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  • Five Below investors are alleging securities fraud in a class action

    Five Below investors are alleging securities fraud in a class action

    A federal judge in Philadelphia ruled Monday that a lawsuit alleging discount retailer Five Below defrauded investors can move forward as a class action on behalf of numerous shareholders.

    U.S. District Judge Gerald Austin McHugh’s 34-page order handed a win to the lead plaintiffs, two Arkansas public employee retirement plans. The pension funds say that for more than a year, Philadelphia-based Five Below misled investors about its ability to identify and stock popular products — a skill company executives referred to as their “secret sauce.”

    Once investors learned the full extent of the company’s challenges in July 2024, Five Below’s stock price plummeted, wiping out almost $8 billion in shareholder value, the suit says. The company’s CEO resigned around that time.

    The Arkansas Public Employees’ Retirement (APER) and the Arkansas Teacher Retirement System say they lost more than $5 million combined due to the alleged fraud.

    McHugh granted their motion asking him to certify a class of people and entities who bought Five Below stock between December 2022 and July 2024.

    “We are pleased to be able to represent the interests of these public pension funds, where teachers and other public servants were invested in this company and lost a considerable amount of money,” Michael Dell’Angelo, executive shareholder and general counsel of Philadelphia-based law firm Berger Montague, said in a statement.

    “Our clients lost millions of dollars after they relied on the exaggerated expectations set by this retailer,” he said.

    Five Below has 1,800 stores in 44 states and says most of its products are priced between $1 and $5, many of them aimed at children and teens. The company didn’t respond to a request for comment. Attorneys for Five Below and two other defendants — former CEO Joel Anderson and chief operating officer Kenneth Bull — didn’t respond to requests for comment.

    The defendants have denied the allegations in court papers.

    “Being honest with the market about the pitfalls of a business strategy as they are learned in no way reveals advance knowledge that the approach would fail, and failing to make accurate predictions does not amount to securities fraud,” Jay A. Dubow and Erica H. Dressler of the Philadelphia firm Troutman Pepper Locke LLP wrote in a court filing last year.

    The suit alleges that despite management’s repeated assertions that Five Below could identify and capitalize on trends, the company in fact “did not operate with any real ability to stock its stores with in-demand products.”

    Nevertheless, Five Below told investors it planned to triple its number of locations and double its sales based on this “trend-right” strategy, the suit says. The “plan was abruptly throttled down” shortly after Anderson, the CEO, resigned in July 2024, according to the complaint.

    Even as Five Below’s problems with product assortment, inventory, and expansion dragged on its operating performance, executives falsely blamed shoplifting, the suit says.

    The company eventually allegedly admitted its shortcomings in a series of disclosures to investors, with executive Bull conceding in late 2024 that Five Below had “lost our way.”

    While investors suffered losses, Bull and Anderson sold more than $9 million in Five Below shares during the period in question, “while also receiving incentive compensation valued at over $10 million based on the inflation in the company’s share price,” the suit says.

    The company has since rebounded, with executives citing the popularity of games and viral toys, as well as artificial-intelligence tools that help with inventory.

  • Camden County bridge will be closed for 3 months for $2.5 million repair project

    Countless drivers in Camden County will be rerouted over the next few months as the Collings Avenue Bridge closes for a multi-million-dollar repair project.

    Starting Tuesday, the steel bridge over Newton Creek at the border of Gloucester and Camden cities will be closed for about three months, the county announced.

    Traffic headed toward the bridge will be diverted to I-676 via Broadway and Morgan Boulevard.

    The $2.5 million project includes replacing the concrete deck, sidewalks, and parapet, as well as refurbishing support beams and bearings.

    “These improvements to the Collings Avenue Bridge are essential to keeping our infrastructure safe and reliable,” Camden County Commissioner Al Dyer, liaison to the Department of Public Works, said in a statement. “We want to thank our residents for their patience during the next few months and recommend that they give themselves extra time in their commute while detours are in place.”

  • Andy Dalton and Tanner McKee are in a competition for QB2 duties. And they’re trying to embrace it.

    Andy Dalton and Tanner McKee are in a competition for QB2 duties. And they’re trying to embrace it.

    Sixteen years into his NFL career, Andy Dalton has seen just about everything. But this training camp — his first with the Eagles — is unlike any Dalton has participated in before.

