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  • Eagles practice observations: Dontayvion Wicks likely WR2; Truth-telling Vic Fangio; Eli Stowers’ education

    Eagles practice observations: Dontayvion Wicks likely WR2; Truth-telling Vic Fangio; Eli Stowers’ education

    The Eagles held the sixth practice of their 2026 training camp on Wednesday at the Jefferson Health Training Complex. Here were my observations from Day 6 (and links to Days 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5):

    Roll call

    Tackle Lane Johnson missed a fourth straight practice for an excused noninjury related reason. He’s expected to return soon, from what I understand. Landon Dickerson took a non-injury-related rest day. The Eagles will be careful with their oft-injured left guard. Dickerson was spotted jogging midway through practice with a sleeve on his left leg.

    Wide receiver Britain Covey was a new addition to the injury list. He left Tuesday’s practice with a hamstring injury. The following remained injured and out: receiver DeVonta Smith (hamstring), receiver Makai Lemon (hamstring), edge Keyshawn James-Newby (ankle) and safety Cole Wisniewski (hamstring).

    Rookie guards Micah Morris (shoulder) and Jaeden Roberts (calf contusion) returned to practice, but were limited.

    Vic Fangio noted that defense has traditionally had the upper hand early in Eagles training camp. Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer

    Vic’s secret

    After two straight days in full pads, coach Nick Sirianni dialed the intensity back. Players wore only shells for a 75-minute session — the shortest of camp thus far. Sean Mannion’s offense, overall, executed better after a difficult Tuesday vs. Vic Fangio’s defense.

    “I told him, we obviously got the best of yesterday’s practice by a long shot,” Fangio said when asked about Mannion’s play-calling. “But that’s the way it’s been the last two years in training camp. The defense has gotten the best of the offense. So, not to be too concerned.”

    More than a week into Eagles training camp, Jalen Hurts and the new-look offense are ‘calibrating’

    I don’t think Fangio was puffing his chest out or anything. He was just being the truth teller that he can often be. He was also adding context. Defenses are traditionally ahead early in camp, especially when the offense is new. But I’m not so sure about his last comment. I’d be concerned if there were any similarities to last year’s offense.

    Michael Carter II got some run with the first unit on Wednesday. Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer

    Cast and crew

    Mannion’s first unit likely benefitted from four key defensive starters — linebacker Zack Baun, defensive back Cooper DeJean and cornerbacks Quinyon Mitchell and Riq Woolen — being held out of team drills. Jeremiah Trotter Jr., Michael Carter II, Jonathan Jones and Kelee Ringo played in their spots.

    With the offense down three starters, it might have made sense to even the playing field. Rookie Markel Bell and second-year offensive lineman Drew Kendall filled in for Johnson and Dickerson at right tackle and left guard, respectively.

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

    Receiving race

    It’s been a by-committee approach at receiver, especially with the bona fide No. 1 sidelined. Dontayvion Wicks has thus far made the best case to be Smith’s No. 2. He may have a leg up on the others, having played in the Kyle Shanahan-style scheme Mannion brought with him from Green Bay. But there has also been obvious rapport between quarterback Jalen Hurts and the former Packers receiver. Hurts delivered a 20-yardish strike to Wicks just ahead of arriving safety Andre’ Sam in seven-on-sevens on Wednesday.

    Darius Cooper has looked good early in camp. Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer

    If the receiver competition was based on the first week alone, Darius Cooper would have the edge on the other combatants. I said this to someone the other day: “If Lemon was having the camp Cooper was having, every reporter would be hyping the first-round rookie.” The Eagles have to take everything into account, of course. Veterans Hollywood Brown and Elijah Moore have been unspectacular in camp, but also have proven track records, even if both have seen their numbers decline in recent years.

    Cooper should be a lock for the roster, though. I know some have viewed the fifth receiver spot as a toss-up between him and Johnny Wilson. But Cooper has more upside, despite Wilson’s size and Sirianni’s appreciation for his blocking. Cooper didn’t make any splash catches on Wednesday. Hurts dropped a beauty to him in the back corner of the end zone, but the receiver couldn’t stick the landing after he dove for the ball.

    Dallas Goedert and the tight ends were heavily featured on Wednesday. Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer

    Tighter ends

    On cue, Dallas Goedert and the tight ends were featured in the passing game a day after I noted that they’ve been relatively quiet in that regard. Hurts went to tight ends on his first two dropbacks in seven-on-sevens. Goedert hauled in the first on a slant, while E.J. Jenkins couldn’t on a similar route from the other side of the formation.

    Goedert caught another pass during the period on a short buttonhook and he was again Hurts’ first target in team drills. The tight end hung on despite linebacker Jihaad Campbell being in close quarters. Campbell later reached out and broke up a pass to receiver Samori Toure.

