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  • FBI combs desert terrain for clues in Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance

    FBI combs desert terrain for clues in Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance

    TUCSON, Ariz. — Fresh surveillance images from Nancy Guthrie’s porch the night she went missing, coupled with intense police activity across Arizona and the detention of a man had raised hopes that authorities were nearing a major break.

    But then the man was released after questioning, leaving it unclear Wednesday where the investigation stood into last week’s disappearance of Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie.

    FBI agents carrying water bottles to beat the 80-degree F (26.7-degree C) heat walked among rocks and desert vegetation at Guthrie’s Tucson-area home. They also fanned out across a neighborhood about a mile (1.6 kilometers) away, knocking on doors and searching through cactuses, bushes and boulders.

    Several hundred detectives and agents are now assigned to the investigation, which is expanding in the area, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department said.

    In a nearby neighborhood, two investigators emerged from daughter Annie Guthrie’s home with a paper grocery sack and a white trash bag. One, still wearing blue protective gloves, also took a stack of mail from the roadside mailbox. They drove away without speaking to reporters.

    Barb Dutrow, who was jogging through a neighborhood where teams were searching, said an FBI agent told her they were looking for anything that might have been tossed from a car. Dutrow, who was visiting from Louisiana for a convention, said she “can’t imagine the feeling of the family of having their mother taken.”

    A day earlier, authorities said they had stopped a man near the U.S.-Mexico border, just hours after the FBI released videos of a person wearing a gun holster, ski mask and backpack and approaching Nancy Guthrie’s home in Tucson. The man told media outlets early Wednesday that he was released after several hours and had nothing to do with Guthrie’s disappearance last week.

    Authorities have not said what led them to stop the man Tuesday but confirmed he was released. The sheriff’s department said its deputies and FBI agents also searched a location in Rio Rico, a city south of Tucson where the man lives.

    It was the latest twist in an investigation that has gripped the nation since Nancy Guthrie disappeared on Feb. 1. Until Tuesday, it seemed authorities were making little headway in determining what happened to her or finding who was responsible.

    The black and white images released by the FBI showing a masked person trying to cover a doorbell camera on Guthrie’s porch marked the first significant break in the case. But the images did not show what happened to her or help determine whether she is still alive.

    FBI Director Kash Patel said investigators spent days trying to find lost, corrupted or inaccessible images.

    Even though the images do not show the person’s face, investigators are hopeful someone will know who was on the porch. More than 4,000 calls came into the Pima County sheriff’s tip line within the past 24 hours, the department said Wednesday afternoon.

    Authorities have said for more than a week that they believe Nancy Guthrie was taken against her will. She was last seen at home Jan. 31 and reported missing the next day. DNA tests showed blood on her porch was hers, authorities said.

    Savannah Guthrie posted the new surveillance images on social media and said the family believes their mother is still alive.

    The longtime NBC host and her two siblings have indicated a willingness to pay a ransom.

    It is not known whether ransom notes demanding money with deadlines that have already passed were authentic, and whether the family has had any contact with whoever took Guthrie.

    TMZ reported it received a message Wednesday from someone claiming to know the kidnapper’s identity and that they unsuccessfully tried to reach Savannah Guthrie’s brother and sister. The person asked for bitcoin in exchange for the information, TMZ said. The FBI did not immediately respond to a message.

    Authorities have said Nancy Guthrie takes several medications and there was concern from the start that she could die without them.

  • The Philadelphia Stars Negro Leagues mural in West Philly was taken down — but a new one is planned

    The Philadelphia Stars Negro Leagues mural in West Philly was taken down — but a new one is planned

    When a West Parkside mural honoring the Philadelphia Stars and Negro Leagues baseball was taken down last month, social media commenters were outraged as the news spread, fearing that Philadelphia had lost one of its iconic odes to Black history.

    But the mural at 4304 Parkside Ave. won’t be gone for very long. In a collaboration among Mural Arts Philadelphia, Parkside community members, and the owners of its former building, a new version of the Stars mural will be re-created just across the street.

    “It was put up over 20 years ago. We’ve been working really hard to spruce it up for the next 20 years,” said Marjorie Ogilvie, the president emeritus of the West Parkside Business Association, who helped erect the first mural in 2006.

    It seemed inevitable that the two-story mural would eventually be brought down. There was roof and wall damage to the home on which it is painted, and the building partially collapsed. Those repairs required the removal of half of the mural a few years ago, and it was never replaced.

    And the possibility of development on the plot of land is now closer to being realized. The triangle-shaped grassy lot in front of the mural has been owned by developer Haverford Square Properties for several years, and it acquired the 4304 Parkside building in September.

    Half of the mural was previously removed after repairs were needed for the damaged wall and roof of the property. This photo shows what remained of the mural in 2024.

    Haverford Square planned to construct a six-story apartment building at the corner, but community members fought back, arguing that it would lead to overcrowding in the neighborhood. Haverford Square president German Yakubov said they have since reached something of a compromise on a smaller-scale development, which will include a baseball-themed coffee shop on the corner.

    But Yakubov is helping to secure the long-term future of the mural. Haverford Square has donated $30,000 and design services to the project to create a new version across Belmont Avenue.

    “I didn’t want to let it go,” he said of the mural he has been driving past since he was a student at St. Joseph’s University.

    The mural will be painted on a yet-to-be-constructed wall in the Philadelphia Stars Negro Leagues Memorial Park, at the southwest corner of Parkside and Belmont Avenues. It will look slightly different from the previous version, since the new wall will be wider and shorter than the 4304 Parkside wall was. But the designs come from the artist who worked on the original mural, David McShane.

