On “Garden Song” from her 2020 album Punisher, Phoebe Bridgers sang: “When I grow up, I’m gonna look up from my phone and see my life.”
When she sang that lyric on Monday in South Philly, she didn’t have to take her eyes away from her mobile device because, of course, she was on stage and didn’t have it with her.
But what was different about The Lost Tour — the concert trek that brought Bridgers to the Xfinity Mobile Arena along with her nine-piece band and her opening act, Havertown’s own Alex G — was that none of the other 20,000 or so people in the room had their cell phones with them either.
Or rather, most had them in their possession, but the phones were locked away in Yondr pouches attached to lanyards around their necks, and thus inaccessible for the combined three-hour duration of Bridgers’ 26-song headlining set and Alex G’s 19-tune opener.
So: No photos, no videos, and no Instagram until after the show was over. What a concept: Does an actual shared experience even happen if it can’t be immediately shared virtually?
And perhaps more importantly, how are you supposed to know the Eagles score if you can’t constantly check your phone? Though that turned out to be a blessing, considering the Birds’ abysmal Monday Night Football performance.
Bridgers’ performance, on the contrary — as well as the impressive and imaginative staging of the singer-songwriter’s inaugural arena tour — was exemplary.
Phoebe Bridgers at Xfinity Mobile Arena in South Philly during The Lost Tour on Monday night.Wes Ellis / Courtest of the Oriel Co.
The show drew from her grief-stricken, joyous, emotionally complex, darkly funny, and musically varied new album, Lost Weekend, as well as Punisher and her 2017 debut, Stranger in the Alps.
It also looked really cool. This summer, in the run-up to the release of Lost Weekend, Bridgers stoked the ardor of her fan base first with a series of no phones pop-up shows around the country, and then Lost Weekend listening parties staged in planetariums.
The Lost Tour recreates that sparkly star-filled aesthetic in an arena setting. Bridgers began with the main stage covered by a dome that looked like a giant cloche — one of those plate covers that a server lifts to reveal a dinner plate at a fancy restaurant.
The first song “Outside,” also the opening track on Lost Weekend, was played by musicians not yet visible under the dome. In its first verse, Bridgers’ heavily processed voice cracked a macabre joke about the funeral of her father, who died in 2022: “Crying in a suit and tie, but you should see the other guy / One more time for old time’s sake, I’ll watch him get carried away.”
Then the dome slowly lifted to reveal the dressed-in-black band. The ensemble, which excelled at folk-pop but also moved into more electronic and noisy textures, included a four-person string section, plus multi-instrumentalist Melina Duterte, who performs under the stage name Jay Som.
As it hung overhead, the dome then tilted back to reveal outer space imagery — the surface of the moon, or what looked like Jupiter — in its circular core while sky-high back and white visions of Bridgers were projected on curtains on either side of the stage.
The action began with Bridgers’ “Motion Sickness,” about an abusive relationship (“I hate you for what you did, and I miss you like a little kid”) and kicked into gear with the new album’s earworm “Lost Boys,” about men behaving badly, again.
Alex G with Phoebe Bridgers at Xfinity Mobile Arena in South Philly during The Lost Tour on Monday night.Wes Ellis / Courtesy of The Oriel Co.
Bridgers rose to popularity as an unstinting and artful chronicler of her interior life not only with her solo work, but also with Better Oblivion Community Center with Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes and especially boygenius, with bandmates Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker.
The trio broke through to mainstream popularity in 2023, when it sold out the Mann Center in Fairmount Park. That fan base of teenage and older women singing along to every word was in force on Monday, when the merch line was even longer than the queue for the men’s room at Willie Nelson and Neil Young’s show at the Mann last week.
Boygenius reunited at Bridgers’ shows in Brooklyn this month, but her bandmates didn’t make the trip down the Jersey Turnpike to Dacus’ former hometown. Not to worry, though: Bridgers had a special guest at the ready in her opening act.
In her own set, she brought out “my friend Alex G.”
The singer whose last name is Giannascoli cowrote two songs and co-produced 11 on Lost Weekend. It’sno surprise he and Bridgers are simpatico, as his music bears the influence of Elliott Smith, one of Bridgers’ songwriting heroes.
Many of Bridgers’ songs — catchy as they are, and sung in a sweet upper register — can be heavy going, even when she makes not really light-hearted jokes like in “Governor’s Waltz,” about “hiding in the bathroom, like Shelley Duvall” in The Shining.
But her music also rocks out with ecstatic release. As it did on Monday with “Bobby,” a euphoric tune about her partner, comedian Bo Burnham, who cowrote it.
She then brought out Alex G and his band, including violinist Molly Germer, for a duet on his song called “Bobby,” a country lament from 2017.
“I’ve been wanting to do that for a decade,” Bridgers said.
Much of the most memorable action happened on the second, satellite stage. Bridgers played a six-song set there, at some points solo and others accompanied by her string players.
Alex G with Phoebe Bridgers at Xfinity Mobile Arena in South Philly during The Lost Tour on Monday night.Matt Grubb / Courtesy of the Oriel Co.
She sang the devastating “Funeral,” and thanked fans for putting phones away, as part of a trend that’s also seen artists like Jill Scott go the Yondr route to create a more present, in the moment experience.
Some fans in other cities had cut the pouches open with knives, Bridgers said, but joked “they have to live with who they are.” Creating a phone-free experience, she said, “is actually no more thought out than it’s really nice.” Which it was.
