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  • A man and teen were killed during attempted sale of a Rolex in Germantown, police say

    A man and teen were killed during attempted sale of a Rolex in Germantown, police say

    A man and a teenager were killed Tuesday night in Germantown when, investigators believe, a meeting for the sale of a Rolex watch turned into a robbery, and a shootout erupted.

    Tyree Ware, 30, drove to the 500 block of West Queen Lane to sell a Rolex he had listed for sale online, police said. Quaneef Lee, 16, arrived with an acquaintance to purchase it, they said.

    Detectives believe Lee and the other male then attempted to rob Ware of the watch at gunpoint, according to a law enforcement source who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.

    Ware also pulled a gun, the source said.

    When officers arrived, they found Ware lying in the street beside the open door of his silver Nissan Maxima. He had been shot multiple times. A 9mm handgun lay beside him.

    Officers found Lee on the ground behind the sedan, shot once in the chest.

    Ware and Lee were rushed to Temple University Hospital, where they died shortly after 5:30 p.m., police said.

    Officers recovered 11 bullet casings from the scene. Deputy Commissioner Frank Vanore said three guns were used in the shootout, but only one was recovered.

    The Rolex, Vanore said, was found inside Ware’s vehicle.

    Investigators are still working to identify the man who accompanied Lee and who may have killed Ware.

    A family member of Lee, when reached by phone Wednesday, declined to speak.

    The shooting comes as Philadelphia is on pace to record its lowest number of homicides in 60 years. Still, violence persists. Lee is one of at least 12 children shot and killed in the city this year.

  • Trump says the U.S. has seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela

    Trump says the U.S. has seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela

    President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the United States has seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela as tensions mount with the government of President Nicolás Maduro.

    Using U.S. forces to seize an oil tanker is incredibly unusual and marks the Trump administration’s latest push to increase pressure on Maduro, who has been charged with narcoterrorism in the United States. The U.S. has built up the largest military presence in the region in decades and launched a series of deadly strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean. The campaign is facing growing scrutiny from Congress.

    “We’ve just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela, a large tanker, very large, largest one ever seized, actually,” Trump told reporters at the White House, later adding that “it was seized for a very good reason.”

    Trump did not offer additional details. When asked what would happen to the oil aboard the tanker, Trump said, “Well, we keep it, I guess.”

    The seizure was led by the U.S. Coast Guard and supported by the Navy, according to a U.S. official who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity. The official added that the seizure was conducted under U.S. law enforcement authority.

    The Coast Guard members were taken to that ship by helicopter from the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, the official said. The Ford is in the Caribbean Sea after arriving last month in a major show of force, joining a fleet of other warships that have been increasing pressure on Maduro.

    Video posted online by Attorney General Pam Bondi shows people fast-roping from one of the helicopters involved in the operation as it hovers just feet from the deck.

    The Coast Guard members can be seen in later shots of the video moving throughout the superstructure of the ship with their weapons drawn.

    Bondi wrote that “for multiple years, the oil tanker has been sanctioned by the United States due to its involvement in an illicit oil shipping network supporting foreign terrorist organizations.”

    Half of ship’s oil is tied to Cuban importer

    The U.S. official identified the seized tanker as the Skipper.

    The ship departed Venezuela around Dec. 2 with about 2 million barrels of heavy crude, roughly half of it belonging to a Cuban state-run oil importer, according to documents from the state-owned company Petróleos de Venezuela S.A., commonly known as PDVSA, that were provided on the condition of anonymity because the person did not have permission to share them.

    The Skipper was previously known as the M/T Adisa, according to ship tracking data. The Adisa was sanctioned by the U.S. in 2022 over accusations of belonging to a sophisticated network of shadow tankers that smuggled crude oil on behalf of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group.

    The network was reportedly run by a Switzerland-based Ukrainian oil trader, the U.S. Treasury Departmeny said at the time.

    Hitting Venezuela’s sanctioned oil business

    Venezuela has the world’s largest proven oil reserves and produces about 1 million barrels a day. Locked out of global oil markets by U.S. sanctions, the state-owned oil company sells most of its output at a steep discount to refiners in China.

    The transactions usually involve a complex network of shadowy intermediaries, as sanctions have scared away more established traders. Many are shell companies, registered in jurisdictions known for secrecy. The buyers deploy so-called ghost tankers that hide their location and hand off their valuable cargoes in the middle of the ocean before they reach their final destination.

    Maduro did not address the seizure during a speech before a ruling-party organized demonstration in Caracas, Venezuela’s capital. But he told supporters that the country is “prepared to break the teeth of the North American empire if necessary.”

    Maduro, flanked by senior officials, said only the ruling party can “guarantee peace, stability, and the harmonious development of Venezuela, South America and the Caribbean.”

