ARIES (March 21-April 19). To be alive is different than to feel alive. The quickening that happens today when you’re near the subject of your delight will once again help you remember the difference. Make a plan to put yourself in the path of this feeling very soon.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20). It’s the practical fixes that improve things. For instance, just a few minutes in sunshine and nature will restore vitality. And being dehydrated by just two cups can cause a mood swing in a negative direction. So, stay hydrated and stay happy.
GEMINI (May 21-June 21). Silence isn’t necessarily golden today. Don’t mistake neutrality or lack of resistance for active support. An unopened door isn’t the same as an invitation. Learn where people truly stand before you count on them.
CANCER (June 22-July 22). If knowledge is the bread of life, then action is the meat of the sandwich. Oh, how you will enjoy taking a big bite today. But one bite is not enough to nourish you. Keep at it with consistent effort until it’s finished.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). There’s always an upside, and you’re the one who sees it. Like a toddler who enjoys the box more than the toy, so optimistic is your lens that you may experience a circumstance as “all up” even when others around you see something else.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). It feels like pressing the crosswalk button to a sign that will light up the same whether it’s touched it or not. Options designed to soothe the restless need for control can feel patronizing, but what matters is that you’re in action.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). It’s OK to begin your mission for superficial reasons. Along the way, you’ll discover deeper reasons to continue. In time, your internal motivation will become stronger than any external promise of reward.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). If the problem is likely to expand, you address it while it’s small. But you don’t hand every inconvenience a megaphone. Half the battle is refusing to make a five-minute problem into an all-day one.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). If they want to help, let them. If you give too much and don’t let anyone give back, people will be robbed of the pleasure of completing the circle of reciprocity. Sometimes accepting help is the help.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). You can benefit from relationships that are unbalanced, but if this is the norm, you’re likely to get burned out by the constant work of replenishing what’s been drained from you. If they don’t reciprocate your gestures, stop gesturing.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). Talk about what’s been on your mind, but be thoughtful about who you share with. Everyone has a bias. Those who love you are the most biased. A perfect stranger or experienced professional will have a helpful point of view.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). You know you’ve forgiven someone when their name stops changing your mood. You know you’re over the pain when your mind stops defaulting to what caused it. The future is new conversations, new thought patterns and new sources of joy.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (Aug. 9). It’s your Year of Your Own Constellation. The stars are dots you can connect in any way you please, so don’t let conventionality dictate your path. You’ll lead with heart, uniqueness and a spark of whimsy that brings scattered fragments of life together in a gorgeous picture. More highlights: Joy from a darling relationship, a legendary celebration of a milestone and a revamp of domestic life. Finances transform. Capricorn and Libra adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 11, 22, 34, 8 and 1.
DEAR ABBY: I suggested to my husband that he invite his nephew “Ryan” (age 26) to stay with us. Ryan definitely needed some male direction. He was homeless, jobless and didn’t even know how to apply for a job. Ryan is not mentally challenged. He simply was never taught anything until he was thrown out on the street with no skills.
Once Ryan moved in, I realized just how big a mistake we had made. He got a job because a relative was able to get him hired without even so much as an interview. He doesn’t make enough money to move out on his own. He sleeps all day and plays video games all night anytime he’s not at work.
Ryan doesn’t shower, doesn’t do his own laundry and leaves dirty dishes all over the room he sleeps in. The room smells horrible. On top of that, my clothes closet is in that room. (There is no other option for my clothes.) I’m worried his body odor and dirty clothes will soon make all my clothes smell as well.
This was meant to be a temporary situation until Ryan had saved enough to get his own place. However, he makes no effort to save toward that end. I wouldn’t intervene if it weren’t that he is diminishing my quality of life. I was all in for helping him out, but I can no longer live under these conditions. My husband keeps saying he’ll handle it but doesn’t. It’s not my place because Ryan is his relative. I’m in desperate need of your wisdom.
— SMELLY SITUATION
DEAR SMELLY SITUATION: Ryan’s parents did their son a terrible disservice by not teaching him survival skills so he could live independently. Because you chose to take him off the streets, that task now falls to you. I say “you” because your husband doesn’t appear to have the backbone to address this. Both of you need to tell Ryan there are rules he must follow if he wants to continue living with you.
Show him how to put his clothes (and detergent) into a washing machine and to use the dryer. Tell him he must shower at least three times a week and use deodorant every day. No longer tolerate food in his room or dirty dishes left in the sink. He must eat in the dining area like a civilized person.
Also, set up a savings plan for what little money he earns so part of his paycheck can accumulate and he can finally move out on his own — even if it’s with a roommate. If he learns the lessons that you teach him, someone may actually be willing to share quarters with him. I wish you luck. Nothing will change until you assert yourself.