Before “Still Standing,” a song about domestic violence, Bridgers, 32, talked about her complicated relationship with her father, and how satisfying it’s been to talk to fans and friends who’ve had similar experiences.
“I used to think that artists had traumatic lives,” she said. “Now I realize it’s just that artists sing about it. Really, it’s everyone. Everybody deserves their own documentary.”
Alex G played his entire set from the second stage, which was lit by light saberlike sticks that made it appear that he and his band were performing from inside of a light bulb.
The prolific musician who has moved into film scoring, most recently stretching out as a composer with his work on Jane Schoenbrun’s horror rom-comTeenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, was in fine form.
His economical set courted Bridgers’ fans early on with melodic nuggets like “Gretel” and the grabby “Runner” before moving into more gnarly territory.
Coming on stage as a recording of “Here Come the Sixers” played, he let his subtly appealing music do the talking, but also charmed with awkward, blurted out stage patter.
“It’s good to be back in the greatest city in the world,” he said, adding “I can’t think of anything else to say. Is everybody excited about LeBron James?”
And after thanking everyone involved in the show, from Bridgers to his driver, he ended with the words that all Philadelphians understand but which did no good on this particular evening: “Go Birds!”
A large part of South Jersey’s sprawling Pine Barrens region will be the focus of a new climate change study.
The Burlington County Southwest Pinelands Regional Resiliency Study will assess the climate change threats facing Evesham, Medford, Medford Lakes, Shamong, and Tabernacle, and it will be led by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) in partnership with Burlington County and the nonprofit Pinelands Alliance.
The study will also include suggestions for how these towns can better recover from future climate events such as wildfires, floods, heatwaves, and more.
“Climate change is no longer abstract or theoretical; it’s now a physical reality impacting our communities and infrastructure,” Burlington County Commissioner Deputy Director Allison Eckel said in a statement. “No part of Burlington County is immune, and Burlington County’s Pinelands towns are increasingly at risk from more frequent and intense wildfires, inland flooding, droughts, heatwaves, storms, and other impacts from climate change.”
Experts will utilize climate and environmental data, impacts from past weather events, and more to identify the region’s climate vulnerabilities and develop resiliency action plans, according to a statement from the county.
Burlington County and each of the participating towns will also be eligible for up to $350,000 in grant funding from the NJDEP to put the resiliency plans in place.
The county expects to begin work on the study in early 2027 and to conduct various workshops and surveys to get public input, said Burlington County spokesperson David Levinsky.
The previous study took a little more than a year to complete, Levinsky said, and officials predict that the timeline for the forthcoming work will be similar.
“The Route 130 Corridor Study generated substantial public input and engagement from our Delaware River communities and resulted in recommendations for each municipality to take to mitigate climate change threats,” Eckel said. “We’re excited to partner with the NJDEP again on this new study focused on our Pinelands towns and the climate challenges unique to them. We’re hoping to get the same kind of public engagement, and that the end result is an action plan that helps these communities become better prepared.”
Both studies are part of the agency’s Resilient NJ program, established in 2014 to help communities across the state plan for potential climate change impacts.
The new display at the Sprouts Farmers Market on Broad Street looks as if someone was forced to draw the Phanatic both from memory and out of spite.
That’s the best description I can give of the haggard green giant that was erected outside the supermarket in mid-September.
Rotund, snouted, and wearing a pinstripe baseball tee, the creature has all the trappings of our dear Phillie Phanatic, the Galapagos-born flightless bird who reps the Phillies. Somewhere along the way, however, the details got lost in translation.
“That is not the Phanatic. What the f—?” wrote user @JamesPhl96 on X on Sept. 19 above two photos of the Sprouts monster staring unblinkingly into the night. Viewed over 113,000 times, the post has helped the figure take on a life of its own as equal parts landmark, monster, and friend-shaped photo-op.
“The Sprouts Phanatic fall display can’t hurt you. He’s not real,” one X user wrote, attributing the advice to his therapist.
“That’s my sleep paralysis demon,” wrote another. The creature has also been called many names, including — but not limited to — the “Fauxnatic,” “Phil E. Guy,” and Phrank, aka the Phanatic’s weird cousin.
Faisal Khan, who has managed the Broad Street Sprouts location since December, is quick to defend his store’s creation as “beautiful” and not at all scary.
The knockoff Phanatic was designed by Four Seasons Produce, a national produce distributor based in Ephrata that delivers to Sprouts locations in the Philadelphia region, Khan said.
The 5’7″ Phanatic knockoff outside the Sprouts Farmers Market at 1000 S. Broad St. does not fit into his baseball jersey.Beatrice Forman / Staff
The company (not to be confused with the landscapers) creates seasonal displays for the store every fall, according to Khan. Four Seasons retains full creative control, he said. They’ve mostly stuck to piles of artfully arranged pumpkins and other gourds — until now.
“They kind of went all out this year,” Khan said. “I was very happy.”
The Fauxnatic has quirks beyond his lump-like figure and piercing googly eyes.
The 5′7″ topiary is made of hay that was dyed green. It flakes off like dead skin. Measuring at 76 inches around at its widest point, the creature also cannot be contained by a baseball jersey. The back is held together by string so the Fauxnatic does not flash the general public, even if he does come close to mooning us. (Rest assured: two pumpkins are placed where his butt cheeks would be.)
His baseball tee doesn’t even bear the Phillies logo. The Fauxnatic had a hat, Khan conceded, but it blew away in the wind.
Khan says the creature has been a boon for the Sprouts location, which was the organic supermarket chain’s first to open in Philly at 1000 S. Broad St. in 2018. Since the day the monster went up, Khan has watched what he estimated as “100-plus people” stop by to take photos.