    The park features a 7-foot bronze statue of a Negro Leagues baseball player, which was unveiled in a 2003 dedication ceremony at Veterans Stadium by five living Philadelphia Stars players — Bill Cash, Mahlon Duckett, Stanley Glenn, Harold Gould, and Wilmer Harris — before being placed at the park in 2005. The new mural will be raised behind the bronze statue.

    A rendering of the proposed mural at the Philadelphia Stars Negro League Memorial Park. The recreated design is by the same artist, David McShane, behind the original mural. The proposed project will include the construction of a new wall behind the 7-foot bronze statue of a Stars player by Phil Sumpter.

    “It’s great to see when everyone comes together to ensure that the story of the Negro League[s] and the Philadelphia Stars is not forgotten,” said Mural Arts Philadelphia executive director Jane Golden.

    Many people reached out to Mural Arts once they heard in the fall that the mural was going to be removed, Golden said. They were furious and wanted to know what the organization would do to protect it.

    Golden said she expects construction to begin early this spring after the project receives Philadelphia Art Commission approval, and for the mural to be completed by summer. Thousands of visitors are expected for numerous events in Philly, including the MLB All-Star Game in July.

    The Stars are nearing their 100th anniversary, having played their first games in 1933. They joined the Negro National League the following season and won their first and only pennant, beating the Chicago American Giants in a controversial eight-game series, 4-3-1, after game 7 ended in a tie due to the state’s blue law curfew. Satchel Paige briefly played for the Stars, as did other Negro Leagues legends like Biz Mackey and Jud Nelson.

    But after Major League Baseball was integrated in 1947, the popularity of the Negro Leagues dropped, and the Stars disbanded in 1952. They played the majority of their home games at the 44th and Parkside Ballpark, the site where the new mural will rise.

  • Instagram chief says he does not believe people can get clinically addicted to social media

    Instagram chief says he does not believe people can get clinically addicted to social media

    LOS ANGELES — Adam Mosseri, the head of Meta’s Instagram, testified Wednesday during a landmark social media trial in Los Angeles that he disagrees with the idea that people can be clinically addicted to social media platforms.

    The question of addiction is a key pillar of the case, where plaintiffs seek to hold social media companies responsible for harms to children who use their platforms. Meta Platforms and Google’s YouTube are the two remaining defendants in the case, which TikTok and Snap have settled.

    At the core of the Los Angeles case is a 20-year-old identified only by the initials “KGM,” whose lawsuit could determine how thousands of similar lawsuits against social media companies would play out. She and two other plaintiffs have been selected for bellwether trials — essentially test cases for both sides to see how their arguments play out before a jury.

    Mosseri said it’s important to differentiate between clinical addiction and what he called problematic use. The plaintiff’s lawyer, however, presented quotes directly from Mosseri in a podcast interview a few years ago where he said the opposite, but he clarified that he was probably using the term “too casually,” as people tend to do.

    Mosseri said he was not claiming to be a medical expert when questioned about his qualifications to comment on the legitimacy of social media addiction, but said someone “very close” to him has experienced serious clinical addiction, which is why he said he was “being careful with my words.”

    He said he and his colleagues use the term “problematic use” to refer to “someone spending more time on Instagram than they feel good about, and that definitely happens.”

    It’s “not good for the company, over the long run, to make decisions that profit for us but are poor for people’s wellbeing,” Mosseri said.

    Mosseri and the plaintiff’s lawyer, Mark Lanier, engaged in a lengthy back-and-forth about cosmetic filters on Instagram that changed people’s appearance in a way that seemed to promote plastic surgery.

    “We are trying to be as safe as possible but also censor as little as possible,” Mosseri said.

    In the courtroom, bereaved parents of children who have had social media struggles seemed visibly upset during a discussion around body dysmorphia and cosmetic filters. Meta shut down all third-party augmented reality filters in January 2025. The judge made an announcement to members of the public on Wednesday after the displays of emotion, reminding them not to make any indication of agreement or disagreement with testimony, saying that it would be “improper to indicate some position.”

    In recent years, Instagram has added a slew of features and tools it says have made the platform safer for young people. But this does not always work. A report last year, for instance, found that teen accounts researchers created were recommended age-inappropriate sexual content, including “graphic sexual descriptions, the use of cartoons to describe demeaning sexual acts, and brief displays of nudity.”

    In addition, Instagram also recommended a “range of self-harm, self-injury, and body image content” on teen accounts that the report says “would be reasonably likely to result in adverse impacts for young people, including teenagers experiencing poor mental health, or self-harm and suicidal ideation and behaviors.” Meta called the report “misleading, dangerously speculative” and said it misrepresents its efforts on teen safety.

    Meta is also facing a separate trial in New Mexico that began this week.

  • Art Commission votes to move Joe Frazier statue from South Philly to the Art Museum

    Art Commission votes to move Joe Frazier statue from South Philly to the Art Museum

    “Smokin’” Joe Frazier is heading to the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

    Philly’s statue of the famed heavyweight boxing champion is slated to be installed at the base of the museum’s steps later this year following a Philadelphia Art Commission vote Wednesday that approved the move. All five commissioners present Wednesday voted in favor of the statue’s relocation from its longtime home at the sports complex in South Philadelphia.

    The proposal, presented by Creative Philadelphia, the city’s office for the creative sector, will see the Frazier statue installed where Philly’s original Rocky statue stands today. The Rocky statue, meanwhile, will be installed at the top of the museum’s steps.

    “Placing the Joe Frazier statue at the Art Museum allows us to share a more complete history about Philadelphia’s spirit,” Marguerite Anglin, the city’s public art director, said Wednesday. “One rooted in real people, real work, and real pride in this city.”

