A candidate vying for one of the nation’s most competitive congressional seats who said he represented the Green Party — but who the Green Party and Democrats both accused of election meddling — has been disqualified from the November ballot, a Pennsylvania judge ruled Friday.
Andrew Tupone, 37, of Northampton County, had gathered nearly 11,000 signatures to run as a third-party candidate for Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District after previously running for local office as a Republican and switching his party registration earlier this year.
His petition for ballot access implied that he had the Green Party’s official support, though the organization said it did not know him and had questions about his motives. His actions denied the Green Party its right as a political body to select candidates who match their values, the organization argued.
“The Court’s analysis respects the internal governance of political bodies and protects political bodies from external forces hijacking those bodies,” Commonwealth Court Judge Stella M. Tsai wrote in the court document.
In a statement to The Inquirer, Tupone vowed to push his campaign forward, despite the significant legal setback.
“The establishment parties are fighting to keep me off the ballot but I’m not backing down,” he said. “I will continue this fight and appeal this decision because the people of the 7th congressional district deserve a real choice and a true progressive candidate who will stand up for them. This fight isn’t over. I’m going to keep fighting for the voters to have an option and for the representation our community deserves.”
Tupone’s quest for ballot access came as Democrats — who have said Green Party candidates pull votes from their nominees — have targeted the Lehigh Valley-based congressional seat as one of the state’s most flippable in their effort to regain control of Congress. Democratic candidate Bob Brooks, a retired firefighter and union leader, is challenging Republican U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, who won his seat two years ago by 1 percentage point.
But while the Green Party of Pennsylvania — which considers itself an ecosocialist party — rejects accusations of spoiling, leaders distanced themselves from Tupone’s candidacy, and the party was among the plaintiffs arguing for his removal.
“It sounds a lot like somebody’s just fooling around and trying to use the Green Party name,” Tim Runkle, co-chair of the state party, previously told The Inquirer.
Democrats have also accused Tupone, who was registered as a Republican until 2025 and said he previously voted for President Donald Trump, of attempting to spoil the contest. They furthered their argument after independent journalist Sean Kitchen identified Tupone’s attorney as Wally Zimolong, a Pennsylvania election lawyer who said on his website that he represented Trump, the Republican National Committee, and other Republican candidates. Zimolong also donated to Mackenzie’s reelection campaign in 2025.
Tupone, however, has said he no longer supports Trump. During his testimony before the state court, he said he became progressive after consuming social media posts from The Young Turks, a left-wing news program. He changed registration to the Democratic Party in February to run in the 7th District’s primary and to the Green Party in April after becoming “fed up with both parties” and wanting “to give voters another choice on the ballot.”
The Green Party, which held its state committee meeting in March, formally supported Lancaster resident Tony Dastra for governor and Philadelphia resident Craig Bolton for lieutenant governor — but they will not appear on the ballot after failing to receive enough signatures.
Tupone, who could not remember the name of the lieutenant governor during the court hearing, was the only candidate who filed to represent the Green Party in a Pennsylvania race for Congress.
A former Republican candidate for local office, Tupone has rejected accusations from Democrats and the Green Party that he was asked by Republicans to run for Congress, or that he paid individuals to collect the signatures to get him on the ballot. Of the 22 individuals who gathered signatures for his Green Party candidacy, only one is from Pennsylvania and multiple have previously worked for Republican campaigns, public records showed.
Tupone also said in court that he did not pay for any nomination papers to be circulated and was not aware of anyone being paid to circulate his papers. He said Runkle called him in July asking “weird questions” and “attempted to intimidate him not to run,” but he did not ask about the party’s process for endorsement or receiving support during the call.
Runkle said in the Green Party has declined to run candidates in the past who are unable to articulate the party’s values or have values that contradict the party’s.
Democrats celebrated the news Friday.
“(Republicans) have now tried and failed twice to meddle in the Lehigh Valley because they know weak incumbent Ryan Mackenzie can’t run on his own record. Firefighter Bob Brooks will smoke him in November,” said Eli Cousin, a spokesperson for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
The smell of buttered popcorn is wafting down Dock Street again, as the Landmark Ritz Five movie theater opened for business again Friday afternoon.
Business was slow at, first, with just 14 customers entering between 5 and 6:30 p.m.
That didn’t count concerned fans who stopped by to check in on the somewhat faded art house movie theater.
“When I saw it closed, it was very upsetting,” said Megan Corry, an artist who grew up and lives in South Jersey, but has been coming to the Ritz Five since she was 17.
The Philadelphia Department of Licenses and Inspections had ordered the theater to cease operations on Aug. 25 after it failed two city inspections.
Corry has been monitoring the fate of one of her favorite theaters and stopped by Friday evening before her next engagement. She is cheered by the theater’s reopening and hoped to return soon for Willem Dafoe’s new movie Late Fame.