    With Johnny Mundt often the second blocking tight end in under-center scenarios, Grant Calcaterra has gotten receiving opportunities on third downs. He appeared to short-arm a toss from Hurts with Ringo in the vicinity.

    Eli Stowers opens up about early camp struggles: ‘It’s a mental challenge’

    Stowers hour

    Even Cam Latu has seen more passes thrown his way than rookie tight end Eli Stowers. The Eagles are clearly not rushing their second-round draft pick. He’s low on the depth chart and has mostly run with the third offense. Stowers is a relative newcomer to the position. He switched from quarterback to tight end just three years ago and he wasn’t asked to block a ton at Vanderbilt.

    Eli Stowers’ (87) acclimation to NFL-style blocking technique has been slow. Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer

    So he has a lot to digest, beyond just the Xs and Os of a new scheme. Stowers is on the smaller side so learning the proper technique in blocking will be crucial. It could be some time before he’s placed in those circumstances. But he could get on the field on obvious passing downs. I found it interesting that he was split wide in the development period. The ball came his way, but cornerback Tariq Castro-Fields was on his hip and broke up a pass that was thrown slightly behind.

    Running on empty

    There was a fair amount of run game activity. Saquon Barkley didn’t have much room to operate on his carries. Defensive tackle Moro Ojomo knifed past Kendall on one Barkley carry. Outside linebacker Jalyx Hunt set the edge and helped contain the running back on an outside zone run. Nose tackle Jordan Davis easily defeated center Cam Jurgens one-on-one and picked up a tackle for loss.

    Linebacker Jalyx Hunt defended the run well on Wednesday. Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer

    I hesitate to mention Jurgens in the negative because he’s otherwise had a strong start to camp. He’s poised to bounce back from last season’s setback. Tank Bigsby had a few touches out of the backfield, as well, but he’s been featured more as a receiver than Barkley. He got Campbell to commit pass interference with a double move in the open field.

    Running back Will Shipley had a shaky start to camp, but I thought he showed up on Day 6, particularly in the run game. He had two strong rushes up the middle when he got skinny through his blocks. He also picked up Trotter’s blitz later on.

    On the bubble

    Michael Carter II got a strong endorsement from Fangio before practice. I’m not sure if he’ll beat out Marcus Epps for the nickel safety spot, but he could have the sixth defensive back role in dime personnel locked down. Speaking of locking down, he ran step for step with receiver Danny Gray on a corner route into the end zone. When he ball sailed out of reach, Carter popped up and gave Gray a double thumbs-down.

    Fangio said not to sleep on linebacker Chance Campbell’s chances of making the 53-man roster. Tackle Cam Williams took Campbell out at the second level on the run play and that was the last I saw the linebacker until he was walking with a trainer to the medical tent. He seemed fine later on, but didn’t return to play.

    Tanner McKee (16) has not looked sharp at times while working in the new offense. Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer

    Quarterbacking up

    Tanner McKee was first up with the second unit offense in seven-on-sevens, but Andy Dalton took more team repetitions. The quarterbacks continue to slug it out for the backup spot. Dalton found Wilson open on a crossing route. He hit Quez Watkins on a short pass and the receiver hit the afterburners when cornerback Ambry Thomas took a bad angle. Defensive tackle Ty Robinson pressured Dalton into a throwaway.

    McKee just hasn’t looked as sharp as he did last camp. He doesn’t have the luxury of working with the same unit as he did a year ago. That’s no excuse, but he has struggled to throw the ball downfield, especially with the third unit. He finally found an open man down the seam, but tight end Stone Smartt dropped the ball like he had hands of brick.

    Extra points

    Hurts had a couple dashes into space on the ground — once when he kept the ball on a run-pass option and another on a scramble when his receivers were tied up in man coverage. … Tempers flared for a second straight day. Linebacker Smael Mondon and tackle John Ojukwu got into a brief altercation, as did tackle Fred Johnson and edge A.J. Epenesa. … Gunslinger Cole Payton tossed another interception when he heaved a pass into a crowded area and the ball deflected to Castro-Fields. … Former Eagles receiver Jeremy Maclin attended camp. He said it was the first time he’s been back at the practice facility since he was a player. … The Eagles have a closed walkthrough on Thursday before returning to practice on Friday.

  • After another round of flooding, a heat advisory is in effect Thursday

    After another round of flooding, a heat advisory is in effect Thursday

    Yet more rinse-and-repeat flood warnings were posted for Philadelphia and portions of adjacent counties Wednesday as more downpours oozed through the region.

    And don’t be surprised if more pop up later in the week, as the atmosphere will remain thickened with so much skin-clinging water vapor that “it’s not going to take much” to turn on the faucets, said Michael Silva, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Mount Holly.