    The Frazier statue should move to the Art Museum sometime this spring, Anglin said. That relocation coincides with the move of the Rocky statue currently at the base of the steps, which is slated to be temporarily installed inside the museum for the first time as part of the forthcoming exhibition “Rising Up: Rocky and the Making of Monuments.” That Rocky statue will then be installed at the top of the museum’s steps in the fall, while the Rocky statue now at the top of the steps will go back into actor Sylvester Stallone’s private collection.

    Created by sculptor Stephen Layne, the Frazier statue was unveiled in 2015 at what is now Stateside Live! at the sports complex in South Philadelphia. Its debut came years after Frazier’s death in 2011, which kicked off a campaign to erect the statue in his memory. Standing at 12 feet tall, it depicts the boxer moments after knocking down Muhammad Ali during the “Fight of the Century” — a famed March 1971 bout in which Ali suffered his first professional loss after a brutal 15-round skirmish.

    For years before its creation, Frazier’s supporters lamented the fact that Philadelphia had long had a Rocky statue, but lacked one showing its own real-life champion. Our Rocky statue, in fact, has been around for more than 40 years, and has stood outside the Art Museum for two decades — about twice as long as the Frazier statue has even existed.

    The history of Philly’s Joe Frazier statue, from inception to a potential move to the Art Museum

    “Tell them Rocky was not a champion, Joe Frazier was,” the Rev. Jesse Jackson famously said at Frazier’s funeral. “Tell them Rocky’s fists were frozen in stone. Joe’s fists were smokin’.”

    Creative Philadelphia’s plan featured widespread support from leaders including Mayor Cherelle L. Parker, as well as Frazier’s family and friends. It received little pushback at Wednesday’s meeting, with Gabrielle Gibson, a granddaughter of Frazier’s, asking what is perhaps the most obvious question about the placement: Shouldn’t the Frazier statue be at the top?

    He was, after all, a real person, a real Philadelphian, and a real champion. Rocky, meanwhile, is a fictional character who appears to be an amalgamation of several real-life boxers’ stories — Frazier included, according to Creative Philadelphia. Many speakers Wednesday noted that, like Rocky, Frazier was known to run up the Art Museum’s steps and was said to have boxed sides of beef during his training, among other parallels.

    And then there is the symbolism of where the Rocky and Frazier statues will stand.

    “During Black History Month, I think we need to understand the new placement,” Gibson said. “A real boxer and a Black man’s image and likeness would be placed at a lower position beneath the fictional white character whose story was inspired by real boxers.”

    The Frazier statue’s placement at the bottom of the steps, Anglin said, was for two main reasons. First, she said, having Frazier at the bottom makes it the first statue visitors will encounter at the Art Museum — even if they are there expressly to see Rocky — which will provide “an opportunity to be grounded in history.”

    Second, the Rocky statue’s footprint is roughly half the size of the Frazier statue, which would not be “safe or feasible” to install on high, Anglin said. Putting Rocky at the top, Anglin said, allows for better circulation around the monument, and avoids the potential logistical and code-related issues putting Frazier there could present.

    His son, and former heavyweight boxer Marvis Frazier (right), and Rev. Blane Newberry from Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church bless a 12-foot-tall 1,800-pound bronze statue of “Smokin’ Joe” Frazier after it was unveiled in 2015.

    Jacqueline Frazier-Lyde, Frazier’s daughter, a retired professional boxing champion and a Municipal Court judge, expressed support for the move Wednesday, calling the statue a reminder that “we can overcome any obstacle and achieve.” She also recounted her father’s feelings on the Rocky statue, specifically when he would see tourists taking photos with Stallone’s character.

    “At times,” she said, “he would say, ‘Don’t they understand that I’m the heavyweight champion?’”

  • Kennedy Center head warns staff of cuts and ‘skeletal’ staffing during renovation closure

    Kennedy Center head warns staff of cuts and ‘skeletal’ staffing during renovation closure

    As the Trump administration prepares to close the Kennedy Center for a two-year renovation, the head of Washington’s performing arts center has warned its staff about impending cuts that will leave “skeletal teams.”

    In a Tuesday memo obtained by The Associated Press, Kennedy Center president Richard Grenell told staff that “departments will obviously function on a much smaller scale with some units totally reduced or on hold until we begin preparations to reopen in 2028,” promising “permanent or temporary adjustments for most everyone.”

    A Kennedy Center spokesperson declined comment Wednesday.

    Over the next few months, he wrote, department heads would be “evaluating the needs and making the decisions as to what these skeletal teams left in place during the facility and closure and construction phase will look like.” Grenell said leadership would “provide as much clarity and advance notice as possible.”

    The Kennedy Center is slated to close in early July. Few details about what the renovations will look like have been released since President Donald Trump announced his plan at the beginning of February. Neither Trump nor Grenell have provided evidence to support claims about the building being in disrepair, and last October, Trump had pledged it would remain open during renovations.

    It’s unclear exactly how many employees the center currently has, but a 2025 tax filing said nearly 2,500 people were employed during the 2023 calendar year. A request for comment sent to Kennedy Center Arts Workers United, which represents artists and arts professionals affiliated with the center — wasn’t immediately returned.

    Leading performers and groups have left or canceled appearances since Trump ousted the center’s leadership a year ago and added his own name to the building in December. The Washington Post, which first reported about Grenell’s memo, has also cited significant drops in ticket revenue that — along with private philanthropy — comprises the center’s operating budget. Officials have yet to say whether such long-running traditions as the Mark Twain Award for comedy or the honors ceremony for lifetime contributions to the arts will continue while the center is closed.