** ** **
DEAR ABBY: My son and I have been estranged for three years. He wants nothing more to do with me. I do not expect to see him ever again. However, I still have items of his. Do I pack up the items and have them dropped off, or what? I’m not sure what to do.
— EX-MOTHER IN ARIZONA
DEAR EX-MOTHER: If you are sure that your son is still living at the same address, box the items up and send them. That way, you can never be blamed for withholding anything from him.
Aaron Nola and Max Scherzer have battled over the years.
Saturday night marked the seventh time the two pitchers have faced head-to-head. Scherzer, 42, has been limited this year with Toronto due to injuries, and entered the game with a 7.92 ERA. He’s on a one-year deal; it’s fair to wonder if their seventh meeting could also be their last.
It was fitting in Saturday’s 7-5 extra-innings Phillies loss that they each made history. The game was momentarily paused in the second inning to celebrate the Phillies right-hander after he struck out Blue Jays catcher Brandon Valenzuela looking on a sinker.
Nola’s third strikeout of the game was the 2,000th of his career, making him the 94th pitcher in baseball history to reach the milestone. He accomplished it in his 308th start, the 10th-fastest ever.
“It’s funny I’m pitching against Scherzer,” Nola said. “I’ve got a long way to catch up with him.”
Not to be outdone, Scherzer’s called strikeout of Kyle Schwarber in the sixth inning was his 3,516th career strikeout, which moved him into 10th all-time in MLB history.
“It’s a challenge, for sure. He’s pitched a long time, and he’s still so good,” Nola said of facing Scherzer. “We’ve seen him so much, and it’s so good to watch him go out there. He’s a ultimate competitor, and obviously he’s a Hall of Famer, no doubt.”
Nola didn’t leave the game on a high note, however. He was removed in the sixth inning with a bruised right knee after Jesús Sánchez hit him with a 104.8 mph comebacker. X-rays were negative, and he said afterward he felt fine and expects to make his next start.
The Phillies had plenty of opportunities to back Nola’s milestone with a win. But Nathan Lukes’ two-out, two-run homer in the 11th proved to be the fatal blow.
“We just got to find ways to finish it off,” Trea Turner said. “I feel like it’s not always one thing to point at. We can do all things better, but it feels like late in games where we could break it open and put it away, I feel like we’re not doing that. So just keep working and try to figure that part out.”
Nola exited at 97 pitches, and was nearing the end of his outing. He had allowed two runs on six hits and had struck out eight. The Phillies were trailing, 2-0, after failing to provide him any run support.
It’s been a struggle for Nola this year. But over his last three starts, he has a 3.24 ERA. Home runs continue to be an issue, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. took him deep in the first inning. When Nola can limit the homers to solo shots, though, he gives his team a fighting chance.
But the first two times through the order, the Phillies offense was making Scherzer look like his vintage self. For five innings, he held them off the scoreboard while they mustered just three singles.
“He looked really good tonight,” Turner said. “Velo was there. I felt like his command was really good. He made it tough on us for a while, and then we got to him a little late. But he looked pretty sharp.”
The third time through the order was different. Back-to-back homers from Turner and Bryce Harper, both off sliders, brought the crowd right back into it and abruptly ended Scherzer’s night in the sixth inning. And when Blue Jays reliever Spencer Miles took the mound, hits became contagious.
Luis Arraez singled, advanced to third on a Bryson Stott double, and scored on a sacrifice fly from Brandon Marsh, dodging the tag at the plate.
Justin Crawford celebrates after hitting a sixth inning RBI triple.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Then, Justin Crawford came inches away from homering into the Phillies’ bullpen in center field. It bounced off the wall instead, and Crawford settled for an RBI triple after flying around the bases to give the Phillies a 4-2 lead.
In the eighth inning, José Alvarado coughed it up. His command was erratic — at times completely wild — and he had walked two batters but was on the verge of escaping the inning. Free-swinging Andrés Giménez fell behind 0-2 chasing two pitches outside of the zone.
But Alvarado left a sinker right down the middle for Giménez to punch a game-tying two-run double to center.
“Anytime your guys out of the pen walk guys, that makes you uncomfortable, especially late in the game,” interim manager Don Mattingly said. “Because it usually causes traffic, and the game has a better chance of spiraling on you.”
Mattingly called on Brooks Raley, Jonathan Bowlan, and Jhoan Duran to pitch an inning each in relief. Orion Kerkering took over from Alvarado in the eighth and faced one batter. With the bullpen stretched thin over the past week, that left Chase Shugart for extra innings.
With the ghost runner on second, Shugart walked Davis Schneider on five pitches in the 10th inning. He induced a soft grounder from Ernie Clement to first, but a mental lapse from Alec Bohm — who had entered as a defensive replacement for Schwarber when the Phillies were leading — at first base allowed him to reach. Bohm hesitated before tossing the ball to Shugart, and Clement beat out the throw.
