Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s administration on Wednesday announced the first 10 residential blocks that will each receive $100,000 in beautification upgrades as part of the city’s Curbside Appeal program.
“Every Philadelphian deserves to live on a block they can be proud of,” Parker said in a statement, adding that the program “gives neighbors the resources to come together, improve their surroundings, and strengthen the sense of community that makes our city special.”
The first 10 blocks set to receive services under the program, including debris removal, tree trimming, lawn restoration, and sidewalk repairs, are:
1300 block of South Ruby Street
1700 block of St. Paul Street
1800 block of Hart Lane
2200 block of South Sixth Street
2500 block of North Marston Street
3000 block of Titan Street
3200 block of North Howard Street
5000 block of Newhall Street
First block of Hobart Street
First block of Wiota Street
In May and June, residents were encouraged to nominate blocks for the program through their Neighborhood Advisory Committees or Neighborhood Community Action Centers, the so-called mini-City Halls Parker has established throughout the city to make services more accessible.
The next round of nominations for the program will take place in the spring.
“By partnering directly with neighbors, we’re helping transform blocks in ways that reflect the priorities of the people who live there while building stronger, more connected communities,” Jessie Lawrence, the city’s director of planning and development, said in a statement.
Council approved the H.O.M.E. initiative, which is funded primarily through $800 million in city bonds, in June 2025. Lawmakers then clashed with the administration last fall over income thresholds for some of the housing programs it funds, with Council successfully pushing through changes that prioritize poorer residents.
The city issued the first $400 million in H.O.M.E. bonds earlier this year, and is scheduled to issue the next tranche in 2027.
A former South Jersey Transportation Authority commissioner and Philadelphia union leader accused by a New Jersey grand jury of using public office to retaliate against a political foe enteredaguilty plea deal Wednesday that will likely keep him out of prison.
The grand jury last year indicted Bryan Bush and Christopher Milam, a current SJTA commissioner and former vice chair, on six counts of conspiracy, official misconduct, and perjury.
Prosecutors accused the two Gloucester County men of conspiring in 2023 to deny payment to a contractor that had allegedly fallen out of favor with George E. Norcross III, a Democratic South Jersey powerbroker, and with lying to a grand jury about their reasons for rejecting payments.
Bush, who was represented by Robert Agre of Agre & St. John in Haddonfield, pleaded guilty to one count of obstruction in the fourth degree — and agreed not to hold public employment. In exchange, prosecutors dropped the remaining charges and recommended probation. He agreed to comply with conditions in a Sept. 17 letter from the state, which prosecutors did not make available on Wednesday.
Milam, whose term as commissioner officially ended earlierthis year, rejected prosecutors’ offer. His attorney, Charles Fiore of Charles Fiore Law Offices in Williamstown, is seeking Pretrial Intervention (PTI), a program that can help first-time offenders get charges dropped by “gaining skills to straighten out personal problems in order to avoid future arrests,” according to the New Jersey Courts website. He appeared in court remotely on Zoom.
Obstructing the administration of law has a maximum sentence of 18 months in state prison, Judge Donna Taylor said in court. Taylor rejected a motion to dismiss the case in early July.
In court, Bush admitted withholding information from prosecutorsthat would havehelped the investigation intothe nonpayment of money to T&M Associates, a Middletown, N.J.-based engineering firm, for itscontract with the SJTA.
Bush told The Inquirer he will keep his job as the business manager of Sheet Metal Workers Local 19, an influential union in Philadelphia.
“I’m just trusting my attorney’s judgment on all of this,” Bush told The Inquirer on his way out of the courtroom at Atlantic County Criminal Court on Wednesday.
Dan Prochilo, a spokesperson for Attorney General Jennifer Davenport, who inherited the case from former Attorney General Matthew Platkin, said Wednesday that the office “is committed to investigating and fighting for accountability in any case where public officials abuse their positions of public trust.”
Davenport did not pursue Platkin’s case against Norcross, declining to appeal a court ruling that dismissed it.
‘Political suicide’
Milam’s lawyer argued that the case centers on Norcross — though he is not a defendant — and that prosecutors used it to strengthen their separate case against him,according to court documents. Henoted that the power broker was mentioned 50 times during the grand jury presentation.
When asked to comment on Bush’s plea, Dan Fee, a spokesperson for Norcross, criticized the former attorney general. Platkin, he said, “tried to pin something on George that just wasn’t true.”
According to court documents, John Cimino, head of T&M Associates, got on Norcross’ bad side after endorsing a different candidate than Norcross directed in a Democratic primary for Mercer County executive. Norcross subsequently said Cimino committed “political suicide” and was off his “Christmas card list,” according to the documents.