    The Kennedy Center was first conceived as a national cultural facility during the Eisenhower administration, in the 1950s. President John F. Kennedy led a fundraising initiative, and the yet-to-be-built center was named in his honor following his assassination. It opened in 1971 and has become a preeminent showcase for theater, music and dramatic performances, enjoying bipartisan backing until Trump’s return to office last year.

    “This renovation represents a generational investment in our future,” Grenell wrote. “When we reopen, we will do so as a stronger organization — one that honors our legacy while expanding our impact.”

  • Brandi Carlile kicks off her new tour in Philadelphia, ‘the perfect place to start something this terrifying’

    Brandi Carlile kicks off her new tour in Philadelphia, ‘the perfect place to start something this terrifying’

    An arena-sized pop show isn’t the place to go if you’re hoping to be surprised.

    Big productions tend to be risk averse. The music needs to work in unison with what’s on the giant video screens, so night-to-night variation is discouraged. If a tour’s been on the road, googling the set list eliminates mystery and lets you know what’s coming next.

    But part of what made Brandi Carlile’s show on Tuesday at the Xfinity Mobile Arena such a kick is that almost none of that was in play.

    Not only was it opening night on Carlile’s “Human Tour” — named after a song on her new album, Returning To Myself — it was also the start of her first-ever arena tour.

    That kept Carlile’s intensely loyal audience in suspense on what was a career milestone night for the Seattle songwriter who had chalked up another milestone, just two days ago.

    On Sunday in Santa Clara, Calif., the Seahawks fan had sung a lovely, understated “America the Beautiful” at Super Bowl LX, opening for her hometown team and Bad Bunny. She was accompanied by SistaStrings, the cello-violin duo of Monique and Chauntee Ross who were also with her in South Philly Tuesday night.

    So you couldn’t blame Carlile for being giddy as she reveled in her dream-come-true after 20 years on the road with twin brothers Phil and Tim Hanseroth, who were on either side of her as always on Tuesday. They play guitar and bass at the core of a band that’s now swelled to eight members.

    Brandi Carlile performs at Xfinity Mobile Arena in South Philadelphia on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. The Philadelphia show kicked off the singer’s first-ever arena tour.

    Carlile took the stage after the crowd got into the groove as Madonna’s “Like a Prayer” played on the sound system, following a solid well-sung set by indie-folk band and fellow Seattle music scene standouts, the Head and the Heart.

    She opened her two-hour-plus, 22-song show on acoustic guitar, silhouetted in an orange-and-yellow spotlight as she stood behind a curtain singing Returning to Myself’s title cut.

    The volume turned up gradually on the carpe diem “Human,” and full-on rocker “Mainstream Kid,” from her 2015 The Firewatcher’s Daughter, which wrestled with the implications of an outsider aiming for mass market success.

    She answered those soul-searching questions with “Swing for the Fences,” a vow to grab the brass ring from Who Believes in Angels?, her 2025 album with Elton John.

    Then she took a minute to take it all in — and to also shout-out the tiny Old City venue where she played her first Philly gig in 2005.

    “It’s an incredible feeling,” Carlile told the crowd, which skewed about a decade older than her, in the packed 21,000-seat arena.

    Brandi Carlile performs at Xfinity Mobile Arena in South Philadelphia on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. Carlile sang ‘America the Beautiful’ at the Super Bowl on Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. .

    “It reminds me of what it was like to see Celine Dion when I was a kid. You can’t really fathom it when you’ve been in a van all these years, and you first came to Philadelphia and played the Tin Angel, no one could have made me believe that we’re standing where we’re standing right now. It’s just wild.”

    Carlile is an expert community builder. Every January she hosts a “Girls Just Wanna” weekend, a woman-centric festival in Riviera Maya, Mexico. This May, she’s presenting “Echoes Through the Canyon at the Gorge” in Washington state, which will reunite The Highwomen, her country supergroup with Natalie Hemby, Maren Morris, and Amanda Shires.

    Tuesday’s show was a master class on breaking down the wall between performer and audience.

    “How did you guys like starting by listening to ‘Like a Prayer,’” she asked, taking the crowd with her behind the curtain. “We’re trying to figure out what songs do we play while people walk in? What are we gonna do with the set list?

    A fan takes a photo while Brandi Carlile performs at Xfinity Mobile Arena in South Philadelphia on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026.

    “Everything tonight is an experiment for us. And I don’t think there’s a crowd that’s better to do this for because everybody knows Philadelphia is gonna be honest. You’re not going to suffer in silence. And I’ve just been coming here for so long that it really does feel like the perfect place to start something this terrifying.”

    That may make the “Human Tour” opening concert sound like a dress rehearsal, but the band, which also included pianist Dave McKay, drummer Terence Clark, and multi-instrumentalist Solomon Dorsey, were in mid-tour form.

    At one point, she dismissed the band other than the Hanseroths and took requests. That resulted in charmingly casual versions of “What Can I Say” from 2005’s Brandi Carlile and “Josephine” from 2007’s The Story.

    Brandi Carlile performs at Xfinity Mobile Arena in South Philadelphia on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. The Philadelphia show kicked off the singer’s first-ever arena tour

    Connecting with heroes and influences is part of Carlile’s brand. She produced a comeback record for country vet Tanya Tucker and organized the “Joni Jams” private sessions in L.A. that led Joni Mitchell to return to perform again in public in 2022 after suffering a brain aneurysm in 2015.

