Delicate snowflakes painted Philadelphia white Sunday morning, leaving icy roads and sidewalks to shovel. The storm will also leave behind a cold holiday.
“We have only seen round one; round two is on its way,” said Paul Fitzsimmons, a lead meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Mount Holly.
Through Sunday, Fitzsimmons predicted a total of 2 to 4 inches of snow, with the second wave of flurries picking up after 1 p.m., possibly mixing with rain after 2 p.m.
Rain is not certain, but there is a 70% chance of showers, according to the National Weather Service. Couple that with a cloudy day, winds around 5 mph, and temperatures in the mid-30s (35 degrees being the warmest Philly will see today), and drivers are in for some hazy driving conditions.
“Roads are icy today: People should exercise extra caution, leave extra time to leave wherever they are going, and drive slower than normal,” Fitzsimmons said.
The weather prompted PennDot to advise drivers to avoid unnecessary travel. Commercial vehicles must stay in the right lane, PennDot said.
Stick to the speed limit even if the roads seem treated, because at the moment, PennDot’s main goal is to only keep them passable, not completely free of ice and snow, the department said.
PennDot’s crews will continue to treat roads throughout the day, but there is a slight chance of more snow coming before 8 p.m., with temperatures dropping as low as 20 degrees, and a 20% chance of rain, according to the weather service.
David Bond, of West Chester, walks his dog, Todd, in the snow at Okehocking Preserve in Newtown Square on Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Monday arrives a bit sunnier, and with no snow, yet colder than Sunday, Fitzsimmons said.
Skies are expected to be fully clear, with a low of 14 and a high of 35 degrees. Do be mindful of the wind, as the National Weather Service expects gusts as high as 20 mph by Monday night.
That low would be the lowest of the season so far, with an even lower 10 degrees forecast for Tuesday.
“It’s going to be cold overall, so bundle up,” Fitzsimmons said.
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For Brian Lovenduski and J. Bazzel, the week after Christmas turned into horror when a pit bull in Center City attacked their beloved dogs. Now that the canine is in custody, they can’t help but feel a bittersweet sense of solace.
“I feel relieved that the dog is not a danger to other people on the streets, but I have mixed feelings that the authorities didn’t work faster,” Lovenduski said.
Between Dec. 26 and 31, three dogs and two owners were attacked by a pit bull in Center City, leaving behind thousands in veterinary bills and GoFundMe pages asking for help.
Lovenduski’s miniature pinscher, Ziggy, lost a leg after a pit bull lunged at him at 12th and Chestnut Streets. And, Stella, Bazzel’s sheltie pup, required surgery, a plate, and a skin graft to piece her crushed foreleg together, after being attacked at Juniper and Chestnut Streets.
It that intersection where police located the pit bull and her owner, whom they believed to be a homeless woman, on Jan. 6.
Stella, an 11-month-old sheltie, seen here recovering from surgery after she was attacked by a pitbull Dec. 26 in Center City. Police believe the pitbull is responsible for three recent attacks.
Miguel Torres, a spokesperson for the Philadelphia Police Department, said the woman was arrested for an unrelated matter he would not disclose. So far, no charges have been filed in connection with the dog attacks, Torres said.
The pit bull was transported to ACCT for evaluation. She has not been euthanized, but is not a candidate for adoption, said Sarah Barnett, ACCT Philly executive director.
All incidents remain under investigation, police said.
Both Lovenduski and Bazzel were told the pit bull responsible for their dogs’ attacks was in custody at ACCT.
“It’s bittersweet. We have a dog that is not in a great situation, which creates situations for other dogs and other people. I’m relieved, but I’m not happy it had to come to that,” Bazzel said.
Stella, an 11-month-old sheltie, seen here recovering from surgery after she was attacked by a pit bull Dec. 26 in Center City. Police believe the pit bull is responsible for three recent attacks.
Regardless, his full focus is on his 11-month-old puppy, Stella, who is working on her recovery and getting ready for her first birthday on Jan. 23.
Looking at Ziggy, Lovenduski feels like he may be heartbroken forever, but he is pulling strength from seeing his little guy trying to keep going.
“He is this innocent little creature that relies on me for his safety, and this horrible thing happened that changed his life forever,” Lovenduski said. “I never expected to be in this situation, but the kindness of people has really reminded me that even when it feels like the world is rotten, kindness wins among the lost.”