“It’s mostly families coming with their kids,” Khan said. The Fauxnatic “brings a lot of foot traffic in.”
Shawn Erwin and her 5-year-old daughter Skylar are one of those families. Erwin and her daughter took photos with the creature at the end of an early evening grocery run Thursday. They giggled the entire time.
The Phillie Phanatic outside the Broad Street Sprouts Farmers Market lacks branded merch. He had a hat at some point, the store’s manager said, but it blew away.Beatrice Forman /
Skylar, for her part, thinks he looks just like the Phanatic. Her mom isn’t so sure.
“He looks like he’s made from hay,” Erwin said. “What happened to his hat?”
Khan said the store plans to keep the Fauxnatic up through Halloween, at which point he will be swapped out for a holiday motif.
“I’m honestly surprised,” Khan said. “You know we’re just a grocery store, right?”
Update: As U.S. manager Emma Hayes indicated might happen, Naomi Girma was withdrawn from the squad because of an injury. Kate Del Fava of the Utah Royals was called up to replace her.
Spain Mariona Caldentey is also likely to miss the series after suffering a hamstring injury in a game with her club.
As the men’s World Cup summer fades away, the time has come to kick off the countdown to next year’s women’s World Cup in Brazil.
The U.S. women’s team’s series with Spain — a clash between the reigning Olympic champions and reigning World Cup champions — will serve as the starting gun. So it’s fitting that U.S. manager Emma Hayes has summoned a squad packed with stars for the two-game set, Oct. 10 in Washington and Oct. 13 at Subaru Park.
The defense also has its headliner in Naomi Girma, who makes the squad despite injuries hampering the start to her season at English club Chelsea. But Hayes admitted Tuesday that the centerback’s latest knock, suffered in practice just a few hours before the announcement, could rule her out.
“I’m not entirely sure if Naomi will be on the roster, but I’m sure we will will report something if that is the case,” Hayes said in a news conference.
Naomi Girma (right) hasn’t played for her club, England’s Chelsea, since Sept. 2.Gari Garaialde
While those players will sell the most tickets, the one who might generate the most fan buzz is forward Ashley Sanchez. She has been steamrolling the NWSL this year with the North Carolina Courage and has 20 goals and four assists in 26 games.
But she hasn’t been with the national team since January 2025 and hasn’t played for her country since October 2024.
The 27-year-old has tied the league’s single-season scoring record with four games to go. She could break it Friday night by scoring on the goalkeeper who might be the U.S.’s new starter, the Seattle Reign’s Claudia Dickey.
“I think Ashley’s had an extraordinary season, not just in terms of the number of goals she’s scored, but I think consistency in her performance,” Hayes said. “At her stage of her career, I’m sure she doesn’t want to waste the opportunities that are in front of her. The experience she has — this is a player that was always tipped for great things as a youth national team player, and so I’m happy to see her fulfilling her potential.”
Hayes doesn’t have everyone available she’d like to have. Three major players are dealing with long-term injuries: veteran centerback Emily Sonnett, young creative midfielder Olivia Moultrie, and do-it-all attacking star Catarina Macario.
While Hayes hopes they’ll be back next year, the door has opened for some young prospects. Winger Pietra Tordin has turned heads with seven goals and nine assists for the Portland Thorns, while striker Trinity Byars has 10 goals and two assists for the San Diego Wave.
As for available players who didn’t make the cut for this squad, the biggest absence is Gotham FC playmaker Jaedyn Shaw. It’s easy to forget she’s only 21, as she has 37 senior national team caps. Shaw has been in superb form in the NWSL lately: four goals and one assist in her last five games, with nine goals and five assists on the season.
Angel City striker Ally Sentnor is another notable absence. She has seven goals and four assists for the club this year, and seven goals in 23 career U.S. games.
“I want to prioritize the development of players, and I don’t want less experienced players always sitting on the bench and playing few minutes,” Hayes said, adding that the duo are “still central to our plans.”
Hayes said she spoke with both of them and “they understand the importance of their development” and “this has been part of their prescribed journey.”
Both games are close to sold out, with only scattered seats open on Ticketmaster. As of Tuesday afternoon, the starting price for the Tuesday game in Chester is $76 and leaps to $168 for the Saturday matchup at Washington’s Audi Field.
The big crowds will come to cheer on the U.S., but they’ll also be keen to see Spain’s stars. La Roja’s squad includes two-time world player of the year Alexia Putellas, a further all-world playmaker in Mariona Caldentey, and one of the planet’s top young players in Salma Paralluelo,
U.S. midfielder Lily Yohannes (left) faced Spain’s Mariona Caldentey last spring when Yohannes’ OL Lyonnes met Arsenal in the women’s Chamipions League semifinals.Laurent Cipriani
It notably does not include former Gotham FC striker Esther González, who likely would have gotten a frosty reception over here. She left Gotham in late July via a mutual contract termination for what she said were personal reasons but within a month joined Saudi Arabian club Al Qadisah.
That drew backlash on this side of the Atlantic, and not just from Gotham fans who felt scorned. Several eyebrows were raised around the league, and even some observers in Europe were surprised.
Three-time reigning world player of the year Aitana Bonmatí also isn’t on this squad, as she’s recovering from a broken leg suffered last season.
But the rest of the squad is more than than deep enough to give the U.S. one of the biggest tests it can get from any team in the world.