    “Joni” was left off the set list Tuesday; just as well as it’s one of the spottier tunes on Returning to Myself. Instead, she paid tribute to Linda Ronstadt’s 1970 Gary White-penned “Long Long Time,” which was heartfelt and delivered with plenty of power, if it lacked Ronstadt’s nuance.

    The show was quiet and rowdy. In the latter category was “Sinners, Saints and Fools,” from 2021’s In These Silent Days, about a Christian man who turns away immigrants, then is surprised to find heaven closed off to him.

    Carlile dedicated it to “the immigrants who built this country” and acknowledged talking politics in a room full of like-minded people felt “a little like an echo chamber.” But “isn’t it nice just to get together and realize we all feel the same way?” Then she sang, “as a catharsis to myself.”

    Brandi Carlile performs at Xfinity Mobile Arena in South Philadelphia on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. The Philadelphia show kicked off the singer’s first-ever arena tour

    For all her affection for roots music, Carlile is a Pacific Northwest child of ’90s grunge and alt-rock who stood in for the late Chris Cornell of Soundgarden at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction in 2025.

    Her Alanis Morissette fandom showed up twice during the three-song encore during which she sported a Sixers scarf. First, she offered a high-volume cover of Morissette’s “Uninvited,” with the band unleashing a blaring wall of sound.

    Then, show ended with “A Long Goodbye,” which references Morissette’s Jagged Little Pill. Carlile described the autobiographical song as “me, in 4 minutes and 48 seconds” and her hushed performance achieved what she said she saw as her job for the evening: “To be in this big room and make it seem small.”

  • A romantic Valentine’s Day musical weekend in Philly awaits

    A romantic Valentine’s Day musical weekend in Philly awaits

    Philly Valentine’s Day weekend musical options include Diana Krall and the R&B Lovers Tour in Atlantic City, Eric Benet at City Winery, Stinking Lizaveta at the Khyber, La Cumbia Del Amor at Johnny Brenda’s, Marshall Allen at Solar Myth, Langhorne Slim in Ardmore, and a road trip to see Boyz II Men. What could be more romantic?

    Thursday, Feb. 12

    Lazyacres / Bowling Alley Oop

    Philly songwriter Josh Owens doesn’t seem to have a fully functioning keypad. His dreamy indie pop band Lazyacres’ EP is called Nospacebar. He’s playing South Street hotdog nightclub Nikki Lopez with Attic Posture, Bowling Alley Oop, and Dante Robinson. 8 p.m., Nikki Lopez, 304 South St., @nikkilopezphilly

    Big Benny Bailey, with Ben Pierce and Shamir Bailey, plays the Fallser Club in East Falls on Friday.

    Friday, Feb. 13

    Big Benny Bailey

    The winning Black History Month programming at the Fallser Club continues with Big Benny Bailey, the duo of South Philly songwriters Shamir Bailey and Ben Pierce. It’s a bluegrass, folk, and country project that promises to be another compelling adventure from the multitalented Shamir, who released his 10th album, Ten, last year. He has a GoFundMe going to get his screenplay Career Queer made into a feature film. Reese Florence and Lars open. 8 p.m., Fallser Club, 3721 Midvale Ave., thefallserclub.com

    Umphrey’s McGee

    The veteran jam band, which formed at the University of Notre Dame and called its 1998 debut album Greatest Hits, Vol. III, released its latest improvisatory adventure, Blueprints, in 2025. 8 p.m., Fillmore Philly, 29 E. Allen St., thefillmorephilly.com

    The Knee-Hi’s

    Chicago’s self-described “female fronted garage glam rock band existing as a living love letter to rock and roll” tops a bill with Ione, Star Moles, and Thank You Thank You. 8 p.m., Ortlieb’s 847 N. Third St., 4333collective.com

    Boyz II Men

    Shawn Stockman, Nate Morris, and Wanya Morris usually stay close to home on Valentine’s Day weekend. This year is a little different, with the Boyz on the road on the “New Edition Way” tour with New Edition and Toni Braxton. The trio of R&B stars will arrive in Philly at the Liacouras Center on March 15, but on this heart-shaped weekend, they’re in New Jersey. 8 p.m., Prudential Center, 25 Lafayette St., Newark, prucenter.com

    Iron & Wine

    Sam Beam, who leads Iron & Wine, has a free-flowing new album coming Feb. 27, called Hen’s Teeth. “I’ve always wanted to use that title,” he said in a statement. “I just love it. To me it suggests the impossible. Hen’s teeth do not exist. And that’s what this record felt like: a gift that shouldn’t be there but it is. An impossible thing but it’s real.” Noon, World Cafe Live, 3025 Walnut St., xpn.org

    Diana Krall

    Jazz pianist Diana Krall makes two date-night stops in the region this weekend. On Friday, the vocalist, whose most recent album, This Dream of You, is named after a Bob Dylan song, is in Bethlehem. On Saturday, she’s down the Shore. 8 p.m. Wind Creek Event Center, 77 Wind Creek Blvd, Bethlehem, windcreekeventcenter.com, and 8 p.m., Ocean Casino Resort, 500 Boardwalk, Atlantic City, theoceanac.com

    Diana Krall performs in Bethlehem on Friday and Atlantic City on Saturday.

    Saturday, Feb. 14

    The R&B Lovers Tour

    This package tour gathers together stars of 1990s silky pop R&B and soul, with featured sets by Keith Sweat, Joe, Dru Hill, and Ginuwine. 8 p.m., Boardwalk Hall, 2301 Boardwalk, Atlantic City, boardwalkhall.com.