Ziggy, a miniature pinscher, was attacked by a pit bull while being walked by owner, Brian Lovenduski on Dec. 29, 2025. It was one of three known attacks by the pit bull.
Demonstrators swept onto the streets of Philadelphia and cities across the country on Saturday to vent anger and sadness over the ICE killing of an unarmed woman motorist in Minneapolis.
Protests over the fatal Wednesday shooting of 37-year-old Renee Good were taking place or being planned in hundreds of places, from small towns to major cities in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Texas, Florida, California, New York, and elsewhere.
Organizers intend to hold rallies on Sunday in Trenton, Abington, Cherry Hill, Ardmore, Ambler, and other communities, the breadth of the protests signaling the scope of resistance to President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda. Leading civil rights groups have called for people to step up and support the ICE Out for Good Weekend of Action.
“What happened in Minneapolis is unforgivable,” said Vicki Miller, a leader of Indivisible Philadelphia, who gathered with others at City Hall on Saturday morning.
In Philadelphia the day began in a cold, steady rain, with about a hundred people at City Hall chanting, “No fear, no hate, no ICE in our state.”
Trump administration officials insist the agent who shot Good three times had fired out of self-defense, saying he was about to be run over, and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem described the incident as “an act of domestic terrorism.”
Many gather to show their support for Renee Good and to protest against ICE in Philadelphia, Pa., on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026.
Trump has undertaken an unprecedented campaign to arrest and deport millions of immigrants, an effort that’s included sending ICE and federal troops into blue American cities.
An estimated 2,000 federal agents have surged into Minnesota, following similar deployments in Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, Memphis, and elsewhere. Somehow Philadelphia has gone untouched, despite its history of feuding with Trump.
On Friday night, a 1,000-person protest outside of a Minneapolis hotel turned violent as demonstrators threw ice, snow, and rocks at officers, according to Minneapolis police.
At Philadelphia City Hall, Miller called on residents to protect one another from the Trump administration.
“An authoritarian wants us to feel alone. We are showing that we are not alone,” she said. “We are happy to be here for our neighbors; we are here to protect them.”
By 10:30 a.m., the crowd began moving down Market Street, meeting up with another demonstration near federal properties around Seventh and Arch Streets, and growing in size to about 500 people.
Tiffanie Knott, of Rittenhouse, holding a sign reading “Melt ICE” as she marches with many others to protest against ICE in Philadelphia, Pa., on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026.
School psychologist Michele Messer, 51, came from Camden with her students in mind.
“Our immigrant students are impacted and it will have a long-lasting effect in their education,” said the member of grassroots group Cooper River Indivisible. “We need to show up so they know we love them; we hear them, and we will be here for you until this is over.”
Jim Greway, 77, said he was protesting for those who couldn’t be present, whose immigration status or race made them fearful of speaking out.
“People who look different than me are being told they don’t belong here and will never succeed in this country,” said Greway, who is white. “I’m here to say that’s not true.”
A couple in their late 70s marched down Market Street holding hands, chanting with the crowd for Immigration and Customs Enforcement to be shut down.
“We have good friends that are afraid to leave their house, so to us this is personal,” explained Lori Chewkanes.
Her husband, Michael Chewkanes, said that ICE actions in Minneapolis made the couple feel like their patriotism was being stolen.
“As a veteran, it makes me sick to my stomach,” he said. “[ICE] should be protecting the people, not hurting them. This should have never happened.”
Madeline Forrest, 20, of Camden, handed out copies of a poem she wrote that condemned ICE. As she did so, MAGA supporter Patrick Labrie, also 20, approached to talk about why he supported the agency, including the shooting by the officer in Minnesota.
“From the clips, it seemed like he was in a lot of danger, so it seems like he did everything he could to protect himself,” Labrie said.
Labrie continued to defend the officer’s actions, later attempting to interrupt the chants of the crowd.
Forrest thought Labrie was deliberating trying to attract attention to draw more watchers on social media. She tried to engage him again, but was unable do so as police moved in to safeguard him from the crowd.
Several hundred people gathered Thursday evening in Center City to protest the death of Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old mother of three whom a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Minneapolis shot and killed on Wednesday.
Good, who had recently moved to Minnesota, died a few blocks from where she lived, and about a mile from where police killed George Floyd in 2020.