Norcross’ firm dropped T&M as a client and his longtime political consultant resigned from T&M, according to the documents. Milam and Bush entered the picture because, as SJTA commissioners, they voted against payments for work done by T&M for the agency at three separate meetings.
Detectives discovered texts from Milam to Bush saying he planned to vote against T&M because “they cut South Jersey in Mercer County,” and Bush said he would vote no, too. The commissioners eventually approved the invoices after they were directed to do so by SJTA Director Stephen Dougherty, according to the court record.
Milam’s term technically expired in May, but he remains a commissioner until Gov. Mikie Sherrill makes an appointment, SJTA spokesperson David Zappariello said. He declined to comment on the case.
The SJTA oversees the Atlantic City Expressway and Atlantic City International Airport. It also works on transit efforts across South Jersey, such as the new South Jersey Connectsbus system.
Pennsylvania’s largest measles outbreak in three decades, currently the largest in the country, passed another sobering milestone on Wednesday: State health officials reported that more than 800 people have contracted the highly contagious disease so far this year.
The latest case counts show an increase of 111 measles cases in the last week, bringing the total to 835 people with known infections. Physicians and local health officials say this is likely an undercount, with many cases going unreported.
Chester County logged 12 new cases in the last week, bringing its total cases to 78. The outbreak in the suburban Philadelphia county is now the state’s third largest, having more than tripled in size since early August.
Chester is the only county in the Philadelphia region with cases in the current outbreak, which began in April. Montgomery County reported three cases in a separate outbreak earlier this winter.
All but a few have been in unvaccinated people.
Statewide, children under 18 make up nearly a third of the confirmed cases, and about one in five reported cases have required hospitalization.
More than half of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties have now reported at least one measles case.
Lancaster County, with 342 cases, has the highest case counts in the state, followed by Mifflin County, which has reported 94 cases.
State officials have reported four measles-associated deaths, all affecting people who were unvaccinated and confirmed to have measles infections.
The deceased include two infants from Amish families in Lancaster County, an 18-year-old in Mifflin County who died from a serious neurological complication of measles, and a 40-year-old woman in Jefferson County with severe respiratory conditions.
But state and federal officials have clashed over how to characterize the deaths, with the Lancaster County coroner saying he did not believe measles caused one of the deaths.
The state considers all four “measles-associated deaths,” meaning deaths that occur within 30 days of symptom onset in a person with clinical evidence of infection and a positive laboratory test for measles, and who did not die of another unrelated cause, like a car crash.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for weeksomitted these deaths from its public tracking of the toll of measles outbreaks nationally, under the leadership of President Donald Trump’s Health and Human Services secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime anti-vaccine activist. Kennedy at one point suggested that Shapiro’s administration had “fabricated” the deaths in Lancaster County.
The CDC updated its dashboard on Wednesday to note one measles-related death in the country, without further explanation.
In a statement, an HHS spokesperson said that the National Center for Health Statistics received a report of a measles-related death from “a state.” The center verified that the death occurred and that measles was the underlying cause of death, and the CDC website was subsequently updated, the department said without specifying which state the death occurred in.
On its website, the agency says it is still reviewing death data and developing a new standard definition of a measles-associated death.
The state has maintained all four deaths fit its definition for a measles-associated death.
House Democrats ask for a briefing
New Jersey Rep. Frank Pallone said Wednesday he is still waiting for a response to a letter he sent last week as the top Democrat on the U.S. House committee that oversees healthcare, looking for answers about the CDC’s characterization of the death.
In the letter, Pallone asked for CDC director Erica Schwartz to brief committee Democrats on her “extraordinary decision” to omit the measles-associated deaths from the agency’s measles data dashboard.
Health and Human Services representatives did not immediately return a request for comment on the letter.
“I think this is the ultimate hypocrisy on the part of the secretary,” Pallone said. “He promised radical transparency, every day during his confirmation hearings. I think now what we’re getting is the opposite, which is a cover-up.”
Pallone said he was concerned that Kennedy’s anti-vaccine rhetoric has contributed to rising measles cases across the country, and worried that the agency, at Kennedy’s behest, is trying to redefine measles deaths to dodge blame for the rise in cases.
“What Pennsylvania did was the traditional scientific criteria for deaths from measles,” Pallone said. “What [is the CDC] trying to do? Change that? Based on what?”