“It looked a little bit indecisive,” Mattingly said. “I looked at it quickly, and I would say that’s part of it. Just not playing over there enough.”
Mattingly stood firm postgame in his decision to bring Bohm in at first over Schwarber in the eighth due to his superior infield experience. The Phillies were leading by two, and Mattingly was betting on Schwarber’s spot in the lineup not coming up again. After Toronto tied the game, Bohm flew out in the bottom of the ninth and was on deck during the final out in the 11th.
Phillies pitcher Chase Shugart covers his face after giving-up a two-run homer in the 11th inning.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
“You don’t really want it to come up. Trying to win in nine, honestly, trying to make sure the game doesn’t go past nine,” Mattingly said. “So you can always play it safe. Maybe if you don’t make a play over there, then you’re going to kick yourself for not defending. It’s going to go either way.”
Bohm’s play on the grounder from Clement was scored a hit, which loaded the bases for Giménez. He then drove in a run on a sacrifice fly. The Phillies tied it again in the bottom of the 10th on their own sacrifice fly, but couldn’t push across the go-ahead run.
Shugart had Lukes down to two strikes in the 11th before he left a sweeper belt-high for the Toronto right fielder. Lukes sent it 395 feet into the seats.
The Phillies went down in order in the bottom of the inning, sealing the series loss.
A Delaware County man who previously got in trouble for leaving lewd and threatening voicemails for U.S. Rep. Madeleine Dean pleaded guilty Wednesday to stalking a Philadelphia TV news personality.
Stephen M. Cilurso, 73, of Aldan, admitted to one count of stalking by use of the mail and one count of witness tampering before U.S. District Judge Gail A. Weilheimer in Philadelphia federal court.
Cilurso mentioned the man’s children by name in several of his threatening letters, according to the memorandum for Cilurso’s plea deal with prosecutors.
Even after Cilurso was contacted in March by law enforcement about the harassment, he continued to send letters to the TV personality — but this time he was asking the victim to help get the criminal investigation dropped, the memo said.
Cilurso reportedly did the same with Dean (D., Montgomery).
He was charged in 2021 with making threatening and lewd calls to Dean’s office because she was involved with the impeachment of Donald Trump, whom he supported in 2020. At one point, he mentioned Dean’s daughter by name.
After police began to investigate the calls, Cilurso left additional messages apologizing for his behavior and begging Dean to tell detectives to stop the investigation.
Cilurso pleaded guilty in the Dean case and was sentenced to probation, court records show.
In January, Cilurso was arrested for allegedly making threats to New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill when she was a member of Congress.
On Thursday, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office confirmed that Cilurso pleaded guilty in March to one count of fourth-degree stalking in the Sherrill case. His sentence is pending.
In the Philadelphia case, Cilurso mailed his first letter in 2019 and included homophobic comments and mentioned that he had just seen the victim with his kids.
Cilurso continued mentioning the victim’s children in subsequent letters as well as the victim’s spouse, prosecutors said.
He also threatened to release snakes around the victim’s home.
“Regarding why the snake letters were mailed, the defendant stated he saw a news segment where Victim 1 revealed on the air that he is deathly afraid of snakes,” the plea memorandum said.
“The defendant thought Victim 1’s fear of snakes was funny, so he began mailing threatening communications to Victim 1 indicating he was planning to release snakes at Victim 1’s residential property,” the memo said.
In a September 2025 letter, Cilurso again used homophobic slurs and mentioned the victim’s spouse. At the end of the letter, according to the memo, Cilurso wrote: “I hope what happened to Charlie Kirk happens to you.”
The victim received that letter about a week after Kirk, a conservative activist, was fatally shot on Sept. 10.
Prosecutors said the victim felt as if his life was in imminent danger after receiving that letter and installed security cameras around his house. He also contacted Philadelphia police, who then notified the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
After being interviewed by law enforcement in March, Cilurso sent additional letters to the man, but was now asking for his help to stop the investigation.
“I am the 73 year old scumbag who wrote you” the letters, Cilruso wrote, according to the memo.
The plea memo said Cilurso begged for the victim to “help me out of this nightmare. Please ask the FBI to drop any future charges against me … I will donate a monetary amount to your favorite charity on your behalf … [D]on’t let me go to jail again and be away from my 3 remaining cats. I love my cats as you love your [children],” he wrote, again using their actual names.
In a side note, the agents confirmed that Cilurso owned three cats.
In another letter, Cilurso admitted that an agent had come to his house and told him to stop communicating with the victim, the memo said.
In his last letter in March, according to the memo, Cilurso wrote: “I know that I told you that I would not write you again, but things have changed and not for the better for me.”
