Curiosity killed the cat, the adage goes, but in the case of Ace the kitten, the fault lies with a defective pet-food container, according to a proposed class-action lawsuit filed in Philadelphia’s federal court.
Valentina Mallozzi, of Montgomery County, says in the complaint that, in July, Ace managed to get into a locked Iris pet food container she ordered from Amazon. But once the 3-pound kitten was inside, the airtight lid dropped and locked Ace inside.
The lawsuit, filed last week, accuses Iris USA of creating a defective product that it markets as safe for pets. The complaint says Mallozzi is one of many pet owners who tragically lost their cat to an Iris container.
The complaint aims to represent all people in the United States who purchased an Iris container. The complaint does not include an estimate of how many people are included in the class, or how much money Iris would owe each person.
Iris USA, a subsidiary of Japanese plastics manufacturer Iris Ohyama, did not respond to a request for comment.
Mallozzi bought the Iris airtight stackable containers for $29.99 from Amazon in March, the complaint says. The containers have a locking mechanism that Iris claimed is designed to “keep pets from sneaking a second or even third breakfast with the secure locking latch,” according to the complaint.
Screenshot of a post in the Prevent Pet Suffocation Facebook group, which shares the story of Peach the cat who died trapped in a Iris USA food storage container, from Valentina Mallozzi’s lawsuit against the company.
The problem, the suit says, is that cats can open the latch from outside, climb in, and get trapped as the mechanism automatically locks them in. The airtight seal that keeps pet food fresh makes the trap deadly, as a “pet will suffocate within a few minutes,” the complaint says.
The lawsuit cites posts from the Prevent Pet Suffocation Facebook group in which cat owners share stories about their beloved pets getting trapped in an Iris container.
One post included in the complaint shares the story of Baby Bear, a family’s cat who was found dead in an Iris container by an 8-year-old girl.
“My cat, Max, also suffocated in an Iris pet food container,” a woman responded. “I know the pain you’re going through.”
Iris USA was put on notice, and not only by people on social media, the complaint says. In March, the Center for Pet Safety, a Virginia-based nonprofit, put out a report evaluating the risk food containers represent for pet suffocation that specifically calls out Iris.
The latch mechanism on the lid “significantly increases the risk of pet suffocation,” the report says.
The lawsuit says the product should have come with a label warning of the suffocation risk for pets that can unlatch the lid.
“Bottom line, the well has run dry,” the USDA notice says. “At this time, there will be no benefits issued November 01. We are approaching an inflection point for Senate Democrats.”
The shutdown, which began Oct. 1, is now the second-longest on record. While the Republican administration took steps leading up to the shutdown to ensure SNAP benefits were paid this month, the cutoff would expand the impact of the impasse to a wider swath of Americans — and some of those most in need — unless a political resolution is found in just a few days.
The administration blames Democrats, who say they will not agree to reopen the government until Republicans negotiate with them on extending expiring subsidies under the Affordable Care Act. Republicans say Democrats must first agree to reopen the government before negotiation.
Democratic lawmakers have written to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins requesting to use contingency funds to cover the bulk of next month’s benefits.
But a USDA memo that surfaced Friday says “contingency funds are not legally available to cover regular benefits.” The document says the money is reserved for such things such as helping people in disaster areas.
It cited a storm named Melissa, which has strengthened into a major hurricane, as an example of why it’s important to have the money available to mobilize quickly in the event of a disaster.
Some states have pledged to keep SNAP benefits flowing even if the federal program halts payments, but there are questions about whether U.S. government directives may allow that to happen. The USDA memo also says states would not be reimbursed for temporarily picking up the cost.
Other states are telling SNAP recipients to be ready for the benefits to stop. Arkansas and Oklahoma, for example, are advising recipients to identify food pantries and other groups that help with food.
Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., accused Republicans and Trump of not agreeing to negotiate.
“The reality is, if they sat down to try to negotiate, we could probably come up with something pretty quickly,” Murphy said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “We could open up the government on Tuesday or Wednesday, and there wouldn’t be any crisis in the food stamp program.”
Delaware County’s homeless services, already overextended and stretched to its limits, are slated to lose two shelters and a much-needed rental assistance program at the end of the month as a result of the ongoing budget impasse in Harrisburg.
The closures, though likely temporary until state lawmakers set aside partisan disagreements to approve a budget, would mark a major blow to a system some say is on the brink of collapse in one of Pennsylvania’s most populous counties.
Delaware County officials have attempted to stave off suspensions in critical social services for the first few months of the budget impasse by dipping into their coffers. According to officials, the county typically spends $12 million a month on homeless shelters and other services for children and youth, mental health needs, and substance use disorders.
