ARIES (March 21-April 19). On the last day of Venus in Virgo, let go of overthinking. Going forward you’ll need more curiosity than certainty. There’s no reason to fear being seen for who you are right now, as-is, because fortune will favor your authenticity.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20). As this Venus chapter draws to a close, let go of second-guessing yourself. Instinct over analysis is the way. And there’s no reason to fear making the first move, because your motion activates those around you to support you.
GEMINI (May 21-June 21). In these final moments of Venus in Virgo, let go of what merely functions. It’s got to delight you, too — otherwise you won’t keep coming back. A sustainable dynamic will be rich in both beauty and efficiency.
CANCER (June 22-July 22). As Venus packs her bags for Libra, let go of whatever stands in the way of accepting help. Is it your pride? Or are you worried there are strings attached? It’s better to take those risks and take the help that’s offered.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). As Venus changes the subject, let go of trying to impress anyone. Your warmth will accomplish what performance never could. The people meant for you will crave your attention, not your perfection. You make them feel seen, and that’s enough.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). As Venus leaves your sign, let go of believing every answer has to come from you. The next chapter is collaborative. Your greatest advantage won’t be knowing everything, but attracting people whose strengths naturally complement your own.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). As Venus returns home to your sign, let go of waiting to enjoy your life. Beauty isn’t a reward for finishing the work. It’s nourishment that helps you do the work with greater joy, confidence and generosity.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). As Venus heads home to Libra, let go of trying to read every hidden motive. Some people are exactly as kind as they appear. Curiosity will serve you well, and people will enjoy responding to your respectful questions.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). As Venus waves goodbye to Virgo, let go of perfection. Going forward, you’ll need more connection than correction. You may even come to the realization that something you called a “flaw” is what makes you irresistible.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). As the atmosphere softens, let go of measuring every opportunity by its immediate usefulness. From where you’re standing, it’s impossible to see how it will all come together. Trust that some of your most treasured future experiences will begin as today’s simple pleasures.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). As Venus slips into Libra, let go of assuming you have to do everything differently. Innovation often involves invention, but not always. Sometimes it’s about giving your unique take on the obvious solution.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). As one Venus story ends and another begins, let go of being the emotional sponge for those with messy feelings. You try to help wherever you can, and you’ve been generous. But you’re allowed to live in lightness, too.
TODAY’SBIRTHDAY (Aug. 5). It’s your Year of Righting Personal Injustice. In whatever ways you’ve settled, you’ll draw a new boundary and rise. With every choice to bring your focus back to what you find exciting, fun and fulfilling, your life grows richer. Stressors and limits fall away. More highlights: You’ll hone your voice and be applauded for originality. Unexpected money will be best lavished on you. Sanctuary, laughs and agency. Aquarius and Virgo adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 9, 33, 2, 27 and 12.
DEAR ABBY: There are two significant secrets in my family, and as I’m a member of the oldest generation and likely in my last decade, I wonder if they should see the light of day.
The first involves my cousin. He’s a year older than I am and doesn’t know he was adopted. My older sister was 10 when his parents brought him home. She remembers it vividly, and my mother and I talked about it from time to time. My cousin has led a challenged life of addiction and estrangement. He blames his parents and “inherited characteristics” for many of his problems — his mother’s addiction to anxiety meds, his father’s poor eyesight, etc. Should I share with him what I know?
The second secret involves my first wife. We divorced 40 years ago, and although we don’t talk, our two children are a prominent part of my life. My ex lives a life of isolation. She is angry and has difficult relations with everyone. What I know is that she had a baby while in high school and gave it up for adoption. I suspect that her guilt about it has caused her withdrawal and alienation from everyone in her family. Should I share with our children that they have an older half-sibling?
— KEEPER OF SECRETS
DEAR KEEPER: I think the answers to your questions are yes and no. I do think it might help your cousin if you told him the truth about his adoption, in case he might like to contact any living birth relatives to get an accurate family history or medical history.
However, as far as revealing your first wife’s secret, I don’t think it would be wise, kind or helpful to out her to your children. She was a minor at the time, and her parents may have been responsible for what happened to her child. Rather than being consumed with guilt or shame, she may still be mourning the loss of that baby.
** ** **
DEAR ABBY: My parents had three kids. The oldest is married with five kids. The second is married with two kids. The third is single, has mild autism and has trouble meeting people. Our parents don’t seem too concerned about the youngest being perpetually single, but he is unable to live on his own due to credit card debt that he can’t pay back. He doesn’t want to live with anyone unless he finds a romantic partner. What happens if he ends up being single for life? Is there anything that anybody can do to help him before our parents die?
— FACING THE FUTURE
DEAR FACING THE FUTURE: Has this sibling considered declaring bankruptcy? Mild autism should not stop him from living on his own again once his financial situation improves. A financial adviser or credit counselor may be able to help him with that. The National Foundation for Credit Counseling (nfcc.org) is a good place to start.
Encourage your brother to join social groups that suit his hobbies and interests. If a club has in-person meetups in a quiet space, he may be able to attend comfortably without becoming overstimulated. He may not find romance, but he could make new friends, easing everyone’s anxiety about his future.
Bryce Harper jogged out to right field. He faced the bleachers, removed his cap, raised both arms over his head, and bowed like a stage actor on Broadway, not a star athlete off Broad Street.