Cilurso described health problems he claimed he had, and said he would take his own life and the lives of his cats rather than go back to jail, the memo said.
As Bryce Harper builds back up as an outfielder for the first time since 2022, the Phillies are remaining cautious with him.
Interim manager Don Mattingly gave Harper a break from right field on Saturday against the Blue Jays, penciling him in the lineup at designated hitter. Kyle Schwarber made his third appearance of the season at first base, while Alec Bohm had the day off. Bryan De La Cruz started in right field.
Mattingly thinks Harper has been fine defensively in a five-game sample in the outfield so far.
“I think he looks more and more comfortable to me as he’s been out there,” Mattingly said. “The hardest thing for me is just depth perception out there. I’ve actually experienced it going from first, playing it for almost two years, and then asking me to go to left one day, and it didn’t go that well. So the depth perception thing is something that you always work on. The first step, getting angles, things like that.”
Harper made one mistake on Wednesday, failing to immediately back up a ball hit to center field in the 11th inning against the Nationals. Derek Hill crashed into the fence trying to field it and stayed on the ground, while Harper didn’t move in right field until the ball started rolling in his direction.
The delayed reaction allowed CJ Abrams to reach third on a triple. Mattingly said Harper’s lapse was a matter of not having enough reps.
“Just wasn’t in the backing that play up, which is kind of a weird play, dead center in this ballpark. It’s not the one off that wall. But other than that, he’s stayed under control,” Mattingly said.
Bryce Harper moved back to the outfield after the Phillies traded for Luis Arraez at the trade deadline.Matt Slocum
Harper is still building up his arm, and he made a few strong throws on Friday night against Toronto. Late in games when the Phillies are leading, Mattingly has taken Harper out for a defensive replacement to give him an inning off his feet.
Rest and days at designated hitter are going to be important for keeping Harper, 33, healthy the rest of the season.
“I still think we’re going to have to be careful,” Mattingly said. “It’s a read that kind of goes back into our medical meetings every day, how he’s feeling and how everything’s going. There’s going to be days if he’s more sore, had more running. They’re tracking. We track everything nowadays, so we’re going to know if he’s been on his feet more.”
The day off for Bohm was preplanned to get Schwarber in the field, Mattingly said, and had nothing to do with his performance on Friday night. With the bases loaded and the Phillies trailing by one run in the ninth, Bohm grounded into a force out at home on the first pitch he saw. After the final out, Bohm was visibly frustrated in the Phillies dugout.
“I trust Alec,” Mattingly said. “I know there’s been a lot of talk about him, and obviously today’s a day where we had a chance last night to do something. But he wasn’t the only guy that didn’t get a hit in the right spot.”
Mattingly said he thinks Saturday could be a good opportunity for Bohm to get a day off, but going forward he is not considering scaling back Bohm’s playing time. Bohm is hitting .225 this season with a .642 OPS.
Alec Bohm is hitting .225 this season with a .642 OPS. Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
“I don’t expect to go away from him,” Mattingly said. “He’s been really good around the bag. Over the course of the year, there’s been some ups and downs. There’s been some good sections and some sections that haven’t looked as good, but for the most part, he’s been a guy that’s driven in some big runs for us.
“Reset is not a great word, I don’t think, for this situation. I think it’s more this was a normal day that we were going to do. But I do think the day’s not bad for him from the standpoint of bodywise, and just a day off in this stretch.”
Extra bases
Andrew Painter threw a bullpen session Saturday and remains on track to make his next scheduled start on Monday after exiting his previous outing with hamstring tightness. … Jesús Luzardo (10-5, 3.36 ERA) is scheduled to start Sunday’s series finale against Toronto right-hander Shane Bieber (3-2, 5.11).
The Eagles held the eighth practice of their 2026 training camp on Saturday at the Jefferson Health Training Complex. Here were my observations from Day 8 (and links to Days 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7):
Beef Jurgens
Cam Jurgens left practice early for a second straight day. He wasn’t listed on the Eagles’ injury report because he started Saturday as a full participant. But Jurgens walked off late into the workout with a medical staffer. He was dealing with some heat exhaustion, from what I understand. It’s been oppressively humid the last two days. The Eagles moved practice up 30 minutes partly due to weather conditions and a planned two-hour scrimmage. Running backs Dameon Pierce and Elijah Mitchell also departed early.
The following players remained out: wide receiver DeVonta Smith (hamstring), receiver Makai Lemon (hamstring), receiver Britain Covey (hamstring), edge rusher Keyshawn James-Newby (ankle), and safety Cole Wisniewski (hamstring). Receiver Danny Gray was also absent after suffering a concussion on Friday. Linebacker Chance Campbell (groin) was limited.