    One indicator of the atmospheric saturation: The weather service has posted a heat advisory for Thursday as heat indexes could rise to 100 or better — even though temperatures won’t get much past 90. That is all about the humidity in what could be the start of a more muggy wave, as opposed to a traditional heat wave.

    The moisture in the air on Wednesday was such that the rain, which began around lunchtime, ended up being more ferocious than expected.

    “Before work, I was about to go out twice for walks,” Silva said. “Then I looked at the radar.”

    The heavy rains were wrung out along a narrow corridor cutting through the city, and they generated widespread traffic disruptions during the afternoon.

    The weather service said that 1.23 inches of rain had been measured at Philadelphia International Airport, just between noon and 1 p.m. More than 2 inches fell upon parts of Bucks County.

    Road flooding was widespread in Philly, Bucks County, and South Jersey.

    Among the highways affected were the Schuylkill Expressway in the Point Breeze area; I-95 in Eastwick, at the Platt Bridge, and in the Croydon, Bucks County, area, where the warning was extended until 6:15 p.m.; and Route 130 in Burlington County.

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    The rains were getting juice from a rich pulse of moisture from the South, said Mike Gorse, a meteorologist at the weather service’s Mount Holly office.

    What’s more, these types of threats may be a “repeated thing” later in the week, he added, echoing Silva’s comment, with showers in the forecast again for Thursday night and Friday as the region is stuck in another sultry air mass.

    The recent rains represent quite a reversal of fortune for the region and the entire state of New Jersey.

    After 16 consecutive months of below-normal precipitation in Philly, officially close to 10 inches of rain has been measured since July 1, and recent rains have set off rashes of flood warnings, including on Sunday.

    July’s total, 7.03 inches, was 2.65 inches above normal.

    Still, water levels along the Schuylkill in Norristown and the Delaware River at Trenton have remained relatively low, the result of all that antecedent dryness.

    However, flashier creeks, such as the Neshaminy, in Bucks County, are prone to slosh over in downpours, said Sarah Johnson, the weather service’s warning coordination meteorologist in Mount Holly.

    While Chester County and all of New Jersey remain under drought warnings, the recent turn to wetness may have some staying power, she said.

    According to the weather service’s Middle Atlantic River Forecast Center, which relies on networks of observations in each county, rainfall in all 21 counties in New Jersey has been well above normal in the 60-day period that ended on Tuesday.

    On the Pennsylvania side, rainfall was at or above normal in Philly and its neighboring counties — including Chester County, where the 9.17-inch total was 113% of normal.

    The federal Climate Prediction Center’s longer-term outlooks see chances favoring above-normal precipitation from next Tuesday through Aug. 19.

    Just hold the downpours.

  • Months-long Camden County bridge closure postponed until further notice

    Right as work was set to begin on the Collings Avenue Bridge, Camden County announced Wednesday that the $2.5 million repair project is postponed until further notice.

    The steel bridge over Newton Creek at the border of Gloucester and Camden cities will remain fully operational until a new project start date is determined, the county announced Wednesday.

    The county is still waiting on some New Jersey Department of Transportation permits that have yet to be issued, a county spokesperson said.

    A new start date for the project will be announced at a later time.

    The bridge was previously scheduled to close for about three months starting on Tuesday for the repair project. Traffic headed towards the bridge was to be diverted to I-676 via Broadway and Morgan Boulevard.

    The 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, previously 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.”

  • N.J. Gov. Mikie Sherrill doubles down: ‘The best cheesesteaks actually aren’t in Philly.’

    N.J. Gov. Mikie Sherrill doubles down: ‘The best cheesesteaks actually aren’t in Philly.’

    New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill dissed Philadelphia cheesesteaks earlier this summer, and she just doubled down.

    “The best cheesesteaks actually aren’t in Philly,” she declares in a video posted to her social media Wednesday afternoon centered on a recent visit to Donkey’s Place in Camden. “They’re right here in Jersey, and we’re about to go have one.”

    In the video, Sherrill leans against the bar next to a customer drinking a beer and sporting a Phillies cap. The first-term Democrat notes with a grin that a “real-life” Philadelphian is “here in Jersey, getting a cheesesteak!”

    She noted in the post that a friend of hers from California had mentioned the cheesesteak place to her — showing that the acclaimed Haddon Avenue spot, founded in 1943, is known across the country. She said she “never doubted that New Jersey has the best cheesesteaks,” but had to visit Donkey’s to “confirm” for herself.

    Anthony Bourdain felt similarly.