“That’s why I was peeking [in the window], I was worried about what’s been happening,” said Corry, who last saw the indie horror megahit Obsession at the Ritz Five. “It’s one of the few places where you can see very amazing film. It’s a hub.”
On Wednesday, the Cohen Media Group said that it “worked in partnership with the local fire department to address all concerns and ensure the theater is safe to reopen.”
The theater must be under a fire watch to remain open, L&I spokesperson Kandyce Stukes said Wednesday. That involves continuously patrolling the building to look out for signs of fire.
Property managers for the theater delivered an appeal to the Board of Safety and Fire Prevention, which is an advisory board to the city’s fire department. They were provided with a variance and can open the theater, Stukes said.
An inspection in March found seven violations. Those included failure to obtain a permit to install a fire alarm system, share documentation that fabrics are flame retardant, ensure that exit doors fully “self-close and latch,” and certify emergency lighting. The theater was also found to be missing a valid food license.
The theater again failed an inspection on Aug. 11. A cease operations notice on the doors of the theater in late August noted that it needed to obtain an electrical permit and install a fire-alarm system.
A cease operations notice was posted to the theater doors in August, but has now been taken down after the owners successfully appealed. Ariana Perez-Castells
The notice had been removed Friday, although staffers were still peeling the remnants off the front door. They said they were unable to comment, but noted that doors had opened at 2 p.m. and business was slow because many customers did not realize they had reopened.
Tickets for Friday’s movies were available to purchase online, including a 9:45 p.m. viewing of The Odyssey and a 7:15 p.m. showing of indie chiller It Ends.
Anne Harvey lives just down the block from the Ritz Five, and said she just noticed it had reopened and rushed to get tickets to the 6:30 showing of The Odyssey, Christopher Nolan’s retelling of Homer’s epic.
“I had seen it was shutting down, and it was extremely dismaying,” said Harvey. “I hope it can maintain. I know it seems like a hard business these days, but it’s such a nice amenity for the neighborhood. If you like to walk to the movies in five minutes, like me, it’s a great deal.”
The Phillies’ season really turned three nights earlier.
It was April 25, a Friday in Atlanta, when Zack Wheeler returned to the mound several weeks earlier than most people expected. He allowed two runs in five innings, and, not coincidentally, the Phillies snapped a 10-game losing streak.
Wheeler’s recovery from thoracic outlet syndrome has been remarkable. Last September, he had surgery to remove a rib to relieve a compressed vein. Not only did he make it back, but he went 10-2 with a 2.16 ERA through his first 16 starts.
But Wheeler stumbled after the All-Star break, with a six-start stretch in which he posted an 8.51 ERA. The low point came last week in Seattle, when he gave up eight runs on four homers and five walks in four innings.
A dive into Wheeler’s biomechanics revealed that he was holding his glove two inches lower than usual, causing him to overrotate through his delivery and follow through toward the third-base on-deck circle rather than directly to the plate.
Zack Wheeler has a 7.12 ERA in seven starts since the All-Star Break.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
And although Wheeler pitched better last Sunday in Anaheim, Calif. — one run in six innings against the Angels — he hesitated to declare that his problems are solved.
“I’m still not out of it,” he said.
Many of the biggest starts of Wheeler’s career, including his major league debut in 2013, have come against his hometown Braves. He will have another big one Saturday night, if only to prove that he’s back on track after the midseason toe-stub.
Wheeler is 11-5 with a 3.31 ERA and 154 strikeouts in 130⅓ innings. If he’s back on track, it would round out a formidable top-of-the-rotation trio with lefties Cristopher Sánchez and Jesús Luzardo.
“It felt like they found some little things that were going on,” Mattingly said of Wheeler’s adjustments before the Angels start. “None of us thought that he was way off or anything else. We knew it was going to be a small adjustment in there somewhere, and the pitching guys seemed to do a nice job of finding that.
“So, hopefully that was a confidence-builder from that standpoint, and then just we have building blocks to go through the rest of the way.”
Bryson Stott was a scratch for Friday’s game because of “a personal matter.”Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
Stott scratched
The Phillies scratched third baseman Bryson Stott less than an hour before Friday night’s game because of “a personal matter,” according to the team.
Edmundo Sosa, slated to start in left field against Braves ace lefty Chris Sale, moved to third base. Bryan De La Cruz was inserted in left field, giving the Phillies another right-handed hitter against Sale.
In what amounts to wishful thinking given the looming labor unrest that threatens to delay the 2027 season, Major League Baseball released the schedule for spring training.
