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  • Letters to the Editor | Dec. 15, 2025

    Letters to the Editor | Dec. 15, 2025

    The Gaza ceasefire

    Thank you for publishing Rabbi Linda Holtzman’s op-ed about why a ceasefire in Gaza isn’t enough, we must also stop arming Israel.

    Today, we got news of the first Gazan child — in this case, a baby — dying of hypothermia. She froze to death because there is no adequate shelter in Gaza, it’s winter, and it’s freezing at night. With its relentless bombing, shelling, and deliberate destruction of housing, hospitals, universities, and schools in Gaza, Israel reduced 90% of Gaza’s homes to rubble.

    The ceasefire agreement required Israel to send in desperately needed humanitarian aid to Gaza, 600 trucks a day of tents, tarps, bedding, blankets, food, infant formula, and potable water, medicines, and medical supplies. Israel has at most sent in 100 trucks a day. The tents Gazans have been living in for months are torn apart by winter storms; they need new tents, tarps, and blankets to keep them as warm as possible.

    Israeli troops occupy most of Gaza and have killed unarmed civilians, including children who are searching for wood to burn or looking for the remnants of their homes in the increasingly occupied eastern part of Gaza. Israeli army Chief Eyal Zamir said a few days ago that the “Yellow Line” in Gaza, which demarcates Gazan land occupied by Israel, is Israel’s new border, meaning Israel will almost certainly never give back the portion of Gaza it’s supposed to be only temporarily occupying.

    There is no ceasefire, no food or shelter or medicines for the Gazans. Given that Donald Trump gave birth to this “ceasefire” and so-called peace plan, he needs to hold Israel accountable. Palestinian children are just as precious and deserving of life as Israeli children.

    Genie Silver, Wynnewood

    …

    It is both astonishing and appalling that Rabbi Linda Holtzman fails to grasp the irony — and hypocrisy — of her invoking the holiday of Hanukkah to support her efforts to block certain defense aid to Israel. The Maccabees, the heroes of the Hanukkah story, not only successfully revolted against the oppressive Syrian Greek empire, but they zealously fought against the assimilation of the Jews of that time. And where did these historic events in the second century BCE take place? In the land of Israel!

    As an anti-Zionist, Holtzman does not believe the Jews have a right to live in a Jewish state in the land of Israel. Despite the attempts of so many of Holtzman’s allies to distort what Zionism is (with many even despicably comparing Zionists to Nazis), the definition of Zionism is actually quite simple: it is the movement for self-determination of the Jewish people in its ancestral homeland. And an overwhelming percentage of Jews identify as Zionists.

    On several occasions, Holtzman describes Israel’s response to the horrific slaughter of Oct. 7, 2023, as genocide, as if that’s a given. Never does she even mention Hamas, a terrorist organization which perpetrated brutal killings, burning of babies, and rapes and sexual mutilations (and glorified it all). No, Rabbi Holtzman, fighting back against an organization whose entire cynical strategy is based on hiding behind Gazan civilians in order to generate more casualties is not genocide. It’s a war against a truly genocidal enemy, a war that the Maccabees would have supported and led.

    Richard Lowe, Oreland

    Join the conversation: Send letters to letters@inquirer.com. Limit length to 150 words and include home address and day and evening phone number. Letters run in The Inquirer six days a week on the editorial pages and online.

  • Best-selling British writer Joanna Trollope has died at 82

    Best-selling British writer Joanna Trollope has died at 82

    LONDON — British writer Joanna Trollope, whose best-selling novels charted domestic and romantic travails in well-heeled rural England, has died, her family said Friday. She was 82.

    Ms. Trollope’s daughters, Antonia and Louise, said the writer died peacefully at her home in Oxfordshire, southern England, on Thursday.

    Ms. Trollope wrote almost two dozen contemporary novels, including The Rector’s Wife, Marrying the Mistress, Other People’s Children, and Next of Kin. They were often dubbed “Aga sagas,” after the old-fashioned Aga ovens found in affluent country homes.