    Eric Benet

    The R&B love man, formerly betrothed to Halle Berry, and now married to Prince’s ex-wife Manuela Testolini, was a regular hitmaker in the 1990s and 2000s, topping the charts with “Spend My Life With You” with Tamia in 1999. Last year saw the release of his album The Co-Star and a holiday collection. 6 and 9:30 p.m., City Winery Philadelphia, 990 Filbert St., citywinery.com/philadelphia

    Stinking Lizaveta

    Cozy up to your honey while listening to high-volume doom jazz by the power trio named after a character in Dostoyevsky’s novel The Brothers Karamazov. The band consists of drummer Cheshire Augusta and guitarist brothers Yanni and Alexi Papadopoulos, whose 1996 debut album Hopelessness and Shame, recorded by Steve Albini, has just been issued on vinyl for the first time. 8 p.m., Upstairs at the Khyber Pass Pub, 56 S. Second St., @upstairsatkhyberpasspub

    La Cumbia Del Amor

    Philly cumbia klezmer punk band Mariposas Galacticas joins forces with Baltimore-based cumbia ska outfit Soroche and DJ Pdrto Criolla for a dance party celebrating “radical love in all its forms.” 9 p.m., Johnny Brenda’s, 1021 N. Franklin St., johnnybrendas.com

    Philly Gumbo

    Long-standing rhythmically adept party band Philly Gumbo is now in its 47th year. Fat Tuesday is coming up this week, and the band’s bons temps rouler repertoire is deep. This should be a Mardi Gras dance party to remember. 7 p.m., 118 North, 118 N. Wayne Ave., Wayne, 118Northwayne.com.

    Marshall Allen at World Cafe Live in Philadelphia in April 2025. The Sun Ra Arkestra leader plays with his band Ghost Horizons on Saturday at Solar Myth.

    Marshall Allen’s Ghost Horizons

    The indefatigable Sun Ra Arkestra leader is back at the former Boot & Saddle with a version of his Ghost Horizons band that includes DM Hotep on guitar, Joe Morris on bass, and Matthew Shipp on piano. 8 p.m., Solar Myth, 1131 S. Broad St., arsnovaworkshop.org

    Sunday, Feb. 15

    Marissa Nadler

    Folk-goth guitarist Marissa Nadler creates dreamy noir-ish soundscapes that have won her a following with folkies and metal heads. Her latest is the haunting New Radiations. 7:30 p.m., MilkBoy Philly, 1100 Chestnut St., milkboyphilly.com

    Langhorne Slim

    Bucks County’s own Langhorne Slim turns up the volume on The Dreamin’ Kind, his most rocked-out album, produced by Greta Van Fleet bassist Sam F. Kiszka. That album follows 2021’s Strawberry Mansion, named for the Philly neighborhood where his grandfathers were raised. Get there early for Laney Jones and the Spirits, the Nashville quintet whose raucous 2025 self-titled debut is full of promise. 7 p.m., Ardmore Music Hall, 23 E. Lancaster Ave., Ardmore, ardmoremusichall.com

    The Blackbyrds

    The Washington jazz and R&B band, which formed when its members were students of trumpeter Donald Byrd, scored a smash with 1975’s “Walking in Rhythm.” Its music is familiar to hip-hop fans through “Rock Creek Park,” which was sampled by MF Doom, De La Soul, and Wiz Khalifa, among many others. 5 and 8:30 p.m., City Winery Philadelphia, 990 Filbert St., citywinery.com/philadelphia.

  • A person has been detained for questioning in the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, AP sources say

    A person has been detained for questioning in the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, AP sources say

    TUCSON, Ariz. — A person has been detained for questioning in the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, according to two people familiar with the matter.

    The people said the person was detained in an area south of Tucson on Tuesday. They did not immediately provide additional details, and it wasn’t clear if the person being questioned is the person captured on surveillance video from outside Guthrie’s house released earlier Tuesday.

    The people were not authorized to discuss details of an ongoing investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

    The FBI released surveillance images of a masked person with a handgun holster outside Guthrie’s front door the night she vanished, offering the first major break in a case that has gripped the nation for more than a week.

    The person wearing a backpack and a ski mask can be seen in one of the videos tilting their head down and away from a doorbell camera while nearing an archway at the home of the mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie.

    The footage shows the person holding a flashlight in their mouth and trying to cover the camera with a gloved hand and part of a plant ripped from Nancy Guthrie’s yard.

    The videos — less than a combined minute in length — gave investigators and the public their first glimpse of who was outside Nancy Guthrie’s home just outside Tucson, but the images did not show what happened to her or help determine whether the 84-year-old is still alive.

    FBI Director Kash Patel said the “armed individual” appeared to “have tampered with the camera.” It was not entirely clear whether there was a gun in the holster.

    The videos were pulled from data on “back-end systems” after investigators spent days trying to find lost, corrupted or inaccessible images, Patel said.

    “This will get the phone ringing for lots of potential leads,” said former FBI agent Katherine Schweit. “Even when you have a person who appears to be completely covered, they’re really not. You can see their girth, the shape of their face, potentially their eyes or mouth.”

    By Tuesday afternoon, authorities were back near Nancy Guthrie’s neighborhood, using vehicles to block her driveway. A few miles away, law enforcement was going door-to-door in the area where daughter Annie Guthrie lives, talking with neighbors as well as walking through a drainage area and examining the inside of a culvert with a flashlight.

    Investigators have said for more than a week that they believe Nancy Guthrie was taken against her will. She was last seen at home Jan. 31 and reported missing the next day. DNA tests showed blood on her porch was hers, authorities said.

    She has high blood pressure and issues with mobility and her heart, and she needs daily medication, officials have said.