The Phillies would play their first exhibition game Feb. 19 against the Tigers in Lakeland, Fla., one day before facing the Blue Jays at home in Clearwater, Fla. Sixteen of the Phillies’ 30 Grapefruit League games would be played at BayCare Ballpark, including the annual St. Patrick’s Day game on March 17 against the Orioles.
After the spring finale on March 22, the Phillies would break camp and open the season three days later on the road in Washington. The home opener is scheduled for April 1.
Left unsaid: The owners are expected to lock out the players Dec. 1 once the collective bargaining agreement expires. The sides are at odds over several issues, notably the implementation of a salary cap, with the possibility of a prolonged work stoppage and missed games.
Five years ago, a new agreement was agreed upon after a 99-day lockout that left rosters frozen for most of the offseason. Spring training was delayed until March 13; the season started April 8, and teams squeezed in 162 games.
Phillies right fielder Adolis García tore the lat muscle beneath his right shoulder on a throw on June 10 in Toronto. Chris Young
Extra bases
Right fielder Adolis García rejoined the Phillies for the weekend and was on the field before the game. He had season-ending surgery in June on a torn lat muscle in his back, beneath his right shoulder. “The guys love him,” Mattingly said. “So, it’s good to have him around.” García, who signed a one-year contract for $10 million, batted .195 with seven homers and a .599 OPS in 67 games. … Phillies players, staff, coaches, and grounds crew wore purple T-shirts during batting practice to support Joe Torre’s Safe At Home Foundation, which raises awareness of domestic abuse and violence. … Wheeler will be opposed by Braves lefty Martín Pérez (8-8, 3.05 ERA) at 6:05 p.m. Saturday. The pitching matchups for the rest of the series: Sunday — Aaron Nola (6-10, 4.93) vs. righty Tyler Mahle (5-10, 4.25); Monday — Jesús Luzardo (13-5, 3.02) vs. righty Grant Holmes (9-5, 3.62).
Dale Caldwell, lieutenant governor of New Jersey, is reportedly under internal investigation for allegations involving his behavior toward women and possible ethics violations.
The New Jersey Globe reported Friday that Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s administration called on Christopher Porrino, a former New Jersey attorney general, to conduct the investigation.
Porrino served as attorney general under Republican Gov. Chris Christie. The New Jersey Globe reported that Porrino and a former federal prosecutor who is now one of his law partners have been conducting interviews for the investigation.
Sean Higgins, spokesperson for Sherrill, said in an emailed statement Friday that the administration “cannot confirm or deny potential personnel matters.”
Higgins also said: “The Governor would take any reports of inappropriate behavior or misconduct extremely seriously and expects our public officials to hold themselves to the highest standards.”
Caldwell could not be reached for comment.
Anthony Bucco, the Republican leader in the New Jersey Senate, said in a statement posted on social media that Caldwell “should temporarily step down from his duties as Lieutenant Governor.”
Bucco said the reported allegations against Caldwell “are deeply concerning and disappointing. Our elected officials must hold themselves to the highest possible standards of conduct, character, and integrity. The public deserves transparency and timely information about matters of this magnitude.”
Bucco added that “there are legitimate questions about why this information was not disclosed sooner and why we are just learning about this late on Friday heading into a holiday weekend.”
The New Jersey Globe reported that the investigation had already begun when Caldwell assumed the duties last week of acting governor while Sherrill was out of state.
The allegations include a purported offer of state jobs, the news outlet reported. No other details were provided.
Sherrill selected Caldwell as her running mate in July 2025. He was the first Black president of Centenary University, a small, private institution in North Jersey, and pastor at Covenant United Methodist Church in Plainfield, Union County. He also served on the New Brunswick school board for 26 years, including six as president.
“Mikie Sherrill and I represent a different kind of leadership that sees possibilities, not a blind commitment to doing things the way they’ve always been done,” Caldwell said after his selection was announced.
Caldwell graduated from Princeton University in 1982 and from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1988. He received a doctorate in education administration from Seton Hall University in 2017.
Philadelphia health officials confirmed the city’s first four human cases of West Nile virus for the year Friday, and asked residents to take some simple actions to help stop the disease’s spread.
“We all have a role in preventing the spread of West Nile Virus,” said Health Commissioner Palak Raval-Nelson in a statement. “And it’s easy to do: Wear mosquito repellent and dump out standing water.”
Spread by bites from infected mosquitoes, West Nile virus is a neurologic infection that often presents no symptoms in people, health officials said. However, it can result in a fever and flu-like symptoms in about 20% of cases, and rarely may cause swellings of the brain and spinal cord.
Officials said that people aged 50 and older have the highest risk of developing severe disease. Those experiencing symptoms such as unexplained fatigue, weakness, and headaches should contact their doctor. There is no specific treatment or vaccine for West Nile virus, though rest, fluids, and pain medication can ease symptoms.