    In 2015, Bourdain, who grew up in North Jersey, opined on an episode of his Parts Unknown show that finding the best cheesesteak in “the center of the cheesesteak universe” may require crossing the Benjamin Franklin Bridge. The restaurant proudly displays his quote on its website: “The best cheesesteak in the area might well come from New Jersey.”

    During her visit to Donkey’s, Sherrill got in on the cheesesteak action with owner Rob Lucas Jr., whose father, Bob Lucas, previously owned the restaurant. The younger Lucas’ grandfather, Olympic boxer Leon “Donkey” Lucas, was the founder.

    Equipped with plastic gloves and a griddle spatula for each hand, the governor assists Lucas by shaking loads of seasoning on a pile of onions.

    “Take three pieces of cheese, put it right on top of that,” he directs her in the video.

    Sherrill noted she loves onions, in contrast to the three orders of “no onions” ahead of her.

    Donkey’s steaks are endowed with white American cheese and come with fried onions on a poppy-seed kaiser roll.

    “Guys, the verdict’s in, and you probably know I’ve been going to Army-Navy in Philly for years,” Sherrill, a former Navy helicopter pilot, proudly says, sitting with her creation. “I’ve had a million cheesesteaks. There is no better cheesesteak than here at Donkey’s.”

    On the trail of Anthony Bourdain’s New Jersey

    The historic Army-Navy football game was first played in Philadelphia in 1899 and it has been hosted in the City of Brotherly Love more times than any other city. The last time it was in Philly was in 2022, and it will be hosted by New Jersey, in East Rutherford, this year before returning to Pennsylvania’s largest city in 2027.

    Sherrill visited Donkey’s in late June the same day she visited Camden’s World Cup fan fest at Wiggins Waterfront Park just days before the deadline for her first New Jersey budget. During that appearance, local officials praised the governor for showing up for South Jersey.

    During a speech on the fan fest stage, Sherrill boasted that as visitors flood to the region for the World Cup, “the best cheesesteaks are not across the river, they’re right here at Donkey’s.”

  • Albert Gury, popular painter and award-winning professor of art education, has died at 74

    Albert Gury, popular painter and award-winning professor of art education, has died at 74

    Albert Gury, 74, of Philadelphia, lifelong painter, former chair of the painting department at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, award-winning lecturer at the old University of the Arts and other institutions, author, mentor, community advocate, and cat rescuer, died Thursday, June 25, after a long illness at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

    Born in Peoria, Ill., Professor Gury came to Philadelphia in the early 1970s after a professor at St. Louis University advised him to enroll at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. He did, and he never left.

    He earned a four-year certificate in painting at PAFA in 1976 and, starting in 1980, taught painting, drawing, figure drawing, anatomy, art history, and art education at PAFA. He was chair of the painting department from 2000 to 2022 and creator of several innovative art education programs.

    He painted portraits of young gun violence victims for PAFA’s Lost Dreams on Canvas exhibit and founded and directed the academy’s popular after-school free art program for high school students in 1994. In 2026, he earned a community recognition award from the Philadelphia School District.

    “This is a way for us to reach out to the community and really try to do something beneficial,” Professor Gury told The Inquirer in 2005. “We train them as if they are college freshmen, not high school kids. It raises the bar on the quality of their work.”

    Professor Gury also lectured for decades at University of the Arts, the Fleisher Art Memorial, the Barnes Foundation, and elsewhere. He instructed students at Jefferson Medical College on anatomy, consulted for the city’s mural arts program, and ran art seminars and painting workshops regionally and in Scotland and Croatia.

    He earned a master teacher’s award from University of the Arts and a master’s degree in fine arts at the University of Delaware in 1992. Former students called him “unfailingly caring, and supportive, and smart,” and “very generous in sharing his wealth of knowledge” in online tributes. One said: “What a great example to us all.”

    In a tribute, PAFA officials said: “We remember Al not only for what he taught but for how he taught: with patience, conviction, humor, discipline, and an open heart.”

    Professor Gury (center) draws and explains the nature of the human form to students at Jefferson Medical College in 2007.

    In the studio, Professor Gury painted colorful figures, landscapes, still life, and portraits. His portrait Alice of Dunk’s Ferry hangs in historic Christ Church in Old City, and he showed at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the F.A.N. Gallery on Arch Street, the National Academy of Design in New York, the U.S. Capitol in Washington, and elsewhere.

    He especially enjoyed painting abstract landscapes, he said in a 2014 video, because “they are pure.” He told the Daily News in 2000: “I like to paint the things I love. I like the intimacy of small paintings. I move the paint around and put together elements in nature even if they don’t exist that way. I like to imagine things rather than just paint what is in front of me. Sometimes it becomes a little surreal.”