Then, on the first pitch, he caught a flyball.
Just like old times.
And when we say old times, we’re talking about 2022 — April 16, 2022, to be exact. It took 1,571 days and 752 games, but Harper turned back into an outfielder Tuesday night, part of the Phillies’ Grand Experiment to squeeze another run from a core that keeps chasing an elusive championship.
“There may be some bumps and bruises with this,” said interim manager Don Mattingly, referring not to Harper specifically but a creative (read: crazy?) plan to trade for contact-hitting savant Luis Arraez at the deadline while uprooting three-quarters of the infield. “But these guys are baseball players. They’re going to be fine.”
So far, so good.
Batting behind Harper in the cleanup spot, Arraez drove in two runs in his first two at-bats, and the out-of-position Phillies made every play to back an eight-inning gem from Jesús Luzardo in a 5-0 laugher over the Nationals.
“I was excited,” Arraez said following the Phillies’ fourth straight victory after losing four in a row and eight of nine. “I was happy, especially when the fans gave me the ovation. That was beautiful.”
New Phillie Luis Arraez reacts after hitting a double in the third inning against the Washington Nationals on Tuesday.Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
Indeed, most of the 38,731 paying customers stood and cheered before Arraez banged an RBI single to center field in the first inning. In the third, he fouled off a bunt to spot the Nationals a strike, then got a piece of two two-strike pitches and capped an eight-pitch at-bat by slashing a double down the first-base line.
Say this: Arraez arrived as advertised, a three-time batting champion who may be on his way to a fourth.
“It’s kind of what he brings,” Mattingly said. “You see he’s not afraid to take a pitch, not afraid to get down in a count, that he’s not afraid to hit with a strike. He’s not a guy that really swings and misses much at all, so it’s like, you can tell the confidence he has.”
But there was also this: Arraez, celebrating his hits with some combination of arm-waving, pointing to “Phillies” across his jersey, and pounding his chest. It’s a spark, especially for a group of position players that has been together for four years.
OK, press pause: It was one game. But just as the firing of manager Rob Thomson amid a 9-19 start was like a defibrillator for a clubhouse that’s used to the extreme continuity of running back the guts of the roster, could the addition of Arraez — and position changes for Harper, Bryson Stott (second base to third), and Alec Bohm (third base to first) — bring a similar effect?
“I think bringing [Arraez’s] energy in here will change it more than anything, just the energy aspect of that from him,” Harper said in a conversation at his locker before the game. “Any time you bring new blood into the clubhouse, it’s obviously a change. I don’t think changing of positions, for me personally — it might be different for Bryson or Bohmer — but I don’t think that’ll have too much effect on that.”
Sure. But consider what went on before the game. Arraez and shortstop Trea Turner worked on turning double plays, while Stott long-tossed to loosen his arm for longer throws. Infield coach Bobby Dickerson drilled Stott on cutoffs and relays from third base before working with Bohm on picks at first base.
And there was Harper, making throws from right field.
It was all new and uncertain, maybe even exciting. And as unorthodox as it is to move all these chess pieces around the board in August, could it also be a way to combat the onset of staleness over a long season for players who are as familiar with one another as the Phillies?
“Yeah, no, it’s definitely different,” Harper said. “But if we’re just talking about like the energy effect, all that kind of stuff, I don’t think it’s going to be any different on that part. Obviously we’re all going to be the same and play the way we do.
“But bringing a guy like Arraez that plays with the energy and the fire that he does, I think can help us. I think a lot of us are super grateful to play in a ballpark that we play in, with the fans that we do have. We don’t take that lightly. I think having a packed house every night and stuff really helps you play well, right?”
Mattingly debated Arraez in the leadoff or cleanup spot. He settled on cleanup. Sure enough, Arraez delivered with runners on first and second in the first and third innings after Harper drew walks.
“I’ve known him for a long time, and that’s what he does,” said Luzardo, who gave up four hits and two walks and threw 98 pitches in his longest start of the season. “He’s going to get his knocks, but just the energy he brings in the clubhouse, in the dugout, on the field, just kind of keeps it light.”
And because the baseball gods have a sense of humor, the first four balls put in play by the Nationals all went to right field. Harper handled them all.
After bowing to the fans, of course.
“A lot of them remembered,” Harper said of his pregame ritual in his previous life as a Phillies right fielder. “That was pretty cool to see.”
As a kid, Luis Arraez hated striking out so much he used to cry afterward.
As he grew up and became a professional, the tears abated. But the hatred never did. So it’s a good thing that he has just a 4.5% strikeout rate this season, the lowest in MLB. In 105 games this season, Arraez has struck out 21 times and walked 25 times.
“I love to put the ball in play, and I hate strikeouts,” Arraez said. “So I want to go there and try to do my job.”
After Arraez — along with the Phillies’ other trade deadline acquisitions, relievers Caleb Kilian and Brooks Raley — reported to the club Tuesday, the shake-up was felt immediately. Interim manager Don Mattingly went the unconventional route with his lineup against the Nationals, placing slugger Kyle Schwarber at leadoff and contact hitter Arraez at cleanup.
Arraez has only played 39 career games in the No. 4 spot of the order, but where he hits makes no difference to him.