Health officials did not provide further information about the human cases of the disease it had identified.
West Nile virus is common in Pennsylvania, and has been detected in mosquitoes in a majority of the state’s 67 counties, according to the state Department of Environmental Protection’s website. Two human cases of the ailment were previously identified in Allegheny County, city health officials said.
Mosquitoes breed in standing water, and their spread can be lessened by periodically emptying any container outdoors — such as flowerpots, birdbaths, and buckets — that may become a breeding site. Additionally, health officials recommended that residents clear clogged rain gutters and aerate ornamental ponds, among other steps.
Residents, officials said, should also wear insect repellent when outdoors, wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants when possible, and limit outdoor activity at dawn, dusk, and the early evening.
The health department’s Vector Control Services program, meanwhile, works to keep the spread of mosquitoes down by treating public areas and storm drains with insecticide. This summer, workers have treated more than 50,000 storm drains with larvicide to keep mosquitoes from breeding, officials said.
Mosquito-related complaints can be reported to the health department’s mosquito hotline at 215-685-9000.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s latest update Friday on the toll of measles outbreaks nationally continued to omit two measles-related deaths reported last week in Pennsylvania, extending an unusual standoff between federal and state health authorities.
The agency instead placed an asterisk in a column where, if reported, the Pennsylvania deaths would be recorded as the first in the nation this year. A note below stated that ”available information does not establish whether measles caused or contributed to the deaths or whether the individuals died from other causes while infected with measles.”
The omission marked a clear departure from the agency’s normal operating procedure, as President Donald Trump’s administration and Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro continue to clash over how the deaths were characterized.
States report to the CDC cases and deaths for dozens of infectious diseases, such as hepatitis, influenza, and measles. The CDC has long compiled the data into reports that help epidemiologists monitor outbreaks and risk, and can inform lawmakers’ efforts to improve public health policy.
In a rare break from that norm, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. asked the CDC’s newly appointed director, Erica Schwartz, to omit the Pennsylvania deaths, according to Reuters.
The move escalated a spat between Kennedy, a longtime anti-vaccine activist, and Shapiro, which began when the governor announced the deaths last Tuesday at a news conference in Lancaster County.
Shapiro accused Kennedy of spreading vaccine misinformation that has contributed to declining measles vaccination rates, and Kennedy suggested that Shapiro’s office had fabricated the deaths to win political points.
Public health experts warned that the ongoing political controversy sows doubt in what was designed as an unimpeachable health resource — national disease surveillance — and detracts from the ultimate public health goal of limiting the spread of illness.
“Every data point is a broken family, a mother crying, a future that’s lost. Instead of grieving that and making sure it never happens again, you’re debating the mechanism of death,” said Brian C. Castrucci,an epidemiologist and president and CEO of de Beaumont Foundation, a community health philanthropy outside Washington, D.C.
The Pennsylvania Department of Healthreported the two deaths to the CDC the morning of Aug. 25, and professional staff at the CDC “did not express any concern regarding the information,” Neil Ruhland, a department spokesperson, said in an email.
He described the communication that followed as an extension of the department’s ongoing communications around the state’s outbreak:
The next day, the state health department discussed the details of each case with CDC professional staff. The CDC requested records containing identifiable information, which the health department did not share, consistent with its past practices.
Shapiro has cited state privacy laws, and the need to protect the privacy of the families involved to ensure community trust, with limiting his ability to release more information.
Instead, the health department asked the CDC for a case report form to provide de-identified information. The health department says it has not yet received that form.
Pennsylvania health officials have a measles outbreak response meeting with the CDC every other week, and most recently met on Tuesday.
“CDC professional staff have repeatedly made it clear that it has been supportive of DOH’s measles outbreak response,” Ruhland said.
The CDC’s website says the agency plans to update its measles death count once it has completed its review of Pennsylvania’s cases. But officials have not said what additional information they need from Pennsylvania or when they expect to complete their review.
The agency did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.
Joshua Sharfstein, a physician who served as Maryland’s Health Secretary from 2011 to 2014, said he has never heard of the CDC omitting disease surveillance data reported by states.
“I wouldn’t say it’s off the table for the CDC to want more information,” but the way the agency went about it in Pennsylvania’s case is unusual, said Sharfstein, who also served as Baltimore’s health commissioner and currently works as a health policy professor at Johns Hopkins University.
He said he would expect the agency to report Pennsylvania’s data, while alerting officials they are looking for more information. “It’s supposed to be a collaborative relationship,” Sharfstein said.
Pennsylvania officials initially provided no additional information to the public about the two people who had died, other than they were unvaccinated Lancaster County residents.
The state’s decision to call the deaths measles-associated came after the state health department’s “epidemiology team thoroughly investigated and verified both individuals tested positive for measles,” Pennsylvania Health Secretary Debra Bogen said in a statement.