On Wednesday, David Jiříček and Oliver Bonk both skated with the NHL group, cementing them as the top two contenders for the final spot on the Flyers’ opening-night defense, next to veteran Nick Seeler.
The Flyers want their young players to learn from playing big minutes. They’re unlikely to keep Bonk up to be the seventh defenseman, as opposed to being on the top pair in Lehigh Valley.
But Jiříček, who the Flyers acquired at last year’s trade deadline from Minnesota, is the only one of the Flyers’ young defensemen who is not waiver-exempt, meaning the Flyers can’t send him down without risking losing him for nothing.
The final cut days of training camp are a busy time on waivers, which could increase the odds of Jiříček slipping by unclaimed. But it’s more likely that the Flyers would keep Jiříček up even if he doesn’t win the job, just to continue to get him reps and practice without risking losing the talented blueliner.
“Offense is there, so I just have to play defense, sounds easy, right?” the 22-year-old joked. “Be good on defense, don’t make mistakes — obviously everyone makes mistakes, but try to do it as little as you can, and everything is going to be fine.”
In practice, Jiříček got reps running the point on the Flyers’ second power-play unit, with Travis Konecny, Noah Cates, Owen Tippett, and Alex Bump.
After Monday’s preseason loss to Washington, Tocchet said he wanted to see the 6-foot-4, 204-pound Jiříček be more aggressive with his shot, something Tocchet believes he’s held back on in practice to avoid hurting his teammates.
David Jiříček’s offensive tools have rarely been questioned. But can he elevate his game enough defensively to earn the trust of Rick Tocchet?Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
“Guys get that way, they want to endear themselves to their teammates,” Tocchet said. “They want to give them passes and stuff, but he’s got a gifted shot. I think he took it one time and it was a heater. I want to see three of those a game.”
Tocchet said that another one of Jiříček’s biggest strengths is his patience with the puck and ability to slow the play down. But “when there’s chaos,” Jiříček begins to struggle, so the Flyers worked to develop his abilities reading the game and learning how to shut down plays in the corner during his 15-game stint to end the year with Lehigh Valley of the American Hockey League.
The former No. 6 overall pick has struggled to stick in the NHL since his draft year in 2022, mostly due to challenges adapting defensively and with his skating. Tocchet said it was fair to say Jiříček’s strides are still a bit clunky, but joked that he too played “ugly” during his time in the NHL.
“Don’t get me wrong, we all work on our skating, we work on all sorts of stuff,” Tocchet said. “But it might not look pretty sometimes, but he does get the job done.”
Jiříček racked up 13 points (two goals, 11 assists) in 15 games with the Phantoms to end last season. Both of these goals came on the power play, earning him a call-up for the final regular-season game. Tocchet said he’s seen significant progression from Jiříček since he first came to the organization at last year’s trade deadline, but there’s still more room to grow.
“It’s up to me. Everyone is watching,” Jiříček said. ”…Try to make them feel like I’m ready and I’m here to take a spot.”
Breakaways
Denver Barkey, who Tocchet described as “day to day” on Tuesday, skated with the Phantoms group and skated on the ice alone between practices in a non-contact jersey. … Jett Luchanko and Cole Knuble sat out Wednesday’s practice after playing in back-to-back preseason games. … Nikita Grebenkin (upper body) is full-contact in practice and Tocchet expects him to play in Thursday’s preseason game against the Boston Bruins. “The guys won’t hit him. He wants to be hit,” Tocchet joked. … The Flyers placed forwards Carl Grundström, Jack Studnicka, Nolan Foote, Danila Klimovich, and Zach Aston-Reese, and defenseman Cam Dineen on waivers Wednesday. … The team also assigned forwards Noah Powell and Riley Thompson, defensemen Spencer Gill, Hunter McDonald, Ty Murchison, and goaltender Carson Bjarnason to Lehigh Valley. Meanwhile, forward Matthew Gard was returned to the Seattle Thunderbirds of the Western Hockey League.
After Sunday’s scorcher in Nashville, Travis and Jason Kelce’s opinions reached a boiling point in Wednesday’s episode of New Heights, when the brothers discussed the turf temperature for the Eagles’ win.
In a nearly two-hour episode, the Kelce brothers broke down all the happenings of Week 2 of the NFL before an interview with Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson, who were promoting their Apple TV show Brothers on a podcast with two … brothers.
Too hot to handle
The turf on Sunday in Nissan Stadium in Nashville reached 157 degrees, and Nick Sirianni reportedly needed an IV.
So how hot is too hot?