Protesters near City Hall held candles and signs saying, “We saw the video. Stop the cover up!” and “ICE raids violate Philly values.”
“We arrive at tonight’s vigil with deep anger and grief for the murder of Renee Good at the hands of the state,” Erika Guadalupe Núñez, Juntos executive director, told the crowd. “ICE equals death; it’s the death of family, of connection, of love.”
Núñez said the actions in Minneapolis reflect a reality Philadelphia has experienced with the mistreatment of legal aid organizations and immigrant associations at the hands of immigration agents.
“Let us be honest, if ICE was willing to shoot an ally, a white woman, in the face for documenting abuse. It is our duty to expose and condemn what they have done and will continue to do to Black and brown people behind closed doors and out of the sight of cameras,” Núñez said.
Video taken by bystanders in Minneapolis posted to social media shows an officer approaching Good’s car from the driver’s side, grabbing the door handle and reaching inside the vehicle. When the Honda Pilot begins to move, a different ICE officer who had positioned himself in front of the SUV immediately fires into the vehicle at close range.
The Department of Homeland Security said the officer fired in self-defense as Good allegedly tried to run down officers with her vehicle. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said video of the incident showed the shooting was reckless and unnecessary.
The fatal shooting of Good was at least the fifth death to result from the aggressive U.S. immigration crackdown President Donald Trump’s administration launched last year.
The federal agency has been escalating immigration enforcement operations in Minnesota by deploying an anticipated 2,000 agents and officers.
An ex-husband of Good’s, who asked not to be named out of concern for the safety of their children, told the Associated Press that Good had just dropped off her 6-year-old son at school Wednesday and was driving home with her current partner when they encountered a group of ICE agents on a snowy street in Minneapolis, where they had moved last year from Kansas City, Mo.
At the Center City protest, Julie Stewart, 71, said a wave of shock took over her body after learning an ICE agent had killed a woman she didn’t know, in a different state, and the pain felt close to home.
The feeling brought her to the vigil holding a sign reading: “ICE murdered Renee Nicole Good.”
“They are twisting the story; it’s a lie. ICE needs to be shut down, held accountable, and all of their people need to be unmasked,” Stewart said.
Aniqa Raihan told the crowd the names of the people who have died in connection with ICE need to be remembered.
Raihan, a No ICE Philly volunteer, named more than 30 victims, Good being the latest.
“We are here to remember these beloved community members, whether we know their names or not. We are here to mourn, to grieve, to lean on one another, and to know that we are not alone in the anger and pain we are feeling,” Raihan said.
Addressing elected officials present in the crowd, she said: “We can’t wait. If you don’t act, Renee Good will not be the last person murdered with impunity. If you don’t act, it will happen here. If you don’t act, ICE will continue to kidnap and disappear members of our community every day.”
While the protest was underway, several men identifying themselves as members of the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense and armed with rifles walked down Broad Street toward City Hall and stopped at John F. Kennedy Boulevard.
Several armed men who identified themselves as the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, including Paul Birdsong, stood outside a protest at City Hall against an ICE shooting in Minneapolis.
They said they came to protect the protesters.
“I’m here because it’s my duty,” said a man identifying himself as Paul Birdsong, 39, while holding his firearm tightly.
Birdsong said the group’s members were legally carrying their firearms and they viewed themselves as “guards of the revolution.”
“To ICE, we will respond with whatever force is use on the people,” Birdsong said.
Police closely monitored the Black Panther members and reported no problems.
El Carnaval de Puebla, one of the biggest yearly celebrations of Mexican culture in Philadelphia and on the East Coast, is not returning in 2026.
For the second year in a row, the current immigration policies have overshadowed the festival that commemorates the Battle of Puebla traditionally celebrated on May 5, but not for the reasons one might expect.
“We are not scared of ICE; it is not fear that drives us,” said Edgar Ramirez, founder of Philatinos Radio and a committee member for San Mateo Carnavalero. “Many of the people who attend the carnival are second or third generation, but we are living at a time where the feeling of rejection is palpable, and it is not a suitable environment.”
A group of children dress up for the 2019 Carnaval de Puebla.
El Carnaval de Puebla has been a long-standing tradition for the city since 2005, stopping only during the pandemic, the first year of Donald Trump’s presidency in 2017, and last year following his reelection, as concerns for attracting immigration enforcement actions arose.