Pennsylvania defines a measles-associated death as deaths of people where evidence of measles is present, even when the disease may not be assessed by the coroner as the immediate cause of death.
An alert about measles is posted in the window of a medical clinic in Lancaster.Gillian McGoldrick / Staff
Lancaster County’s coroner, Stephen Diamantoni, added confusion last week when he contradicted the state’s account.
Diamantoni, a physician and elected Republican, said his office was investigating one death involving a newborn and said postmortem testing showed the infant had a measles infection acquired before birth. But he said he did not believe measles contributed tothe child’s death.
The child died shortly after birth of a lacerated spleen with trauma to the torso, Diamantoni said. He did not know what caused the lacerated spleen or trauma.
He later said measles was noted on the infant’s death certificate as a significant condition “contributing to death but not resulting in the underlying cause,” because the baby tested positive for measles.
On Friday, he said a 6-week-old Amish infant who was being treated for a deadly genetic disorder had died of measles in mid-August. He said he did not know if the case was the second measles-related death Pennsylvania reported, saying that he reported the death to the CDC on Friday.
Pennsylvania’s health department said it was aware of the information the coroner reported Friday and had “no new measles-associated deaths to report at this time.”
Shapiro reshared a news article about the death on X. In his post, he blamed Kennedy for creating “a firestorm of conspiracy theories that denied these families’ pain, invaded their privacy, and undermined public health.”
“It’s long past time for RFK to stop playing games with people’s lives, report these deaths accurately on the CDC dashboard, and heed the guidance of actual medical experts so people get accurate information to discuss with their trusted healthcare providers and can best protect themselves and their children against this deadly disease,” he wrote.
Kennedy fired back, highlighting the Lancaster coroner’s disclosures, in another X post later on Friday: “The facts emerging now demonstrate why CDC waited for the evidence rather than allowing political grandstanding to dictate its reporting.”
Politicizing public health
Fixating on whether a patient died “because of” or “with” measles inevitably politicizes the issue and does not benefit people’s health, Jake Scott, a clinical associate professor of infectious diseases at Stanford University, wrote in an opinion piece published online by the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota.
Measles usually kills through the complications it causes, such as pneumonia, encephalitis, secondary bacterial infections, and pregnancy complications, he wrote.
“A death tally that can be altered by officials whom it embarrasses will not be trusted by anyone, including the officials who edited it,” Scott wrote.
Diamantoni, Lancaster’s coroner, told The Inquirer earlier this week he did not want “to be dragged into a political fray.”
“Our role in our office is not political in any way. We’re focused on determining the cause and manner of death, and using objective and scientific methods to do that,” he said. “We’ve worked hard to be sure that the information we’re providing is based on objective things.”
More than a week into the controversy, lawmakers continue to take political jabs.
“I am disgusted the Trump administration is putting Pennsylvania families at risk by spreading dangerous misinformation and politicizing these tragic deaths,” U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle (D., Phila.) said in a statement.
Pennsylvania’s highest-ranking federal lawmakers — U.S. Sens. John Fetterman, a Democrat, and Dave McCormick, a Republican — did not respond to a request for comment Thursday about the state’s standoff with the CDC. McCormick voted to approve Schwartz as the new CDC director; Fetterman voted against.
U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R., Bucks), the only federal GOP lawmaker in the Philadelphia region, also did not respond to a request for comment. Neither did U.S. Rep. Lloyd Smucker, the Republican who represents Lancaster County and who blasted Shapiro last week for not providing more information about the measles-associated deaths.
Cianey Brown, 16, receives an immunization last month during the School District of Philadelphia’s sixth annual Back-To-School Bus Tour stop at Marcus Foster Memorial Stadium. Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
Measles outbreak continues
Public health leaders, doctors, and epidemiologists say that finding a path forward has become an increasingly partisan issue at a time of rising vaccine hesitancy.
Medical experts will be tasked with trying to rebuild trust in health authorities in order to contain a rapidly spreading outbreak.
“How can any American citizen begin to make decisions about their health right now, in the milieu of misinformation and falsehoods we’ve created?” said Castrucci, de Beaumont’s CEO. “We have to get back to a point where at least the data can be trustworthy.
As of Friday, there have been 577 measles cases in Pennsylvania, including 115 reported within the last week, according to the state health department’s online measles dashboard.
Only South Carolina has reported more measles cases than Pennsylvania so far this year, according to the CDC’s measles webpage. There have been 3,134 cases nationally this year, the agency reported in its latest update Friday.
Pennsylvania’s measles-associated deaths remain an asterisk.
Inquirer staff writers Sam Janesch and Aubrey Whelan contributed to this article.