“I don’t care. If I see my name in the lineup, I’ll be happy,” Arraez said.
Mattingly’s thought process behind the unorthodox lineup was splitting up the left-handers. With the addition of Arraez, three of the Phillies’ top four hitters in the order are left-handed. Mattingly moved the right-handed Trea Turner to No. 2, in between Schwarber and Bryce Harper at No. 3.
The fact that Arraez has only hit four homers this year didn’t deter Mattingly from putting him at cleanup, a spot that traditionally is reserved for a team’s best power hitter. Mattingly cared more about Arraez’s .324 batting average.
“You figure he’s coming up with men on base, and it doesn’t take a homer to drive in a run,” Mattingly said. “Base hit drives in runs from second base.”
Arraez said the biggest thing he brings to the team is his energy. Mere hours after arriving, he already appeared to be at home in the Phillies clubhouse. It helped that he’s already familiar with several of his new teammates after coinciding with them on previous stops. He played with Jhoan Duran on the Twins, Jesús Luzardo and Bryan De La Cruz on the Marlins, and José Alvarado on Venezuela at the 2023 World Baseball Classic.
But Arraez is maybe most excited to join forces with Cristopher Sánchez. Arraez has struggled against the Phillies lefty, going just 1-for-18 against him in his career.
New Phillies second baseman Luis Arraez exits the field with Trea Turner after infield practice on Tuesday.Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
“Now I don’t have to face Cristopher Sánchez. He’s so nasty,” Arraez said. “Now we are teammates, so I’m really excited.”
He has good memories at Citizens Bank Park, as well. In 2023, Arraez hit for the cycle there, becoming the first Marlins player in history to do so. He and the Marlins returned to South Philadelphia later in the season for the wild-card series, which the Phillies swept in two games.
“I was with Miami, and the fans were so loud,” Arraez said. “I never forgot.”
In addition to a new-look batting order, Tuesday’s game brought the first test of the Phillies’ new defensive alignment. Arraez, the Phillies’ new second baseman, spent time pregame chatting and taking grounders with Turner, his new double play partner.
To open a spot on the infield for Arraez, Harper is moving from first to right field, Alec Bohm is moving from third to first, and Bryson Stott has moved from second to third.
Arraez was grateful that his new teammates would make these positional switches for him.
“There’s a lot of respect, especially to Bryce Harper. MVP, and then he moved for me, and it’s a lot of respect for me,” Arraez said.
Second baseman Luis Arraez and new double play partner Trea Turner work together for the first time during infield practice prior to Tuesday’s game.Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
With three of the Phillies’ fielders playing positions they haven’t played regularly in several years, Mattingly might consider making defensive switches late in games when the Phillies have the lead. In those situations, teams typically prioritize having their best defensive alignment in the field.
“We talked to Harp about possibly having to come back in [to first] during the course of a game,” Mattingly said. “Had no problem with that. Same with Bohmer, possibly going to third in the course of a game. So I think it does give us versatility and gives us some areas that we can do things. And knowing that we can cover spots. Maybe not what we want to do all the time, but I think in the course of trying to win a game, you make moves, you end up with a different lineup.”
Mattingly, a nine-time Gold Glove first baseman, had a watchful eye over Bohm as he took drills at first base on Tuesday.
“I’m trying to just talk about some of the finer details, how we want to come off the bag here, how we want to cover different balls, playing behind a guy, how you want to play that,” Mattingly said. “It’s just really going through it and understanding where you want to be and why.”
Extra bases
Outfielder Gabriel Rincones Jr. and left-hander Kyle Backhus were both optioned to clear 26-man roster spots for two of the Phillies’ three deadline acquisitions. The third spot was previously vacated by Seth Johnson, who was traded to the A’s on Monday. … Andrew Painter (1-8, 6.72 ERA) is scheduled to start Wednesday opposite Nationals right-hander Jake Irvin (2-5, 5.56 ERA).
Federal and state officials including Mehmet Oz, head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and Pennsylvania Attorney General David Sunday were in Philadelphia on Tuesday to highlight efforts to combat the persistent problem of Medicaid billing fraud in home care.
During a news conference in Center City, officials outlined Pennsylvania cases involving a personal-care assistant who billed Medicaid 1,000 times for more than 24 hours of work in a single day, another who billed for helping his father in South Philadelphia while being arrested in Chester, and an agency that billed Medicaid $225,000 for services provided by an aide who was dead.
Federal and state prosecutors used the occasion to announce charges against 18 people and one agency in mostly unrelated cases for defrauding Pennsylvania’s Medicaid program of $4 million by billing for home-care services they did not provide. The alleged fraud occurred roughly over the last five years.
The alleged fraud in these cases filed over the last two weeks is tiny compared with the size of the program. Pennsylvania spent $8.1 billion on home-care services last year, up from $2.3 billion in 2020, when the program expanded and thousands more people started getting paid to provide home care.
“Used properly by honest citizens, the program allows those with physical ailments to be cared for by those they trust the most,” said Colin McDonald, of the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division. “But infiltrated by greedy and deceitful opportunists, this program becomes a money tree, a gravy train for criminal fraudsters.”