“I’ve said it many times: We want the hard path,” Hayes said. “We want these games, this preparation. We welcome it; we invite it. It brings the best out of us.”
Emma Hayes giving instructions at a U.S. practice when the team was in Chester for a game last October.Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
USWNT roster vs. Spain
Goalkeepers (3): Claudia Dickey (Seattle Reign), Jordan Silkowitz (Bay FC), Phallon Tullis-Joyce (Manchester United, England)
Defenders (8): Tierna Davidson (Gotham FC), Emily Fox (Arsenal, England), Naomi Girma (Chelsea, England), Avery Patterson (Houston Dash), Lilly Reale (Boston Legacy), Tara Rudd (Washington Spirit), Gisele Thompson (Angel City FC), Kennedy Wesley (San Diego Wave)
Midfielders (7): Sam Coffey (Manchester City, England), Lindsey Heaps (Denver Summit), Claire Hutton (Bay FC), Rose Lavelle (Gotham FC), Evelyn Shores (Angel City FC), Mallory Swanson (Chicago Stars), Lily Yohannes (OL Lyonnes, France)
Forwards (8): Trinity Byars (San Diego Wave), Michelle Cooper (Kansas City Current), Trinity Rodman (Washington Spirit), Emma Sears (Racing Louisville), Ashley Sanchez (North Carolina Courage), Pietra Tordin (Portland Thorns), Alyssa Thompson (Chelsea), Sophia Wilson (Portland Thorns)
USWNT schedule
Saturday, Oct. 10: vs. Spain at Audi Field, Washington, 2:30 p.m. (TBS, Telemundo 62, Universo, HBO Max, Peacock)
Tuesday, Oct. 13: vs. Spain at Subaru Park, Chester, 7 p.m. (TNT, Universo, HBO Max, Peacock)
⭐ La preparación de la #FIFAWWC, empieza con 𝗘𝗟𝗟𝗔𝗦.
Whether the Phillies experience a Red October remains to be seen, but they are in for a Red September in Atlanta with summerlike temperatures and what looks to be a hitter-friendly atmosphere.
On a Tuesday in which the sun was fighting mightily to prove its existence over Philadelphia — in what has been an unusually gloomy September — the skies over Atlanta were perfectly clear and forecast to stay that way through the next three afternoons.
Highs there Tuesday afternoon should crest in the mid-80s, said Todd Vaughan, meteorologist with the regional National Weather Service in Peachtree, Ga.
That would be about 20 degrees warmer than it was Sunday, when the Phillies beat the Tampa Bay Rays in South Philly to make the postseason.
Temperatures may make a run at 90 degrees Wednesday and Thursday afternoons, when the humidity would also be increasing, said Vaughan. As for winds, “They’ll be less than 10 mph,” he said.
On Sunday, in dismal, rainy Citizens Bank Park, winds were gusting to 29 mph.
As for what could go wrong with the Atlanta forecast, Vaughan said, “The forecast confidence is pretty high.”
An aside: If the best-of-three series goes to a third game, the Phillies’ Aaron Nola is on record as saying he loves to pitch in the heat. However, he also has given up a lot of long balls this season, and meteorologist Paul Dorian, who maintains a “Home Run Index” based on weather variables, said conditions would be favorable for homers this week.
No rain would be expected in Atlanta until Friday night, at which time the Phillies would be on the West Coast for their next series or heading back home for the winter.
If they return to Philly by Friday, they may rediscover that Ernest Hemingway was on to something with The Sun Also Rises, with clear skies and highs in the Atlanta-like 80s.
In fact after Tuesday, the sun should reign over Philly through the week, said Alex Staarmann, meteorologist at the weather service in Mount Holly. Highs are expected to be in the 70s Tuesday and Wednesday, and low 80s on Thursday.
You may have noticed a Vitamin D shortage this month. Overall, skies have been more than 70% cloud-covered since Sept. 1, according to weather service sky data, in what normally is one of the sunnier months.
“It’s been an unusually cloudy month for September, Staarmann said.
The clouds are due back this weekend. Rain is possible Friday night into Saturday, he said, and maybe more on Sunday.
If the Phillies have their way, they’ll be in Los Angeles playing in the Division Series.
In 1964, I was a) only 5 years old and b) living in the New York suburbs, so while I’ve been hearing all my life about the notorious collapse of the Phillies that September, I didn’t get to experience that feeling of existential dread in real time. But I was almost there last week, as the 2026 Phillies nearly became the first team to blow a four-game playoff lead with five games to play. Almost. Sunday’s 7-3 win over Tampa Bay sent my beloved/cursed midlife baseball team back to the playoffs for the fifth straight year. The chill of the offseason has been delayed for at least two more sure-to-be-heart-attack-inducing games in Atlanta. ‘Woke 1.0′
The only thing wrong with ‘Woke 1.0’ was that it wasn’t implemented
People participate in a Caribbean-led Black Lives Matter rally in June 2020 at Brooklyn’s Grand Army Plaza in New York. Kathy Willens
It’s a war almost nobody wanted, and yet it never, ever seems to end. Just thisweekend there was yet another spontaneous incident that caused the conflict to flare back up again, as an entire platoon of keyboard commandos mobilized for action.
Yes, the utterly ridiculous “war on woke” is back on again. The equally senseless fighting in Iran is almost certain to end sooner than this boondoggle.
The flashpoint was something appropriately trivial enough for this war of distraction: a decision by the Boston Globe to report on the, yes, somewhat silly fight consuming a western Massachusetts lesbian tavern called the Last Ditch Bar and Arts Venue. The hangout continues to require all patrons to wear COVID-era KN95 masks, as a gesture that everyone is welcome at all times, including the immunocompromised.