    Dalton, 38, is competing with incumbent Tanner McKee to back up Jalen Hurts. That isn’t a new phenomenon for Dalton. He hasn’t been a full-time starter since 2019, his ninth and final year with the Cincinnati Bengals, the team that drafted him 35th overall in 2011.

    What is unfamiliar, however, is that Dalton doesn’t know when it’s his turn to take reps with the second-string offense in team drills. Neither does McKee. Both quarterbacks wait for orders from their coaches before one or the other joins the huddle.

    A.J. Epenesa on Cleveland backing out of signing him: ‘Happy that I’m not a Brown and that I’m an Eagle’

    At first, Dalton had questions about how they would split reps. Now, he’s accepted the surprise element of their current situation, which is reminiscent of game days for the backup quarterback.

    “I was joking with Tanner, I was like, ‘This is just real life right here,’” Dalton said Tuesday. “‘You don’t know when you’re going to be going in.’”

    It’s been an offseason of surprises for Dalton, who was traded to the Eagles after spending the last three seasons with the Carolina Panthers. He had never been traded before. He only had experience choosing to sign with teams in free agency, including the Dallas Cowboys (2020), Chicago Bears (2021), New Orleans Saints (2022), and Panthers.

    Still, Dalton said he is “excited” to be in Philadelphia and to play in the new Sean Mannion-led offense. But the scheme isn’t entirely new to him. Dalton has experience in similar offenses that were also offshoots of the Kyle Shanahan/Sean McVay coaching tree, namely Zac Taylor’s first year with the Bengals in 2019 and the past two seasons with Dave Canales and the Panthers.

    Andy Dalton (right) knows some of the principles of the Sean Mannion offense from his time working alongside Zac Taylor (left) in Cincinnati.

    There are some similarities among the three systems. Dalton pointed out their shared emphasis on quick decision-making and pure-progression passing. He also noted that Mannion’s offense requires its quarterbacks to use a cadence that Dalton has learned in the past.

    “Everybody’s got their own little variation of it,” Dalton said of the broader offensive scheme. “But for me, I feel very comfortable in this offense.”

    The trade may have come as a surprise to Dalton, but McKee expressed an understanding of Howie Roseman’s rationale behind the move.

    Yes, McKee was the primary backup last season, a role that was hardly threatened in camp by Dorian Thompson-Robinson (who is now playing in the UFL) or Kyle McCord (who is in camp with the Green Bay Packers). McKee has generally fared well in his handful of preseason and regular-season outings over the last two years, save for his lone start in 2025 — a 24-17 loss to the Washington Commanders in Week 18 — in which he primarily played with backups.

    Moro Ojomo watched fellow defensive tackles Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis get paid. He’s using it as motivation.

    However, McKee acknowledged Roseman’s objective to strengthen the roster every season.

    “I don’t think you can be surprised whenever they bring in somebody or there’s competition, because in the NFL, there’s always going to be competition,” McKee said Tuesday. “They’re trying to improve the roster every year, and so anybody that they can bring in to make you compete or make you earn your spot, that’s definitely what everybody wants.

    “And for a player, it’s great. It is great to have somebody to push you and to make you better. The stakes in practice are a little bit higher, and so it makes it fun.”

    Tanner McKee has been focused on trying to learn things from the veteran Andy Dalton, even as both vie for the same job.

    McKee is embracing Dalton’s presence, especially his knowledge of the offense. In practice on Tuesday, for example, the 26-year-old quarterback was on the field for a play that broke down. Later on, McKee said he went to Dalton for insight on how he would’ve read the play given the defensive coverage.

    “It is great having that overall wisdom, I guess you could say, of just the experience that he’s had to talk through things,” McKee said. “It really does make each other better, and that’s exactly what everybody wants when we have competition, is to make the Eagles organization better.”

    The lessons McKee has learned aren’t limited to firsthand experiences on the field. Because he is splitting second-string reps, unlike last year’s training camp, McKee is forced to take more mental reps from the sideline while Dalton is on the field.

    Eagles’ 53-man roster projection: How the picture looks entering training camp Week 2

    McKee likened that experience to practices during the season, when Hurts is commanding the majority of the snaps. Those mental reps can be valuable, too, he explained.