Colin McDonald, Assistant Attorney General, Department of Justice National Fraud Enforcement Division, speaks as federal and state law enforcement officials announce healthcare fraud charges, Tuesday, August 4, 2026 in Philadelphia.Joe Lamberti / For The Inquirer
The U.S. Department of Justice shared details on six new cases. The Pennsylvania attorney general recently filed five new cases.
The biggest case involved $1.5 million in billings from a personal-care assistant registered with 13 agencies who more than 1,000 times charged Medicaid for more than 24 hours in a single day, Sunday said. On one occasion, the aide billed for 126 hours in a single day, Sunday said.
Federal prosecutors charged Benevolent Home Health Care with billing 600 times in 13 months for a personal-care aide who was dead. That case originated during the arrest of the husband of one of its owners on drug-trafficking charges, said David Metcalf, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
As the man was being arrested, he told agents from the Drug Enforcement Agency that he had to clock out of his shift as a home-care aide, even though he was not providing services. When asked about it, according to Metcalf, he said: “Everybody is doing this. If that’s a problem, you’d have to arrest the whole city,”
Attorneys for Khaleelah Williams and Saleemah Davis, Benevolent’s owners, said they had no comment.
In other cases, defendants billed for providing services while they were in prison, working at one of Philadelphia’s sports stadiums, or vacationing in Saudi Arabia, Jamaica, or Colombia
This story has been updated to correct the name of the agency Mehmet Oz heads.
Clad in a royal blue, two-piece suit, Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity stood next to a seated President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on Tuesday, in a video message posted to his social media platform, Truth Social.
“Pennsylvania is very lucky because you have somebody running for governor who’s going to do a fantastic job,” Trump said to the camera, while shaking Garrity’s hand. “She really is a spectacular person. And I just want to wish you luck. I think you’re going to win.”
The White House appearance signaled a closer public alliance between Trump and Garrity, and the latest chapter in her campaign challenging Gov. Josh Shapiro as she seeks to draw Trump’s loyal fan base to the polls in November.
Trump, who endorsed Garrity in January, followed the video message by posting a photo with Garrity, writing: “Stacy is running to be the next Governor of the GREAT Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. She has my Complete and Total Endorsement. She will do a fantastic job!”
Garrity’s campaign said in a statement that she was visiting the White House alongside the Penn State wrestling team, which was being honored for its 2026 national championship.
The Oval Office meeting represented a repair of sorts between Garrity and Trump after he has displayed little enthusiasm toward her campaign in recent months.
It was my Great Honor to welcome Highly Respected and very popular Pennsylvania State Treasurer, Stacy Garrity, into the Oval Office. Stacy is running to be the next Governor of the GREAT Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. She has my Complete and Total Endorsement. She will do a… pic.twitter.com/1vROsLLTlM
— Commentary Donald J. Trump Truth Social Posts On X (@TrumpTruthOnX) August 4, 2026
Garrity entered the race against Shapiro, the Democratic incumbent, last summer as Republicans — disappointed with their 2022 performance — sought to consolidate support early around one strong candidate. When Trump endorsed Garrity, he called a “true America First Patriot” who “WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN!”
In March, Garrity hosted a fundraising dinner at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club in Florida, where, beneath a wrought-iron doorway at his private golf club, the president said “she should win.”
But when Trump visited Pennsylvania in June and Garrity introduced him onstage, he seemed to forget her altogether.
During a speech meant to focus on manufacturing in Macungie, Trump spent over an hour talking about weight-loss drugs, immigration, firearms, the role of transgender athletes in women’s sports, and the UFC fight recently held on the White House lawn. But Garrity never received a mention, and Trump instead celebrated U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser, a Pennsylvania Republican who considered a run for governor before ultimately opting against it. Trump even name-checked Shapiro.
Three months out from Election Day, Garrity has struggled to gain traction among voters. A Quinnipiac University survey of 895 registered Pennsylvania voters in July found 53% would vote for Shapiro, while 40% said they would vote for Garrity.
At right is Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro listening to Stacy Garrity, 78th State Treasurer, Forum Auditorium in Harrisburg, Pa., Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025.Alejandro A. Alvarez / Staff Photographer
Trump’s latest show of support for Garrity comes as Shapiro — who is rumored to be eyeing a run for the White House in 2028 — has set his sights beyond the governor’s office, lending his time and spending his money to support Democrats up and down the ballot, in an attempt to flip the Pennsylvania state Senate and four swing districts in Congress.
Last month, in another stop in Pennsylvania, Trump attempted to lend more support to Garrity during Republican U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick’s Defense and Innovation Summit.
“I hear things about Stacy, and I’m hearing some poll numbers that are very good,” he said.
Regarding her opponent, however, Trump had stronger words.
“This guy Shapiro is totally overrated. … He doesn’t have what it takes,” Trump said.
President Donald Trump visits Mack Trucks in Macungie in the Lehigh Valley Tuesday, June 23, 2026.Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
In Pennsylvania, Trump remains deeply underwater in popularity. The Quinnipiac survey found only 39% of Pennsylvania voters would give him a positive job approval. Elsewhere in the country, Trump has remained Republicans’ most effective energizer to the polls — though some are concerned about GOP successwithout his name on the ballot in November.
Pennsylvania Democrats on Tuesday seized on Garrity’s appearance with the president.