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

    In 2000, critic Anne R. Fabbri said in the Daily News that many of Professor Gury’s paintings are “united by his layered brushwork, tonal depths, and the creative act that transforms color, line, and composition into a life-enhancing work of art.” He was honored by the Philadelphia Sketch Club in 2017.

    Professor Gury wrote three textbooks: Alla Prima: A Contemporary Guide to Traditional Direct Painting in 2009, Color for Painters: A Guide to Traditions and Practice in 2010, and Foundations of Drawing: A Practical Guide to Art History, Tools, Techniques, and Styles in 2017. He also contributed articles about painting and art to magazines and museum publications around the world, and was a contributing editor for the international journal Per Contra.

    In his neighborhood, Professor Gury advocated for better housing and fostered rescue cats in his home. He volunteered at the Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society and was named its 2015 volunteer of the year. The group renamed its kitten maternity ward after him.

    “We are searching for words to express just how extraordinary Al was, what a profound difference he made, and how much we loved and appreciated him,” colleagues at PAWS said in a tribute. “We hope he knew what an immense impact he made, and how much better and more beautiful the world is because of him.”

    Survivors give advice about mourning their loved ones, as told to The Inquirer’s obit writer

    Albert Francis Gury was born Oct. 23, 1951. A family friend introduced him to painting when he was young, and he spent many days roaming the galleries at the Art Institute of Chicago while his father worked downtown.

    He earned a bachelor’s degree in fine arts at St. Louis University in 1973 and won scholarships, grants, and honors as both a student and a professor at PAFA. He collected quilts and rare books on art.

    Professor Gury loved animals, especially cats.Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society

    In 2018, his apartment building on Chestnut Street burned down in an early-morning fire. Several of his cats and parakeets perished, and much of his artwork was lost. “The whole thing is just tragic,” he told The Inquirer then.

    Friends called him “a classic caregiver” and a “protector of the underdog.” Longtime friend and colleague Reza Ghanad said: “If you were feeling down, he would pick you up.”

    Friend and colleague Morgan Hobbs said: “He noticed students who could have gone unnoticed without him. He had a special gift for that.”

    Professor Gury is survived by several relatives.

    His ashes are interred at Christ Church Burial Ground. A celebration of his life is to be held later.

    Donations in his name may be made to the Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society, 100 N. Second St., Philadelphia, Pa. 19106.

    Much of Professor Gury’s work features color and shape. Al Gury
  • A bridge replacement’s new repair timeline prompts concerns over increased traffic in Downingtown and other delays

    A bridge replacement’s new repair timeline prompts concerns over increased traffic in Downingtown and other delays

    A bridge replacement near Downingtown will stretch into next year, prompting a call to Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration about the extended closure’s impact on traffic flow through the borough and the sequencing of other projects — including another bridge replacement.

    Replacing the nearly 60-year-old, three-span bridge that carries Boot Road over Amtrak in East Caln Township will now wrap up in early 2027, rather than in fall 2026 as initially projected.

    The elongated timeline is, in part, thanks to a change in the foundation design. After the original bridge was demolished, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation found a different type of rock from what was anticipated, which required a new design, said Helen Reinbrecht, community relations coordinator for the department.

    The department expedited a redesign, which was completed in June. Construction is anticipated to be a bit slow into early August, as PennDot awaits proprietary materials, Reinbrecht said.

    In Downingtown, the delay will have ripple effects — prompting Mayor Erica Deuso to call on state leadership to approach this project with the “same urgency, accountability, and focus here” as when Gov. Josh Shapiro’s office quickly reopened I-95 in Northeast Philadelphia after a tanker crashed and a section of the bridge collapsed in 2023, and with the early completion of another bridge in Pittsburgh in July.

    Deuso said in a news release Tuesday that the public was prepared for a one-year closure of the Boot Road bridge, but that the extended timeline is “a serious failure with real consequences for everyone forced through Downingtown each day.”

    “Our roads, intersections, emergency routes, business district, and residents are paying the price,” she said.

    She requested a review of whether additional crews, work shifts, equipment, and engineering support could make up for the lost time, and asked for help addressing traffic signal adjustments, detour enforcement, pavement and bridge condition monitoring, emergency-response planning, “and assistance with extraordinary local public safety and infrastructure costs.”

    Following Deuso’s letter, PennDot press secretary Alexis Campbell said that the department “understands how vital the Boot Road Bridge is to the community and is expeditiously working to reopen the bridge as soon as possible.”

    “The Department expedited the new design of the bridge and is working with the contractor to accelerate construction by adding additional crews and working through the winter so long as the weather permits,” she said.

    The delayed bridge replacement has trickled down into the sequencing of other Downingtown projects, including the rehabilitation of the borough’s Lancaster Avenue bridge, which crosses the east branch of Brandywine Creek, due to its poor condition.