Since Trump’s reelection, the number of immigrants in federal detention facilities has increased beyond 65,000, a two-thirds increase since he took office last January.
Such uncertainty over when ICE might strike puts festival attendees at risk, making it harder to find sponsors and generate enough revenue to pay for city permits and requirements to hold the event, said committee member Olga Renteria.
“It’s hard to ask people to invest when there is no certainty that the carnival will be able to drive the success of previous years,” said Renteria, who noted that over 15,000 people attended the carnival in 2024. “The carnival is about family, sharing, drinking, enjoying yourself, and right now, any excuse is good enough to arrest someone; one incident is enough.”
For the community, this feels like a loss of space, both literally and figuratively.
A group of Carnavaleros march on Broad Street during the 2019 Carnaval de Puebla.
Longtime carnival attendee Alma Romero looked forward to seeing people in traditional attire, dancing andparading on Washington Avenue, triggering memories of her home in Puebla once a year.
“The carnival would have been good to lift our spirits, just as the Day of the Dead celebrations did,” Romero said, referring to the Ninth Street Corridor festivities in November that commemorate loved ones who passed away. “Without it, it feels like a sense of pride and unity is missing; now we just carry it in our hearts.”
After having attended the parade at all 19 past El Carnaval de Pueblaevents in Philly, Karina Sanchez, too, feels that sense of loss.
“I understand it’s important for the community to feel safe, but it’s sad to see us shrinking ourselves,” Sanchez said. “When that sentimentgrows, it is not a loss just for us, but for Philadelphia as a whole.”
Currently, there are no plans to replace El Carnaval de Puebla, but there is hope among many for a return.
“We have to come back,” Ramirez said. “We must because we are part of this city too, and things have to get better at some point.”
The parade that included horses arrives at the 18th annual El Carnaval de Puebla at Sacks Playground on Washington Avenue on April 30, 2023. El Carnaval de Puebla falls on Mexico’s “Day of the Children” and is one of the city’s biggest celebrations of Mexican culture. The celebration featured a parade, traditional games, food, live music and dancing.
Venezuelans in the Philadelphia region had mixed reactions to the U.S. strike against their home country over the weekend, which removed Nicolás Maduro from power and left the future of the South American country unclear.
But some Ukrainian Americans in the region felt an uneasy sense of déjà vu as they watched events in Venezuela unfold — and are concerned about what it could mean for relatives and compatriots 6,000 miles away from Caracas, in Ukraine.
“This action, which is an illegal action, gives the light to people like [Russian President Vladimir Putin] and other dictators to do whatever they like,” Ukrainian American activist Mary Kalyna said Sunday amid a 60-person anti-war rally outside the Unitarian Society of Germantown in West Mount Airy. “Why should he not invade Ukraine or Poland or Lithuania, when the U.S. is invading Venezuela?”
The Trump administration’s unilateral action sends a message to other countries, like Russia, that the United States may no oppose a larger nation meddling in a smaller country’s political affairs, said Paula Holoviak, a political science professor at Kutztown University, in an interview.
“It just doesn’t set a good precedent,” said Holoviak, who is a Ukrainian American.
‘We have been waiting for this for 26 years’
Venezuelan flag in hand, Diana Corao Uribe, 53, and her family drove from Media to the Cathedral Basilica of SS. Peter and Paul to attend a Sunday vigil for the future of Venezuela, organized by local groups Casa de Venezuela Philadelphia, Casa de Venezuela Delaware, and Gente de Venezuela Philadelphia.
Hundreds of people hugged, cried, and prayed as they waited inside with flags and apparel, brightening the basilica with yellow, red, and blue. Members of the crowd were largely critical of the rule of Maduro and his predecessor, Hugo Chávez.
“We have been waiting for this for 26 years; you cannot imagine the feeling, the joy, the happiness, the hope that we feel right now,” Corao Uribe said.
But Corao Uribe said that as the hours passed, her feelings have grown more complicated. Until President Donald Trump announced the U.S.’s intentions to “run” Venezuela until a “safe, proper and judicious transition” could be completed, Corao Uribe had hoped Edmundo González Urrutia, who faced Maduro at the polls in the 2024 Venezuelan presidential election, would become the next president.