“Stacy Garrity always sprints to any chance she gets to pledge her 100% loyalty to Donald Trump and his disastrous agenda,” Ava Pitruzzello, a spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Democratic Party, said in a statement.
Last week, Shapiro’s campaign launched a new ad calling Garrity “100% MAGA.” Garrity’s campaign, in a statement, called the ad “a dishonest, lying attack.”
The Eagles held the fifth practice of their 2026 training camp on Tuesday at the Jefferson Health Training Complex. Here were my observations from Day 5 (and links to Days 1, 2, 3 and 4):
Receiving line
The Eagles were without wide receivers DeVonta Smith and Makai Lemon due to hamstring injuries. Lemon left Monday’s practice early, while Smith appeared to finish the workout. The team doesn’t expect either player to be out for an extended period. Both receivers were present Tuesday, which was a positive sign.
I wouldn’t be worried about Smith. He might have tweaked something, but the educated guess here is that the Eagles shut him down for the time being. They’ve been careful with him before, just as they were with A.J. Brown last year at camp. Smith is far and away the best receiver on the team and the Eagles can’t afford a needless injury with the drop-off relatively steep.
Lemon is another story. The rookie needs the reps. It also doesn’t help that he suffered a hamstring strain in the spring. While it’s unclear if he hurt the same one, two soft tissue injuries in the span of six weeks isn’t likely how he wants to start his career. Lemon has been quiet in the early going. He’s yet to make a play that screams “first round draft pick,” but it’s also very early.
Lane Johnson speaks with reporters during the first day of training camp on July 29. Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
Paving the Lane
Lane Johnson missed a third straight practice for an excused non-injury-related reason. The Eagles have declined to offer more detail on their right tackle’s absence. Johnson’s only other extended absences that didn’t involve injury came in 2014 and 2016 when he was suspended for performance-enhancing drug use and in 2021 when the team granted him a leave to address his mental health.
The following Eagles remained injured and out: outside linebacker Keyshawn James-Newby (ankle), guard Micah Morris (shoulder), guard Jaeden Roberts (calf contusion) and safety Cole Wisniewski (hamstring). Tackle Cameron Williams (knee contusion) was back to full participation. Receiver Britain Covey walked off the field with trainers late in the workout.
Sean Mannion (center) did not oversee a sharp day from his offensive unit. Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Offensive offense
It was a tough day for Sean Mannion’s offense after it appeared to make strides in the bubble on a rainy Monday. The Eagles were in full pads for a second straight day and the outside environment and intensity seemed to benefit the defense. It’s long been understood that NFL defenses are typically ahead in the early portion of camp. Coordinator Vic Fangio’s seasoned unit is also facing an offense that is still learning a new system.
As I’ve written here since the spring, there are going to be growing pains. It’s better to fail now rather than later. It also didn’t help that Smith was out. But I don’t think there was an offensive position group that could be happy about its performance on Tuesday, especially the O-line. Chris Kuper was without Johnson again, and the O-line coach juggled his units some, but there was too much sloppiness up front.
We also had our first few skirmishes of camp. Guard Tyler Steen and defensive tackle Ty Robinson got into a brief skirmish after several plays of facing each other. Safety Andrew Mukuba and receiver Dontayvion Wicks mixed it up after the former didn’t appreciate the latter’s downfield run blocking. There’s nothing wrong with a little extra fire between teammates, as long as no one gets burnt.
Landon Dickerson is among the offensive linemen trying to adjust to a new blocking scheme. Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Blocking it out
The new wide-zone run blocking scheme will require an adjustment period for a starting group that had done it a different way under former O-line coach Jeff Stoutland. Johnson and left tackle Jordan Mailata shouldn’t be that affected. They could thrive in any system. Center Cam Jurgens and Steen should, theoretically, benefit because of their athleticism.
Left guard Landon Dickerson, though, could struggle the most. He’s not as nimble as the others and has had well-documented series of injuries that have put his future in question. Whenever he’s been asked to work to the perimeter on outside zone runs, it’s apparent he just doesn’t have the motor he once did.
That doesn’t mean he can’t get by or even flourish if healthy. But staying healthy has been an obvious issue, and he admitted earlier this week that he’s had to reconsider how he’s previously played through injury. That could place a greater emphasis on the backup guard spot. Drew Kendall appears to be the leading candidate right now. He took some first-team reps at left guard on Tuesday.
The Eagles know Kendall can play center. He’s Jurgens’ likely backup. But can he hold up in the interior at 308 pounds? He seemed to hold his ground against defensive tackle Moro Ojomo when he was with the starters. And he did well to pick up a Jeremiah Trotter Jr. blitz later with the second unit. But the tests will keep coming.
Jalen Hurts (1) did not have his best day of camp. Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
Hurting for certain
Objectively, Jalen Hurts was sharp on Monday. The opposite could be written a day later. The O-line problems didn’t help, and neither did occasionally poor pass catching. I thought Hurts threw a catchable deep ball to Quez Watkins, but the route wasn’t crisp and the receiver’s dive came up short. Hurts then floated a dime to Will Shipley after he was schemed wide-open on a wheel route. But the running back stone-cold dropped a would-be explosive play.
Hurts made some head-scratching decisions on throws downfield, though, some of them vs. the second defense. There was a heave to a double-covered Hollywood Brown that safety Michael Carter II intercepted after surviving a collision with the ground and a slight bobble. There was a tight-window toss to Wicks on the next play that cornerback Jakorian Bennett got his hands on.