    This image provided by the FBI shows surveillance images at the home of Nancy Guthrie the night she went missing in Tucson, Ariz. (FBI via AP)

    Authorities initially could not pull images from camera

    Until now, authorities have released few details, leaving it unclear if ransom notes demanding money with deadlines already passed were authentic, and whether the Guthrie family has had any contact with whoever took Nancy Guthrie.

    Savannah Guthrie posted the new surveillance images on social media Tuesday, saying the family believes Nancy Guthrie is still alive and offering phone numbers for the FBI and county sheriff. Within minutes, the post had thousands of comments.

    Investigators had hoped cameras would turn up evidence right away about how Nancy Guthrie disappeared from her home in an secluded neighborhood.

    But the doorbell camera was disconnected early on Feb. 1. While software recorded movement at the home minutes later, Nancy Guthrie did not have an active subscription, so Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos had initially said none of the footage could be recovered. Officials continued working to get the footage.

    Savannah Guthrie expressed desperation a day ago

    Heartbreaking messages by Savannah Guthrie and her family shifted from hopeful to bleak as they made pleas for whoever took Nancy Guthrie. In a video just ahead of a purported ransom deadline Monday, Savannah Guthrie appeared alone and spoke directly to the public.

    “We are at an hour of desperation,” she said. “We need your help.”

    Much of the nation is closely following the case involving the longtime anchor of NBC’s morning show.

    White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said President Donald Trump watched the new surveillance footage and was in “pure disgust,” encouraging anyone with information to call the FBI.

    The FBI this week began posting digital billboards about the case in major cities from Texas to California.

    Connor Hagan, a spokesperson for the FBI, said Monday that the agency was not aware of ongoing communication between Guthrie’s family and any suspected kidnappers. Authorities also had not identified any suspects, he said.

    Videos from Guthrie siblings appealed directly to whoever took their mom

    Three days after the search began, Savannah Guthrie and her two siblings sent their first public appeal to whoever took their mother, saying, “We want to hear from you, and we are ready to listen.”

    In the recorded video, Guthrie said her family was aware of media reports about a ransom letter, but they first wanted proof their mother was alive. “Please reach out to us,” they said.

    The next day, Savannah Guthrie’s brother again made a plea, saying, “Whoever is out there holding our mother, we want to hear from you. We haven’t heard anything directly.”

    Then over the past weekend, the family posted another video — one that was more cryptic and generated even more speculation about Nancy Guthrie’s fate.

    “We received your message, and we understand. We beg you now to return our mother to us so that we can celebrate with her,” said Savannah Guthrie, flanked by her siblings. “This is the only way we will have peace. This is very valuable to us, and we will pay.”

  • An Old City studio has a documentary about comedian Bob Saget’s life in the works

    An Old City studio has a documentary about comedian Bob Saget’s life in the works

    Old City-based 9.14 Pictures is working on an untitled documentary about comedian Bob Saget, the Philly-bred funny man who rose to fame in the 1980s as the affable Danny Tanner on the ABC sitcom Full House.

    Deadline first reported the news.

    The announcement comes on the heels of the studio’s successful projects centering celebrities with local ties including Disney+’s Taylor Swift: The End of an Era and Prime Video’s most-watched documentary, Kelce. Both were directed by the studio’s owners, Don Argott and Sheena M. Joyce.

    9.14 Pictures Sheena M. Joyce and Don Argott arrive at the premier of “Kelce” at the Suzanne Roberts Theater in Philadelphia on Friday, Sept. 9, 2023. The film is a feature-length documentary featuring Jason Kelce and the Eagles’ 2022-23 season.

    According to Deadline, Argott and Joyce will direct this piece, too, and were given access to Saget’s rare home videos and never-before-seen footage.

    “The film will reveal the complex life, devastating losses and enduring kindness behind the laughter,” Deadline stated.

    The documentary will ultimately help viewers understand how and why Saget’s comedy turned so dark and raunchy before his untimely death in 2022 at a Ritz-Carlton in Orlando, from what medical examiners said was an accidental blow to the head. He was 65.

    From left, actors Bob Saget, Dave Coulier, and John Stamos at the People’s Choice Awards 2017 at Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on Jan. 18, 2017. (Tommaso Boddi/AFP/Getty Images/TNS)

    Saget, who also hosted America’s Funniest Home Videos for eight seasons, was born in Mount Airy, moved to Virginia, and moved back to the area when he was a teenager. He graduated from Abington Senior High and went on to attend Temple University, where he studied film.

    While at Temple University, he practiced his stand-up at Philadelphia restaurateur Stephen Starr’s then-Queen Village nightclub. He also won a student Oscar in 1978 for his 11-minute documentary, Through Adam’s Eyes, the story of an 11-year-old boy who underwent a grueling facial surgery.

    After Temple, he moved to the West Coast and attended the University of Southern California’s film school but dropped out to do stand-up.

    For the next seven years, he was the emcee at the Comedy Store, working among such comedians as David Letterman, Robin Williams, Michael Keaton, Billy Crystal, Jay Leno, Johnny Carson, and Richard Pryor.

    He also warmed up the crowd before tapings of Bosom Buddies, the Tom Hanks-Peter Scolari sitcom. The producer later hired Saget to play Danny Tanner on Full House, on which he portrayed a morning TV host in San Francisco.

    In an undated photo, the cast of the television sitcom “Full House,” from left, Ashley Olsen, Dave Coulier, Jodi Sweetin, Bob Saget, Candace Cameron, John Stamos and Mary-Kate Olsen. (Kathy Hutchins/Zuma Press/TNS)

    Saget lost one sister to a rare autoimmune disease and another to a brain aneurysm, he told The Philadelphia Inquirer in 1994. Those losses, he said, helped him prioritize his life and led to his maudlin sense of humor.