Line ’em up
Lane Johnson was back in team drills a day after returning from a four-practice absence. The right tackle, who later announced that this season would likely be his last after 13 years, split time with rookie Markel Bell. Left guard Landon Dickerson took a few more repetitions than Johnson, but he was spelled by Drew Kendall.
Here’s how the lines looked during the scrimmage:
Kendall played center after Jurgens left and will likely be his backup when the season starts. The Eagles have had him mostly at guard in camp.
The Eagles have likewise had Willie Lampkin more at guard recently, already knowing his abilities at center.
Tackle Hollin Pierce, for whatever reason, didn’t participate in the scrimmage, as far as I could tell.
Battle royal
We got our first extended set of one-on-ones between the linemen. Here were some standouts on the offensive side:
Mailata effectively steered edge Nolan Smith beyond the pocket on an outside speed rush, and then balled him up when Smith tried to go inside on the second rep.
Eagles offensive tackle Jordan Mailata got the best of Nolan Smith during Saturday’s one-on-ones between the offensive and defensive lines.Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
Bell didn’t cow to edge Jalyx Hunt. Bell handled a power move on the first rush. On the second, he got his hands quickly on Hunt, but lost his grasp. It’s early, but Bell could be the future at right tackle.
Lampkin has held up at guard despite his size disadvantage. He owned defensive tackle Gabe Hall on back-to-back reps. He later won at center vs. Zion Wilson. Lampkin’s footwork is superior.
John Ojukwu had relative success against Hunt. He got knocked off balance at the top of Hunt’s rush, but recovered. You can see why the Eagles have him ahead of projects like Myles Hinton and Cameron Williams.
Mano a mano
Here were some of the defensive line standouts in one-on-ones:
Hunt appeared to get Lane Johnson with an inside move before he faced Bell. I think we can chalk the future Hall of Famer’s apparent loss up to rust.
Defensive tackle Ty Robinson used a club-swim move to get past Kendall. He tried something similar on the next turn, but to little avail. Byron Young seemed to get the upper hand vs. Jake Majors on both attempts.
While the starters generally don’t go as hard as the backups — there’s almost an unwritten code about showing the other up in one-on-ones — I thought there was good back-and-forth between Jalen Carter and Tyler Steen, Jordan Davis and Jurgens, and Moro Ojomo and Landon Dickerson.
Smith had more success against Fred Johnson than he did against Mailata. Smith disengaged quickly from the tackle’s attempt to lock him up with his hands on their second clash.
Smith may not be the best rusher in isolated matchups, but he’s violent setting the edge, effective when he drops in coverage, and always gives effort. He notched a sack in team drills that could partially be attributed to his relentlessness.
Eagles linebacker Zach Baun intercepted Jalen Hurts during Saturday’s scrimmage. Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
Linebacker corps
Jihaad Campbell popped off the screen in the early portion of the scrimmage. The linebacker completely knocked Jurgens on his rear on an early run play. Later, Campbell fended off Steen at the second level and touched up running back Saquon Barkley. On the next play, he two-hand touched tight end Dallas Goedert after a sliding catch.
I counted three more run plays in which Campbell was involved during the set. He did get washed out by Jurgens at one point. And in the “backed-up” period, he hesitated on a run blitz, and Barkley simply cut to the left and ran through the vacated gap.
Zack Baun was equally impressive. He made the stop on Barkley’s first tote. He often teamed up with Campbell on other run stops. Baun also intercepted quarterback Jalen Hurts on a deflected pass in a two-minute drill. He correctly anticipated a later throw and nearly had another pick, but receiver Elijah Moore somehow escaped with the catch.
Barkley appeared to be energized by the scrimmage. It was tough sledding on the ground early on against maybe the best interior D-line in the league (more on that later), but he had his moments. He motored up field after a Goedert wham block on a split zone run. He powered inside the 10-yard line and kicked the ball forward when it was spotted shorter than he liked. On the next play, Barkley ran from Carter and into the end zone. Was it a touchdown? He celebrated like it was. Carter just laughed.
Eagles running back Saquon made some standout plays during the scrimmage, including a touchdown run on Saturday.Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
Tank Bigsby found daylight when he got time with the first unit. He fumbled an exchange with Hurts on one play, though. Cooper DeJean pushed him to the ground on a later rush. Bigsby pancaked cornerback Ambry Thomas with a block in the backed-up period. But on the next play, Bigsby got knocked to the ground by the blitzing Jeremiah Trotter Jr. He held onto the linebacker’s leg for dear life, but coach Nick Sirianni saw the whole thing and flagged him for holding.
Passing brass
Hurts had another solid day as a passer. While receiver Dontayvion Wicks was a favorite target early in camp, Moore has recently seen a lot of throws come his way out of the slot. I still feel the receiver has an uphill climb with Lemon assured a roster spot. It’s not like Moore can play on special teams.