Now out of options to pay for these critical supports, the county has notified local service providers that they won’t be able to help them any further. Only a budget can restore funding.
“We had hoped the impasse would be resolved much sooner and had fully funded our providers through September, but unfortunately can no longer fully fund providers without the funds from the state,” county spokesperson Mike Connolly said.
Men’s dorm at Life Center-Eastern Delaware County in Upper Darby on Friday.
The Community Action Agency of Delaware County, which operates three shelters and a rental assistance program, among other services, has no choice but to make cuts to its services or even close, its executive director Ed Coleman said.
Life Center, a shelter that has room for about 50 people, has gradually cut its capacity by half. Wesley House and Family Management Center, which have a combined capacity to house more than 110 people, are slated to close by the end of the month. Plus, CAADC’s rental assistance program, which helps approximately 270 families a year, will be paused until the state budget is passed.
Remaining homeless shelters, such as Breaking Bread in Upper Darby and the Salvation Army in Chester, have already seen a surge in people seeking assistance in recent weeks as Wesley House Shelter and Family Management Center wind down operations.
“We’re at capacity. We have no more room,” said James Stephenson, who leads the Salvation Army’s 40-person facility.
Mental Health Partnerships, which provides services for people with mental health conditions or substance use disorders, has been assembling a weekly working group with local shelters and county government to prepare for a winter with at least one emergency shelter, in anticipation of more shelter closures, said its president and CEO, Jeannine Lisitski. Mental Health Partnerships officials have already begun seeing more people on the streets around Delaware County as part of their street outreach there due to the diminishing number of places that people can go to stay warm in these cooling months.
“There’s a real crisis in Delaware County brewing now,” Lisitski said.
‘It’s childish for people to be so politically divided’
With no state budget in sight, public schools, counties, and service providers that help Pennsylvania’s most vulnerable have been forced to find ways to keep their doors open as they await reimbursement from the state. School districts have had to make up more than $3 billion in expected state payments, while some counties have had to lay off staff or take out major loans.
But the issues are particularly dire in Delaware County, where the budget impasse is just the latest blow to the threadbare safety net that has only been further stretched in recent years.
Delco had the fourth-highest eviction rate in Pennsylvania in 2022, at 11.5%, according to a study by PolicyLink and Community Legal Services of Philadelphia.
The persistent issue pushed Delco officials and dozens of other stakeholders to convene the following year to find ways to help the more than 300 people already facing homelessness and the 100 families on wait lists for shelters in the county, as well as all those in danger of losing housing.
Breaking Bread, which until recently could serve 25 people, can take in only eight after moving back to its original building, which is in need of repairs and has limited space.
And the county’s adult and family services agency, which contracts with shelter providers, saw a loss of $1 million in funding.
Lisitski said Mental Health Partnerships — which serves Delaware County, the other three collar counties, and Philadelphia — has already taken out a significant amount of credit to continue operating. And she has grown deeply frustrated with the state government that leaders have not been able to come together to achieve a budget deal.
“I’m really disgusted, I have to say. I hold myself to a very high standard as a CEO and as a leader. I would not leave my post if I did not take care of every program. I would not leave for the day until I resolved everything,” she said.
“That’s my commitment. I want the same commitment from our elected officials. And it’s childish for people to be so politically divided,” she added.
Separately, the federal shutdown is poised to delay funds from the Low-Income Energy Assistance Program, which help about 300,000 Pennsylvanians pay their heating bills, as well as the distribution of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.
At Wesley House, which can serve an average of 50 children at any given time, families like Grayson’s are scrambling to find temporary housing.
The 52-year-old has been living in Wesley House for almost seven months after caring for his terminally ill mother drained the family’s finances and led his family of four to be evicted. He asked that his full name be withheld to protect the identity of his two young children, as not everyone knows the family became homeless this year.
“This is people’s last resort. This is the last stop before being on the street,” Grayson said of the room with four bunk beds he shares with his family. “I feel like we’re being kicked while we’re already down.”
With news of Wesley House’s closure, Grayson and his wife are working with social workers to get rapid rehousing so as not to disrupt their children’s lives, but it’s a race against time in between the three combined jobs the couple is working.
John Weis, Life Center of Delaware County’s lead case manager (left) assists client Joseph Wallace Friday.
For Heather Schearer, her several months living at Life Center were a necessary step up in her recovery process. She had been unhoused for about five months earlier this year, and was sleeping in her car until it got too cold. When approached, she agreed to stay at Life Center until she eventually was connected to longer-term provider Mental Health Partnerships for its rapid rehousing and peer support programs, she said.