    “Sometimes, you learn from mistakes, but a lot of times you have to learn from mistakes of other people as well,” McKee said. “And so paying attention on the sideline, watching film, all those things are just a little bit more important when you’re not getting as many.”

    The two depth quarterbacks will soon take their competition to the next level when preseason begins, as the Eagles open their exhibition slate against the Baltimore Ravens on Aug. 15.

    Both players will make their cases for the backup role. Dalton may not have the starting job he once held down at the outset of his career, but he has approached his role as a backup with the same level of preparation and attention to detail.

    Most importantly, he hasn’t lost his love for the game and all of the surprises that come with it.

    “There’s nothing else like this,” Dalton said. “So I’m trying to soak it all in as much as I can. Trying to get the most out of the game because obviously once you’re done, you’re done.”

  • Investigative report criticizes Quakertown police chief for role in anti-ICE clash with student protesters

    Investigative report criticizes Quakertown police chief for role in anti-ICE clash with student protesters

    An investigative review of the February clash between student anti-ICE protesters and Quakertown police sharply criticized Police Chief Scott McElree for his “calamitous” decision to charge into the crowd of demonstrators.

    The 20 page review, ordered by by the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office, however did not call for any new criminal charges against either the protesters or police.

    “The investigation established that the precipitating factor that led to violence was Chief McElree’s decision to swiftly enter an agitated crowd of teenagers while wearing plain clothes, with no visible badge, uniform, body-worn camera, or handcuffs,” the investigative report said.

    “This decision created a ‘fog of war’ where students — believing that an unidentified vigilante was attacking them — acted to defend themselves or others, while police officers, seeing McElree attacked, acted lawfully to stop and arrest people who were assaulting a police officer,” the report said.

    McElree’s “ill-advised decision to do so was the precipitating incident which led to violence,” the report said.

    Quakertown Police Chief Scott McElree.

    Five teens were initially charged with aggravated assault as well as misdemeanor offenses, but all the aggravated assault charges were eventually dropped. Prosecutors have since struck diversion-program deals with the teens.

    The clash between the students and police on Feb. 20 was captured on video by onlookers and circulated widely online. One video showed McElree grappling with a boy on the sidewalk. Another captured the 72-year-old McElree with his arm around a teen girl’s neck.

    The Quakertown Police Department had sought additional charges against juveniles for allegedly assaulting McElree, who also holds the position of borough manager, but the District Attorney’s Office announced Monday that it has denied the request.

    Officials said McElree had sought medical care after the clash for injuries that included fractured ribs. He also took worker’s compensation leave for several weeks before returning to work in May.

    A panel of area police chiefs later cleared McElree of wrongdoing following a review of the case.

    A spokesperson for Quakertown Borough could not be reached for comment Monday evening.

    The investigative report also placed blame on some of the students.

    “The truth is that while most students protested lawfully, some broke the law. While most protestors and observers did not recognize McElree as a police officer at first, a few students assaulted police officers in uniform and assaulted McElree even after it should have become evident that he was with the” Quakertown Police Deparment,” the report said.

    Investigators also looked at allegations that McElree was ideologically hostile to the anti-ICE protest and had tried to stop it from happening.

    The investigation “found no evidence to support these claims,” the report said.

    Ettore Angelo, a lawyer for one of the teens who was charged, said in a statement Tuesday that the police chief should have faced more consequences for his actions.

    “My client was incarcerated for four days, on house arrest for 28 days, has been vilified in the community, has been harassed in school, and has faced trauma and turmoil no 15-year-old should ever have to endure. She is a remarkable child, and I am very proud of her, as are her parents,” Angelo said.

    “She did not deserve this, nor did the other kids. Meanwhile, Chief McElree ends up with no consequences. Apparently, even when not wearing a badge or uniform, he can manhandle children with impunity,” Angelo said.

    District Attorney Joe Khan said in a statement that he and members of his staff will “engage in conversations with the Quakertown community” over the next 45 days and then release recommendations “about how to move forward to help heal these rifts.”

    Khan also said it was important to remember the events leading up to the Quakertown protest.

    “Kids across Bucks County, including my own, learned of the horror of civilians like Renee Goode and Alex Pretti being shot and killed in the streets of Minneapolis by ICE and Border Protection agents,” Khan said.

