Cayman Islands.

    Island in the sun

    Like most teenagers who will be selected at the NHL draft in either the first round on June 26 or Rounds 2-7 the next day, Cali got on skates for the first time at 2 years old. He confesses that he hated it and cried the whole time, but skating has been in his blood — from his mom’s side.

    A Toronto native, Fiona McLeod played college hockey at St. Cloud State and then professionally for seven seasons in Switzerland for the Ladies Team Lugano, in what is now the PostFinance Women’s League. It is Switzerland, where she met Cali’s father and where the now 17-year-old Ryder was born.

    Around the same time Cali was tying his laces for the first time, more than 5,000 miles away, a 3-year-old Cover was putting on his first pair of skates, too. But instead of steel blades, his boots had wheels, and there was no ice to be found for miles. He fell in love with the game at a learn-to-skate program on the only roller hockey rink in the Cayman Islands.

    Cali and his family moved not long after his twirl on skates when his banker dad got a new job. So it was on an island in the Caribbean Sea filled with sandy beaches and wafted by ocean breezes that Jaxon Cover and Ryder Cali met and where their hockey dreams took hold.

    “It was kind of a new thing growing up, because as I was growing up it started getting bigger too, and a lot more people were joining and joining,” Cover recalled in an interview with The Inquirer. “I feel like, especially with how far I’ve come in ice hockey, hopefully I can inspire some kids in Cayman to enjoy the game, and just anyone from an unconventional place of ice hockey to hopefully just enjoy the game and just try getting into the game.”

    Jaxon Cover (middle) and Ryder Cali (to his right with his back to camera) had easy access to beaches but also grew up playing roller hockey in the Cayman Islands.Courtesy of

    The two families became close, and the boys played roller hockey with Cover, who is seven months older, developing into a burgeoning roller hockey star at the ripe old age of 6. He played in tournaments across North America while skating against kids older than him, crediting the sport with amplifying his competitiveness.

    Cali and his family, meanwhile, moved to Ontario when he was 7, and he swapped his wheels for steel. Needless to say, it was an adjustment.

    “I do remember when I moved to Canada, I couldn’t stop. I couldn’t do anything,” he told The Inquirer with a grin. “I was the island boy who just saw ice for the first time.

    “I think roller hockey is much more of a skill game; I think that’s kind of where guys like Cover get all their skill from, is playing games like that, where I don’t think there’s as much contact.”

    Northern attitude

    At around 8 years old, Cover and his family would start visiting his grandfather — dad Patrick is from Etobicoke, Ontario — in the same province during the summer. While there, Cover would go to SK8ON Hockey School and, like Cali, he had trouble stopping.

    “It was a pretty weird switch, going from ice to roller,” he said. “I had to get the stopping down. It was a little weird to me not having wheels to just glide on, and it was just like these sharp blades on the bottom of my feet. But it was a lot of fun.”

    Jaxon Cover honed his skills as a member of the London Knights.Courtesy of London Knights

    However, Cover didn’t really start playing ice hockey until he went to boarding school. In September 2020, he began studying at St. Andrew’s College in Aurora, Ontario, with his brother Jaedon; however, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he was unable to play organized hockey that first year.

    David Manning, Cover’s coach for the U18 AAA team his final two seasons at St. Andrew’s, said it was actually beneficial for the winger to get comfortable on ice without coaches and the pressure that comes with competing. It helped him work on some of his bad habits and switch from a sport that doesn’t have much stopping to one that thrives on quickness and consistent stopping and starting.

    “He had some ups and downs [but] there’s a higher level of accountability in terms of managing the puck,” Manning said. “He very much sees himself as an artist out there, and wants to create and make nice plays. I think there’s a balancing act with that mindset, and also playing the game in a strategic, smart way, and so he worked through that the entire year and had a solid season.”

    Cover spent the past season with London of the Ontario Hockey League, the same league where Denver Barkey and Oliver Bonk won a Memorial Cup. Cover played three games that season with the two prospects at the end of the 2024-25 season.

    From afar, Manning acknowledged the work Cover has put in — “He had more points in the OHL than he did with my team … he just keeps getting better” — as the winger dropped 20 goals and 52 points in 67 games with the Knights.

    The two kids from the Cayman Islands went head-to-head in an OHL game this season, with Cali getting the upper hand as North Bay won 3-2 in a shootout. But Cali finished behind Cover in scoring with 16 goals and 36 points in 47 regular season games, missing time with a separated shoulder.

    Just a place to call your own

    Cover will return to London in the fall before heading off to Penn State in 2027 — he wants to study law and go into corporate law after his NHL career is done, of course — but there is plenty of work still to do.

    “I feel like I did have to change some aspects of my skating style, and I still do have to change some aspects, because I still do have that roller hockey stride in my game,” he said, adding he wished his roller hockey speed translated better to the ice. “But I feel like it helps my lateral skating a lot, just playing roller, my shiftiness too, and my hands, I feel like I credit my hands a lot to roller.”

    Cali, who Canada’s U18 men’s ice hockey coach Drew Bannister called a power forward who is heavy on his stick, will be heading to Providence in the fall and plans to study psychology — he wants to understand the brain and how people work. Maybe it helps on the ice too?

    “He’s a bull in a china shop,” said Friars coach Nate Leaman. “I think he’s got that potential. He’s got this big frame … but I think he’s got a lot of potential that’s untapped. I think he’s got a really good release, he’s got a good IQ, he gets to the net. … And I think Ryder does a good job of always being around the net in the offensive zone for a big strong moose of a kid.”

    And the 200-foot center does not lack confidence, stating that “I think that’s a big part of my game is forechecking and stealing pucks and turning it into offense. I think I’m the guy you need to win, and I love winning.”

    The plan is to do a lot of that moving forward, while donning an NHL jersey.

    Jaxon Cover is a top NHL draft prospect after playing for the London Knights.Courtesy of London Knights

    Cover, a 6-foot-1, 183-pound creative winger, and Cali, a 6-1, 214-pound 200-foot center, are projected to go anywhere from late first round to the second round. As they await hearing their names called to become the NHL’s next generation, the two kids from the Cayman Islands are ready to inspire the generations coming behind them.

    “I’m just really honored, and just really humble about it,” Cover said. “Just trying to get better every day, and just make sure my game progresses. And it’s really cool; if you told me I’d be in this spot, maybe even two years ago I wouldn’t believe you.

    “I just dedicate a lot of my hard work to it, and just how much I love the game, and hopefully I can inspire some kids in unconventional places to play the game, and hopefully my story encourages kids like that.”