The fracas that broke out when the owners of the Last Ditch sought to make just one night a week “mask-optional” in a bid to boost business didn’t just make for a widely read Globe scoop (supposedly it brought in several thousand new subscribers). It also spread great joy among the nattering nabobs who continue to see COVID-19 overreaction as the avatar of a far-left conspiracy to make America ungreat.
Suzy Weiss, writing for the Free Press founded by her sister and now CBS News honcho, Bari Weiss, emailed with glee that “what happened at Last Ditch shows that Woke 1.0 never ended in some parts of America. It just got crazier.” The Washington Post’s Megan McArdle — who can thank her colleague Kathleen “Donald Trump Will Be a Normal President” Parker for not having the worst columnist batting average of all time — declared that, groan, “The Great Awokening Is Over.”
This nonsense rekindled a fire that’s been smoldering since the summer among a certain crowd — six-figure-salaried pundits who call Trump “uncouth” and pat themselves on the back for their brave liberalism before picking up their kids at the Dalton School and catching the last train for the Hamptons — who insist America’s downfall didn’t peak with the 2016 election of a demagogue with dictatorial ambition.
No, the real crisis hit in 2020 when, in their telling, our great Fortune 500 companies were blackmailed into tweeting “Black Lives Matter,” when someone at the far edge of a protest march carried a sign that read “Defund the Police,” and when some tripping-on-idealism sophomore at Oberlin complained that serving bahn mi in the cafeteria was “cultural appropriation.”
Trump might be uncouth, they argue, but America will never be whole without a Truth and Reconciliation Commission and a public apology for the crimes against humanity of the “woke era.”
The accelerant, if not the trigger, for this insanity was possibly the most unlikely of sources:U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, heir apparent to the progressive movement, whom many would like to see run for president in 2028. Like her allies on the left, AOC has been undergoing a kind of Spanish Inquisition from journalists demanding an explanation for why — at a time when millions were marching against U.S. cops killing more citizens than anywhere else in the developed world — some folks on the far-left wanted to abolish not just the police but maybe Thanksgiving.
Ocasio-Cortez laughed off the question by quoting another New York progressive that “Woke 1 was crazy” and arguing that the madness of monthslong COVID lockdowns caused some people to voice extreme ideas they shouldn’t be judged upon six years later.
To say AOC’s comments were a mistake would be an understatement. She gave the critics an inch, and they’ve taken about 87 miles and counting. It gave a boost to a bevy of “both sides” columnists who’ve been dying to say the left and the right are equally to blame for everything that’s wrong with America.
“Restitution, if only in the form of honest contrition and perhaps even a public apology, is in order,” demanded conservative New York Times columnist Bret Stephens, who may have been referring toa few other journalists or professors who today blame “Woke 1.0” for their career setbacks, although he also may have been thinking about his own epic fight with the college professor who called him “a bedbug.”
Look, we all can laugh at the worst foibles of the far-left; that’s why Portlandia was such a popular show, even among liberals. We should cringe when some professor calls people “folx,” and get mad at more serious illiberal crimes against free speech, like stealing student newspapers or shutting down campus speakers over their politics.
But it’s a massive false equivalence to compare these offenses by low-wattage college students and a few professors to the high crimes and misdemeanors of an American fascist movement that includes the president,big chunks of Congress, and the U.S. Supreme Court. What’s more, the people making these comparisons want to make you forget what the upheavals that peaked in 2020 were actually about, which was upending the status quo of which they are card-carrying members.
They want you to remember that “Defund the Police” placard so you’ll forget that millions marched in the streets in 2020 because George Floyd was just one of more than 1,000 Americans killed by the police that year — or that at least 1,000 people have died the same way in every year since then.
They want you to get mad about the “bahn mi kids” at Oberlin, so you won’t get angry at the gross unfairness of an educational system that’s tilted toward the kids of those writers and politicians demanding apologies for “wokeness” — the privilege that gives their pampered offspring SAT prep and legacy admissions while the rabble attends lousy public schools.
They have ridiculed, mocked, and called for the police suppression of every social movement from Occupy Wall Street to No Kings — maybe because they don’t want a higher marginal tax rate, but definitely because they are terrified that a more equal society for everyone means less status for them. Heck, some plebe might call them a “bedbug” and get away with it this time.
AOC got it totally wrong. “Woke 1″ wasn’t crazy. Its biggest problem was that the heart and soul of the movement — no more militarized police, better wages and health insurance, billionaires paying their fair share of taxes, and colleges that are accessible and affordable — was never implemented. The bad guys won, and the good guys gave up too easily.
No one needs to apologize for saying that maybe we should improve society somewhat. But meanwhile, hey, look over there — it’s a crazy lesbian bar!
Yo, do this!
Over the years, as I’ve called on my love of American history to try and explain what went right and then went terribly wrong in the 80-plus years since World War II, there is one place that keeps popping up again and again: the University of California, especially its flagship Berkeley campus. In a time of free tuition and rising postwar optimism, the UC system was the crown jewel of U.S. public higher education, only to become ground zero for 1960s protests and the rise of Ronald Reagan, followed by fights over affirmative action, rising college costs, and much more. My good friend and former Newsday mentor Miriam Pawel has just published a much-needed chronicle of all this — California Dreams: The Making and Remaking of the University of California — that just now was enthusiastically downloaded by me.