    “Young people witnessed their immigrant neighbors living in fear. Bucks County students raised their voices and spoke up about the grievous injustices they saw,” Khan said.

    “It’s true that some students broke the law, though most protested and exercised their First amendment rights peacefully. It’s also true that the police chief made terrible mistakes even as most officers acted with professionalism and restraint that day,” Khan said.

    “The heavy-handed actions of ICE nationwide have caused stress between law enforcement and the communities they serve. We saw that reflected in so much of the footage we reviewed of the protest. For many folks, it was traumatic to see front page images of a law enforcement officer with his arm around the neck of a teenage girl who was protesting ICE. That is why it is important for our office to explain our findings and to engage the community in a meaningful dialogue in the weeks ahead,” Khan said.

    The investigative review was assigned to the Special Investigative Unit of the district attorney’s office, with prosecutors and detectives who had no ties to Quakertown or any involvement in the delinquency proceedings against the five juveniles.

    County detectives conducted more than two dozen interviews over the course of five months. The interviews included 22 civilian witnesses, including four juveniles who could not be interviewed until after their prosecutions had been resolved. The last interview took place last week.

  • Penn State ranked No. 17 in Top 25 preseason coaches poll

    Penn State ranked No. 17 in Top 25 preseason coaches poll

    The annual preseason college football coaches poll has been released, and Penn State was included despite a disastrous 2025 season.

    On Tuesday, Penn State was ranked No. 17, among the eight Big Ten schools included on the Top 25 poll, with Ohio State atop of the list.

    Last season, the Nittany Lions were ranked third overall in the same preseason poll. This prediction was not indicative of the season the team would have. In 2025, the Nittany Lions finished 7-6 overall and 3-6 in conference play. Longtime head coach James Franklin was dismissed in the middle of the season. Former Iowa State coach Matt Campbell was hired in December to take over the helm of Happy Valley.

    “Over the past six months, we’ve been reminded every day why Penn State was the right fit,” said Campbell during Big Ten media day. “The history is special. The tradition is special. But what really resonated with me is how Penn State has always valued integrity, character, and class at its best.”

    Big Ten media day: Matt Campbell explains why Penn State was the right fit, keeping Terry Smith on staff, and more

    With Penn State being ranked 17, it seems that Campbell’s peers believe he can help the program bounce back. To do so, he will lean on some familiar faces, as 24 Iowa State players followed Campbell to Penn State through the transfer portal. Notably, starting quarterback Rocco Becht previously starred for the Cyclones.

    In 12 games last season, playing with a torn labrum on his non-throwing shoulder, Becht threw for 2,584 yards and 16 touchdowns. He is the winningest returning quarterback in college football.

    “We have our goals in mind, and that’s to win a Big Ten championship and ultimately get to the College Football Playoff to have a chance to win a national championship,” Becht previously told the Inquirer. “With the team that we have now, I think we’re fully capable of doing that. Everybody just has to buy in, be consistent with the standards, and I think we’ll be in good hands.”

    The full coaches poll rankings are as follows:

    1. Ohio State
    2. Oregon
    3. Georgia
    4. Texas
    5. Notre Dame
    6. Indiana
    7. Miami
    8. Texas A&M
    9. Oklahoma
    10. Ole Miss
    11. Alabama
    12. Texas Tech
    13. LSU
    14. USC
    15. BYU
    16. Michigan
    17. Penn State
    18. Tennessee
    19. Washington
    20. SMU
    21. Utah
    22. Iowa
    23. Clemson
    24. Houston
    25. Missouri
  • WHYY and Penn State take next step to transfer ownership of WPSU

    WHYY and Penn State take next step to transfer ownership of WPSU

    WHYY is one step closer to taking ownership of Pennsylvania State University’s public radio and television station, WPSU, with a new Federal Communications Commission filing.

    WHYY and Penn State filed an application with the FCC late last week to transfer WPSU-FM and WPSU-TV, among other properties, to WHYY for a sale price of $1, according to commission records. The station said in a statement that it was “pleased to have reached an agreement with Pennsylvania State University that marks an important milestone.”

    “We are appreciative of Penn State’s partnership throughout this process, as they have been integral to ensuring uninterrupted service for WPSU’s viewers, listeners and communities,” the station added. “Our shared goal is to preserve and strengthen WPSU’s longstanding mission of providing trusted local journalism, educational programming and community storytelling for the enjoyment and enrichment of generations to come.”