Most surprise parties are reserved for birthdays, retirement, and other special occasions. Most people don’t throw surprise parties for football players who fail to make their team’s 53-man roster.
But that’s not the case for Dolan’s Bar in Ridley Park.
The bar organized a surprise party for Uar Bernard on Thursday night to show support from Eagles fans to the seventh-round draft pick, who is now a member of the Eagles’ practice squad.
Bernard’s connection to the community surrounding Dolan’s Bar goes back as far as his connection with the Eagles: the last day of the NFL draft on April 25.
Hungry Dawgs, a tailgate group that PJ Dolan, the owner of Dolan’s Bar, is involved with has an Eagles Autism Foundation section. Last year, Hungry Dawgs finished second in Eagles Autism fundraising for the year, finishing only behind Jason Kelce’s Team 62. As a result, Jamie Aldridge, who runs this section of Hungry Dawgs, and her two sons were invited to the draft in Pittsburgh.
It was there they first met Bernard, and Aldridge’s 6-year-old son, Damian, became amazed by Bernard and his home country of Nigeria. He began watching videos about the country on YouTube, and the two met again during training camp.
On Sunday, when the 53-man roster was announced, few took the news of Bernard’s cut harder than Damian. Bernard’s publicist, Adrian Fox, reached out to Aldridge and Damian to come out to the Jefferson Health Training Complex to lift Bernard’s spirits.
It was then that Dolan had the idea of a pep rally at the bar to show Bernard what he’s come to mean to the city.
#Eagles fans showing up and showing out for a surprise party for DT Uar Bernard on being a Philadelphia Eagle.
“This bar’s been in business for 73 years, and I have rarely seen so much hype over somebody who’s never played a sport before, let alone just any player,” Dolan said. “The physical anomaly that he is, how grateful and humble the young man is, all of it.”
Usually, Dolan would use social media to promote big events like this. But Fox told him Bernard is always on social media. Instead, the party had to be promoted the old-fashioned way: word of mouth.
With connections to the city’s prominent sports social media figures and a “finger on that pulse,” Dolan said he was able to get word out. The only social media post he shared was a vague video of him telling followers to “trust” him that they’d want to be at the bar on Thursday night, reminding them to bring their “Birds gear.”
“I’d say 90% [of the crowd] knew what was going on that night,” Dolan said. “But we just went over [to those who didn’t], like ‘Hey, this is the deal. This is his story, if you don’t know it. Let’s give this guy a round of applause and give him a pat on the back, and know that like we have his back and we think he’s going to go far in the league.’”
By the time Bernard arrived outside the bar, the inside was “absolutely mobbed,” there were no parking spots, and the temperature inside the building had risen several degrees.
Outside, Dolan, Aldridge, and her sons greeted Bernard, offering words of encouragement before the doors opened to a crowd decked out in Eagles gear, shirts Dolan had made up that said “Uar still flying,” and Nigerian flags.
Dolan said the 6-foot-4, 306-pound defensive tackle, who has already beaten the odds to come from the NFL’s International Player Pathway program, grew misty-eyed at the showing.
“He DMed me later that night and thanked me for it, expressing how grateful he is to be in this city, in this town, and to play for a team like this,” Dolan said. “It just goes to show you like the the quality of gentlemen that this team drafts, and the organization that that team, the product that they put out is just superb.”
The support shown to Bernard is at the core of who the Philly sports fans who come through Dolan’s bar are. And for Dolan, a third-generation owner of his family’s business, it’s part of a gratitude that extends back toward the players and organization.
“There’s been times where them being in the playoffs have kept the electricity on in my place,” Dolan said. “It’s to the bones how passionate we are in this town for our sports teams. It’s a part of everything.”
Dozens of parents pushing two-seat strollers cleared paths along the sidewalk in front of the museum at 19th and Benjamin Franklin Parkway. They were all looking for a spot in the line that stretched to the corner of Cherry Street.
Small children climbed onto the building’s brick-covered grooves for a peek inside the museum as they inched closer to the museum’s doors, which opened at 10 a.m.
People waiting at the side entrance at the Academy of Naturals Sciences of Drexel University on Friday, Sept. 4, 2026, in Philadelphia, Pa.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
Inside, the museum was filled with visitors snapping selfies and taking family photos in front of full-scale dinosaur displays. Children sprinted across the mezzanine floor and rolled up their sleeves for the “big-dig” fossil exhibit. Others stopped by for close encounters with turtles and other live animals, while some frolicked alongside prehistoric creatures using virtual reality.
Staff members eagerly welcomed the growing crowd, with one commenting that the attendance reminded her of pre-pandemic times.
That post-pandemic drop in visitors, along with added financial pressures linked to Drexel’s budget deficit, are the reason the museum — which opened to the public in 1828 — plans to cease operations at the end of the business day Sept. 30.