Hollywood Brown had several grabs, too. Hurts found Wicks downfield on an in-breaking route. It was a good call vs. the coverage. A play later, the quarterback checked down to tight end Johnny Mundt off a naked bootleg.
Hurts rebounded from the pick to Baun. He squirted outside after the pocket collapsed and threw a jump ball that Goedert pulled in over Campbell in the end zone. On the two-point try, Hurts benefited from good pass protection and found Moore alone for the conversion.
The Eagles’ D-line, led by Jalen Carter (98) dominated at times on Saturday.Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
Interior defense
As mentioned earlier, the D-line dominated at times. Carter has been scary good. He didn’t bite on misdirection and pressured Hurts into a throwaway. Carter later slipped Jurgens and forced an erratic throw.
Davis clogged the middle on several runs and penetrated past Steen to get to Barkley in a backed-up situation. Ojomo may have had the best day. He pressured Hurts on rushes that could have resulted in sacks.
It almost isn’t fair when Ojomo lines up with the second unit. He got to Pierce in the backfield for a loss. A few plays later, he put Michael Jordan on skates with a bull rush. He beat Majors a set later and hurried quarterback Andy Dalton out of the pocket.
This and that
Marcus Epps took most of the snaps at safety alongside Drew Mukuba, but Michael Carter II continued to get looks. Carter had an early pass breakup with the second unit. Robinson got some first-team snaps. Arnold Ebiketie has consistently rotated in with the starters, but A.J. Epenesa also got some time at edge.
Eagles rookie tight end Eli Stowers (left) had four catches on Saturday.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
Dalton was first up with the twos over Tanner McKee. Rookie tight end Eli Stowers had an early drop, but rebounded and finished with four catches. Receiver Darius Cooper made a diving grab near the sideline on a Dalton pass, but was ruled out. McKee found Cam Latu a few times, one time when the tight end released after initially blocking an edge. Safety J.T. Gray had a tackle for loss.
Extra points
Rookie quarterback Cole Payton tried to throw the ball away during the third-team period, but safety Maximus Pulley somehow reeled in an interception. Payton responded later by marching the offense to a touchdown when he hit running back Carson Steele out of the backfield. … The defense won the scrimmage, 54-45. … Jake Elliott was a perfect 6-for-6 on kicks ranging from about 33 to 47 yards. He’s missed just one attempt in organized periods. … Owner Jeffrey Lurie attended his first practice of the summer. … Phillies ace Zack Wheeler and his family were guests, as was former Phillie Shane Victorino. … The Eagles are off Sunday. They return to practice on Monday.
Christine Barnabic had already run a 5K at Belmont Plateau on Saturday morning when, still in her running gear, she hopped on her scooter and headed from her home in Fairmount to the Philadelphia Zoo. Her purse held commemorative pencils and a tattered punch card.
“It’s just really neat to recognize these firsts in America,” Barnabic, 42, said.
The Philadelphia Zoo, for its part, was the first public zoo to open in the United States, in 1874. It is just one stop along the Philadelphia Historic District’s “52 Weeks of Firsts” events that celebrate Philly’s history and cultural significance by showcasing things that happened here first.
Amanda Meiluch displays her hat adorned with pins for America’s 250th as part of the city’s 52 Weeks of Firsts celebrations Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026.Brett Sholtis
She started posting selfies taken at each firstival and was stunned to learn she had won a prize pack including a Slinky, a record of old songs, tickets to the Betsy Ross House and Eastern State Penitentiary, and free admission to adult circus classes — each gift celebrating a historic milestone that happened in Philly.
Barnabic said she is no history expert, but she is an enthusiast. She manages a company that does fitness tours for people who are in town for conferences or staying at hotels. To her, checking off the firstivals also boosted her knowledge.
“And people are very friendly here,” she said.
Todd Marcocci at Under the Sun Productions has been coordinating the events for the historic district. He said he knows at least four people who have attended all 32 events so far.
The firstivals are often held at popular public locations, and many, like Barnabic, have been drawn in and kept coming back, Marcocci said. The zoo commemoration, for example, was held near the Ferris wheel, which is open to the public, no ticket required.
“It’s been great, because each week there is variety. It’s beyond education. You think you know a lot about history, but everyone learns something here,” Marcocci said.
He has his own side quest: He is gathering commemorative items from all of the firstivals that he plans to give to the Historical Society of Pennsylvania for posterity.
These days, Arnold leads history tours a couple of days a week for Grim Philly. He said he enjoys showing people the U.S. post office, the First Continental Congress, the first use of the phrase “United States of America,” and the invention of the Slinky, which can all be traced back to a four-block area in Old City.