Video: Nick Sirianni greets Eagles players outside of locker room after win vs. Titans
Jason and Travis debated the extreme temperatures, which Jason said he initially shrugged off.
“I was like on WIP or something like that earlier in the week. They’re like, ‘Oh, you think the heat’s going to make a difference?’ I was like, ‘Ah, everybody’s playing in heat,’” Jason said.
That was until he saw the actual temperature of the turf displayed on the TV and heard about Cam Jurgens, who said he switched his cleats about three times because of them melting.
“You shouldn’t be allowed to do that,” Travis said “You shouldn’t be allowed to put players on a field that does that.”
While Travis’ solution was simply putting down grass fields instead, Jason’s idea was more out of the box.
“We got to get some air-conditioned fields,” Jason said. “Come on guys, we can we can do it.”
Don’t rush the rushing game
You’ll take the wins “how you get them,” Jason said while discussing the Eagles’ 24-20 win over the Titans on Sunday. But he still saw plenty of good, especially from quarterback Jalen Hurts, who Jason said “is the reason why they have won these two games.” Hurts went 26-for-37 with 264 yards and two touchdowns on Sunday.
“What’s the most encouraging to me is that if Jalen is playing like this the way he has the two first two weeks, that run game gets going, it’s going to be a very fun offense to watch,” Jason said.
Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni (left) and assistant to the head coach Cole Peterson (right) dance off the field after beating the Tennessee Titans 24-20 in Nashville, Tenn. on Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026.David Maialetti / Staff PhotographerEagles head coach Nick Sirianni celebrates after the Eagles beat the Tennessee Titans.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerEagles quarterback Jalen Hurts celebrates with running back Saquon Barkley after throwing the game-winning touchdown against the Tennessee Titans.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerEagles wide receiver Darius Cooper catches the game-winning touchdown late in the fourth quarter.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles wide receiver Darius Cooper catches a touchdown with 9 seconds left in the fourth quarter.David Maialetti / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni celebrates after they beat the Tennessee Titans.David Maialetti / Staff PhotographerHappy Philadelphia Eagles fans after the Eagles scored a touchdown with seconds left in the fourth quarter.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles center Cam Jurgens lifts up Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Darius Cooper after Cooper makes the winning touchdown with seconds left in the fourth quarter. David Maialetti / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles fan holds up a Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith jersey with seconds left in the fourth quarter.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts throws the football late in the fourth quarter.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter gets help coming off the field in the fourth quarter.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles fan is sweating it out with the Eagles trailing 20-17 in the fourth quarter.David Maialetti / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles wide receiver Makai Lemon gets stopped by Tennessee Titans cornerback Marcus Harris.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith catches first down pass against Tennessee Titans cornerback Alontae Taylor.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles cornerback Riq Woolen defends Tennessee Titans wide receiver Carnell Tate with 12:50 left in the fourth quarter.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts scrambles out of trouble and throws an incomplete pass with 8 seconds left in the third quarter.David Maialetti / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles tight end Johnny Mundt is brought down by Tennessee Titans linebacker Cody Barton in the third quarter.David Maialetti / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni while the Tennessee Titans are driving in the third quarter.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles linebacker Jihaad Campbell and Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Zack Baun stop Tennessee Titans running back Nicholas Singleton in the third quarter.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley pushed out of bounds by Tennessee Titans linebacker Cedric Gray in the third quarter.David Maialetti / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith hauls in a pass, but it was incomplete during the third quarter against the Tennessee Titans.David Maialetti / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles kicker Jake Elliott watches his long field goal in the third quarter.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley running with the ball in the third quarter.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles defensive tackle Ty Robinson (left) and Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter (right) try to block a field goal as time runs out in the first half against the Tennessee Titans in Nashville, Tenn.David Maialetti / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles linebacker Zack Baun brings down Tennessee Titans wide receiver Elic Ayomanor after Titans’ drive to the end zone late in the second quarter.David Maialetti / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith celebrates a touchdown against the Tennessee Titans.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles running back Will Shipley runs along the sideline with Tennessee Titans cornerback Alontae Taylor defending.David Maialetti / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles fans cheer as the Eagles drive towards the end zone.David Maialetti / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles head of security Big Dom DiSandro stops Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts as he is running out of bounds so he doesn’t hurt himself in the second quarter.David Maialetti / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles running back Tank Bigsby runs with the football during the second quarter.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts and Philadelphia Eagles running back Tank Bigsby celebrate Bigsby’s touchdown in the second quarter.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles wide receiver Dontayvion Wicks gets a first-down catch passed Tennessee Titans linebacker Cody Barton and Tennessee Titans linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. in the first quarter.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerTennessee Titans safety Amani Hooker intercepts the ball from Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts in the first quarter and runs it just short of the end zone.David Maialetti / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith gets a first down pass with Tennessee Titans cornerback Alontae Taylor defending in the first quarter.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles wide receiver Britain Covey returns the first punt of the game, defended by Tennessee Titans safety Erick Hallett, in the first quarter.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerPhiladelphia Eagles fans get ready for the game against the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Jason said Hurts hasn’t gotten enough credit for being a reason the Eagles’ run game was so dominant for so long. He thinks issues with the rushing game this season are rooted in the offensive line, and continuity issues, largely because of injuries, have changed that dynamic and made it harder to establish.