Bella Vista resident Reiss Clauson-Wolf said he brought along his 2-year-old son to experience the same “wonder” he encountered as a 4-year-old visiting the museum.
Michael Ashleigh, of Phoenixville, Pa., is with his son Otto, 5, looking at the Tyrannosaurus Rex Skull in the Dinosaur Hall at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University on Friday, Sept. 4, 2026, in Philadelphia, Pa. Michael wanted to give his son the experience he had 20 years ago when he first visited the Academy of Natural Sciences.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
The Dinosaur Hall and old-school dioramas of bison, bears, and tigers are core memories of his childhood, and he’s sad knowing his son and others won’t be able to experience it much longer.
“It’s such a joy. It’s really sad when an institution like this closes,” Clauson-Wolf said.
The museum’s last day with regular hours for the public will be Sept. 27.
Chris Bodenhamer, 39, said he didn’t know about the impending closure until he came into the museum on Friday morning. He had traveled from Miami to visit friends in the city and stopped by the museum to check out the new exhibit, “Botany of Nations,” which features historical items linked to Native American nations and explorers Lewis and Clark.
But upon hearing the news, Bodenhamer, who often visited the museum on his frequent trips to Philly, said he was devastated.
“It’s such a special place. You don’t get all of this stuff in one area. What can you do that’s better than this to replace it?” he said.
Ollie, the Leopard Tortoise around the age of 60, is being fed by Lead Animal Keeper Rachel Brown, at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University on Friday, Sept. 4, 2026, in Philadelphia, Pa.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
After hearing the news, Lancaster resident Dana Krooeck was determined to bring her two nephews to the museum before it closed. She enjoyed watching them walk the halls and engage with the exhibitions.
“They’re very hands-on, and they’re learning different stuff you don’t get a chance to learn about anywhere else,” Krooeck said.
Like Krooeck, her nephews Ethan Miegel, 10, and Benjamin Elmer, 8, said their favorite part was roaming through Dinosaur Hall.
“Everything here is awesome,” Elmer said.
“It’s an awesome museum. Why would they close it? I’m going to miss it,” said Miegel.
Families and their kids in the Outside In area where guests can pet live animals and other creatures during their visit at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University on Friday, Sept. 4, 2026, in Philadelphia, Pa.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
A rally aimed at saving the museum is planned for Tuesday at 10 a.m. in front of the Academy building at 1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway. It is being organized by Skype A Scientist founder Sarah McAnulty, a squid biologist whose nonprofit focuses on science education, as well as Philly Science Action and Green Philly.
“We have the responsibility to make sure Drexel and other decision-makers know that this isn’t something we are going to take lying down,” said McAnulty.
People walking in to see the Dinosaur Hall with various Skeletons and displays at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University on Friday, Sept. 4, 2026, in Philadelphia, Pa.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
McAnulty said she grew up in the Philadelphia area and went to the Academy frequently. It’s important not just to the city but the entire country, she said, noting its fame as the first natural history museum in the United States.
“It’s unconscionable to close the museum down to the public,” she said. “It’s the responsibility of the stewards of that museum, the Academy board, and Drexel to do whatever it takes to preserve both the collections and the public-facing museum.”
In a social media post announcing the rally, organizers called on Drexel to find a way to keep the museum open.
“At a time when climate change and science continue to be under attack, Philadelphia cannot afford to lose another institution that connects people to the natural world,” the post said. “This is an institution Philadelphia can’t afford to lose.”
“We recognize that this is an emotional time for many who care about the academy,” Drexel said in a statement in response to the announcement of the rally.
Mackenzie Guiloaune, 19, of Mount Laurel, N.J., is drawing the Kodiak Brown Bear in the display for Giants of the Alaskan Coast at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University on Friday, Sept. 4, 2026, in Philadelphia, Pa. Mackenzie often comes to the Academy to draw the various displays to help with her artist block.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
The decision to close the museum, the school said, was “not made lightly” and will “protect the collections and scientific mission at the heart of the Academy and represents an important step toward addressing the Academy’s financial challenges.”
“The Academy’s Board and Drexel leadership are committed to developing a sustainable long-term model that preserves the Academy’s scientific research enterprise and creates new, meaningful opportunities for continued public engagement and display of these natural history collections and the scientific discoveries they make possible,” the statement said.
Back at the museum, Mackenzie Guillaume, 19, said the museum’s closing is also a loss for artists, who like her, visit the museum to clear “artist’s block.”
“This is one of my favorite places to come, draw stuff, and show people,” she said.
The second-year student at Moore College of Art & Design said the full-scale replicas of animals inspire her art. The sketches she has done at the museum incorporate the details of the animals and the small “stories” embedded inside the museum’s encasings.