The announcement was unexpected and a bit concerning, she said, but it wasn’t enough to shake her sense of happiness.
Philadelphia resident Astrid Da Silva, 32, said it felt bittersweet.
“The amount of joy that seeing the dictator out of Venezuela brings — it’s immeasurable; it’s normal when there has been torture and pain for so long,” Da Silva said. “But without a democratic transition of power, fear starts slipping in.”
Hearing Trump say that opposition leader Maria Corina Machado lacked support in Venezuela clouded her feelings.
“People don’t want the U.S. there; we want the opposition or at least a free election,” Da Silva said, adding that the country’s political turmoil forced her to emigrate to the U.S. at age 7.
Ongoing power struggles have at times made her feel like people view Venezuela as a pawn, forgetting there are real lives at stake, she said.
‘It could be very destabilizing’
The U.S. has a long history of intervening in other countries, Holoviak noted, but that hasn’t always gone well. “We do have an extremely powerful military, but we might not want the aftermath of this,” Holoviak said. “It could be very destabilizing.”
Residents of Northwest Philadelphia voice their opposition to the Trump administration’s strike against Venezuela in a vigil outside the Unitarian Society of Germantown on Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026.
Ukrainian leaders have largely welcomed the liberation of Venezuelans from Russian-allied Maduro’s regime. Speaking with reporters in Kyiv, President Volodymyr Zelensky said, “Well, what can I say? If dictators can be dealt with in this way, then the United States of America knows what it should do next.”
Eugene Luciw, a Ukrainian American who lives in Montgomery County, said in an interview that he interpreted Zelensky’s comments to mean that he believes the U.S. should arrest Putin — and Luciw agrees.
Luciw said that he has no problem with Trump removing Maduro, whom he called “a dictator who slaughters people.”
However, Luciw questioned Trump’s motives and said his actions were inconsistent.
“If we want to do away with a real dictator, with absolute evidence that he’s a genocidal maniac,” then the U.S. should be tougher on Putin, he said.
At the Cathedral Basilica, Fernando Torres, 45, said he has struggled with what the future may hold for Venezuela after Trump’s actions.
“Even if we don’t like Trump, we have to separate things. It’s like if you were drowning and someone threw you a life buoy,” Torres said. “You don’t care who threw it or what their intentions were; you just care about saving your life. What people don’t understand is that Venezuelans needed their life buoy and now for the first time we have hope.”
As political decision-making continues to unfold, Corao Uribe, Da Silva, and Torres agree on one thing: the importance of listening to what Venezuelans want for their future.
“Venezuelans have suffered for so long, don’t try to understand our pain; this isn’t about politics, it’s about the suffering of the Venezuelan people,” Corao Uribe said.
This article contains information from the Associated Press.
Venezuela native Gil Arends was unwinding at his South Philadelphia apartment Saturday when an X notification came through: “There’s no power in Caracas and we are hearing some explosions.” A panoramic video showed smoke rising from the capital city.
“I was immediately scared; even with all the military, I did not think Caracas was going to get bombed,” Arends, 40, said. Then, the news came through: Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was in custody.
A U.S.military operation ousted Maduro from power early Saturday, capturing him and his wife, Cilia Flores. The couple were extracted from their home on a military base and taken to New York, where they face prosecution for their alleged participation in a narco-terrorism conspiracy. The dramatic ground offensive capped a monthslong pressure campaign by President Donald Trump against the Venezuelan leader.
Arends, who owns Puyero Venezuelan Flavor with locations in Center City and University City, left Venezuela 15 years ago. He woke up his mother, sister, and wife when he learned the news. No one could believe it.
“Some people just began noticing the bombings in the Caribbean, but we have been living this our entire lives,” Arends said. “No one wants to see their country getting bombed, but they gave us no alternative. I am grateful for the help.”
In the wake of the raid, Trump said the United States would “run Venezuela” until a transition of power could be arranged. Speaking from Mar-a-Lago, Trump offered few details on what American intervention would look like — or how long it could take — but revealed he plans to “fix” the country’s oil infrastructure and sell “large amounts” of oil to other countries.
The military operation and takeover Saturday elicited reactions from Philadelphia’s Venezuelan community and a cohort of area politicians who denounced Trump’s plan to run the country and capitalize off its oil reserves.