    Ms. Trollope disliked the term, noting that her books tackled uncomfortable subjects including infidelity, marital breakdown, and the challenges of parenting.

    “That was a very unfortunate phrase and I think it’s done me a lot of damage,” she once said. ”It was so patronizing to the readers, too.”

    Ms. Trollope’s most recent novel, Mum & Dad, examined the “sandwich generation” of middle-aged people looking after both children and elderly parents.

    Ms. Trollope also published 10 historical novels under the pseudonym Caroline Harvey.

    Ms. Trollope, a distant relative of Victorian novelist Anthony Trollope, was born in Minchinhampton in the west of England in 1943. She studied English at Oxford University, then worked in Britain’s Foreign Office and as a teacher before becoming a full-time writer in 1980. She became a household name after The Rector’s Wife was adapted for television in 1991.

    Ms. Trollope’s novel Parson Harding’s Daughter won a novel of the year award from the Romantic Novelists’ Association in 1980. In 2010, the association gave her a lifetime achievement award for services to romance.

    In 2019, she was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire, or CBE, by Queen Elizabeth II.

    Her literary agent, James Gill, called Ms. Trollope “one of our most cherished, acclaimed and widely enjoyed novelists.

    “Joanna will be mourned by her children, grandchildren, family, her countless friends and — of course — her readers,” Gill said.

  • Gameday Central: Eagles vs Raiders

    Gameday Central: Eagles vs Raiders

    The Eagles head into this week’s showdown with the Raiders eager to keep their momentum rolling and strengthen their standing in the NFC race. After battling through a challenging stretch, they’re looking to put together a complete performance and make a statement as the season heats up.Join Olivia Reiner & Jeff McLane on Gameday Central for expert analysis, insider perspectives, and live updates throughout Eagles–Raiders this week.

  • Judge orders Kilmar Abrego Garcia to be immediately released from immigration detention

    Judge orders Kilmar Abrego Garcia to be immediately released from immigration detention

    GREENBELT, Md. — A federal judge in Maryland ordered Kilmar Abrego Garcia freed from immigration detention on Thursday while his legal challenge against his deportation moves forward.

    U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis ruled that Immigration and Customs Enforcement must release Abrego Garcia from custody immediately.

    “Since Abrego Garcia’s return from wrongful detention in El Salvador, he has been re-detained, again without lawful authority,” the judge wrote. “For this reason, the Court will GRANT Abrego Garcia’s Petition for immediate release from ICE custody.”

    Who is Kilmar Abrego Garcia, and why is he in an ICE detention center in Pennsylvania?

    Justice Department and Homeland Security spokespeople didn’t immediately respond to messages seeking comment on the judge’s order. Messages seeking comment were left with Abrego Garcia’s attorney Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg.

    Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national, has an American wife and child and has lived in Maryland for years, but he originally immigrated to the U.S. illegally as a teenager. An immigration judge in 2019 ruled Abrego Garcia could not be deported to El Salvador because he faced danger from a gang that targeted his family. When Abrego Garcia was mistakenly deported there in March, his case became a rallying point for those who oppose President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.

    Kilmar Abrego Garcia transferred to Pennsylvania immigrant detention center

    Abrego Garcia was returned to the U.S. under a court order. Since he cannot be deported to El Salvador, ICE has been seeking to deport him to a series of African countries. His lawsuit in federal court claims Trump’s Republican administration is illegally using the deportation process to punish Abrego Garcia over the embarrassment of his mistaken deportation to El Salvador.

    Meanwhile, in a separate action in immigration court, Abrego Garcia is petitioning to reopen his immigration case to seek asylum in the United States.

    Additionally, Abrego Garcia is facing criminal charges in federal court in Tennessee, where he has pleaded not guilty to human smuggling. He has filed a motion to dismiss the charges, claiming the prosecution is vindictive.

    Why Kilmar Abrego Garcia is the Jenga piece that could topple the American Experiment | Will Bunch

    A judge has ordered an evidentiary hearing to be held on the motion after previously finding some evidence that the prosecution against Abrego Garcia “may be vindictive.” The judge said many statements by Trump administration officials “raise cause for concern.”