    The FCC needs to approve the deal before it can be completed, the station said. It was not immediately clear how long that process could take, but the review period typically includes a 30-day window during which the public may submit comments.

    The application’s submission marks the latest step in a lengthy process. In October, Penn State trustees unanimously approved a revised proposal to sell WPSU’s operating assets to WHYY, which itself revived a path to keep the station alive following a previous failed deal.

    Under the approved agreement, WHYY is to continue operating WPSU for at least three years following the station’s sale, and give current employees the opportunity to interview for roles under the new leadership. About 44 employees remained at the station following layoffs in June last year, The Inquirer previously reported.

    Previously, WHYY said it was working to raise funds to support WPSU to allow it to continue broadcasting.

    In September, WPSU’s days appeared to be numbered, with Penn State saying it planned to wind down the station’s operations and lay off employees by the end of June. The station’s annual budget was funded largely by the university coupled with federal dollars, the latter of which had been slashed after President Donald Trump’s administration stripped away federal funding for public media, The Inquirer previously reported.

    School trustees in September unanimously voted down a plan for WPSU’s sale to WHYY, largely citing concerns about $17 million in subsidies Penn State would have to provide to WHYY over five years as part of that deal. Under the plan approved in October, the university said last year, WHYY agreed to raise funds itself.

    WPSU began broadcasting more than 70 years ago. When it was faced with a possible closure last year, university leaders said that they received about 1,300 public comments about the station, many of which urged the school to reconsider its decision to wind down operations. WHYY president and CEO Bill Marrazzo later said WPSU would “continue to be here” for listeners.

    “WHYY and WPSU are joining forces to expand what is possible — strengthening local journalism, creating new educational opportunities, and developing innovative ways to deliver the content people value most,” Marrazzo said last year.

  • A.J. Epenesa on Cleveland backing out of signing him: ‘Happy that I’m not a Brown and that I’m an Eagle’

    A.J. Epenesa on Cleveland backing out of signing him: ‘Happy that I’m not a Brown and that I’m an Eagle’

    A.J. Epenesa couldn’t help himself.

    Asked Tuesday about the offseason drama he endured when the Browns signed him to a one-year deal worth up to $5 million before balking at the deal weeks later (reportedly due to a failed physical), the Eagles edge rusher first took a diplomatic approach, before taking a shot at Cleveland.

    “It was a weird situation,” Epenesa said after Day 5 of Eagles training camp. “I don’t necessarily want to go back and talk on that in just a weird sense.

    “I’ll just leave that in the past and just be happy that I’m not a Brown and that I’m an Eagle.”

    Andy Dalton and Tanner McKee are in a competition for QB2 duties. And they’re trying to embrace it.

    The 27-year-old certainly looks like he’ll fit right in with the loaded edge rusher group. Epenesa, formerly of the Bills, recorded multiple would-be sacks the first week of camp and even nabbed an interception on a pass intended for wide receiver Danny Gray on Day 2.

    He looks sharp. But the fact remains that the Browns backed out of signing him because of health concerns. So, is he healthy? Epenesa, who played in 16 games last season but suffered a concussion in November as well as battling pectoral, foot, and neck injuries, didn’t hesitate when the question was asked.

    “Oh, very healthy,” Epenesa said. “Feeling good and happy to be here.”

    A.J. Epenesa (57) is part of a deep and talented pass-rushing group.

    Epenesa hopes to be a key cog in an edge group that features Jonathan Greenard — who’s nursing a pectoral injury — Jalyx Hunt, Nolan Smith and Arnold Ebiketie. The Eagles lost Jaelan Phillips to the Carolina Panthers in free agency, so improving the depth of the group was one of general manager Howie Roseman’s top priorities this offseason. The trade for Greenard and the signing of Epenesa on June 10 signified that.

    Epenesa was mostly a rotational piece on Buffalo’s defensive line, starting just 19 games in six seasons, but he made the most of his role. His best season came in 2022, when he logged a career-best 6½ sacks, 10 quarterback hits, 14 quarterback pressures and 16 tackles.

    Eagles practice observations: Jalen Hurts has a day; Makai Lemon limited; Lane Johnson’s absence

    So, what drew him to the Eagles — whose defense is powered by a loaded defensive front — over another team where he could win a starting job?