While those issues sort themselves out, the Eagles filled a void at tight end following Dallas Goedert’s injury by getting “a dog back in the in the Eagles jersey,” Travis said of Zach Ertz. Jason added that Ertz is on the cusp of breaking Harold Carmichael’s franchise record for career catches, needing just 11 more.
“I’m always excited to see 86 in some green, especially if he breaks this record,” Jason said. “I think if anybody was going to break that record, I’d be happy that it was Zach.”
Travis broke the record for the most yards after catch by a tight end in NFL history, and his wife, Taylor Swift, showed off her ring in a viral moment of her lauding the Chiefs overtime win with a cheer of “that’s my husband,” and still, the moment that New Heights listeners had the most questions about was a coin toss.
In a moment that has since gained a lot of traction, Colts safety Camryn Bynum tried to “defer” after winning the coin toss in overtime. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes tried to take advantage of the moment by interjecting and saying “they get the ball.” Referee Craig Wrolstad ignored Mahomes’ attempts in favor of making sure he understood what Bynum and the Colts were trying to do.
Because there is no second half in overtime, deferring is not an option, which caused some confusion from fans. Still, Jason was quick to support his brother and the Chiefs in their attempt to capitalize on the blunder.
“I’m on board with, like, you saying the wrong thing, I think you should be penalized for that,” Jason said.
The sports conversations didn’t end when McConaughey and Harrelson joined in the second half of the episode.
Between talking about their careers, friendship, and new show, the group also talked sports.
That included a story McConaughey told from Texas’ BCS national championship win at the Rose Bowl in 2006. He spoke about the “intangibles” he saw Vince Young display during the game and taking off his helmet and running down to the other side of the field to shake the hand of three USC alumni veterans during a TV timeout.
“I was sitting there looking at that,” McConaughey said. “We’re going like, ‘We’re going to win this game.’ ‘Did you see that?’ ‘That’s how present this dude is.’”
As for Harrelson, McConaughey revealed he’s actually a “sneaky athlete” who can be ambidextrous while playing tennis or basketball. However, unlike his character in Kingpin, Harrelson isn’t much of a bowler.
“That’s a real hard sport for me, bowling, but sometimes I get lucky,” Harrelson said. “One time I actually bowled a 199. Imagine the last frame, all I needed to do was get more than like three, and I got three.”
The 76ers added LeBron James and Jaylen Brown to a roster already featuring Joel Embiid. But ESPN’s latest NBA ranking still puts Tyrese Maxey ahead of them all — and leaves the Sixers without a player in its top 10.
Maxey landed at No. 11 in ESPN’s NBA Rank, released Wednesday, while Brown came in at No. 14, James at No. 18, and Embiid at No. 41. VJ Edgecombe ranked No. 72, giving the Sixers five projected starters among the league’s top 72 players.
ESPN asked its seven panelists to project each player’s contributions to the 2026-27 regular season, weighing quality and quantity of play. That distinction is especially relevant to Embiid, who averaged 26.9 points last season but appeared in only 38 games.
Maxey’s climb followed the best season of his career. He averaged 28.3 points and 6.6 assists in 70 games, earned third-team All-NBA honors, and rose 17 spots from No. 28 in last year’s ranking.
ESPN’s Dave McMenamin wrote that Maxey’s presence played a major role in James’s decision to sign with the Sixers. Brown, meanwhile, arrives after averaging a career-high 28.7 points for Boston and making the All-NBA second team. ESPN projects Maxey ahead of both newcomers as the three prepare to play together for the first time.
Embiid rose six spots from last year’s ranking, but his No. 41 placement still reflects questions about how often he will play. ESPN noted that he has appeared in 96 of a possible 246 games since winning MVP in 2023. While his scoring remains among the league’s best when he is available, the panel was projecting what he could contribute across a full regular season.