Hurts later chucked another one up for grabs to Wicks that was only slightly overthrown past a few pursuing defenders. In the red zone, he hitched off play-action and still threw to a covered Wicks. Mukuba was in Wicks’ pocket, but cornerback Quinyon Mitchell came over and got a hand on the ball.
There were some good moments, too. Hurts had Brown alone in the end zone after a scissor route concept caught cornerback Jonathan Jones sleeping. Wicks shook cornerback Riq Woolen on an outside release and the ball arrived in time. Hurts had excellent ball placement on a pass to Wicks that required he throw it away from the lurking Mitchell.
But there just wasn’t much rhythm to the passing offense — not to mention the run game. Hurts, on several occasions, had no one open and had to either eat the ball or throw it away. During one pass play, after he went through his reads and the pocket collapsed, he simply dropped the ball to the ground.
Moro Ojomo (97) was among those who excelled on defense Tuesday. Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
D-light
The good news is that the defense could be dominant this season, barring significant injuries. Cornerback Cooper DeJean briefly ran off the field after dinging his left hand — a reminder that the game can take anyone — but he appeared fine after getting checked out by trainers.
Fangio has new faces on his side of the ball, but the biggest upgrade to last season’s very-good-but-not-great defense could be a 100% Jalen Carter. He seems to make a few eye-popping plays every practice. He bested Steen on back-to-back reps. Carter gave him the finger wag after stopping a Saquon Barkley run near the line, and then clubbed him to the helmet on the way to a would-be sack.
Moro Ojomo was a menace at defensive tackle as well. He jetted past Dickerson and might have caused Barkley to bobble a pitch that resulted in little gain. The Eagles’ depth at D-tackle allows Ojomo to face the second unit at times, and it can be unfair. He made quick work of tackle John Ojukwu and notched a run stop near the line.
And then there were missed blocks that gifted the front four. Carter was mind-bogglingly granted a free pass to Shipley on one rush. Defensive end Jalyx Hunt notched a unblocked sack when left tackle Fred Johnson appeared to have his eyes in the wrong spot.
Jihaad Campbell is making his presence felt at linebacker. Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
Back off
The off-ball linebacker group is pretty good, too. Jihaad Campbell still has lots to prove, but his talent is evident. He jacked running back Tank Bigsby onto his back and blew up a Barkley inside zone run near the goal line. Zack Baun lined up on the edge at one point and beat Ojukwu with an outside rush to record a sack. He also broke up a pass to tight end Dallas Goedert.
Trotter blitzed once and steamrolled Shipley. Smael Mondon had maybe his best practice of camp and made multiple tackles, including a run stop after he shook the pulling to Williams.
Dallas Goedert (88) and the tight ends have not been much of a factor in the passing game thus far in camp. Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
Tight lies
I mentioned recently here that the tight ends haven’t been featured as much as the receivers and that trend continued. I recall past years when Goedert would be Hurts’ favorite target, but that has yet to happen. It could certainly change. But tight ends have more blocking responsibilities in the Kyle Shanahan/Sean McVay scheme.
New guy Johnny Mundt will be key, with more need to block defensive ends at the point of attack. Goedert isn’t the blocker he once was, but he has the wherewithal, even as he enters his ninth season. Cameron Latu may have a roster spot based on his special teams capabilities. He trucked receiver Darius Cooper during kick return drills. But he’s a physical blocker and displayed as much when he wham blocked Hunt out of a run play.
Neither Tanner McKee (16) nor Andy Dalton (14) got much of a leg up on Tuesday. Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
Under center
In the backup quarterback competition, it was a relative draw in which neither Andy Dalton nor Tanner McKee was very consistent. As with Hurts, they were hardly all to blame for the offensive inefficiency.
Dalton did find tight end Grant Calcaterra for a nice pickup after a naked bootleg fooled the first unit defense. And Cooper made a splendid one-handed grab on one of Dalton’s red zone throws. But the receiver was unable to get both feet in the back of the end zone. Later on, Cooper ran an in-breaking route when Dalton’s ball went outside to an empty space.
McKee had a couple hookups with receiver Samori Toure. But like Hurts, he took sacks or simply ate the ball when the clock ran out on a fruitless play.
Jake Elliott (4) was perfect on Tuesday. Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
Extra points
I’ve written a fair amount about rookie defensive tackle Uar Bernard’s trials and tribulations as he tries to make it in the NFL. But there’s another neophyte from Africa in camp: undrafted edge Joshua Weru. He plays a different position than Bernard, but he’s looked more fluid. He still has a ways to go, but there’s some potential there. He had a pressure during the developmental period. … Jake Elliott was a perfect 6-for-6 during the kicking period. He was good from 33, 38, 42, 44, 50 and 52 yards. He also split the uprights from 44 yards out later during team drills. … The Eagles practice again on Wednesday and have a closed walkthrough on Thursday.
More than 900 people in Washtenaw County, Mich., have been sickened with cyclosporiasis since mid-June. Linda Kim, a public health nurse, has called more than 100 of them. Almost everyone has said the same thing: It’s excruciating, and one of the worst illnesses they’ve experienced.