    “I wanted to go to a place that could help make me better,” Epenesa said. “A place that’s going to win games and a place that has competition. I don’t want to go to a place and just be handed everything.

    “I love having this around me. These guys are making me better. They’re incredible athletes. They’ve all been in the system for two, three-plus years. So all of that knowledge that they have is leaking into me. Whether they know it or not, I’m watching.”

    A.J. Epenesa (57) was a situational pass rusher for most of his tenure in Buffalo.

    Epenesa’s coaches are taking notice of this sponge-like attitude. Epenesa rarely dropped back in coverage in Buffalo, but he’s quickly added that skill to adapt to Vic Fangio’s scheme. Fangio seldom goes out of his way to praise players, but he did so to Epenesa last Thursday.

    “I told A.J. this, and I said it in front of the whole team, too,” Fangio said. “For a guy that’s being asked to do a few things that he’s never done before, I thought he did a nice job. It was very encouraging.”

    Epenesa winding up in Philadelphia is a positive outcome to a bizarre situation. Now, the veteran edge rusher said, he wants wins to come with it.

    “[The Eagles] are always competitive every year,” Epenesa said. “That’s one of the key things, I think, when you’re trying to find a team. That’s something you’re looking for. And these guys, they messaged, they hit me up, they wanted me.

    I want to be on a team that competes and wants to win. And it worked out.”

  • Booker Rowe, celebrated trailblazing Black violinist with the Philadelphia Orchestra, has died at 85

    Booker Rowe, celebrated trailblazing Black violinist with the Philadelphia Orchestra, has died at 85

    Booker Rowe, 85, of Philadelphia, award-winning violinist, the first Black musician to play with the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Nashville Symphony String Quartet, the second permanent full-time Black player in the Philadelphia Orchestra, teacher, mentor, and role model, died Friday, July 31, of complications from pneumonia and sepsis at Jefferson Abington Hospital.

    A lifelong musician — he played piano at age 5 and violin at 11 — Mr. Rowe was invited by famed music director Eugene Ormandy in 1968 to become the first Black musician to perform with the Philadelphia Orchestra. He was a substitute violin during most of the 1968-69 season and returned for good in 1971 as the orchestra’s second Black permanent full-time member.

    Mr. Rowe stayed for 49 years.

    “My first day, I came in late from New York, and the orchestra was already rehearsing, and I sat myself down on the last stand to play,” Mr. Rowe told The Inquirer’s Peter Dobrin in 2020. “The sound was amazing. It was like stereo all around me. The stage was slanted down, and when the brass and winds would play I had to brace myself with my right leg from being blown off stage. It was just so beautiful.”

    For five decades, until his retirement in 2020, Mr. Rowe played with half a dozen elite conductors and traveled the world in the orchestra’s second violin section. He and his colleagues gave thousands of memorable performances at the Academy of Music, the Kimmel Center, and the Mann Center in Philadelphia, Carnegie Hall and the Lincoln Center in New York, and the Saratoga Performing Arts Center.

    They played at the 1993 World Series at Veterans Stadium, for Pope Francis in 2015, and at the Vail Music Festival in Colorado. They played in Europe, South America, Asia, and elsewhere around the world.

    This photo of Mr. Rowe (left) appeared in the Daily News in 1993

    In 1973, the orchestra made a historic 10-day, five-concert cultural exchange tour in China, and Mr. Rowe told the Daily News afterward that he visited a commune and returned with Chinese instruments. In 2008, he mingled with former Secretary of State Alexander Haig and other international notables after a concert in Beijing.

    In 2013, he posed for pictures with the Chinese welcoming contingent at Shanghai Airport. “Booker was such a kind soul, and his passion, his artistry, and his humanity are woven into who we are,” Yannick Nézet-Séguin, the orchestra’s music and artistic director, said in a tribute.

    Ryan Fleur, the orchestra’s president and chief executive officer, said: “He was a warm and steadying presence in our orchestra.”

    Born in Kentucky, Mr. Rowe and his family moved to North Philadelphia when he was 2. His father was a singer, and his mother played piano, and they “pushed me in the direction of classical music,” he told the Daily News in 1981.