Philadelphia Democrat U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle took to X, writing, “The American people want affordable housing and health care. The last thing they want is another costly forever war.”
U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick said in a statement that Venezuela’s future “belongs to the Venezuelan people alone.”
“The only country that the United States of America should be ‘running’ is the United States of America,” the Bucks County Republican said.
The legal authority for the raid on Maduro and airstrikes in Caracas were not immediately known, but area lawmakers said Trump did not seek congressional authorization to capture Maduro. Decrying the attack, a spokesperson for U.S. Rep. Dwight Evans of Philadelphia noted that the president’s chief of staff Susie Wiles told Vanity Fair in November that ground operations in Venezuela would require the approval of Congress.
In a social media post, Sen. Andy Kim accused Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth of “blatantly” lying when the administration told congressional leaders its objective was not a regime change. Kim — a New Jersey Democrat and former national security official in the Obama administration — argued the raid may further isolate the U.S. from its allies.
“This strike doesn’t represent strength. It’s not sound foreign policy,” Kim wrote. “It puts Americans at risk in Venezuela and the region, and it sends a horrible and disturbing signal to other powerful leaders across the globe that targeting a head of state is an acceptable policy for the U.S. government.”
Delaware Democratic U.S. Sen. Chris Coons echoed Kim in a news release: According to Coons, senior Trump administration officials said in briefings to Congress that they were focused on combating drug trafficking.
“President Trump put American service members in harm’s way to capture Maduro, but the president lacks a clear plan for what comes next,” Coons said. “This raid risks creating more instability in the region, putting U.S. service members and civilians in the hemisphere at risk, and dividing us further from our regional partners.”
While condemning Trump, Sen. Cory Booker, a New Jersey Democrat, also upbraided the Republican-led Congress for its “ongoing abdication of its constitutional duty” and choosing “spineless complicity over its sworn responsibilities.”
“Again and again, the president has exceeded his authority, defied congressional intent, trampled the separation of powers, and broken the law — while Congress looked away in cowardice and submission,” Booker said in a news release. “Congress must act now. It must reassert its constitutional authority, restore the rule of law, and stop this president before further injury is done to our democracy and our republic.”
State Sen. Nikil Saval (D., Philadelphia) called for his federal counterparts to impeach Trump.
“Trump’s attack on Venezuela and abduction of its President are criminal acts of terror. They follow in the darkest traditions of American history: a violent, reckless flex of military power to gain control over foreign resources,” Saval posted on Instagram. “It is incumbent on every American of conscience to rise against these actions.”
Bill Burke-White, an international lawyer and law professor at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, said the United States’ unsanctioned attack on another sovereign state opens the doors for other military superpowers to oust opposing heads of states.
“Many countries in the world are going to look at this and say … that the United States has fundamentally abandoned the basic principles that kept us safe for the last 70 years. We’re going to be reverting to a world that looks more like regional powers that can do whatever they want,” he said, “a world governed, not by law, but by the whims of powerful autocrats in countries with nuclear weapons.”
The U.S. government does not recognize Maduro as a legitimate leader of Venezuela, and Trump repeated rhetoric Saturday that Maduro had effectively exploited the nation for cocaine trafficking and criminal enterprises. American presence in waters off South America has swelled in recent months as the U.S. attacked boats allegedly carrying drugs.
The number of known boat strikes was 35 and the number of people killed at least 115 as of Friday, according to the Trump administration. Trump has said that the U.S. is engaged in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels and has justified the boat strikes as necessary to curb the flow of drugs.
In social media posts, Pennsylvania U.S. Sens. Dave McCormick , a Republican, and Democrat John Fetterman applauded American military personnel who carried out the mission under the cover of darkness.
“For years Maduro’s regime killed our children by flooding America’s streets with poison, threatened our borders, and undermined U.S. national security,” McCormick wrote. “I urge what’s left of the Maduro regime to honor the will of the Venezuelan people and transition peacefully to rightfully elected leadership.”
Demonstrators march along North Broad Street reacting to U.S. strikes on Venezuela on Saturday.
There are about 7,000 people of Venezuelan origin in the Philly metro area, according to the latest census data, out of a total metro area Latino population of 681,000. By comparison, there are 135,000 people of Mexican origin, and 74,000 people of Dominican origin in the metro area.