    The judge specifically cited a statement by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche that seemed to suggest the Justice Department charged Abrego Garcia because he won his wrongful deportation case.

  • Sophie Kinsella, the author of the ‘Confessions of a Shopaholic’ novels, has died at 55

    Sophie Kinsella, the author of the ‘Confessions of a Shopaholic’ novels, has died at 55

    LONDON — Sophie Kinsella, the author of Confessions of a Shopaholic and a series of millions-selling sequels died Monday, her family said. She was 55 and had been diagnosed with brain cancer.

    The family said in a statement on Ms. Kinsella’s Instagram account: “We are heartbroken to announce the passing this morning of our beloved Sophie (aka Maddy, aka Mummy). She died peacefully, with her final days filled with her true loves: family and music and warmth and Christmas and joy.

    “We can’t imagine what life will be like without her radiance and love of life.”

    Ms. Kinsella, who also published under her real name, Madeleine Wickham, announced in April 2024 that she had been diagnosed in late 2022 with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer.

    “I did not share this before because I wanted to make sure that my children were able to hear and process the news in privacy and adapt to our ’new normal,’” she said at the time.

    Starting in 2000 with The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic,(titled Confessions of a Shopaholic in the United States), about a financial journalist who writes about money matters but fails miserably at managing her own, Ms. Kinsella published 10 “Shopaholic” novels, along with other fiction. Her books have sold more than 45 million copies worldwide and have been translated into dozens of languages.

    The first two “Shopaholic” books were adapted into the 2009 film Confessions of a Shopaholic, starring Isla Fisher.

    From journalism to fiction

    Ms. Kinsella did not grow up intending to be a writer. One of three girls born to teachers in London, she played piano and violin as a child and also composed music.

    She told author-publisher Zibby Owens on her podcast, Moms Don’t Have Time to Read Books, that the idea of writing never crossed her mind. “It wasn’t my childhood ambition. I wasn’t the child walking around saying, ‘I’m going to write a novel one day.’”

    Ms. Kinsella enrolled at Oxford University to study music but switched to the politics, philosophy and economics program after one year.

    While at college, she met musician Henry Wickham and fell in love. The couple had four sons and a daughter.

    After graduating, Ms. Kinsella began working as a financial journalist and spent her commute reading. The idea to write fiction herself began to take shape on the train, and she worked on her first novel during her lunch hours.

    She published her first novel, The Tennis Party, in 1995, as Madeleine Wickham. Soon after, she left her journalism job to focus on writing. Six other books, including The Gatecrasher and Sleeping Arrangements, followed.

    ‘Shopaholic’ success

    An otherwise normal shopping excursion sparked the idea for writing her first “Shopaholic” novel

    “I remember looking around me and thinking… “We all shop… We talk about it. We do it. We rejoice in it. We make bad decisions. Why hasn’t anybody written about this?” Ms. Kinsella said in 2019 on The Sunday Salon with Alice-Azania Jarvis podcast.

    Ms. Kinsella created a story about Becky Bloomwood, a 20-something financial journalist in debt from a shopping habit she can’t (or won’t) kick. The novel contained hilarious back-and-forth correspondence with bill collectors and banks, where she would make excuses for late payments. Ms. Kinsella said those letters were one of the most fun bits to write.

    There was also a love story with a handsome businessman whom Becky met while on assignment. She went on to marry and have a mini-shopaholic daughter in future books.

    The humorous tone of Confessions of a Shopaholic was a change from her earlier books, so she decided to submit it to her publishers under a pen name. Her middle name was Sophie and Ms. Kinsella was her mother’s maiden name.

    The publishers said yes, and “Shopaholic” was published in 2000 under her pseudonym. The novel, blending humor with a cautionary tale about getting in over your head with debt, was an immediate success.

    Ms. Kinsella said Becky was a modern everywoman whose behavior was “what you wouldn’t do yourself, but maybe you would if you were in absolute extreme circumstances. And that’s what she finds herself in all the time.”