    He became concertmaster for the West Philadelphia High School orchestra, the All-City high school orchestra, and the old all-Eastern Conference college orchestra. He earned a bachelor’s degree in music at Temple University in 1963 and a master’s degree in music at Yale University in 1968.

    Before Philadelphia, he played solo in New York and with symphony orchestras in Nashville, New Haven, Conn., and Washington D.C. Later, he played with the old Symphony Club of Philadelphia, the Lansdowne Symphony Orchestra, and other local groups.

    Mr. Rowe (left) stands with fellow musicians Andre Watts (center) and Renard Edwards.

    He also got freelance gigs with Sammy Davis Jr., Isaac Hayes, Smokey Robinson, the Supremes, Barbra Streisand, Aretha Franklin, and other stars. He played with chamber music ensembles around the country and gave dozens of free concerts for children, churches, and community and scholarship fundraisers.

    He championed racial and ethnic diversity, and was active with the Philadelphia Orchestra’s cultural diversity initiative. He sought and performed work by Black and other minority composers, and mentored dozens of colleagues and students.

    He encountered at least one racist incident that first year in Philadelphia and told the Daily News in 1981: “The time was right for an Afro-American in the Philadelphia Orchestra. It was just a matter of finding somebody who was ready.”

    Mr. Rowe and his family lived in Center City, East Mount Airy, and Germantown.

    A friend said on Facebook: “His legacy and historical contributions are unparalleled.”

    Mr. Rowe taught at the Settlement Music School and gave private lessons. He earned music and service awards from City Council, the American Foundation for Negro Affairs, and other groups.

    Booker Rowe’s career with the orchestra started with a call out of the blue in 1968 from Eugene Ormandy

    In 2019, he was asked to advise young musicians in a video interview for the Philadelphia Orchestra website, philorch.ensembleartsphilly.org. “Practice, practice, practice,” he said. “But also enjoy, enjoy, enjoy. Do it with love in your heart.”

    Booker Taliaferro Washington Vance Rowe Jr. was born Dec. 10, 1940, in Lexington, Ky. In Philadelphia, he studied at the old Philadelphia Musical Academy and the Settlement Music School, and his father worked at RCA Victor records in Camden. So their home was always filled with music.

    Mr. Rowe (rear center) stands with Philadelphia Orchestra colleagues and members of the Chinese welcoming contingent in 2013.

    He met soprano Patsy Baxter at a Philadelphia Orchestra concert, and they married in 1970, and had a son, Landis, and a daughter, Vivian. They lived in Center City, East Mount Airy, and Germantown, and visited his family often back in Kentucky and Tennessee.

    Mr. Rowe enjoyed puzzles, hiking and kayaking with his family, and tai chi. Friends noted his “kindness,” “million-dollar smile” and “cheerful presence” in Facebook tributes.

    Why did best-selling author Carol Saline email The Inquirer’s obit writer?

    “He liked people,” his wife said. “He liked socializing. He liked to stick with one thing and concentrate on it.”

    His son said: “My father and I always had a good time together, and we never knew when playful sparring would break out.”

    Mr. Rowe and his wife, Patsy, married in 1970.

    His daughter said: “He was very fiery and loveable. He was always who he was. He was one of a kind.”

    In addition to his wife and children, Mr. Rowe is survived by a daughter-in-law, Maria, two granddaughters, and other relatives.

    A celebration of his life is to be held later.

    Mr. Rowe (rear second from left) enjoyed time with his family.
  • Did Bradley Cooper and Gigi Hadid secretly tie the knot?

    Did Bradley Cooper and Gigi Hadid secretly tie the knot?

    Did this celebrity Bucks County couple secretly tie the knot?

    After actor Bradley Cooper and supermodel Gigi Hadid were photographed wearing his-and-hers rings during an outing in Paris on Monday, rumors began to swirl about a confidential marriage.

    In close-up photos posted by gossip blog DeuxMoi, Cooper, 51, and Hadid, 31, were spotted wearing thin wedding bands on their left-hand ring fingers on a walk from their Paris hotel to the gym.

    The couple was all smiles in the photos. Cooper wore light blue shorts with a dark blue T-shirt, and a backwards NFL cap, while Hadid sported a white tank top with grey leggings.

    The famously private couple hasn’t commented on the rumors, but fan chats and rumor mills are buzzing about the potential union, which comes nearly three years after dating rumors first surfaced.