Three local Venezuelan organizations — Casa de Venezuela Philadelphia, Casa de Venezuela Delaware, and Gente de Venezuela Philadelphia — rallied for peace and unity among the diaspora.
“In moments of heightened emotional sensitivity and rapid information circulation, we urge our community in exile to act with serenity, caution, and a sense of collective responsibility,” a joint statement read.
A vigil for Venezuela’s future is scheduled for noon Sunday at the Cathedral Basilica of SS. Peter and Paul.
“We firmly believe that no process of change will be sustainable if built on hatred, confrontation, or suffering,” the statement said.
After the news began to sink in, Arends, the restaurateur, checked in with his employees, asking about their family members in Caracas. Overall everyone was OK, he said, although some were startled and concerned by the bombing sounds.
“There is so much uncertainty in every single level and we have been through so much; we have seen bad things become worse so it’s very difficult to just be happy without fearing what that might lead to,” Arends said. “I’m hopeful but it doesn’t feel like we are at the point where this is over.”
As the first day of a post-Maduro Venezuela came to a close, Venus Lucini, 28, said she felt like there was a difference in the air.
“There are too many emotions, too much uncertainty, but for the first time, there is possibility,” Lucini said, as she held her daughter Sofi’s hand.
For the young mother this is a chance for younger generations to recover a sense of the future.
“I already had to emigrate, but this is her chance to see a new Venezuela,” Lucini said, longing to visit with family members who have never seen her 6-year-old in person.
“Can we go to Venezuela now, Mami?” Sofi asked.
“Not yet, baby, but soon you will get to see all the places Mami grew up in,” Lucini replied.
Graphics editor John Duchneskie and the Associated Press contributed to this article.
From losing a leg to a parasitic infection that almost took his life to getting temporarily cast out by his herd, Ray the Nubian goat had a rough 2025. Loving volunteers and a wheelchair might make for an improved 2026.
In October, the Philly Goat Project, an East Germantown nonprofit that provides community wellness through nature connection, shared Ray’s story with The Inquirer.
The 7-year-old goat had gone from helping people in bereavement and children with cerebral palsy at Awbury Arboretum to needing help moving around. Readers showed up for the middle-aged ruminant, donating enough for Ray to get his wheelchair and have physical therapy.
On a recent cold Monday morning, Ray eagerly awaited his rehabilitation, standing strong on three legs and eating orange peels out of volunteer Jay Tinkleman’s hand.
“It’s amazing what he has been through,” Tinkleman said, kissing Ray’s forehead. “He seems more confident now, a little stronger, and the other goats don’t pick on him like they used to at first, so I think they sense that he is stronger.”
Leslie Jackson, director of operations, works with Ray, who lost his leg due to a parasite infection.
Casey Buckley, who runs Ray’s physical therapy, agrees with Tinkleman, but said the friendly goat still has a long way to go.
These days, Ray is an ambulatory wheelchair user. He can move with or without a wheelchair, but needs it for long strolls, an important part of goat life.
“His rehab is a lifelong process,” Buckley said. “The goal is that on long walks, where he might not be able to go, he can use the wheelchair, but we just have to take it day by day.”
Ray might not fully agree. Once the first of his nine exercises began, he was ready to go.
“Slow down!” Leslie Jackson, director of operations at Philly Goat Project, told Ray on multiple occasions.
Neck stretches side to side, he aced it. Getting rocked back and forth to get the core strength humans get when doing crunches, no problem. Elevating his two front hooves on a table, while balancing on his third leg, to practice climbing the Philly Goat Project van “Vangoat,”easy.
Then came the orange cone course. Ray flew through it only to be stopped by Jackson right before the ending.
“No, no, no cheating, back, back,” Jackson told him upon realizing, in his speed, Ray had missed a line.
He tried again and again, but his last paw kept missing a line of cones. He bumped Jackson’s arm softly, perhaps looking for a comforting treat.
“We will do it together, teamwork makes the dream work,” Jackson told Ray, as Tinkleman and Buckley rallied around them to help line up the cones for another try. And shortly, to Ray, victory tasted like orange peels.
After 30 minutes of PT, he was ready to practice walking around in his wheelchair.
It took all three to get Ray into the chair. Tinkleman petted Ray’s head, keeping him calm. Jackson lifted the back of his body. And Buckley placed the metal contraptionaround Ray, making sure there was a wheel on each side, securing the black belt, and placing two soft sponges under the hip where his fourth leg used to be.