But on a Wednesday in July, she called one man who said he wouldn’t mind having it again, actually.
“You’re enjoying the weight loss?” Kim said, laughing as she took notes in a small conference room at the Washtenaw County Health Department building, just outside Ann Arbor. “Well, I’m glad to hear that. At least you got something good out of it!”
Normally, Kim’s supposed to be working downstairs in the clinic, where families wait in gray plastic chairs in the lobby for free or low-cost immunizations. But she hasn’t been there in months.
In March, Kim was transferred to a different department to help deal with a measles outbreak that sickened seven people in the county, five of them children. It was an all-hands-on-deck situation; everyone worked overtime. The state issued an advisory urging families in Washtenaw and surrounding counties to get babies 6 months or older vaccinated ahead of schedule, if possible.
The contact-tracing calls for measles could be contentious, Kim said. People were suspicious, asking her how she knew they had tested positive, or why they should give her any information.
“People were like, ‘Oh, you’re just trying to restrict my life,’ or ‘You’re just trying to get information out of me and get me in trouble,’” she said. “It’s like, no, we’re actually not doing that at all.”
As she tried to explain to them, tracing the spread of the highly contagious virus and publicizing possible exposure sites was an effort to “keep it contained, so it doesn’t become something huge.”
Before reports of cyclosporiasis cases started pouring in this summer, Washtenaw County Health Department staff in Michigan were working to contain a measles outbreak with contact tracing and testing. The county’s outbreak ended in May.Kate Wells/KFF Health News
The county’s measles outbreak ended in late May. Then in June, reports of cyclosporiasis cases started pouring in — more than 11,000 so far in Michigan, including two deaths. Both people who died had “significant underlying health conditions that may have been impacted by cyclosporiasis and dehydration,” the state health department said on its website on Monday. Health officials aren’t providing more details, department spokesperson Lynn Sutfin said in an email, but are stressing that cyclosporiasis generally isn’t life-threatening and that deaths from it are uncommon in the U.S.
Kim said the cyclosporiasis surveillance has been very different from her experience with the measles outbreak. Now, people seem eager to divulge even the most graphic details, such as “pooping their beds, and, like, putting down towels and it’s not enough.”
Since she’s a nurse, such confessions don’t faze her, she said. Still, staffers have hundreds of these calls to make, so they try to keep each conversation under an hour.
But foodborne illness investigations are complex. Especially for this parasite, cyclospora. Symptoms can take as long as two weeks to appear after people have eaten contaminated food. And no one remembers what they ate two weeks ago, public health staffers said.
The interview process can be extremely detailed. Kim and her colleagues ask people to pull up their restaurant receipts, scroll through purchases on their grocery store apps, even try to recall details such as the exact brand of bagged salad mix they bought, or the type of taco they got at Taco Bell.
“Is that the crunchy one or the soft one?” Kim asked on a recent call, typing on a laptop decorated with cat and vaccine-themed stickers.
Kim has been working with the health department for two years, a period defined by federal funding cuts.
Laina Stebbins, a spokesperson for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, said the Trump administration’s sweeping cuts to public health grants eliminated a contract between the state health department and 44 of the state’s 45 local departments that funded 123 full-time employees.
Those cuts also affected the state’s disease surveillance labs, “reducing funding for equipment maintenance contracts, data modernization, and the ability to innovate laboratory processes during emerging disease response,” Stebbins said.
Some of that funding was restored after Michigan won a temporary restraining order against the Trump administration. But Washtenaw’s health department still had to scale back some disease surveillance and outbreak response work. Currently, employees who leave or retire aren’t replaced, except for those on the nursing team, which is hiring but still understaffed.
The county’s Health Equity Council, which aims to reduce health disparities, including in mental health, was shuttered suddenly in early 2025. Nearly a year later, it resumed its work, with funding at least through this September.
Staff at the Washtenaw County Health Department in Ypsilanti, Mich., have been working to trace the sources of the recent cyclospora outbreaks by conducting detailed, often lengthy interviews with hundreds of people.Kate Wells/KFF Health News
An employee from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had been stationed at the department. During the funding chaos, the worker was fired, then rehired, then furloughed.
The federal response to cyclosporiasis has felt frustratingly slow, according to Christina Zilke, a nursing supervisor at the Washtenaw health department.
“It took them forever to say that this was lettuce, and fast-food restaurants were taking it off the shelves before the CDC ever said what it was,” she said.
During a July 14 press call, the deputy director of the CDC’s Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases, Gwen Biggerstaff, said it’s not unusual for it to take a long time to identify a specific source for cyclosporiasis — if it’s identified at all. That’s partly due to the lag time between exposure and the appearance of symptoms, and the complexity of tracing this particular parasite.
Meanwhile, Zilke’s been stocking the coffee station and bringing in pizza, trying to keep up staff morale. It’s not a reward, she said. “It’s more like: ‘Here’s some food for survival. Here’s a break so you don’t quit.’”
Kim, for her part, remains enthusiastic about the job but said it’s been a surreal introduction to a public health career — first measles, now cyclospora.
“If nationally they don’t know what’s going on, how are we locally expected to know what’s going on?” she said. “And also just frustrating to be, like, ‘Wow, I don’t think even our government knows how important public health is.’”