    Bloomwood’s further adventures followed in books including Shopaholic Takes Manhattan, Shopaholic Ties the Knot, and Shopaholic & Sister.

    Along with Bridget Jones author Helen Fielding and others, Ms. Kinsella’s work was often branded “chick lit” by the media. She told the AP in 2004 she didn’t mind the label, interpreting it as signaling a book that is “fun, entertaining and might just have a happy ending.”

    “Just because you are interested in frivolous things doesn’t mean that you can’t be bright and have great ideas and the rest of it,” she said.

    The first two “Shopaholic” books were adapted into the 2009 film “Confessions of a Shopaholic,” starring Isla Fisher and Hugh Dancy.

    Her novel Can You Keep a Secret? was adapted into a 2019 film starring Alexandra Daddario and Tyler Hoechlin. Her last novel was The Burnout, released in 2023.

    Illness and hope

    In November 2022, after experiencing symptoms including memory loss, headaches and balance troubles, Ms. Kinsella was diagnosed with glioblastoma, for which there is no cure. She kept the news private until April 2024. In an interview with TV personality Robin Roberts aired a few months later, Ms. Kinsella said she was focused on living in the moment.

    “I’ve already lasted more than the average. That’s how we get through. We hope,” she said.

    After her diagnosis, she wrote a novella, What Does It Feel Like, about a woman with five children who has brain cancer.

    “I thought people might be curious to know what it’s like to go through this,” Ms. Kinsella told Roberts. “I hope it’s full of optimism and love most of all.”

    Araminta Whitley and Marina de Pass, Ms. Kinsella’s agents at The Soho Agency, said the writer “had a rare gift for creating emotionally resonant protagonists and stories that spoke to, and entertained, readers wherever they were in the world and whatever challenges they faced.”

    Bill Scott-Kerr, her publisher at Transworld, said Ms. Kinsella leaves behind “a unique voice, an unquenchable spirit, a goodness of intent and a body of work that will continue to inspire us to reach higher and be better, just like so many of her characters.”

  • Gameday Central: Eagles vs Chargers

    Gameday Central: Eagles vs Chargers

    The Eagles head into tonight’s matchup against the Chargers with strong momentum, looking to solidify their position in the NFC race and build on their season’s progress. After a hard-fought stretch, they’re aiming to make a statement under the primetime lights. Join Olivia Reiner & Jeff McLane on Gameday Central for expert analysis, insider insights, and live updates throughout Eagles-Chargers tonight.

  • Grand jury transcripts from abandoned Epstein investigation in Florida ordered released

    Grand jury transcripts from abandoned Epstein investigation in Florida ordered released

    ORLANDO, Fla. — A federal judge on Friday gave the Justice Department permission to release transcripts of a grand jury investigation into Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse of underage girls in Florida — a case that ultimately ended without any federal charges being filed against the millionaire sex offender.

    U.S. District Judge Rodney Smith said a recently passed federal law ordering the release of records related to Epstein overrode the usual rules about grand jury secrecy.

    The law signed in November by President Donald Trump compels the Justice Department, FBI, and federal prosecutors to release later this month the vast troves of material they have amassed during investigations into Epstein that date back at least two decades.

    Friday’s court ruling dealt with the earliest known federal inquiry.

    In 2005, police in Palm Beach, Fla., where Epstein had a mansion, began interviewing teenage girls who told of being hired to give the financier sexualized massages. The FBI later joined the investigation.

    Federal prosecutors in Florida prepared an indictment in 2007, but Epstein’s lawyers attacked the credibility of his accusers publicly while secretly negotiating a plea bargain that would let him avoid serious jail time.

    In 2008, Epstein pleaded guilty to relatively minor state charges of soliciting prostitution from someone under age 18. He served most of his 18-month sentence in a work release program that let him spend his days in his office.