The crisis of press freedom in the United States has recently become a front-page story, with Donald Trump’s stunning and typically ham-handed efforts to ban news organizations he personally doesn’t like — CNN, MS NOW, and Politico — from the White House. At the same time, I chronicled the growing threats and harassment as well as actual violence against U.S. journalists that is endangering the First Amendment. I am asking you today to make a contribution to The Philadelphia Inquirer High-Impact Journalism Fund. Your gift ensures we have the resources to not only execute deep, investigative reporting that holds the powerful accountable, but to do so while keeping our journalists safe from the escalating legal and physical threats that have become a daily reality in this business.
Ask me anything
Question: How can Article I [of the U.S. Constitution] reassert itself when Article III seems intent on creating a unitary executive with vast, uncheckable powers? — Jackie Gardina (@jackiegardina.bsky.social) via Bluesky
Answer: Jackie, that’s a good question — what you’re basically asking is how can Congress (the subject of Article I) undo the power-grabbing role of the judiciary, and specifically the U.S. Supreme Court, that was created in Article III? No doubt, Donald Trump’s dictatorial ambitions have been fueled by a series of high court rulings that have placed the president above the law and expanded White House powers. But America’s founders clearly gave Congress the tools to reassert control, if only they would use them. Lawmakers have the authority to expand the Supreme Court, impose term limits on justices, mandate a code of ethics, and take other measures to bring this star chamber back to reality. And I believe a majority of voters are more than ready to sign off on such radical changes.
What you’re saying about …
There was pretty much unanimity among responders to last week’s question about Donald Trump banning reporters from his least favorite news outlets from the White House — an action that was quickly (and predictably) overturned by a (Trump-appointed) federal judge. Readers thought the entire press corps should walk out in solidarity, with no need to hurry back and record the president’s every utterance. “Not only should the White House press corps walk out in solidarity, but they should also start standing up for their colleagues when the president insults them,” wrote emailer David (full names, please!). “A few white guys saying, ‘Mr. President, that is not acceptable’ might actually register with Trump and his advisors.” Added Stephen R. Rourke, “Moreover, it would deprive Trump of the only thing he cares about: visibility.”
📮 This week’s question: Major League Baseball has scored TV ratings wins with games in unlikely settings, such as the Iowa cornfield that hosts the Field of Dreams game. Now MLB has approached the good people of the Trump regime with a new idea: a baseball field in anational park, possibly Wyoming’s Grand Teton. Brilliant marketing, or another crime against Mother Nature? Please email me your answer and put the exact phrase “National Park baseball” in the subject line.
Backstory on the Christian wealth scam with ties to the Eagles
Brandon Graham, Nick Sirianni, and Saquon Barkley are among the Eagles past and present scheduled to speak at Life Surge on Saturday.Staff Photographs
It was already a bad look in May 2025 when some of the brightest lights of the then-Super Bowl-titlist Philadelphia Eagles — including head coach Nick Sirianni and star running back Saquon Barkley — pocketed large appearance fees to talk about football and God at an event at the now-named Xfinity Mobile Arena called Champions of Faith. The rally, as reported at the time by The Inquirer and other news outlets, existed to promote a Christian wealth scheme called Life Surge whose founder had left behind a trail of deception and fraud allegations. My colleagues Olivia Reiner and Ryan W. Briggs reported growing allegations that Life Surge “exploits the Christian faith and the allure of the famous speakers as a cover for ‘bait and switch’ sales tactics pitching a series of weekend investing seminars.”
The Eagles-laden event — which also featured speeches and a chance to meet stalwarts such as Brandon Graham, Cooper DeJean, and retired Hall of Famer Brian Dawkins — went ahead despite the negative coverage, but you could already sense the Life Surge saga was not going to end well. Last week, a scathing exposé led by podcaster Pablo Torre, who was just awarded a Pulitzer Prize for his investigative reporting that led to a massive fine against the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers, turned Life Surge’s dodgy practices and the deep involvement of Heisman Trophy-winning retired quarterback Tim Tebow into a national scandal.
The joint project by Torre and Mother Jones investigative reporter Kiera Butler reported that “hundreds of attendees swap stories of high-pressure sales tactics infused with Christian messaging” on a large Facebook group of unhappy Life Surge customers, Reddit threads, and elsewhere. Some said they withdrew retirement funds or went deep into credit card debt to pay for “SurgeU” classes in wealth management that can cost as much as $40,000.
The story, boosted by Torre’s podcasting clout and the focus on Tebow’s role as a frequent featured speaker who’s earned an estimated $2 million to $4 million from his involvement, garnered immediate results. Tebow has already announced he is pausing any future involvement with Life Surge, noting “the allegations are extremely serious.” It’s doubtful any of the Eagles will face any consequences for their one-day fling with Life Surge, and yet maybe this scandal will finally convince Philly athletes to stop saying anything for another fistful of dollars.
It was stunning to see that the newest and arguably brightest star in the city’s sports firmament, the new 76er LeBron James, signed a $15 million deal — far more than the reduced salary he accepted to help the Sixers finally win another title — with the online prediction market Polymarket. This despite the fact that New York state (where James is apparently living, by the way) and others have accused Polymarket of running an unlicensed gambling operation, in an era when betting addictions are wrecking far too many lives.
James’ new ads for Polymarket dropped just weeks after The Inquirer reported that the Phillies’ highest-paid slugger, Bryce Harper, who has a 13-year, $330 million contract, was paid to film a personalized Cameo video that the sports-betting company FanDuel then sent to a gambler who was racking up $1.5 million in debt.