“[Politicians] don’t want to get their boots on the ground, take your ties off, and sit and talk,” Schearer said. “It’s the little things that matter that will get you to the next step.”
According to Community Action, similar scenes are playing out at Family Management Center, which can serve an average of a little more than 30 children at any given time. And while the most significant service reductions in homeless services are not scheduled for another week, the impacts of cuts are already visible across Delaware County.
Lisitski, of Mental Health Partnerships, which provides street outreach around Delaware County, said staff have already seen “a lot more people” than usual living on the street.
When shelters close like this, it becomes a “life-and-death situation” for people who are unhoused, she added. If the people who access critical services — usually people who are homeless, have substance use disorder, or have serious mental health conditions — cannot do so, she said, it will result in their being jailed, institutionalized, or, in the worst cases, dead.
In anticipation of the added need for housing due to the impasse, Mental Health Partnerships is working with Delaware County officials, faith-based entities, and other local groups to prepare emergency shelter space from December through April. It is also taking a line of credit to stay afloat.
But loans are not a viable option for all service providers.
Coleman, of Community Action, said even if the nonprofit could be approved for a line of credit, leaders have no way of knowing how much to ask for since they don’t know when a budget will be passed. Then there would be the question of interest.
“There’s no way [shelters] can afford to pay back interest on a loan, and the interest on a loan cannot be charged to a grant, so it would just be money lost to them,” he said.
Without a state budget, local government is the nonprofit’s last hope. Upper Darby, where Life Center is located, has awarded Life Center $120,000 in Community Development Block Grant funds, which will become available Jan. 1, according to officials there.
It’s much-needed money, but only one thing can help Community Action’s two other shelters stay open.
“We’re hoping that the legislators can do their job and pass a budget so the county doesn’t have to deal with some unfortunate situations,” Coleman said.
The frogs are all over social media, playing and prancing in front of the ICE building in Portland, Ore. The demonstrators in big, green inflatable costumes have grown from local oddity tosymbol of the resistance, undermining President Donald Trump’s claim that “war ravaged” Portland is under siege by “domestic terrorists.”
Protests that started with a single amphibian have in recent weeks expanded into full ponds, particularly after a viral video showed officers pepper-spraying a demonstrator through the air-intake of his costume. The frog corps there has been joined by a shark, giraffe, chicken, and raccoon, and during the recent nationwide “No Kings” marches expanded its web-toed footprint to places including Philadelphia.
Demonstrators gather for a ’No Kings’ rally in Philadelphia on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025.
Why has the frog become so popular?
People following the news on the internet and TV see the paramilitary might of helmeted ICE agents arrayed against … frogs. And unicorns. And other dancing creatures.
For demonstrators, it’s a way to make the other side look ridiculous by embracing ridiculousness ― a staple of effective political street theater, said Temple University professor Ralph Young, an expert on protest and dissent.
“Trump saying Portland is occupied by terrorists, it’s so over the top,” Young said. “How do you respond? I guess you put on a frog outfit.”
What has made Portland a center of immigration protest?
Demonstrators oppose Trump’s effort to deport millions of people. And Portland has long been a target of the president, who last weekagain falsely claimed that the city was “burning down.”
He wants to deploy National Guard troops in response to the protests outside the city’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility. An appeals court last week reversed an earlier ruling and said that deployment could proceed.
Wearing animal costumes “dismantles their narrative a little bit,” chicken-suited protester Jack Dickinson told Willamette Week. “[Homeland Security Secretary] Kristi Noem is up on the balcony staring over the ‘Antifa Army’ and it’s, like, eight journalists and five protesters and one of them is in a chicken suit.”
Laura Murphy, 74, wears a handmade tiara inspired by a Portland, Oregon, protester’s frog costume, on her way to the No Kings protest on Oct. 18 in Philadelphia.
Where did the idea for the frogs come from?
The frogs, Temple’s Young said, come out of a court jester tradition. In ancient times, jesters could speak to the king in ways that might get someone else beheaded. They offered what others might be unwilling to say ― the truth, cloaked in humor.
Since that time there have been many other instances of truth-in-comedy protests.
At the 1968 Democratic National Convention, the Youth International Party, the Yippies, nominated a 145-pound pig for president. Pigasus, sarcastically named for the winged horse Pegasus, served to protest the political establishment and the sorry choice many voters felt they faced in choosing between Richard Nixon and Hubert Humphrey. The pig’s campaign slogan: “If we can’t have him in the White House, we can have him for breakfast.”