James’s drop carries its own historical weight. He ranked eighth last year, and No. 18 marks the first time he has fallen outside the top 10 in NBA Rank’s 15-year history. He enters his first season with the Sixers at 41 years old after taking on a facilitator role alongside Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves with the Lakers.
Even ESPN’s analysts disagreed about where James belongs. In a separate discussion of the rankings, Jamal Collier called No. 18 “questionable,” while Tim MacMahon considered it “fair.” Anthony Slater pointed to James’s placement behind Maxey and Brown as a sign of the adjustment awaiting him.
LeBron James, left, and Tyrese Maxey, right, are among the top 20 players on ESPN’s top 100 players. Chris Szagola / AP
Edgecombe made his first appearance on the list at No. 72 after averaging 16.0 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 4.2 assists as a rookie. He finished third in Rookie of the Year voting and ranked 11th in the NBA in minutes.
Paul George, whom the Sixers sent to Boston in the deal for Brown, landed at No. 67. That puts him 13 spots below last year’s ranking and 53 behind Brown on this year’s list.
The year-to-year changes come with a shift in ESPN’s process. Previous lists drew on player-vs.-player votes from more than 100 contributors; this year, ESPN combined top-100 ballots from seven panelists. The instruction to project regular-season contributions stayed the same.
Brown has acknowledged the adjustment ahead. At his introduction in August, he said the new teammates would need to sacrifice, trust, and communicate. “Winning is the agenda,” he said. Maxey may be ESPN’s highest-ranked Sixer, but the list cannot answer how often the five starters will play together or what each will give up when they do.
ESPN will reveal its top 10 on Thursday, with every member of the Sixers’ projected starting lineup accounted for. The Sixers open the season Oct. 20 against the reigning champion New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden (7 p.m., NBC10) — their first regular-season chance to see how those five fit together.
Philadelphia State Rep. Chris Rabb’s former campaign treasurer, whom he accused of draining his campaign account and disappearing in the middle of his run for Congress, pleaded guilty Wednesday to a federal fraud charge.
Yolanda Brown, a campaign operative formerly based in Florida who worked for Democratic political candidates and social justice causes across the country, appeared in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia on Wednesday and pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. She admitted to embezzling a total of about $1 million from 20 clients, including Rabb, between 2022 and 2026.
Brown, who now lives in Virginia, faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and will be required to pay restitution. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Jan. 26.
Rabb, a progressive, went on to win the Democratic nomination in May. He is expected to prevail in the November general election to represent Pennsylvania’s 3rd Congressional District. There is no Republican candidate, though he faces a long-shot independent opponent.
Rabb did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
For years, fraud claims from several political campaigns piled up against Brown, who operated Brown Financial & Consulting Services Group and at times worked under her married name, Yolanda Rumph. She was accused of financial impropriety in several states, The Inquirer reported, including shaving money from accounts she controlled and embezzling from a nonprofit client.
But she continued working in politics and, in August 2025, signed on to work for Rabb, who was in the midst of a highly competitive Democratic primary run for an open seat in Congress representing about half of Philadelphia.
State Rep. Chris Rabb at an event with U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna July 28, 2026.Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
The following month, Rabb said that Brown had made a series of unauthorized withdrawals from his campaign. The amount of money embezzled totaled more than $160,000, which constituted most of what was in his campaign’s account at the time, according to paperwork Rabb’s campaign filed with the Federal Election Commission.
Khambrel Davis, Brown’s attorney, said in an interview with The Inquirer in March that Brown was innocent and merely the victim of a rogue employee who had stolen from her clients.
But on Wednesday in court, Brown acknowledged that she executed a scheme to defraud her clients of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Livermore told U.S. District Judge Chad F. Kenney that Brown “embezzled client funds in her control to pay for her own personal expenses without authorization from her clients.”
He added that she “often used client funds to repay other clients from whom she had previously stolen funds.”
In charging documents, prosecutors wrote that in one instance, Brown steered about $19,000 from the account belonging to Rabb’s campaign — identified in court filings as “Political Campaign #1″ — into a separate account that she controlled. She then transferred $6,000 of that money into her personal bank account.
That transfer was one of multiple unauthorized transfers that Rabb’s campaign detected. Prosecutors often formally charge a limited scope of wrongdoing if a defendant has agreed to plead guilty.
Prosecutors described the fraud perpetrated against Rabb’s campaign as part of an “overall scheme” in which Brown defrauded about 20 clients of a total of more than $1.4 million. They wrote that she had repaid clients more than $400,000, for a net loss of about $1 million.