    During past negotiations, among the concessions the U.S. has made to Maduro was approval for oil giant Chevron Corp. to resume pumping and exporting Venezuelan oil. The corporation’s activities in the South American country resulted in a financial lifeline for Maduro’s government.

    Maduro has insisted the real purpose of the U.S. military operations is to force him from office.

    Democrat says move is about ‘regime change’

    Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D., Md.), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the U.S. seizing of the oil tanker cast doubt on the administration’s stated reasons for the military buildup and boat strikes in the region.

    “This shows that their whole cover story — that this is about interdicting drugs — is a big lie,” the senator said. “This is just one more piece of evidence that this is really about regime change — by force.”

    The seizure comes a day after the U.S. military flew a pair of fighter jets over the Gulf of Venezuela in what appeared to be the closest that warplanes had come to the South American country’s airspace. Trump has said land attacks are coming soon but has not offered more details.

    The Trump administration is facing increasing scrutiny from lawmakers over the boat-strike campaign, which has killed at least 87 people in 22 known strikes since early September, including a follow-up strike that killed two survivors clinging to the wreckage of a boat after the first hit.

    Some legal experts and Democrats say that action may have violated the laws governing the use of deadly military force.

    Lawmakers are demanding to get unedited video from the strikes, but Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told congressional leaders Tuesday he was still weighing whether to release it. Hegseth provided a classified briefing for congressional leaders alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio and CIA Director John Ratcliffe.

    It was not immediately clear Wednesday who owned the tanker or what national flag it was sailing under. The Coast Guard referred a request for comment to the White House.

  • Israel reopens Jordan crossing as pressure builds to advance Gaza truce

    Israel reopens Jordan crossing as pressure builds to advance Gaza truce

    Trucks carrying goods from Jordan crossed into the West Bank for the first time in months on Wednesday, after Israel said it would reopen a key land bridge with its neighbor, including for aid and other cargo bound for the Gaza Strip.

    It was unclear whether the first trucks out of the gate were transporting humanitarian supplies or commercial items, but a spokesperson for COGAT, the branch of the Israeli Defense Ministry that controls aid flows to Gaza, confirmed that the crossing, known as Allenby, was open for the passage of aid.

    The move to restore Allenby as a transit point for relief comes as pressure builds on Israel to move a tenuous U.S.-backed ceasefire in Gaza into its second phase, and as the United Nations and other aid organizations have warned that nowhere near enough supplies are being allowed into the enclave to meet the needs of the Palestinian population, the majority of whom are displaced and living in makeshift shelters or tents.

    Under the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, Israeli authorities are supposed to allow at least 600 trucks of aid to enter Gaza each day. But the United Nations and other aid agencies say they continue to face bottlenecks and other restrictions, including delays and denials of cargo, custom clearance challenges and limited routes inside Gaza for transporting humanitarian goods.

    Israel closed the border in September after a Jordanian truck driver killed two Israeli soldiers at the crossing. An Israeli security official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press, said Jordanian truck drivers would undergo stricter screening processes and that a dedicated security force had been assigned to monitor the terminal.

    The reopening also coincided with a visit to Israel and Jordan by the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Mike Waltz, who met on Monday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. A statement from the U.S. mission to the U.N. said Waltz “welcomed Israel’s cooperation on expanding border crossings,” including Allenby. Waltz also met with Jordan’s King Abdullah on Sunday.

    In recent days, both Israeli and Hamas officials have said that there will be no discussion of moving to the second phase of President Donald Trump’s ceasefire plan until the first phase has been fully implemented. Both continue to point fingers at the other for not holding up their side of the deal. Israel has blamed Hamas for being slow to return the bodies of hostages, with one remaining in Gaza. Hamas has, in turn, pointed to the continued closure of border crossings for medical evacuations and aid and the daily fire that Israeli troops are carrying out in Gaza.

    But as pressure from the U.S. and other mediators to push the deal into the next phase grows, Netanyahu said Sunday that the transition could happen “very shortly” and announced he will meet with Trump on Dec. 29. A Hamas official also told the Associated Press on Sunday that the group is open to “freezing or storing” its weapons arsenal as part of the ceasefire.

    The second phase, which in theory would involve the disarmament of Hamas, withdrawal of Israeli troops from the territory, and the formation of an international force to maintain security, is likely to be far more complicated to achieve than even the first phase. Any delays in reaching that second phase leaves open the prospect of a status quo being established in Gaza in which Israel continues to occupy half of the enclave.

    One remaining step is the return of the remains of Ran Gvili, a 24-year-old Israeli police officer who was killed in Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.

    “Without Gvili, Israel will not begin the talks over phase two,” said an Israeli official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press.

    U.N. agencies have reported an increase in aid that has been allowed into Gaza since the ceasefire came into effect, but say the levels are still far below what is needed for a population trying to recover from widespread malnutrition, famine and infectious diseases with a decimated health care system.