    The Bob Saget documentary will be produced by Story Syndicate, Revue Studios, and 9.14 Pictures.

  • Wasserman fallout, explained: Musicians speak out after talent agency’s CEO named in Epstein files

    Wasserman fallout, explained: Musicians speak out after talent agency’s CEO named in Epstein files

    A growing number of musicians — including most recently Chappell Roan — are leaving their management company after its founder’s emails were uncovered in the latest release of the Epstein files.

    Wasserman, a major talent management company based out of Los Angeles, represents stars ranging from Billie Eilish and Kendrick Lamar to Phish, Bon Iver, Turnstile, and Kacey Musgraves.

    The company has been in hot water since the Department of Justice dropped over 3 million pages of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier and sex offender, and his associate, convicted sex offender Ghislaine Maxwell.

    Those released files included emails between the agency’s founder, Casey Wasserman, and Maxwell. Now, musicians signed to Wasserman Group are speaking out and cutting ties.

    Here’s what you need to know.

    Who is Casey Wasserman?

    Wasserman is a successful entertainment agent and the founder and CEO of the Wasserman Group, which represents sports talent, musicians, artists, and content creators.

    He is the grandson of media mogul and talent agent Lew Wasserman. He is also the chairperson of the organizing committee for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

    What did Casey Wasserman’s emails to Ghislaine Maxwell say?

    Wasserman’s emails, which were released by the Justice Department in January, reveal an exchange between him and Maxwell from 2003.

    In the emails, Maxwell offers to give Wasserman a massage that would “drive a man wild.” Later, Wasserman tells Maxwell that he thinks about her “all the time” and asks what he has to do to see her in “a tight leather outfit.”

    The Justice Department has not accused Wasserman of wrongdoing.

    What kind of talent does the Wasserman Group represent?

    Wasserman is regarded as one of the top talent agencies. The company represents hundreds of the world’s biggest touring acts and oversees artists who perform across a range of musical genres.

    The company’s artist roster includes Coldplay; Ed Sheeran; Joni Mitchell; Tyler, the Creator; Kendrick Lamar; Lorde; and many more.

    Wasserman’s artist roster is no longer available on its website.

    How are artists signed to Wasserman reacting?

    Many have spoken out against the Wasserman CEO, calling for him to leave the agency. Some artists have gone as far as leaving the agency.

    Bethany Cosentino, the front woman of Best Coast, was among the first to speak out, posting an open letter on Instagram last week calling for the founder to step down.

    “As an artist represented by Wasserman, I did not consent to having my name or my career tied to someone with this kind of association to exploitation,” Cosentino said. “Staying quiet isn’t something I can do in good conscience — especially in a moment when men in power are so often protected, excused, or allowed to move on without consequence. Pretending this isn’t a big deal is not an option for me.”

    Irish punk band the Dropkick Murphys announced over the weekend that they were also leaving Wasserman.

    “It saddens us to part ways with [our agents], but the namesake of the agency is in the Epstein files so … we GONE,” the band wrote on Instagram.

    Other bands, including Wednesday, Water From Your Eyes, and Beach Bunny, have made statements on social media about their concerns or their intentions to start the process of leaving the agency.

    On Monday, Chappell Roan announced her exit.

    “As of today, I am no longer represented by Wasserman, the talent agency led by Casey Wasserman,” Roan posted on Instagram. “I hold my teams to the highest standards and have a duty to protect them as well. No artist, agent or employee should ever be expected to defend or overlook actions that conflict so deeply with our own moral values. I have deep respect and appreciation for the agents and staff who work tirelessly for their artists and I refuse to passively stand by.”

    In addition to artist pressure, Los Angeles politicians are calling for Wasserman to give up his role on the Olympics committee. The Hollywood Reporter also reported that agents who work at Wasserman are considering spinning off a new firm.

    Still, not all artists believe they can make a clean break like Chappell Roan or the Dropkick Murphys.

    Why can’t every artist leave the agency?

    Wasserman client Alexis Krauss, of the group Sleigh Bells, released a lengthy statement condemning the CEO and detailing why she could not leave the company entirely, citing the financial impact it would cause.

    “Do I wish I could burn it all down, boycott and divest? Sure I do. But to be totally honest, I can’t afford to,” Krauss said.

    Krauss continued, “Would I love to just leave Wasserman Music? Yes I would. Can we? No, because I love and respect our agent and I trust him to make the decision that is best for himself, his family and his artists. The agents at Wasserman are not the villains.”

    Several artists, including Krauss, emphasized that they do not work directly with — and in most cases have never met — Casey Wasserman.

    Krauss added that her income allows her to pay her and her child’s health insurance, saying, “let’s remember that there’s no such thing as healthcare for working musicians. Call me spineless, but this is my truth. This is the hypocrisy of our realities as we try to do the least harm in an unscrupulous system.”

    Are any Philadelphia-area artists managed by Wasserman?

    Yes. Some include: Aaron West and the Roaring Twenties, the A’s, the Bacon Brothers, Diplo, the Disco Biscuits, Dr. Dog, G. Love & Special Sauce, the Menzingers, the Wonder Years, and Spaga.

    As of publication time, none of these artists have made statements about Wasserman. This story will be updated if they do.

    Has Casey Wasserman made a statement?

    Yes. In a statement sent to the New York Times, Wasserman said he “deeply regrets” his correspondence with Maxwell, “which took place over two decades ago, long before her horrific crimes came to light.”

    Wasserman added that he never had a “personal or business relationship” with Epstein.