Cooper DeJean isn’t moving to safety on a full-time basis any time soon.
The play of Eagles starting safety Marcus Epps is under scrutiny following the Eagles’ 24-20 victory over Tennessee, particularly in regard to his missed tackle on Titans running back Tyjae Spears’ third-and-22 rushing conversion late in the game.
Epps and Andrew Mukuba, the starting safety tandem, were credited with three missed tackles apiece on Sunday in Nashville, according to Pro Football Focus. The database also put the blame on Epps for conceding Titans receiver Elic Ayomanor’s 29-yard reception in the second quarter on third-and-13.
But Vic Fangio responded with a blunt “no” on Wednesday when asked if he would consider moving DeJean — who starts at safety in place of Epps in base defense — to safety full-time.
Rather, Fangio didn’t express long-term concern about Epps in the role. He acknowledged that the 30-year-old safety “had some plays that he would like to have back,” both against the run and the pass. But the Eagles defensive coordinator didn’t seem to be completely out on Epps as a starter.
“He’ll bounce back,” Fangio said.
Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio would not commit to changes at safety ahead of Week 3’s trip to Chicago. Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Still, Fangio said that “there’s a chance” that he could lean more on Michael Carter II, the 27-year-old defensive back who’s primarily played at nickel cornerback throughout his career, but competed with Epps for the starting safety job in training camp.
The Eagles also signed 31-year-old defensive back Kenny Moore to the practice squad. Moore, who spent nine seasons with the Indianapolis Colts, has primarily played nickel cornerback. He does have some safety experience, too.
Fangio wouldn’t confirm that the Eagles were signing Moore, let alone describe his prospective role in the defense.
“I’ve never laid eyes on him,” Fangio said. “Never watched him play, so we’ll see.”
Bears on the run
The last time the Eagles faced the Chicago Bears in Week 13 last season, the Bears rushed for a whopping 281 yards and two touchdowns on 47 carries.
Kyle Monangai and D’Andre Swift led the way with 130 yards and a touchdown and 125 yards and a touchdown, respectively, on the ground.
Fangio isn’t flushing that game. In fact, he said he will include plays from the Eagles’ last outing against the Bears in this week’s cut-ups of the offense.
“We got to play it better, obviously,” Fangio said of the Bears’ Week 13 output in the run game. “They are one of the better running teams in the league. Got a really great O-line, great backs. Their scheme is good. We’re going to have to play it a whole lot better.”
The Eagles were gutted on the ground against Kyle Monangai and the Bears in a home loss on Black Friday last year.Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
The Eagles will need to clean up their tackling if they want to fare better against the Bears this time around. Last week against the Titans, the Eagles missed 12 tackles, according to PFF.
“We missed a little bit more than we normally do,” Fangio said. “Missed a couple critical ones there. Just got to close space a little bit better, and we got to do it better.”
While the Eagles are preparing to take on the Bears’ sound rushing attack, they might not have to prepare for quarterback Caleb Williams. The 2024 first-overall pick out of USC is “week to week” with a hamstring injury, according to Bears head coach Ben Johnson. Backup Tyson Bagent is in concussion protocol, paving the way for 38-year-old journeyman Case Keenum to take QB1 reps at Wednesday’s practice.
But Fangio said he’s not necessarily operating under the assumption that Keenum will start on Monday night.
“Don’t have enough information yet,” Fangio said. “We’re preparing for Chicago’s offense. I don’t think their offense will change a whole lot schematically. So that’s what we’ll prepare for.”
Vic Fangio said Jonathan Greenard is getting closer but will not play a full complement snaps on Monday, even if he is active. David Maialetti / Staff Photographer
Greenard getting closer?
After sitting out the first two games, could Jonathan Greenard make his Eagles debut against the Bears?
The 29-year-old outside linebacker has been practicing as a limited participant since the season began after he was sidelined throughout training camp due to a pectoral strain.
Fangio said Greenard has a “better chance [at playing] than last week,” but he added that he wants to see how the veteran edge rusher will fare in practice this week before making a decision on his prospective role on Monday.
Even if Greenard is able to play, don’t expect him to take on the majority of snaps in his first game back.
“He’s definitely not ready for a full workload,” Fangio said. “He’s not only coming off inactivity; he’s coming off an injury. And his injury for a good bit, I don’t know, first four to six, seven weeks, he really couldn’t do a whole lot conditioning-wise either. So he’s nowhere near ready for full load.”
At long last, Rocky Balboa has come back home. Again.