    Israel has allowed commercial operators and aid groups that bypass the U.N. system to scale up their operations more rapidly than other major relief organizations with long-running histories of assistance in Gaza. In particular, Israel has refused to allow UNRWA, the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees, to deliver aid, despite its sprawling infrastructure in Gaza and decades-long presence in the territory.

    “A shockingly high number” of children are still suffering from acute malnutrition, said Tess Ingram, a spokeswoman for UNICEF, the U.N. children’s agency, according to comments reported by Reuters.

    Ingram also told reporters on Tuesday that opening the Rafah crossing in southern Gaza, which links it with Egypt, could help bring down the number of children suffering from malnutrition. “We really need to see all types of aid come in, particularly nutritious food through commercial routes as well,” Ingram said.

    Israel said last week that it would reopen the crossing in the coming days, but only for the exit of Palestinians from Gaza.

    Millions of shelter items have also been stuck in Jordan, Egypt and Israel while awaiting Israeli approval to enter, a consortium of humanitarian organizations focused on providing shelter aid said in November.

    A severe winter storm landing in the region this week threatens 850,000 people sheltering in 761 displacement sites particularly vulnerable to flooding in the Gaza Strip, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said. On Wednesday, there were reports of flooding in large parts of Gaza City, particularly low-lying areas.

    “The entire services system is unable able to rescue displaced people due to the heavy rain and flooding,” said Mahmoud Basal, a spokesman for Gaza Civil Defense, in a statement to reporters. “Rainwater has risen to more than one meter in some shelter centers.”

    The storm, dubbed Byron, has already hit Greece and Cyprus and is expected to bring as much as eight inches of rain to Israel and Gaza.

    “Low pressure fronts pose a major danger to displaced people and residents because of the destruction inflicted on the infrastructure,” Gaza municipality spokesman Hosni Mhanna told Al Araby TV on Wednesday.

  • EU enlargement chief: Ukraine’s membership ‘inevitable’

    EU enlargement chief: Ukraine’s membership ‘inevitable’

    KYIV, Ukraine — The European Union’s enlargement chief said Wednesday she is confident Hungary will not derail Ukraine’s path to membership, which she described as “inevitable.”

    “I’m not worried,” Commissioner Marta Kos told reporters while visiting a thermal power plant in Western Ukraine that was badly damaged by Russia’s campaign against civilian infrastructure. “I would be worried if there were real concerns.”

    “On EU membership of Ukraine — which is inevitable — I see this as a political anchor of security guarantees,” she said, noting that “There has never been a war on the territory of the European Union.”

    Ukraine hopes to join the bloc by the end of the decade and remains frustrated that its path to NATO membership looks uncertain.

    Kyiv applied for EU membership in 2022 shortly after Russia’s full-scale invasion. Now, Commissioner Kos is convening an informal meeting of European affairs ministers Thursday to prepare for the next stage of accession talks.

    Kos hinted that the process could move even faster, saying “The quicker the reforms which are needed will be done, the quicker the process can be.”

    Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has opposed launching membership talks while the war continues. Yet, Kos dismissed his objections saying “We do not need Orbán to do the reforms which are necessary for Ukraine to become a member of the EU.”

    The Slovenian diplomat toured the heavily damaged power plant, where heavy machinery was blackened, control panels melted and a giant hole gaped in the roof of one of the main buildings.

    Andrii, a turbine operator on duty during a recent attack, described the chaos that followed.

    “The first thing you feel is a huge rush of adrenaline. There’s heavy smoke, loud noise, pressure — you can’t hear your colleagues,” he said. “Damaged equipment means escaping steam and high-temperature feedwater. At first it’s very difficult to orient yourself in the smoke.”

    Company officials asked that the plant’s location and the full names of employees not be published for security reasons.

    The thermal power plant is one of six operated by private utility DTEK that have sustained major damage from relentless Russian drone and missile attacks in recent weeks.

    Kos praised the resilience of power workers and Ukrainians in general.

    “There is no other more resistant nation in the world which I know than the Ukrainians,” she said, recalling Russian President Vladimir Putin’s expectation of a quick victory. “Putin said it would take one week. But here we are and it’s been nearly four years, so you are already the winners.”

  • Ukraine to give revised peace plans to U.S. as Kyiv readies for more talks with its coalition partners

    Ukraine to give revised peace plans to U.S. as Kyiv readies for more talks with its coalition partners

    KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine is expected to give its latest peace proposals to U.S. negotiators this week, President Volodymyr Zelensky said, ahead of his urgent talks with leaders and officials from about 30 other countries supporting Kyiv’s effort to end the war with Russia on acceptable terms.

    As tension builds around a U.S. push for a settlement, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron spoke to President Donald Trump by phone Wednesday, according to officials.

    Negotiations are at “a critical moment,” the European leaders said in official statements.

    Trump said the men discussed Ukraine “in pretty strong terms.” He also said Zelensky “has to be realistic” about the war and that European leaders would like a meeting this coming weekend with both the U.S. and Ukraine.