    The couple was first spotted together on a date at New York City’s Via Carota in October 2023 after meeting at a backyard birthday party for the child of a mutual friend, according to Vogue.

    Since then, they have remained largely tight-lipped on their romance.

    In a March 2025 interview Vogue, Hadid said the couple has agreed to keep things on the hush but described their relationship as “very romantic and happy” and revealed she feels “lucky” to have someone like Cooper by her side.

    “I respect him so much as a creative,” she said, “and I feel that he gives so much to me: encouragement and, just, belief.”

    Gigi Hadid, left, sits in a box with Bradley Cooper, second from left, and Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie, right, during the first half of an NFL football game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Detroit Lions on Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

    The couple made it Instagram official in May 2025, when Hadid posted a photo of her and Cooper kissing at her 30th birthday party. “It’s a blessing to feel so loved!! I am grateful and honored to take on a new decade x x G,” the supermodel wrote in the caption.

    The pair may now be in Paris but they are bona fide Pennsylvanians.

    Hadid bought a farmhouse in New Hope with ex-boyfriend Zayn Malik before they split in 2021. Cooper, who shares his daughter, Lea De Seine, with ex Irina Shayk, grew up in Abington’s Rydal though he’s long claimed to be from Jenkintown.

    Actor and director Bradley Cooper attends the special screening of “Is This Thing On?” at the DGA New York Theater on Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025, in New York. (Photo by Andy Kropa/Invision/AP)

    Shortly after the Silver Linings Playbook actor began dating Hadid, Cooper purchased a $6.5 million, 33-acre Bucks County estate in Solebury Township, strategically located near Hadid’s residence.

    Before they were sighted in Paris, the couple attended Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s wedding at Madison Square Garden on July 3. And from the looks of it, it appears the “Swelces” may not be the only ones leaning into the secret wedding trend.

  • Cleveland Sirens unveil name and branding for WNBA expansion team

    Cleveland Sirens unveil name and branding for WNBA expansion team

    CLEVELAND — Cleveland’s WNBA expansion team had three priorities for the franchise’s name.

    It had to have its own identity and not be related to the Cavaliers. It needed to tie into Lake Erie. And fans wanted something progressive.

    The Cleveland Sirens think they accomplished all three Tuesday when they introduced the name and branding during an event on Tuesday at Rocket Arena.

    The WNBA’s 16th team will begin play in 2028. Cleveland was home to one of the league’s original franchises when the WNBA started in 1997, but the Rockers folded in 2003 when owner Gordon Gund could not find a new buyer.

    Franchises coming to Detroit (2029) and Philadelphia (2030) have yet to announce names or branding. Philly’s franchise will be owned by Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, which owns the 76ers, and will share an arena with the Sixers and Flyers.

    Fans from Philly and beyond gather to watch the WNBA All-Star Game

    Dan Gilbert’s Rock Entertainment Group, which has owned the Cavaliers since 2005, paid a $250 million expansion fee for Cleveland’s return to the WNBA.

    Janice Braxton, who played for the Rockers for three seasons (1997 to 1999), narrated a video introducing the name and the theme of “Hear the Call.”

    Braxton, along with other former Rockers players, also attended Tuesday’s event.

    “We were at dinner with them last night, and we gave them a sneak peak of the video,” Sirens president of business operations Allison Howard said, “and they were overwhelming in their support and clapped several different times.”

    The logo features a Siren underneath the name. The “S” in the wordmark also conceals “CLE.” The two shades of blue take inspiration from Lake Erie and the Rockers logo.

    “We really wanted something that people could rally behind a real character. And we’re really excited about that,” said Grant Gilbert, Rock Entertainment Group’s vice president of business and basketball operations. “I think the other aspect of the Siren name and brand that was really considered and that we get very excited about is how authentically it extends just beyond the name and branded logos itself. The potential of the name is endless.”

    Over the past year, Cleveland has had 9,000 deposits for season tickets. Howard expects that to increase now that the name has been announced.

    “This team can exist very much on the independent side of the Cavaliers,” Howard said. “And that’s also what we are seeing right now. The demographic is totally different. They eat different food, they drink different drinks, they get here earlier, they purchase merchandise differently, and they come from all over the state and even outside of the state.”