Harper said FanDuel slapped its logo on the video with neither his knowledge nor permission. Meanwhile, Eagles legend Dawkins, one of last year’s Life Surge speakers, found himself embroiled in controversy this week when Donald Trump’s Department of Homeland Security lifted a hype video of the footballer to promote its mass deportation efforts. The use of the video without Dawkins’ permission was an outrage, but then it’s easy to fool the public when our sporting heroes won’t stop running their mouths to inflate their already bloated bank balance.
What I wrote on this date in 2020
Thursday will mark the 56th anniversary of the night that forever defined Philly “attytood”: The Phillies’ final home game at iconic Connie Mack Stadium in 1970, which prompted fans of the team that still has the most losses in major-league history to rip everything — even the toilets — out of the rusted ballpark before rioting on the field. I wrote on the 50th anniversary six years ago that the chaos was “a pivot point in how the nation would see Philadelphia — no longer either the place of history-class field trips or boring Quaker blue laws but now the U.S. capital of blue-collar attytood, with sports fans who were in your face, with a wooden slat if someone was dumb enough to hand them one.”
Only one column this week, as I also toiled on my latest investigative reporting project on what’s really happening with immigration arrests in Pennsylvania. In that column, I looked at Donald Trump’s increasingly erratic and outlandish public statements and argued that — instead of news coverage that soberly looks at every bat-guano crazy outburst or rambling speech — it’s time for the media to start seriously questioning the president’s mental health. The moment for real talk about Trump’s disordered mind — and whatever remedy is possible — is now, before the crisis implodes.
Speaking of Donald Trump, one defining feature of his second presidency has been the fearfulness of newspaper editorial boards — including many that had called for Richard Nixon or even Bill Clinton to resign back in the day — to aggressively challenge the current POTUS even as he flagrantly violates both laws and common decency. I’m proud to work with the exception: the award-winning editorial board of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Spearheaded by my friend and colleague Paul Davies, The Inquirer this week has been publishing the latest in a six-part series of major indictments of Trump’s massive wrongdoing called “The Art of the Steal.” The recent broadsides included “It’s all about him,” which digs into Trump’s obsession with wasteful Washington, D.C., vanity projects, and “The family that grifts together,” which aims to chronicle the endless parade of crypto scams, defense contracts, and other financial schemes that have made billions of dollars for the president’s kin. These outstanding works of opinion journalism are just the latest example of how a newsroom funded not by billionaires but by a nonprofit foundation created in the public interest can’t be bought off or cowed by a corrupt government. You can support this important work — and enjoy reading it — when you subscribe to The Inquirer.
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A group of state representatives asked Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday to investigate whether a “systemic pattern of discrimination” against Jewish students occurs in the Philadelphia School District.
Citing a congressional investigation into Philadelphia and other districts, and reports of antisemitic incidents against city students, members of the Pennsylvania House Republican leadership and Martina White, a Republican representing Philadelphia, wrote to the attorney general urging a probe.
“The Office of Attorney General must ensure that Jewish students have a safe learning environment that is free from discrimination within the SDP,” the representatives wrote in the letter, which was sent Monday. “We ask you to investigate this matter to determine if any criminal activity occurred and take the appropriate action your office deems necessary.”
Monique Braxton, district spokesperson, said the school system “strives to create welcoming and inclusive environments that allow our students to feel safe and heard” and has “taken steps to protect and educate students and staff against antisemitism and other forms of hate and remains committed to fostering learning environments where all students and staff feel safe and supported.”
Sunday’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The state representatives, in their letter, brought up allegations that some district educators “promote antisemitic content in their classrooms.”
The incidents that prompted that settlement included a swastika drawn on a door, antisemitic slurs, and allegations of social media-based harassment by district teachers and administrators after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, and Israel’s subsequent military operation in Gaza.
“Local parents have repeatedly indicated that these behaviors and this antisemitic atmosphere continue to persist throughout the SDP,” the representatives wrote. “Jewish students, like all students, should be able to learn in an environment that is free from discrimination.”
Temple University Health System saw a $22.7 million operating profit in the year that ended June 30, up slightly from $21.9 million in fiscal 2025, the North Philadelphia nonprofit told bondholders this week.
The result showed solid business operations while the system was “navigating intense professional liability and inflationary headwinds in a competitive Philadelphia healthcare market,” Temple said in an email to The Inquirer commenting on the results.
Here are more details:
Revenue: Temple’s total revenue rose nearly 10%, to $3.62 billion in fiscal 2026 from $3.29 billion the year before. Outpatient surgeries and cancer services were among the significant contributors to revenue growth from patient care, Temple said in its notice to bondholders.
Expenses: Insurance expenses climbed $19.3 million because of “higher professional liability costs related to inflationary legal expenses and the accelerated settlement of claims to mitigate rising awards by local courts,” Temple said.
Notable: Temple reported a 12% decline in cardiology procedures in fiscal 2026, to 4,654 from 5,274 the year before, because an unspecified number of physicians left. “As of late summer, 100% of these cardiology positions have been successfully filled,” Temple said.
Consumer Reports said it no longer recommends any brand ofe-scooter, citing higher top speeds for the popular vehicles and a sharp nationwide increase in rider injuries.
In 2017, about 10,500 people were injured on e-scooters, and by 2024 there were nearly 80,000 injuries — a jump of 662%, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Consumer Reports tested 13 e-scooter models in August, and said they were much faster than in 2022, when it first tested the devices.