    “We’ll make a determination depending on what they come back with,” the president told reporters during a question-and-answer session at the White House.

    Washington’s goal of a swift compromise to stop the fighting that followed Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022 is reducing Kyiv’s room for maneuvering. Zelensky is walking a tightrope between defending Ukrainian interests and showing Trump he is willing to compromise, even as Moscow shows no public sign of budging from its demands.

    Ukraine’s European allies are backing Zelensky’s effort to ensure that any settlement is fair and deters future Russian attacks, as well as accommodating Europe’s defense interests.

    The French government said Ukraine’s allies — dubbed the “Coalition of the Willing” — will discuss the negotiations Thursday by video. Zelensky said it would include those countries’ leaders.

    “We need to bring together 30 colleagues very quickly. And it’s not easy, but nevertheless we will do it,” he said late Tuesday.

    Zelensky said discussions with the U.S. were scheduled later Wednesday to focus on a document detailing plans for Ukraine’s postwar reconstruction and economic development. Also, Ukraine is finalizing work on a separate, 20-point framework for ending the war. Zelensky said Kyiv expects to submit that document to Washington soon.

    Zelensky says he’s ready for an election

    After Trump called for a presidential election in Ukraine, Zelensky said his country would be ready for such a vote within three months if partners can guarantee safe balloting during wartime and if its electoral law can be altered.

    Zelensky’s openness to an election was a response to comments by Trump in which he questioned Ukraine’s democracy and suggested the Ukrainian leader was using the war as an excuse not to stand before voters. Those comments echo similar remarks often made by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

    Zelensky said late Tuesday he is “ready” for an election but needs help from the U.S. and possibly Europe to ensure its security. He suggested Ukraine could hold balloting in 60 to 90 days if that proviso is met.

    “To hold elections, two issues must be addressed: primarily, security — how to conduct them, how to do it under strikes, under missile attacks; and a question regarding our military — how they would vote,” Zelensky said. “And the second issue is the legislative framework required to ensure the legitimacy of elections.”

    Zelensky pointed out previously that balloting can’t legally happen while martial law — imposed due to Russia’s invasion — is in place. He has also asked how a vote could occur when civilian areas of Ukraine are being bombarded and almost 20% of the country is under Russian occupation.

    Zelensky said he has asked lawmakers from his party to draw up legislative proposals allowing for an election while Ukraine is under martial law.

    Ukrainians have on the whole supported Zelensky’s arguments, and have not clamored for an election. Under the law that is in force, Zelensky’s rule is legitimate.

    Putin has repeatedly complained that Zelensky can’t legitimately negotiate a peace settlement because his five-year term that began in 2019 has expired.

    U.S. seeks closer ties with Russia

    A new U.S. national security strategy released Dec. 5 made clear that Trump wants to improve Washington’s relationship with Moscow and “reestablish strategic stability with Russia.” The document also portrays European allies as weak.

    Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov praised Trump’s role in the Ukraine peace effort, telling the upper house of parliament that Moscow appreciates his “commitment to dialogue.” Trump, Lavrov said, is “the only Western leader” who shows “an understanding of the reasons that made war in Ukraine inevitable.”

    Trump’s peace efforts have run into sharply conflicting demands from Moscow and Kyiv.

    The initial U.S. proposal was heavily slanted toward Russia’s demands. To counter that, Zelensky has turned to his European supporters.

    Zelensky met this week with the leaders of Britain, Germany, and France in London, the heads of NATO and the European Union in Brussels, and then went to Rome to meet the Italian premier and Pope Leo XIV.

    Military aid for Ukraine declines

    Europe’s support is uneven, however, and that has meant a decrease in military aid since the Trump administration this year cut off supplies to Kyiv unless they were paid for by other NATO countries.

    Foreign military help for Ukraine fell sharply over the summer, and that trend continued through September and October, a German body that tracks international help for Ukraine said Wednesday.

    Average annual aid, mostly provided by the U.S. and Europe, was about 41.6 billion euros ($48.4 billion) between 2022–24. But so far this year Ukraine has received just 32.5 billion euros ($37.8 billion), the Kiel Institute said.

    This year, Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden have substantially increased their help for Ukraine, while Germany nearly tripled its average monthly allocations and France and the U.K. both more than doubled their contributions, the Kiel Institute said.

    On the other hand, it said, Spain recorded no new military aid for Kyiv in 2025 while Italy reduced its low contributions by 15% compared with 2022–2024.

  • WTF? Embracing profanity is one thing both political parties seem to agree on

    WTF? Embracing profanity is one thing both political parties seem to agree on

    WASHINGTON — As he shook President Barack Obama’s hand and pulled him in for what he thought was a private aside, Vice President Joe Biden delivered an explicit message: “This is a big f— deal.” The remark, overheard on live microphones at a 2010 ceremony for the Affordable Care Act, caused a sensation because open profanity from a national leader was unusual at the time.