“He is not afraid of it, he doesn’t run from it,” Jackson said as Ray took off walking faster than before, no hopping or dragging. A milestone for the team that had been working for Ray to walk with his chair instead of feeling like he had to drag it.
Belly full of treats, the jolly goat led the group to the barn where his 11 goat friends and brother Teddy rested after returning from one of their long walks.
In time, the team hopes that the chair will help Ray join in once again. They are practicing having Teddy walk next to Ray in his wheelchair, keeping enough space for the wheels not to run over Teddy’s hooves.
Until then, Jackson feels grateful for Ray’s resilience and the big hearts that have helped him along the way.
“You don’t give up on a teammate, you try to help them through,” Jackson said. “Without the people who responded from The Inquirer [article], and our friends and family and fans, this would not be possible; he would not be getting stronger without a trainer, without a professional wheelchair. It’s a community effort.”
Philly is a square kind of city. Plots and constructions fit between the perpendicular streets that form the blocks that feed the city’s grid.
Modern architecture reshaped some squares into rectangles. Nevertheless, the grid system persists, helping Philadelphians navigate.
But blocks aren’t an exact science, andsome don’t have an easily understandable name. Trying to figure out what areas encompass a block police and news outlets sometimes use to describe incidents, a reader asked Curious Philly, The Inquirer’s forum for questions about the city and region: What makes something a unit block in Philadelphia?
For Jeffry Doshna, associate professor of city planning and community development at Temple University, a unit block is a term associated with cities that operate on a grid. It refers to a particular block where the house numbers are less than a 100.
“When we say the 900 block of Girard Avenue, that would be the buildings between Ninth and 10th Streets on Girard,” Doshna said. “It’s a way to designate which block it is based on the numbering.”
However, the words “unit block” stop being used when house numbers exceed 99, according to the professor.
“Unit block is 0 to 99; the 100 block is 100 to 199; the 200 block is 200 to 299. It goes up as high as we have street numbers in the city,” Doshna said.
In the past year, Philadelphians may have heard the phrase “unit block” on news stories, describing an area where an incident happened without providing the specific house number. In September, a man was shot in West Philadelphia, with police reporting the shooting location as the “unit block of North Frazier Street.”
This doesn’t apply just for cities with widespread grid systems like Philly. Right before Christmas, a Bucks County man was struck by a wood chipper in Lower Southampton Township. Authorities reported the incident as on “the unit block of Valley View Road.”
“It’s just a way for us to say ‘where,’ to let people know what block something happened on, without giving a specific address,” Doshna said.
The last day of the weekend will see temperatures rise in the Philadelphia area. But don’t get too hopeful: A chance of rain on Sunday is forecast to lead into a somewhat soggy Monday before things grow cool and dry for the New Year’s holiday.
With a high of 43 degrees and a low of 37, Sunday could bring showers, according to Ray Martin, a meteorologist in the National Weather Service’s Mount Holly office.
Weather prediction is not exact, but the weather service expects a 30% chance of rain Sunday, particularly in the afternoon.
“With temperatures set to be above freezing, we are not expecting additional icing or any significant impacts across Philadelphia tomorrow,” Martin said Saturday.
The odds for rain, however, increase further into Sunday night and the wee hours of Monday.
The chances of showers will hit 60% Sunday night, with temperatures rising overnight, according to the weather service. Worry not; less than a tenth of an inch of precipitation is expected to fall throughout the day on Monday.
Total accumulation across the region varied as of Saturday afternoon, from 0.2 inches in Rittenhouse Square to 0.3 at Philadelphia International Airport, 0.4 in Mount Holly, and 1 inch in Skippack.
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Regardless of the rain, Monday’s temperatures are forecast to be the warmest in more than a month, with a high of 58 degrees, before dropping again that night, with a low of 27. The biggest concern? Gusts as strong as 35 mph.
That is forecast to pass by the end of the night, opening the skies for a breezy Tuesday and a cold, but dry, farewell to the year.
Thinking about starting 2026 outdoors? Be ready to bundle up, Martin said.
Wednesday brings a partly sunny day, with a high of 37 and a nighttime low of 27, according to the National Weather Service. Temperatures are forecast to reach 35 on Jan. 1.