    That will not get underway until the detours from Boot Road and another effort — relocating the Downingtown train station half a mile to the east, where the Keystone Corridor crosses U.S. Route 322 — are completed, borough officials said. Deuso was concerned the Boot Road delays would also hamper the train station relocation.

    The Boot Road bridge replacement is a $13.3 million project that replaces the 193-foot three-span bridge with a 105-foot single-span structure. It carried roughly 12,000 vehicles a day before its closure, officials said.

    The full closure of the road, between Quarry Road and Southwind Lane, began in late September 2025. Motorists are being detoured to U.S. Route 322, Business U.S. Route 30, and Quarry Road. That is expected to continue until the work is fully completed next spring.

    The bridge was structurally deficient, Reinbrecht said.

    “I know it can be frustrating and time-consuming to have to use the detours. But this really will be safer and more efficient when the construction is completed,” she said.

    This suburban content is produced with support from the Leslie Miller and Richard Worley Foundation and The Lenfest Institute for Journalism. Editorial content is created independently of the project donors. Gifts to support The Inquirer’s high-impact journalism can be made at inquirer.com/donate. A list of Lenfest Institute donors can be found at lenfestinstitute.org/supporters.

  • 3rd person charged in West Philly shooting that killed 2, wounded 3 others

    3rd person charged in West Philly shooting that killed 2, wounded 3 others

    A third person has been charged in a March shooting that killed two men and wounded three others in West Philadelphia, court records show.

    Nysir Mahoney, 24, was charged with murder, attempted murder, and other offenses in the March 30 shooting at 60th and Delancey Streets, records show.

    Mahoney was being held without bail at Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility. A court-appointed attorney listed for Mahoney declined to comment on the case.

    Two other men, Andre Bowie, 22, and Marquis Andrews, 23, also have been charged in the case.

    Police said several assailants drove in a Mercedes to 60th and Delancey Streets on the night of March 30 and opened fire on a group of people standing outside a corner bar, wounding three and killing Paul “PJ” Cobb and Naasir Boyd, both 24.

    More than a dozen shots were fired from three 9mm handguns, police said. Police later found the Mercedes on fire on the 1200 block of Cumberland Street.

    Police investigators believe the March 30 shooting was motivated by a feud and led to a retaliatory shooting that inadvertently killed 20-year-old Imani Ringgold, who was walking with a slice of pizza and talking to her grandmother on the phone when she was shot on Market Street near 60th in April.

    She was an innocent bystander and had no connection to the feud, police said.

  • Philly City Council grilled Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel over officers’ Pride response as LGBTQ+ advocates demanded accountability

    Philly City Council grilled Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel over officers’ Pride response as LGBTQ+ advocates demanded accountability

    Several members of Philadelphia City Council and a bevy of LGBTQ+ community leaders on Wednesday sharply criticized Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel, who testified about the department’s response to Pride festivities in the city’s Gayborhood in June and largely defended the force’s crowd-control tactics that had drawn outrage.

    Bethel acknowledged that June 7 was “not a perfect day” and vowed that the police department would implement more robust planning procedures ahead of next year’s celebrations.

    But he stopped short of apologizing for the police department’s response, saying chaotic scenes from the Pride events were part of officers’ attempts to disperse crowds from the Gayborhood, where thousands of people congregated instead of the city’s official festival on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.

    Among them, Bethel said, were hundreds of teenagers, some of whom were seen on video fighting.

    “There’s a large group of young people who [had] descended into the neighborhood for what they think is something there,” Bethel said. “There is nothing for them there, other than to take over the street.”

    That comment did not sit well with Council members and dozens of LGBTQ+ community members who attended the hearing at City Hall.

    “Your testimony today and what I’m hearing is both painful and perplexing,” said Councilmember Rue Landau, a Democrat who called for the hearing and is the first out LGBTQ+ person to serve on Council. “It is mind-boggling to think that you and your team would not know that people were going back to the Gayborhood.”

    Councilmember Isaiah Thomas, a Democrat, said he was “confused” why groups of teenagers fighting would have prompted an outsized police response throughout the Gayborhood that included crowds running amid police on horseback and motorcycles.

    “It doesn’t really feel like we’re having a conversation that can put us in a position of earning the trust of a lot of the people who feel like the trust has been lost,” he said.

    And C. Michael Robinson, a community advocate, added: “Only adult bullies scapegoat children, and that was a weak display of leadership.”

    Councilmember Rue Landau questions Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel (foreground) as Council’s Committee on Legislative Oversight holds a hearing Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026 into the Philadelphia Police tactics used during Pride celebrations in June.Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer

    The hearing Wednesday before Council’s Committee on Legislative Oversight was the most tense questioning that Bethel, a veteran of the city’s police force, has faced since he was sworn in as commissioner in January 2024 at the beginning of Parker’s term. He has enjoyed a largely warm relationship with Council members, who have been supportive of his leadership amid a significant drop in violent crime.