    More than 15 years later, vulgarity is now in vogue.

    During a political rally Tuesday night in Pennsylvania that was intended to focus on tackling inflation, President Donald Trump used profanity at least four times. At one point, he even admitted to disparaging Haiti and African nations as “shithole countries” during a private 2018 meeting, a comment he denied at the time. And before a bank of cameras during a lengthy cabinet meeting last week, the Republican president referred to alleged drug smugglers as “sons of bitches.”

    Trump strays from script at Pennsylvania rally, calling affordability a ‘hoax’ and Pa. a ‘dumping ground’ for immigrants

    While the Biden incident was accidental, the frequency, sharpness, and public nature of Trump’s comments are intentional. They build on his project to combat what he sees as pervasive political correctness. Leaders in both parties are seemingly in a race now to the verbal gutter.

    Vice President JD Vance called a podcast host a “dips—” in September. In Thanksgiving remarks before troops, Vance joked that anyone who said they liked turkey was “full of s—.” After one National Guard member was killed in a shooting in Washington last month and a second was critically injured, top Trump aide Steven Cheung told a reporter on social media to “shut the f— up” when she wrote that the deployment of troops in the nation’s capital was “for political show.”

    Among Democrats, former Vice President Kamala Harris earned a roar of approval from her audience in September when she condemned the Trump administration by saying “these motherf— are crazy.” After Trump called for the execution of several Democratic members of Congress last month, Sen. Chris Murphy (D., Conn.) said it was time for people with influence to “pick a f— side.” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York said the administration cannot “f— around” with the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files. Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett, who on Monday announced her Senate campaign in Texas, did not hold back earlier this year when asked what she would tell Elon Musk if given the chance: “F— off.”

    The volley of vulgarities underscore an ever-coarsening political environment that often plays out on social media or other digital platforms where the posts or video clips that evoke the strongest emotions are rewarded with the most engagement.

    “If you want to be angry at someone, be angry at the social media companies,” Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, a Republican, said Tuesday night at Washington National Cathedral, where he spoke at an event focused on political civility. “It’s not a fair fight. They’ve hijacked our brains. They understand these dopamine hits. Outrage sells.”

    Cox, whose national profile rose after calling for civility in the wake of conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s assassination in his state, approved an overhaul of social media laws meant to protect children. A federal judge has temporarily blocked the state law.

    Tough political talk is nothing new

    Tough talk is nothing new in politics, but leaders long avoided flaunting it.

    Recordings from Democrat Lyndon B. Johnson’s administration, for instance, revealed a crude, profane side of his personality that was largely kept private. Republican Richard Nixon bemoaned the fact that the foul language he used in the Oval Office was captured on tape. “Since neither I nor most other Presidents had ever used profanity in public, millions were shocked,” Nixon wrote in his book In the Arena.

    “Politicians have always sworn, just behind closed doors,” said Benjamin Bergen, a professor at the University of California-San Diego’s Department of Cognitive Science and the author of What the F: What swearing reveals about our language, our brains, and ourselves. “The big change is in the past 10 years or so, it’s been much more public.”

    As both parties prepare for the 2026 midterm elections and the 2028 presidential campaign, the question is whether this language will become increasingly mainstream. Republicans who simply try to imitate Trump’s brash style do not always succeed with voters. Democrats who turn to vulgarities risk appearing inauthentic if their words feel forced.

    For some, it is just a distraction.

    “It’s not necessary,” said GOP Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska, who is retiring next year after winning five elections in one of the most competitive House districts. “If that’s what it takes to get your point across, you’re not a good communicator.”

    There are risks of overusing profanity

    There also is a risk that if such language becomes overused, its utility as a way to shock and connect with audiences could be dulled. Comedian Jerry Seinfeld has talked about this problem, noting that he used swear words in his early routines but dropped them as his career progressed because he felt profanity yielded only cheap laughs.

    “I felt like well I just got a laugh because I said f— in there,” he said in a 2020 interview on the WTF podcast with fellow comedian Marc Maron. “You didn’t find the gold.”

    White House spokesperson Liz Huston said Trump “doesn’t care about being politically correct, he cares about making America great again. The American people love how authentic, transparent, and effective the President is.”

    But for Trump, the words that have generated the most controversy are often less centered in traditional profanity than slurs that can be interpreted as hurtful. The final weeks of his 2016 campaign were rocked when a tape emerged of him discussing grabbing women by their genitals, language he minimized as “locker room talk.” His “shithole” remark in 2018 was widely condemned as racist.

    More recently, Trump called Bloomberg reporter Catherine Lucey “piggy,” comments that his press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, defended as evidence of a president who is “very frank and honest.” Trump’s use of a slur about disabled people prompted an Indiana Republican whose child has Down syndrome to come out in opposition to the president’s push to redraw the state’s congressional districts.