The city’s famed statue of the Italian Stallion was installed atop the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s iconic steps Wednesday. Its installation marks the most visible step yet in getting the fictional boxer’s monument into what has been billed as its permanent place.
Creative Philadelphia, the city arts office behind the statue’s move, said the monument was affixed to its pedestal at the top of the steps about 11:30 a.m. Additional cleanup work was slated to take place Thursday, and barricades around the statue were to be removed Friday, marking the installation’s completion.
After that, no additional work is scheduled, the office said.
The statue’s move, which officially began on Sept. 11, caps a monthslong series of monumental moves at the Art Museum. Since 2006, it sat at the bottom of the institution’s steps, and was then housed inside the museum for the exhibit “Rising Up: Rocky and the Making of Monuments” starting in March.
The original statue, which Stallone commissioned for Rocky III, has long been a controversial piece of public art in the city. It arrived in town in 1981, and has since been moved about a half dozen times — including previous stints at the top of the steps.
Visitors at the newly installed Rocky statue on the Art Museum steps.Jessica Griffin / Staff Photographer
Now, the statue stands about 14 feet back from the edge of the top step, adjacent to where Rocky’s shoe prints are embedded into a walkway.
Last fall, an Inquirer survey found that 46% of respondents believed there should not be a Rocky statue at the top of the steps. About 20% of respondents said there should not be a Rocky statue in the city’s quiver of monuments at all.
That perspective has been present among Philadelphians since the statue arrived more than four decades ago, when some local officials referred to it as “unnecessarily strident.” At least one Inquirer columnist called it a “monument to schlock, chutzpah, and mediocrity” following its debut.
Since then, debates over its merits — as well as whether it is art or merely an iconic structure — have cropped up periodically. Still, in January, the Art Commission voted to approve a plan for the statue’s installation at the top of the steps.
“We are pleased that after months of planning, the city’s Rocky statue is permanently installed at the top of the Philadelphia Museum of Art steps, where it was first unveiled in 1982,” public art director Marguerite Anglin said in a statement. “It now stands in conversation with the Joe Frazier statue, the real life Philadelphia boxer who inspired the Rocky story.”
A former Skippack Township supervisor had been expected to plead guilty Wednesday to molesting a boy in his care, admitting to nearly a decade of abuse.
But at the last moment, Nicholas Fountain rejected the offer extended to him by prosecutors and chose instead to take the case to trial.
Fountain, 39, is charged with 10 counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, as well as indecent assault and related crimes. The deal he negotiated with prosecutors would have allowed him to plead guilty to four counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse in exchange for a maximum sentence of 20 to 50 years in state prison.
Instead, Fountain opted to proceed to trial on all charges, including 10 counts that each carry a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison upon conviction.
Fountain, who owns two daycare centers — Magnolia Enrichment Center in Skippack and Magnolia Children’s Academy in Gilbertsville — resigned from the board shortly after his arrest last year.
His attorneys, Matthew Brittenburg and Andrew Levin, declined to comment after Wednesday’s hearing.
The victim, now an adult, told police Fountain sexually abused him beginning when he was 9 years old and continuing until he was 16, according to the affidavit of probable cause for his arrest.
The abuse began in 2016, he said, and started when he and Fountain were wrestling and Fountain asked him to take off his shirt and, eventually, all of his clothing.
During subsequent assaults, he said, Fountain groped him, showed him pornography, and performed a sex act on him. Fountain later attempted to initiate other sexual contact, he said, but he refused.
Prosecutors learned of the abuse last year in an unrelated investigation by law enforcement in Maryland.
Authorities there charged Fountain with sexual solicitation of a minor and child pornography after they said he solicited nude photos from an undercover officer posing as a teenage boy on Reddit, and sent nude photos of himself in return.
In their conversations, Fountain identified himself to the undercover officer as a married man, and provided a picture of himself.
Fountain also sent the officer graphic descriptions of sex acts he wanted to engage in with someone he believed to be a teenage boy, the documents said.
The officer reviewed Fountain’s history of posting on Reddit, and wrote that the “posts all encompassed sexual content and all revolved around sex acts or looking for sex acts between older men/daddies and younger boys.”
That case is ongoing and will be prosecuted after his case in Montgomery County concludes, according to a spokesperson from the Harford County State’s Attorney’s Office.
During the course of the Maryland investigation, Pennsylvania State Police troopers interviewed people close to Fountain because of the daycare centers he owns.
No allegations of wrongdoing connected to the daycare centers emerged from that inquiry, investigators said, but through those interviews, they identified the victim in the Montgomery County case.