But there’s no time to dwell. She has to move on to the next call, as soon as she can wrap up this one. She gives each person her work number, so people can call or text with any follow-up questions.
KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF — the independent source for health policy research, polling, and journalism.
NEW YORK — There are plenty of fun stories to tell about Larry Berg’s Cherry Hill roots, from his lifelong Eagles fandom to playing in New Jersey’s state high school soccer tournament against Peter Vermes’ Delran High in the 1980s.
The biggest was finding out his vision for how the league will capitalize on the World Cup — especially when it comes to slashing the phone book’s worth of roster rules.
As part of Los Angeles FC’s ownership group, Berg has recently been a co-chair of the league’s powerful sporting and competition committee, which means he knows that rule book inside and out. Now he knows which of those rules need to go to make MLS more competitive on the global stage, and thus more attractive to global soccer fans who look down on it.
From left, longtime MLS commissioner Don Garber, new commissioner Larry Berg, Columbus Crew principal owner Jimmy Haslam, and Los Angeles FC part-owner Bennett Rosenthal at Tuesday’s event.Major League Soccer
“We’ve accomplished an extraordinary amount over the last three decades, but success can never become an excuse for standing still,” Berg said, still with hints of a Cherry Hill accent after his years out west. “Status quo is not an option.”
Current comissioner Don Garber said that when he appointed Berg to that committee in 2019, Berg “brought to that role an entirely modern and forward-thinking perspective as to where the product could be on the field.”
The league has long discussed an overhaul that will free teams to not just spend more money, but have more freedom in how they spend it. The latter is as important as the former, with rosters chopped into so many classifications: Designated Players, Targeted Allocation Money, Under-22 signings, and so on.
“I didn’t accept this role to protect what we’ve already accomplished — I accepted it because I believe this league is ready for its next chapter,” Berg said. “We’ve come an incredibly long way in a remarkably short period of time, and everyone who has helped build Major League Soccer should be proud of that. But I also believe the opportunity in front of us is even greater than what we’ve accomplished so far.”
Larry Berg has helped bring Gareth Bale (left) and other superstars to Los Angeles FC over the years.Marcio Jose Sanchez
There is proof that overhaul is on the way. At Monday’s vote of team owners that elected Berg, Inter Miami’s powerful leader Jorge Mas was seen walking out of the lobby holding a printout of a presentation titled “MLS 3.0.” He was gone before reporters could ask him what was in it, but fans would like to know.
“The platform is in place, the infrastructure is in place, the opportunity is in front of us,” Berg said. “Now it’s time to pull the right levers, make the right decisions, and build on everything that’s been created. Together, we’ll make the right decisions to elevate our competition, strengthen our clubs, develop more world-class players, and inspire the next generation of supporters.”
One of Berg’s fellow co-owners at LAFC, Bennett Rosenthal, was a co-chair of the committee that vetted commissioner candidates. He said choosing Berg “puts us in a position, and puts Larry in a position most importantly, to succeed and get consensus to make those changes.”
Another major headline is that Berg is the first MLS commissioner to have a major soccer background before taking the job. It needs to be said that he’s only the third commissioner in league history: Doug Logan had the job first, from 1996-99, and Garber has had it since. He will stay in the job through the end of this year, then spend 2027 with the new title of chairman.
Larry Berg (right) with Don Garber at MLS headquarters.Major League Soccer
“In Larry, our league has found exactly the leader we need at this time,” Garber said, coincidentally speaking 27 years to the day since his hiring was announced.
“He understands it because he helped build it,” Garber continued. “He knows our clubs and knows our league because he’s experienced it full time, and understands the opportunities and the challenges ahead. … I think your integrity, your ambition, your thoughtfulness, your smarts, your respect that you have for the game, is going to help take this league to where we all want it to go.”
Berg, 60, has been around soccer since his childhood. He was a fan of the old Philadelphia Atoms back in the day, and has been a devoted traveler to U.S. national team games for decades.
“I want to take you back to 1974: I was eight years old when my father saw a flyer taped to a telephone pole announcing a brand new youth soccer league in our hometown,” he recalled. “He didn’t know anything about soccer, to be clear, but he thought it looked interesting and signed me up anyway — there were only two teams, so we played the same opponent every weekend. I don’t think either of us could have imagined that one decision would eventually lead me here today.”
Rosenthal said his committee believed from the start that “we needed somebody who had a passion for the game, and there was nobody who had a bigger passion than Larry. And when we say the word passion, Larry described this role as something he had ‘a calling’ to do.”
It remains to be seen how much of an impact that actually has. But there surely will be some impact, directly and subtly.
“I’ve experienced this sport as a player, a fan, an owner, and now with tremendous humility as next commissioner,” Berg said. “The foundation has been built. Now it’s our responsibility to build on it, and that’s what excites me most.”
Larry Berg with his wife Allison (right), a Philadelphia native.FilmMagic
Berg specifically noted how important it is for the league to capture the afterglow of this summer’s World Cup, and ensure all the new soccer fans it created come to MLS specifically.
“Millions of people across North America experienced that passion firsthand: they fell in love with the drama, the atmosphere, the supporter culture, and the emotion that makes soccer unlike anything else,” he said. “That creates an extraordinary opportunity for all of us. The question isn’t whether people are paying attention to soccer — they are. The question is what we do with this moment.”