    Gov. Josh Shapiro says Kamala Harris’ descriptions of him were ‘blatant lies’ intended to sell books

    On rare occasions, politicians express contrition for their choice of words. In an interview with The Atlantic published last week, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, dismissed Harris’ depiction of him in her book about last year’s presidential campaign by saying she was “trying to sell books and cover her a—.”

    He seemed to catch himself quickly.

    “I shouldn’t say ‘cover her a—,” he said. “I think that’s not appropriate.”

  • ‘Everything is up for consideration’ as Wallingford-Swarthmore tackles $2.6 million budget deficit

    ‘Everything is up for consideration’ as Wallingford-Swarthmore tackles $2.6 million budget deficit

    Standing before a room full of parents, administrators, and taxpayers on Monday morning, Wallingford-Swarthmore School District Superintendent Russell Johnston opened the conversation: “None of us is as smart as all of us.”

    At the listening session at Strath Haven Middle School, Johnston and members of the Wallingford-Swarthmore administration took suggestions from the public and laid out the district’s dire budget issues, which came into the public eye at a board meeting last month.

    The main message Johnston came to deliver: As Wallingford-Swarthmore works to cut its budget, everything is on the table, no idea is too big, and no cut is too small.

    “None of this is easy and, like I said, everything is up for consideration right now,” Johnston said, emphasizing that the district is “turning over every stone” and is eager to hear good ideas.

    The Wallingford-Swarthmore School District is facing a $2.6 million budget deficit for the 2027-28 school year. Administrators say the shortfall is due to a combination of factors, including runaway spending, rising staffing costs, a stagnant revenue base, and costly infrastructure repairs, which are needed due to years of deferred maintenance.

    At the community meeting (which was the first of two sessions that took place on Monday), Johnston and colleagues broke down expenses related to staffing, transportation, special services, curriculum, and the district’s long-range capital plan, which was approved in June.

    The conversation stretched across the big picture and the nitty-gritty.

    How often should classrooms be deep-cleaned? How important is renovating the swimming pool? Should the district run late buses for students in after-school clubs? Could the number of district administrators be reduced?

    Suzanne Herron, a parent of young children in the district, said the meeting felt “thoughtful and transparent.”

    “I walked out of there feeling pretty confident that they were going to think about the right things,” Herron said.

    Johnston took the helm of Wallingford-Swarthmore in May, closing an embattled chapter for the Delaware County school district. The district parted ways with its former superintendent, Marseille Wagner, with a $330,000 payout in August 2024. Wagner was accused of spending excessively on administrative initiatives and facilitating an unhealthy work environment for staff, including pitting staffers against one another and dismissing efforts for consensus building.

    The district and Wagner said in a statement at the time that they had “mutually agreed to amicably end their contractual agreement.”

    Wagner’s tenure hung over the conversation at Strath Haven Middle School. Attendees asked how many administrators had been added under the prior superintendent and how the administrator-to-student ratio compared with neighboring districts (administrators said they didn’t have exact numbers off the top of their heads). One parent said that while she was grateful for the open discussion, she struggled to understand how the district got to such a dire place.

    Parents also raised concerns that a disconnect remains between school needs and what taxpayers, especially those without children in the district, see as wasteful spending

    In contrast to neighboring districts like Rose Tree Media and Radnor, which are home to a mix of residential and commercial properties that feed their tax bases, Wallingford-Swarthmore is small and largely residential. This means its school district tax base is powered almost completely by homeowners, many of whom feel stretched thin by the growing tax burden. Swarthmore College, a major presence in the borough, pays limited taxes as a 501(c)3 nonprofit.

    On top of local taxes, Delaware County is expected to increase residential property taxes by 19% for next year. That’s in addition to the 23% increase the county approved for 2025.

    Joyce Federman, an attendee who recently moved to the area and does not have children in the school district, said she has been “staggered” by the amount of school taxes she pays.

    “My tax burden is unbearable,” she added.

    District officials emphasized that there will be continued opportunities for feedback as the budget process continues. The school board finance committee is set to present a potential budget reallocation strategy on Tuesday, and the board is set to vote on reallocation expectations on Dec. 22. A budget must be adopted by June.

    This suburban content is produced with support from the Leslie Miller and Richard Worley Foundation and The Lenfest Institute for Journalism. Editorial content is created independently of the project donors. Gifts to support The Inquirer’s high-impact journalism can be made at inquirer.com/donate. A list of Lenfest Institute donors can be found at lenfestinstitute.org/supporters.

  • A North Philly gang hit man, ‘the very worst’ of society, taken into custody for three killings, officials say

    A North Philly gang hit man, ‘the very worst’ of society, taken into custody for three killings, officials say

    A North Philadelphia street-gang hit man wanted in connection with three killings, including the execution-style shooting of a 16-year-old boy, was taken into custody Wednesday morning in Delaware County, officials said.