    The U.S. attorney in Miami at the time, Alex Acosta, agreed not to prosecute Epstein on federal charges — a decision that outraged Epstein’s accusers. After the Miami Herald reexamined the unusual plea bargain in a series of stories in 2018, public outrage over Epstein’s light sentence led to Acosta’s resignation as Trump’s labor secretary.

    A Justice Department report in 2020 found that Acosta exercised “poor judgment” in handling the investigation, but it also said he did not engage in professional misconduct.

    A different federal prosecutor, in New York, brought a sex trafficking indictment against Epstein in 2019, mirroring some of the same allegations involving underage girls that had been the subject of the aborted investigation. Epstein killed himself while awaiting trial. His longtime confidant and ex-girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, was then tried on similar charges, convicted and sentenced in 2022 to 20 years in prison.

    Transcripts of the grand jury proceedings from the aborted federal case in Florida could shed more light on federal prosecutors’ decision not to go forward with it. Records related to state grand jury proceedings have already been made public.

    When the documents will be released is unknown. The Justice Department asked the court to unseal them so they could be released with other records required to be disclosed under the Epstein Files Transparency Act. The Justice Department hasn’t set a timetable for when it plans to start releasing information, but the law set a deadline of Dec. 19.

    The law also allows the Justice Department to withhold files that it says could jeopardize an active federal investigation. Files can also be withheld if they’re found to be classified or if they pertain to national defense or foreign policy.

    One of the federal prosecutors on the Florida case did not answer a phone call Friday and the other declined to answer questions.

    A judge had previously declined to release the grand jury records, citing the usual rules about grand jury secrecy, but Smith said the new federal law allowed public disclosure.

    The Justice Department has separate requests pending for the release of grand jury records related to the sex trafficking cases against Epstein and Maxwell in New York. The judges in those matters have said they plan to rule expeditiously.

  • Gameday Central: Phillies Extra with Jim Duquette

    Gameday Central: Phillies Extra with Jim Duquette

    What’s it like to be an executive at baseball’s winter meetings? Jim Duquette, a former general manager with the Mets and Orioles and now the host of a show on MLB Network Radio, puts us in the rooms where everything happens. He also discusses the Phillies’ offseason, including the chances that Kyle Schwarber and J.T. Realmuto return in free agency. It’s all on “Phillies Extra,” the baseball podcast from The Philadelphia Inquirer. Watch here.

  • Netflix to buy Warner Bros Discovery’s studios, streaming unit for $72 billion

    Netflix to buy Warner Bros Discovery’s studios, streaming unit for $72 billion

    Netflix has agreed to buy Warner Bros Discovery’s TV, film studios and streaming division for $72 billion, a deal that would hand control of one of Hollywood’s most prized and oldest assets to the streaming pioneer.

    The agreement, announced on Friday, follows a weeks-long bidding war in which Netflix offered nearly $28-a-share, eclipsing Paramount Skydance’s close to $24 bid for the whole of Warner Bros Discovery, including the cable TV assets slated for a spinoff.

    Buying the owner of marquee franchises including “Game of Thrones,” “DC Comics” and “Harry Potter” will further tilt the balance of power in Hollywood in favor of Netflix.

    It would help the streaming giant, which has so far built its dominance without major deals or a large content library, to ward off competition from Walt Disney and the Ellison family-backed Paramount.

    The two companies together will “help define the next century of storytelling,” said Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos, who had once said “the goal is to become HBO faster than HBO can become us.”

    Strong antitrust scrutiny likely

    The deal, however, is likely to face strong antitrust scrutiny in Europe and the U.S. as it would give the world’s biggest streaming service ownership of a rival that is home to HBO Max and boasts nearly 130 million streaming subscribers.

    David Ellison-led Paramount, which kicked off the bidding war with a series of unsolicited offers and has close ties with the Trump administration, had questioned the sale process earlier this week and alleged favorable treatment to Netflix.

    Even before the bids were in, some members of Congress said a Netflix–Warner Bros Discovery deal could harm consumers and Hollywood.

    Cinema United, a global exhibition trade association, said on Friday the deal poses an “unprecedented threat” to movie theaters worldwide.