The outside entrance to the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University on Friday, Sept. 4, 2026, in Philadelphia, Pa.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
Guillaume said the closure felt like part of a broader trend. “I feel like I’m watching everything get stripped away. From UArts to [defaced] murals and now this,” she said.
The closure of the museum doesn’t affect the rest of the Academy, which builds and maintains the collections and conducts research, all housed inside the Parkway structure. Though not part of the new terms of the deal between Drexel and the Academy, officials said, the goal is to relocate the museum’s collections and sell the 1876 building, owned by the Academy.
Mitchell Hirsch, a Spring House resident and retired scientist, brought his son and two grandchildren into the city to visit the museum.
“This is the only dinosaur museum in all of Philadelphia, and I think its loss will be a serious one,” he said.
Speaking over the din of the noisy museum,filled with children shouting with excitement, he said that the increased attendance was evidence of the institution’s impact, and hopes it signals a brighter future for the Academy museum.
“These institutions enrich all of our lives,” he said.
A Philadelphia charter and its former CEO have agreed to pay nearly $4 million to resolve claims they discriminated against Black students in the school’s admissions lottery.
Franklin Towne Charter High School, in the Northeast, deliberately fixed its 2023 lottery to exclude students from certain majority-Black ZIP codes, Franklin Towne administrator Patrick Field told The Inquirer that year. The order to shut out those students came from Joseph Venditti, a longtime Franklin Towne CEO, who has since left the school, Field said.
The U.S. Department of Justice brought the case against Franklin Towne and Venditti after Field’s allegations surfaced.
U.S. Attorney David Metcalf announced the settlement Friday.
“Racial discrimination has no place in school admissions,” Metcalf said in a statement. “Selecting or excluding students because of their race is illegal and violates the agreements schools sign when they accept federal grant money.”
Despite signing off on the settlement, neither Franklin Towne nor Venditti admitted wrongdoing.
“Defendants deny the United States’ allegations,” court documents read.
Public schools are prohibited by federal law from discriminating against students based on race or national origin; Franklin Towne violated the federal False Claims Act by its actions, Metcalf’s office said Friday.
Franklin Towne — a public charter school funded by taxpayer dollars — must pay $3.6 million, and Venditti $275,000 from his private funds, as part of the settlement.
Part of the money will go to the U.S. government, and part to Field, whose suit raised the issue of the improprieties.
Field and Venditti could not immediately be reached for comment.
Franklin Towne’s CEO, Brianna O’Donnell, said in a statement that the school had settled allegations about past enrollment practices that “do not reflect how the school is being led or operated today.”
“We have taken the necessary steps to address this matter while maintaining our full commitment to serving our students, families, faculty and staff,” O’Donnell said, noting that the school’s operations were “continuing as normal.”
Federal officials said the school “has made significant governance changes, including replacing the Chief Executive Officer and hiring an independent third party to conduct all future admissions lotteries at the school.”
The revocation hearing’s goal, the board said at the time of the vote, was not necessarily to close Franklin Towne, but to effect change. Board officials said the only tool they possess under Pennsylvania law to trigger a public accounting of serious allegations of impropriety is a revocation hearing, which includes witnesses and evidence before an independent hearing officer.
Franklin Towne filed suit against the board, objecting to its choice of hearing officer for the revocation proceedings, which have not yet begun.
Reginald Streater, the school board president, said in a statement that the charter school’s office’s “serious concerns” about Franklin Towne admissions data over several years led to the revocation notice of the school. It’s still pending, Streater noted.
“The board is committed to striving for fair and equitable access to public education for all Philadelphia students,” Streater said in a statement. “We will continue to uphold the standards and requirements that apply to all public schools and to take action when there are concerns about compliance with those requirements.”
Staff writer Abraham Gutman contributed to this article.
NBA superstar LeBron James may not have played in college himself, but the Akron, Ohio, native is locked in for the start of Ohio State’s football season.
James, who signed with the 76ers for two years and $8 million earlier this summer, voiced the Buckeyes’ preseason hype video ahead of Saturday’s opener vs. Ball State, themed around “For Whom the Bell Tolls” by Metallica. A Sixers reference? Who knows.
“In old Ohio, there’s a team, known throughout the land, whose name is met with reverence and understanding of one thing: the bell tolls,” James said in the trailer. “Every new beginning is born from another’s reckoning. A judgment of toughness, of fight. Nothing is given; everything is earned. Once these gates close, there’s no more options. Stand before us. Woe to the vanquished.”
James has been an Ohio State fan since childhood, having grown up in northeast Ohio. He attended Ohio State’s College Football Playoff national title game vs. Notre Dame in January 2025 — as did fellow Buckeyes fan Bryce Harper.