    Tyvine “Blumberg Eerd” Jones, 25, was apprehended by U.S. marshals in an apartment where he had been hiding at the Stratford Court complex in Lansdowne, authorities said. Jones was considered one of the city’s most wanted fugitives, and in October, marshals issued a $5,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.

    Eric Gartner, the United States marshal for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, said Jones’ “unrestrained existence serves only to diminish our great city,” and his arrest demonstrates the agency’s commitment to keep Philadelphians safe.

    Investigators say Jones is a suspect in three slayings that took place between 2020 and 2022: the killings of Heyward Garrison, 16, Wesley Rodwell, 20, and Ryan Findley, 23.

    Jones is a self-identified member of the Blumberg gang, which federal prosecutors say operates in the area around the now-shuttered Norman Blumberg Apartments on Oxford Street in North Philadelphia.

    Members of the gang, including its onetime leader, Edward Stinson, have been convicted of drug trafficking in that area, and others have been tied to assaults and shootings.

    Stinson, federal prosecutors wrote in court filings, ran a round-the-clock crack cocaine distribution ring that sucked in teenagers, single mothers, and other vulnerable people.

    Jones was an associate of Anthony “Blumberg Geez” Watson, and the two recorded rap songs together. In one song, “Blow Up,” the two brag about stalking and shooting their criminal rivals.

    Like Jones, Watson, 21, was sought by investigators as a suspect in Garrison’s killing, but he was gunned down in an unrelated shooting after a year on the run.

    Garrison was found shot multiple times in the back of a Honda Pilot parked near 22nd and Diamond Streets in August 2020.

    Two years later, in May 2022, Rodwell was slain on Erie Avenue near 16th Street in a broad-daylight shooting.

    And in September 2022, Findley was killed on Creston Street near Oakland in Oxford Circle.

    Investigators say Jones was involved in all three killings. When announcing the reward for his arrest, Supervisory Deputy U.S. Marshal Robert Clark called Jones “the very worst society has to offer” and said he demonstrated a complete disregard for human life.

  • The White House says the midterms are all about Trump. Democrats aren’t so sure

    The White House says the midterms are all about Trump. Democrats aren’t so sure

    WASHINGTON — A Dallas congresswoman opened her Senate campaign by telling voters that she “has gone toe to toe with Donald Trump.” Her Democratic primary opponent insisted that Americans are tired of “politics as a blood sport.”

    The divergent approach highlights how U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett and State Rep. James Talarico are navigating a race where Democrats hope to break a three-decade losing streak in Texas. It also reflects a broader divide within the party, with some candidates continuing to focus on Trump while others barely mention his name.

    Figuring out the best approach will be critical for Democrats who are grasping for a path back to power in the 2026 midterm elections that will determine control of Congress and are already maneuvering for the 2028 presidential race.

    Republicans, by contrast, have been crystal clear.

    Susie Wiles, the White House chief of staff, said in a recent podcast interview that the Republican president will campaign aggressively next year and the party will “put him on the ballot.”

    “He is the greatest vote energizer in the history of politics,” said Neil Newhouse, a veteran Republican pollster. “But the challenge is that he does it as much for Democrats as he does for Republicans.”

    Crockett takes on Trump

    In her campaign launch video, Crockett was silent as audio of Trump’s insults played, including multiple times that he has called her a “very low-IQ person.” At the end of the video, she breaks out into a smile.

    On Monday, she addressed the president more directly.

    “Trump, I know you’re watching, so let me tell you directly,” Crockett said. “You’re not entitled to a damn thing in Texas. You better get to work because I’m coming for you.”

    Trump responded the next day, telling reporters aboard Air Force One that her candidacy is “a gift to Republicans” and “I can’t even believe she’s a politician, actually.”

    For nearly a decade, Democrats have used their criticism of Trump to draw attention and fuel fundraising. Governors who are considered potential 2028 presidential contenders, including California’s Gavin Newsom and Illinois’ JB Pritzker, saw their profiles rise as they positioned themselves as staunch Trump opponents.

    U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly (D., Ariz.) recently participated in a video telling service members that they should not follow “illegal orders.” Trump responded by accusing him of “seditious behavior” that’s “punishable by death.”

    Kelly started a national media tour and sent out a flurry of fundraising emails, both for himself and other Democrats. He said Trump has bullied everyone in his career, “but not now, because I won’t let it happen.”

    When it comes to running for office, “Trump is the red meat that drives donors,” said John Anzalone, a longtime Democratic pollster.

    “There are clearly some candidates that are playing towards the donor world that don’t actually make a great argument for winning races. But it’s great for clicks and making money. And money is the first primary that you need to win.”

    Talarico charts a different course

    Talarico has built a following with a less combative style. The former schoolteacher who is working toward a master’s degree in divinity at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary gained attention by posting viral social media content challenging Republicans’ claims to Christian values. He has focused less on Trump or other politicians.