“The most common top speed for e-scooters now is 20 mph,” said Bernie Deitrick, a ConsumerReports engineer who oversees e-scooter testing. One model had a top speed of 28 mph, “almost twice as fast as the models we tested in 2022,” he said.
Four years ago, the top speed for the scooters ConsumerReports tested was 15.5 mph.
Some e-scooters on the market today, called hyper scooters, can hit speeds of 75 mph or more. Consumer Reports did not test them and says they shouldn’t be used.
People took 58 million trips on shared e-scooters in 2025, an increase of 29% year over year, the National Association of City Transportation Officials found in a survey of 31 cities where the public can rent the devices per ride, along with shared bicycles and e-bikes.
That doesn’t count the millions of e-scooters sold to private owners, estimated at about 1.4 million last year.
The federal government has not established safety rules for e-scooters sold to consumers. ConsumerReports found that there is no comprehensive voluntary standard from manufacturers of e-mobility devices, and independent industry laboratories have not developed one either.
“Consumers simply cannot trust that manufacturers are putting safety first as long as e-scooters come with such glaring hazards,” William Wallace, CR’s director of safety advocacy, said in a statement.
“If this industry is going to help reduce injuries, they need to agree on a set of strong baseline standards to make sure all e-scooters are designed and built to be safe,” Wallace said.
States have varying regulations for e-scooters and e-bikes and some allow municipal governments to establish stricter rules.
Since electric scooters are not defined in Pennsylvania law, it is illegal to operate them on public highways, including sidewalks, bike lanes, and roads, according to PennDot.
People can ride e-bikes in Pennsylvania as long as they have electric motors smaller than 750 watts and do not exceed 20 mph.
New Jersey rolled out the toughest laws in the nation this summer for e-bikes and e-scooters, requiring licenses for riders based on age, vehicle registration, and even liability insurance for faster models.
Electric scooters that have a top speed of 19 mph are treated as bicycles and do not require licensing or registration under New Jersey law.
Roadwork will cause detours, delays, and closures in more than a dozen municipalities throughout the county this week, including disruptions on Routes 23, 30 and 252.
Here are the traffic changes you need to know, starting Sept. 29:
Caln Township: Fisherville Road will be closed between North Bailey and Caln Meetinghouse Roads from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. from Sept. 30 to Oct. 6.
City of Coatesville and Caln, Sadsbury, Valley, and West Caln Townships: There will be a moving weeknight lane closure on westbound Route 30 between Airport Road and Kings Highway from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. through Oct. 2 for line painting.
East Bradford Township: Peco work closing Copeland School Road between Dunmoore Lane and Frank Road is expected to continue on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. through Oct. 30. Ravine Road is closed for road bank stabilization, a project that’s expected to continue through the winter.
East Brandywine Township: The township’s paving program is slated to continue through late September or early October. Paving work will impact Crawford and North Buck Roads and Summerhill Drive. There will also be chip seal treatment on Marshall and Highspire Roads.
East Caln Township: There will be a lane closure on Bell Tavern Boulevard, with intermittent work expected through Oct. 7, as the township undertakes stormwater infrastructure work.
East Pikeland and Schuylkill Townships and Phoenixville Borough: Work on Route 23 is expected to continue through Oct. 30, resulting in weekday lane closures on Bridge Street at the Nutt Road intersection. Work takes place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Honey Brook Township: Starting Oct. 1, the Cupola Road bridge over the east branch of Brandywine Creek will be closed for repairs for about five weeks.
Honey Brook and West Nantmeal Townships: Chestnut Tree Road will have a lane closure between Cupola and Creek Roads and Manor Road from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. through Oct. 2 for resurfacing work.
Kennett Township: East Hillendale Road will be closed between Bayard and McFarlan Roads for utility pole work from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. through Oct. 2.
Pocopson Township: Paving work is slated to get underway in October, impacting parts of Parkerville Road and Four Streams Drive. Exact timelines for the work haven’t been announced.
Spring City Borough: There will be about three days of intermittent lane closures from Sept. 28 on North Main Street between East Bridge and New Streets for Peco’s gas main replacement project. Work will take place between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.
Tredyffrin Township: There will be overnight weekday closures on Route 252 between Lancaster Avenue and Swedesford and Howellville Roads from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. through Nov. 21 for utility construction. Also expect some delays between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. near Timber Lane and Tory Hill Road through early October for Peco work.
Upper Uwchlan, Uwchlan, and West Whiteland Townships: Line painting on Pottstown Pike between Byers Road and Bartlett Avenue will result in moving lane closures through Sept. 30. Work will take place overnight from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.
West Brandywine Township: Expect alternating lane closures on Caln Meetinghouse, Germany Hollow, North Hawthorn, and South Hawthorn Roads; Brandywine and Laurel Drives; and Castle and Reason Lanes for base repairs through Oct. 5.
West Caln Township:Paving-related work will take place on Ruthland Avenue and North Bonsall, Reservoir, and Zaleski Roads through Sept. 28, resulting in road closures.
West Chester Borough: There will be intermittent road closures on the 400 to 600 blocks of West Rosedale Avenue on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. through Oct. 2 for Peco’s gas main replacement project. The 600 block of North Walnut Street will also be closed from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Oct. 1 for tree work.
West Whiteland Township: Work at the intersection of Ship Road and Lincoln Highway, including for new traffic signal poles, is expected to continue into mid- to late-October, resulting in possible delays.
Willistown Township:Paoli Pike will be closed between Frazer Avenue and Cedar Hollow Road from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. through Oct. 2 every day but Sundays for Peco work.
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.