Artist Gwenn Seemel’s No. 1 captures many of the Philadelphia Zoo’s first milestones.Gwenn Seemel and Colibrà Workshop
“It’s just wonderful. As I say to my tourists, everything started here,” Arnold said.
For anyone feeling left out, 20 more firstivals remain on the calendar. They highlight everything from the first people to live in the region (at Penn Museum’s new Native North America Gallery) to the first modern detective story, “The Murders in the Rue Morgue,” written in 1841 by then-Philadelphia resident Edgar Allan Poe.
(And yes, Philly invented cheesesteaks and water ice, according to the historic district, and forthcoming food-themed celebrations are on the list, too.)
For the firstival diehards, the weekly events have also fostered a kind of community, said Amanda Meiluch, who took the train in from Penndel to volunteer at the event.
She did not start out as a volunteer, but after a few weeks, she decided to make it official.
In the process, the retired accountant has befriended other regulars — one of whom gave her a hat after dealing with a particularly sunny day. A week later, they saw each other again, and her friend was delighted to see that Meiluch had adorned the hat with pins celebrating the city’s history.
“She made me happy. And I made her happy. That’s all you can do in this world,” Meiluch said.
The person who set up the botched renovation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington is the manager at President Donald Trump’s golf club in Bedminster, N.J., according to an investigation by the New York Times.
The Times found that David Schutzenhofer, who has run the Trump Organization’s golf club in North Jersey since 2006, was chosen by Trump to lead the renovation of the national landmark, which had leaked for years and was full of algae.
The Times reported that Schutzenhofer does not have formal training in architecture or engineering and is Trump’s private employee, but that the golf club manager “played an off-the-books role in government decisions” regarding the project.
The company that Schutzenhofer chose to do the renovation partnered with a company that enlisted the help of a third company that had never won a government contract, and applied the pool’s lining that later peeled away.
Charles Birnbaum, president of the nonprofit Cultural Landscape Foundation, told the Times that paying millions of dollars to a first-time contractor to undertake a plan orchestrated by a golf-club manager to fix a national landmark was “like asking the museum guard to restore a painting in the Met.”
In January, Schutzenhofer attended the World of Concrete trade show in Las Vegas in search of ideas for fixing the Reflecting Pool, according to the Times. Vendors recommended he call Rodney Jarboe, president of Creative Polymers, a company based in Missouri.
Jarboe told the Times he first spoke with Schutzenhofer in March and was told the president wanted the work done in time for the Fourth of July, which Jarboe called “a very tight deadline.”
He said Schutzenhofer decided to coat the Reflecting Pool with a polyurea liner, but Trump’s tariffs made getting polyurea coatings difficult. So Jarboe partnered with a California-based company called Rhino Linings, which then got a Virginia-based company called Atlantic Industrial Coatings to help apply the coating.
Soon after the Trump administration said the renovations were finished in early June, the blue lining began to peel. Algae also returned. The Reflecting Pool was then drained so it could be repaired.
Spokespeople for the Trump administration defended the project in statements to the Times. Neither Schutzenhofer nor Rhino Linings responded to questions about their roles, according to the Times. Atlantic said in a statement that a “very small part” of the liner needed repairs but otherwise declined to comment.
Trump has claimed without evidence that vandalism was behind the damage to the Reflecting Pool. But in a court filing, Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, admitted that “the damage was the result of a botched installation.”
A judge this week dismissed felony charges against Olympic canoeist David Hearn after he was accused of vandalizing the Reflecting Pool. And Pirro has moved to dismiss cases against several others.
Cole Hamels was at the plate and Charlie Manuel was the manager in the dugout, but it wasn’t 2008.
While that was a familiar sight until 2013, it made Tommy Lasorda Field at Meiklejohn Stadium on the University of Pennsylvania campus feel like a time machine Saturday.
The inaugural Sluggball All-Star Classic featured two teams of former Phillies. Manuel managed one team, and 1980 World Series champion Larry Bowa managed the other. There was also Team Sluggball, which consisted of what Ruben Amaro Jr., one of the cofounders of Sluggball and a former Phillies player and general manager, called “average Joes.”
Along with Hamels, Team Manuel featured six-time All-Star and Sluggball adviser Kenny Lofton (a 2005 Phillie), and former Phillies Joe Blanton, Aaron Rowand, and Domonic Brown.
Team Bowa had Phillies Wall of Famer Mike Lieberthal, Mickey Morandini, Milt Thompson, Kevin Stocker, and Randy Wolf.
“This is a special group, a special city, and we shared a lot of moments together, and so when we get these opportunities to reminisce and kind of get back together, we take it,” Hamels said. “It’s supporting each other, and I think that’s what we learned when we came up in the organization. We learned the value of what it is to support and to try to be there and be present.”