    “The biggest divide in our country is not left versus right. It’s top versus bottom,” Talarico said in the video launching his campaign.

    There are echoes of other Democratic successes this year, such as when candidates for governor won in New Jersey and Virginia by focusing on affordability concerns.

    Voters in those states were much likelier to say they were voting to oppose Trump than to support him, according to the AP Voter Poll. For example, 71% of voters for Democrat Mikie Sherrill in New Jersey said their decision in the governor’s race was motivated at least partially by opposition to Trump.

    But Sherrill recently said that it is not enough for Democrats to rely solely on anti-Trump fervor.

    “Trump makes a difference. He’s a forcing mechanism to coalesce the party,” Sherrill said. “But to really turn out the vote in a really strong manner, you have got to run a really sharp campaign.”

    When Democrats talk about Trump, they have to connect his actions to voters’ everyday lives, she said.

    “You can’t just say, oh, I’m so upset that Trump demolished the East Wing of the White House,” she said. “You have to say, look, there’s a tariff regime that is being run that is enriching the president to the tune of $3 billion, and you’re paying more for everything from your cup of coffee in the morning to the groceries that you’re buying to cook your family dinner at night.”

    It is an approach that could have more staying power in the coming years.

    “In the not-too-distant future, Trump will not be on the ballot and that will be a challenge for both parties,” said Austin Cook, a senior aide for Democrat Elissa Slotkin’s successful U.S. Senate campaign in Michigan last year. “He is a starting gun for Democratic enthusiasm. But soon we won’t have him as a foil.”

    Republicans need Trump to turn out voters

    Republicans have little choice but to enlist Trump’s help, considering his enduring support among voters who are less likely to turn out during the midterms.

    “They need to energize Republican voters and the only real way to energize Republican voters and get them out to vote is by enlisting Trump in the campaign,” said Newhouse, who is advising some of the party’s U.S. Senate candidates.

    He warned that Trump’s popularity does not necessarily transfer to candidates he supports, “but there isn’t an alternative.”

    “What they are trying to do here is basically wrap themselves up in him, hope that his approval and the economic numbers improve and get their voters out to the polls to match the Democrats’ intensity,” Newhouse said.

    The White House has said that Trump will be on the road more in the coming months. He hosted his first rally in a while in Pennsylvania on Tuesday evening, where he blamed Democrats for inflation.

    “They gave you high prices,” he said, adding that “we’re bringing those prices down rapidly.”

  • FIFA World Cup could bring 17,000 Airbnb guests to the Philly region

    FIFA World Cup could bring 17,000 Airbnb guests to the Philly region

    Airbnb expects to host 17,000 guests at its short-term rentals across the Philadelphia region when the FIFA World Cup comes to town next summer.

    That’s according to a new report done by Deloitte at Airbnb’s behest and released last week. Airbnb guests are expected to spend about $52 million on average during their stays in the Philly region, and about $14 million of that total will be spent on the rentals.

    Over the course of the six matches in June and July, Airbnb hosts are expected to rake in about $1,900 on average, totaling about $8 million in earnings for all area hosts, according to the report.

    Brazil and France headline the teams coming to Philadelphia for next year’s World Cup

    Officials from Philadelphia Soccer 2026 have estimated that the World Cup will bring 500,000 visitors to the region. Airbnb’s report estimates that 149,000 of them will require overnight accommodations.

    Each Airbnb guest is expected to spend about $109 a night on average on the rentals, as well as another $301 a night on food, entertainment, and other expenses, according to the company’s report.

    Airbnb guests will have a total impact of about $167 million, including direct and indirect spending, the report projected, and that activity is expected to spur additional spending in the city over the following five years.

    Some experts, however, caution that the long-term economic impacts of one-off sporting events tend to be overestimated, saying they usually lead to only temporary boosts to local economies.

    When it comes to how the World Cup shook out, these are our picks of the early winners and losers

    Six World Cup matches are set to take place at Lincoln Financial Field between mid-June and July 4, 2026. The full schedule of events was announced Saturday, and powerhouses Brazil and France will be among the teams playing in Philadelphia. Fans can enter a lottery to purchase tickets, which will be subject to dynamic pricing that fluctuates depending on demand.

    After the games were announced, some people went online to secure their short-term rentals. All host cities saw a 33% spike in new bookings last weekend, according to AirDNA, a site that analyzes data on short-term rentals. In Philadelphia, occupancy across all game days has reached 20%, a year and a half ahead of the event.

    The World Cup will coincide with Philadelphia’s celebration of the United States’ 250th birthday.

    Airbnb has more than 8,300 listings in the Philadelphia region, which brings in $29.4 million in annual revenue, according to AirDNA.

    In 2023, Airbnbs in the city became more strictly regulated, with hosts now required to have permits and licensing.