    “In light of the current regulatory environment this will raise eyebrows and concerns. The combined dominant streaming player will be heavily scrutinized,” said PP Foresight analyst Paolo Pescatore.

    “We should expect this to wrangle on given Paramount Skydance pursuit for Warner Bros Discovery.”

    Looking to allay some concerns, Netflix said the deal would give subscribers more shows and films, boost its U.S. production and long-term spending on original content and create more jobs and opportunities for creative talent.

    The company argued in deal talks that a combination of its streaming service with HBO Max would benefit consumers by lowering the cost of a bundled offering.

    The company has told Warner Bros Discovery it would keep releasing the studio’s films in cinemas in a bid to ease fears that its deal would eliminate another studio and major source of theatrical films, according to media reports.

    Cash-and-stock deal

    Warner Bros Discovery shares were up 2.4% at $25 in premarket trading, while Netflix fell nearly 3% and Paramount 2.2%. Comcast, the third suitor, was trading little changed.

    Paramount and Comcast did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

    Under the deal, each Warner Bros Discovery shareholder will receive $23.25 in cash and about $4.50 in Netflix stock per share, valuing Warner at $27.75 a share, or about $72 billion in equity and $82.7 billion, including debt.

    The deal represents a premium of 121.3% to Warner Bros Discovery’s closing price on September 10, before initial reports of a possible buyout emerged.

    The deal is expected to close after Warner Bros Discovery spins off its global networks unit, Discovery Global, into a separate listed company, a move now set for completion in the third quarter of 2026.

    Netflix has offered Warner Bros Discovery a $5.8 billion breakup fee, while Warner Bros Discovery would pay Netflix $2.8 billion if the deal collapses.

    Netflix said it expects to generate at least $2 billion to $3 billion in annual cost savings by the third year, after the deal closes.

    Netflix growth worries

    Analysts have said Netflix is driven by a desire to lock up long-term rights to hit shows and films and rely less on outside studios as it expands into gaming and looks for new avenues of growth after the success of its password-sharing crackdown.

    Its shares are up just 16% this year, after surging more than 80% in 2024, as investors worry its breakneck growth could be slowing, especially after it stopped disclosing subscriber figures earlier this year.

    The company has leaned on its ad-supported tier to drive growth, but that is not expected to become a major revenue engine until next year, while analysts say its push into video games has stumbled amid strategy shifts and executive turnover.

    Buying Warner Bros would also deepen its gaming bet, as WBD is one of the few entertainment companies to notch big successes in the sector, including its Harry Potter title “Hogwarts Legacy,” which has generated more than $1 billion in revenue.

  • A raccoon went on a drunken rampage in a Virginia liquor store and passed out on the bathroom floor

    A raccoon went on a drunken rampage in a Virginia liquor store and passed out on the bathroom floor

    ASHLAND, Va. — The masked burglar broke into the closed Virginia liquor store early on Saturday and hit the bottom shelf, where the scotch and whisky were stored. The bandit was something of a nocturnal menace: bottles were smashed, a ceiling tile collapsed and alcohol pooled on the floor.

    The suspect acted like an animal because, in fact, he’s a raccoon.

    On Saturday morning, an employee at the Ashland, Virginia-area liquor store found the trash panda passed out on the bathroom floor at the end of his drunken escapade.

    Broken bottles are seen after a raccoon ransacked a liquor store in Ashland, Va., on Nov. 29.

    “I personally like raccoons,” said Samantha Martin, an officer who works at the local animal control. “They are funny little critters. He fell through one of the ceiling tiles and went on a full-blown rampage, drinking everything.”

    Martin said she took the raccoon back to the animal shelter, though she had her fair share of giggles along the way.

    “Another day in the life of an animal control officer, I guess,” she said.

    The Hanover County Animal Protection and Shelter commended Martin for handling the break-in, and confirmed the raccoon had sobered up.

    “After a few hours of sleep and zero signs of injury (other than maybe a hangover and poor life choices), he was safely released back to the wild, hopefully having learned that breaking and entering is not the answer,” the agency said.