    However, the police department faced intense scrutiny following June 7, the day of the Pride parade and celebration during which 15 people were arrested and videos of police corralling crowds in the Gayborhood drew widespread criticism. Videos posted to social media showed officers physically struggling with Pride attendees, as well as police on horseback and motorcycles dispersing people, and at times displaying batons and Tasers.

    Following the backlash, Landau called for Council’s Committee on Legislative Oversight to hear testimony from the department’s top brass, as well as members of Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s administration and LGBTQ+ advocates.

    Pride attendees who testified Wednesday said police forcefully directed them through a maze of barricades in the Gayborhood. Several described being pushed and yelled at, and said that the most aggressive tactics were used on crowds of mostly Black people. One person said they heard an officer use a slur.

    Parker said in a statement Wednesday that the events described during the hearing “show us we can and must do better.”

    “We can and will learn from what occurred,” she said.

    Councilmember Rue Landau (seated, left) shows a collection of social media videos as City Council’s Committee on Legislative Oversight holds a hearing Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026 into the Philadelphia Police tactics used during Pride celebrations in June.Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer

    This year marked the first time the city’s Pride festival was held on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, where Bethel said police had been well-prepared to manage crowds. Thousands of people still congregated in the Gayborhood, where celebrations were held in previous years, creating dueling events that he said overwhelmed the department.

    Officers attempted to manage crowds in the Gayborhood for hours, Bethel said, and began working to disperse people by late afternoon. To do so, he said, officers used barricades, as well as officers mounted on horseback and motorcycles to motivate people to leave on their own.

    A large police presence at a Pride celebration in the Gayborhood on Sunday, June 8, 2026.

    Landau said she was horrified by the crowd-control tactics and asked Bethel if he supported the decision to have officers on motorcycles on the sidewalk, calling it “terrifying” and “dangerous.”

    He said the goal of moving the crowd was “appropriate at the time.”

    In what became a tense back-and-forth, Landau said that people attending Pride “did not believe that you were there to protect them.”

    “They were terrified, they were harassed, they were traumatized,” she said. “This was not about protection. You had 150 officers there, by your own testimony. That is a significant amount of officers.”

    Bethel responded: “Do you want police there at all?”

    Landau appeared taken aback.

    “My comment that there was 150 officers there should not turn into the end-sum game of ‘Do you not want anybody there?’” she said.

    The police commissioner did not specify how many officers in total are facing potential discipline stemming from Pride events on June 7, but he said “eight or nine″ are under investigation by the internal affairs division for wearing facial coverings, a violation of department policy.

    Bethel, who was formerly the department’s liaison to the LGBTQ+ community, vowed a more collaborative planning process next year.

    “Next year it will not be like that. It will be prepared,” Bethel said. “It is not my job to police that event. It is to keep it safe.”

    Several LGBTQ+ advocates and community members testified in favor of additional accountability measures.

    Jacen Bowman, the president of Philly Black Pride, called for an independent after-action review, a permanent LGBTQ+ public safety advisory council that is consulted during the planning of large events, and more consistent cultural competency training for officers.

    “Versions of these structures already exist,” Bowman said. “The question is whether or not the structure has the authority, independence, or enforcement power necessary to produce accountability. Oversight without authority is observation.”

  • The rules for Philly’s school selection process are changing again — here’s how

    The rules for Philly’s school selection process are changing again — here’s how

    The guidelines for how students are admitted to Philadelphia’s magnet schools are changing.

    Philadelphia School District officials announced a number of shifts Wednesday that will be put into place for the application window for the 2027-28 school year, opening this fall.

    It is not yet clear when the school district will open the 2027-28 application process for its 37 criteria-based schools.

    The changes are:

    Only students’ grades in math, English, and science will count toward students’ eligibility for criteria-based schools. Social studies grades will no longer count.

    The zip codes that guarantee admission to four of the city’s top magnet schools to students are shifting. Children who live in 19132, 19133, 19135, 19138, 19140, or 19141 who meet academic criteria are now guaranteed admission to Masterman, Central, Carver High School of Engineering and Science, or Academy at Palumbo.

    New to the list are 19138 — Germantown — and 19141 — sections of North Philadelphia including Logan and East Oak Lane.

    No longer on the preference list are 19121 — parts of North Philadelphia including Brewerytown and Sharswood — and 19136, Holmesburg and Torresdale.

    The zip code list is recalculated annually based on which sections of the city were most underrepresented for admissions to Philadelphia’s selective schools.

    Students who attended a prekindergarten program at a district school now get preference for admission to that school’s kindergarten class.