Former players and fans watch former Phillies catcher Mike Lieberthal hit the baseball during Saturday’s Sluggball event.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
The former Phillies were helping support the Darren Daulton Foundation, providing assistance to people with primary malignant brain tumors, and the Ruben Amaro Sr. Foundation, which works to provide college scholarships and make high-level opportunities more accessible. All proceeds from the event benefited the two charities.
“It’s great to see everybody for Alumni Weekend,” Lieberthal said. “I come every year, and you don’t get to see these guys except once a year, so just to hang out with guys you played with is fantastic.”
Sluggball is a baseball-inspired game that includes only the offensive part of the sport. Every round features four batters from each team who are given 35 seconds or eight swings in their at-bat. Each round has an objective for where the batters are meant to hit the ball, and points are awarded for every ball hit in that area.
It was a challenge for players who haven’t played in years, but Sluggball was designed with that in mind.
“Glad they try to take it easy on us a little bit, but you know, most of us haven’t picked up a bat in so long,” Rowand said. “At least we had to go take a few swings before and try to get it back and not just embarrass ourselves out here.”
Despite any rust Rowand may have been anticipating, he was the only player to have a perfect at-bat by finishing 8-for-8 in the first round of Game 3.
Hamels, the 2008 World Series MVP, Blanton, and Wolf were all known for their ERAs and not their batting averages, but also found some success at the plate. Wolf clinched Team Bowa’s win over Team Manuel in a sudden-death round of the tripleheader’s main event.
“For a lot of us, it is funny because hitting was such a big part, and for pitchers, we always tried to brag and always wanted to do our best and see what we could do in the lineup,” Hamels said. “We knew it wasn’t our first sort of job, but it always provided a lot of bragging rights in the clubhouse.”
Former Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels (right) signs his autograph for fans on Saturday.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
While the game brought players from the organization’s history together, it also brought a new group of fans to the game, which cofounder Greg Olenski Sr. said was part of the goal.
“It’s really about the game bringing everybody back together, getting on the field, the camaraderie,” Olenski said. “We thought the best time would be an Alumni Weekend, get them back on the field, get them swinging. Again, nobody’s trying to hit home runs. A lot of these guys probably haven’t picked up a bat in a while, so it’s a great opportunity for them to get back on the field with their teammates and enjoy themselves.”
The All-Star Classic will air at 10:30 p.m. Aug. 19 on NBC Sports Philadelphia, with Leslie Gudel and Chris Wheeler on the call.
A federal law passed in 2020 required state Medicaid programs to implement electronic verification systems to verify that personal-care services were actually being delivered where they were expected.
The systems were adopted to prevent the sort of fraud unveiled this week in Philadelphia by federal and state prosecutors, who charged 18 people for allegedly billing Medicaid while they were in prison, working at one of the city’s sports stadiums, relaxing on a cruise, or vacationing in Jamaica.
Why don’t the electronic visit verification (EVV) systems work better?
“It’s tough to verify that the services are actually being rendered,” David Metcalf, the top federal prosecutor in Philadelphia, said Tuesday. “The caregiver or the client behind closed doors simply can tap a button on their smartphone app or call in, and that record doesn’t actually establish that the person was actually there.”
If location services on the smartphone are turned off, the system does not register where the caregiver is, Metcalf said. When a caregiver calls to check in or out of a shift, the system does not pick up where the caregiver is but, rather, where the phone is registered, he said.
“EVV was not sufficient to prevent people from scheming the system,” Metcalf said.
Federal officials from the Department of Justice and the Department of Health and Human Services did not discuss how the system might be improved. But T. March Bell, inspector general for the health and human services agency, said after Tuesday’s news conference that some states have adopted stricter controls.
The Pennsylvania Medicaid program requires caregivers to submit a location as part of visit verification, but it does not limit services to the client’s home because they sometimes happen elsewhere in the community, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services.
If the human services department suspects fraud, it refers the matter to the state attorney general’s Medicaid fraud-control section, the agency said.
National anti-fraud efforts
The showing of federal officials in Philadelphia on Tuesday was part of a nationwide effort by the administration of President Donald Trump to root out healthcare fraud.
In May, the administration implemented a temporary moratorium on the enrollment of new home care and hospice companies into Medicare, the federal insurance program for people 65 and up.
Pennsylvania followed with its own six-month moratorium on enrolling new hospice companies in Medicaid, which is jointly funded by state and federal taxes, “after reviewing the risk levels of Medicaid hospice services in Pennsylvania,” state human services officials said in an email Friday.
Kimberly Brandt, deputy administrator and chief operating officer at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, on Tuesday encouraged Pennsylvania to follow through on home care and “take the action needed to protect beneficiaries and taxpayer dollars.”
Pennsylvania said it is still determining whether a temporary moratorium on home health providers is needed.