    Students who attended a district summer career and technical education program now get preference for admission to a career and technical education program.

    More students will receive individualized review, or consideration for admission to criteria-based schools, as long as they meet eligibility requirements for any of the five schools they apply to. Individualized review applies to any student who is an English learner, or who has an Individual Education Plan or qualifies for a federal 504 plan.

    The change is “to allow more students with disabilities or who are English learners to access magnet schools,” officials said.

    The changes come weeks after a judge signed off on a $650,000 settlement in a lawsuit brought by three families challenging the special-admissions policy.

    The families, backed by lawyers from America First, an organization formed by Stephen Miller, a top aide to President Donald Trump, alleged that the school system had shifted to a “blatantly unconstitutional, race-based” admissions system.

    Each of the families had children who met academic criteria for the magnets of their choice in 2022, but who did not get in. The litigation came after Philadelphia overhauled its special-admission system in the name of equity.

    The settlement forced no changes to the process, which has evolved since its inception in 2021. Though zip code preference is still in place, the district no longer uses a computer-scored writing exam. It gives some sibling preference, and it guarantees admission to high school programs attached to magnet middle schools as long as students maintain high grades.

  • Funding was cut to life-saving medical research programs in Philly. Rep. Brendan Boyle demands to know why.

    Funding was cut to life-saving medical research programs in Philly. Rep. Brendan Boyle demands to know why.

    Rep. Brendan Boyle sent a formal letter to the federal government on Wednesday, demanding an explanation for the recent cuts to health care research funding in Philadelphia.

    The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality last month cut dozens of grants nationwide, totaling hundreds of millions of dollars. The cancellations affected multiple programs at the University of Pennsylvania and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, disrupting studies into how healthcare systems can be organized and financed to improve health outcomes.

    That included projects on improving translation services for hospitalized patients and expanding access to hormone therapy for menopausal women.

    “Their funding isn’t partisan, nor is it controversial,” Boyle said at a Wednesday press conference on Schuylkill Avenue where he was joined by affected researchers from Penn and CHOP. “It represents exactly what our federal government should be doing, creating jobs and saving lives by funding critical medical research.”

    Penn and CHOP researchers lost millions in federal funding for healthcare research last week, forcing programs to close

    As the top Democrat on the United States House Committee on the Budget, Boyle asked in his letter to AHRQ and the Office of Management and Budget whether the administration would commit to fully spending the funding that was congressionally appropriated for AHRQ.

    He requested a list of every grant that was cancelled and the justification given. His letter referenced a recent district court ruling in New Jersey v. OMB that found the government “cannot terminate grants based on their inability to effectuate program goals and agency priorities identified after the award was made.”

    The original cancellation notices sent to researchers in mid-July did not list specific reasons, stating only that continuing the grant was not “in the best interest of the Federal Government.”

    Boyle also asked whether AHRQ grants were cancelled based on the political identity of the grant recipient’s state, city, or congressional district.

    He said this information would help determine whether the grants were illegally cut and if Philadelphia was targeted for political reasons.

    “We are here to demand that the Trump administration immediately reverse these cuts and unfreeze the programs sitting in limbo,” Boyle said.

    In a statement on Wednesday, the Department of Health and Human Services said that the AHRQ director determines “whether continuation funding is in the best interest of the federal government.”

    “To be clear, these grants were not terminated – they were not awarded continued funding,” the HHS statement said. “The Trump Administration remains committed to the responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars.”

    Local researchers speak out

    Rachel Werner, a professor of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and former executive director of the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics, was among the researchers who spoke at the press conference.Kayla Yup / Staff

    CHOP pediatrician Christopher Forrest had to shut down his PEDSnet Scholars program in June after AHRQ cancelled the $5 million grant designated for it.

    For nearly a decade, the program had trained 44 early-career scholars on how to design studies that improve the safety and quality of healthcare for kids.

    One project focused on preventing strokes in children with sickle cell anemia, a rare blood disorder.

    Another project reduced antimicrobial resistance in the intensive care unit by improving providers’ ability to identify which children needed antibiotics.

    A third helped families adapt to a congenital heart disease diagnosis, reducing rates of post-traumatic stress disorder.

    “These are not just abstract academic accomplishments,” said Rachel Werner, a Penn professor who was also affected by grant cuts. “They are real improvements in the practice of medicine that have resulted in thousands of lives being saved.”

    Werner has helped lead the PORTAL program at Penn, an AHRQ-funded research training program that lost millions in funding last month.

    She said the grant cancellations would lead to fewer discoveries, an immediate loss of jobs, and a shrinking pipeline of future scientists.

    “For the sake of the health of all of us, it’s really imperative that that work continues,” Werner said.