Here on trial as part of the Chicago Seven, Abbie Hoffman (left) and Jerry Rubin (right), with beard and headband, helped nominate a pig for president. In center in striped shirt is defendant Rennie Davis. They’re picture here on Oct. 23, 1969, at the Federal Building in Chicago.
The same year, the New York Radical Women attracted huge news coverage at the Miss America pageant when they dumped bras, makeup, and girdles into a “Freedom Trash Can” set up on the Atlantic City Boardwalk. The demonstrators were labeled “bra-burners,” though organizers insisted no bras were actually burned.
Have frogs been spotted in Philadelphia?
Yes, including at the recent “No Kings” protest that drew thousands onto city streets. One person carried a sign endorsing “Amphifa,” or “Amphibians Against Fascism.”
Frogs are appearing on posters and T-shirts in a variety of poses: Raising the U.S. flag at Iwo Jima, with the help of a chicken and a unicorn. And as the subject of the famous Barack Obama campaign portrait, this one captioned not “HOPE” but “HOP.”
So far the ICE field office in Philadelphia has not been the target of sustained protests, though the exterior of the building is now guarded by heavy concrete blocks. The group No ICE Philly plans to hold an all-day, Halloween Eve demonstration on Thursday, complete with costumes, live music, art, and free food.
A demonstrator wearing a frog costume stands outside a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility on Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
Is it true the frogs are meant as a biblical reference?
A 25-year-old man from Wilmington was killed and six others — including a student and an alum — were injured in a shooting Saturday night at Lincoln University, which was celebrating homecoming weekend, according to the Chester County District Attorney’s Office.
The man killed was Jujuan Jeffers, 25, of Wilmington, District Attorney Christopher de Barrena-Sarobe said.
The other six shooting victims, all age 20 to 25, are expected to survive, de Barrena-Sarobe said at a news conference on campus early Sunday evening.
Zecqueous Morgan-Thompson, 21, of Wilmington, was charged with carrying a concealed firearm without a license, de Barrena-Sarobe said. Authorities are investigating whether the gun found on Morgan-Thompson was used in the shooting, he said, but also said authorities suspect there were multiple shooters.
Morgan-Thompson was being held at Chester County prison after his bail was set at $25,000 bail Sunday evening, according to court records. It was not immediately clear if he had a lawyer.
“We don’t have a lot of answers about exactly what happened. What I will tell you is that today we’re operating as if this is not an incident where someone came in with the design to inflict mass damage on a college campus,” de Barrena-Sarobe told reporters during a news conference earlier on Sunday.
He urged anyone with video from the scene or other information that could help the investigation to contact the FBI, and he repeated that request at the evening news conference. Lincoln which enrolls about 1,650 students, is the first degree-granting historically Black university in the nation.
The shooting occurred at the university’s International Cultural Center building about 9:30 p.m. Saturday, leading to a chaotic scene.
“It was a very packed scene,” said Dana Moore, a spokesperson for the district attorney’s office. “The festivities had gone on. … It was all fun, football game, tailgate, a lot people had set up tents. And then chaos ensued.”
Authorities discuss shooting at Lincoln University that left one dead, six injured.
Moore declined to say where the injured were being treated or release their identities.
“We are protecting all identities and locations at this time,” she said.
The district attorney did not release other information about the injured at the evening press conference but said one victim was a student and one was an alumnus. The rest, he said, do not have direct affiliation with the university.
“Everyone on campus is a victim in this,” he said, emphasizing the importance of healing.
Josh Maxwell, chair of the Chester County Commissioners and an adjunct professor at Lincoln, said he knew the student who was shot and had spoken with her Sunday.
“She said she’s had better days but she’ll be fine,” he said, noting that he planned to visit her on Monday. “She’s a phenomenal student, just an extraordinarily focused, really good kid who is hitting all the marks to have a really good life. And I expect that’s not going to be interrupted.”
Maxwell said students choose Lincoln to get a good education.
“There’s no downtown to walk to or bars, just the quiet borough of Oxford and beautiful farmland,” he wrote in a Facebook post. “The fact that violence could reach them here, and personally one of my students, tears at my heart.”
The university announced in a statement Sunday afternoon that it would suspend classes Monday “for a day of healing and reflection,” though the school would remain open and staff and counseling would be available to help students and faculty.
The university has invited the campus community to gather at noon in the Historic District, between Vail and Amos Halls, for “a moment of reflection, connection, and collective healing.”
“Gun violence happens far too often in our country, and we are heartbroken that Lincoln University and its students are among the latest victims of such senseless violence,” the school said in the statement.
On campus Sunday, police tape draped a parking lot strewn with trash — showing a scene of homecoming revelry abruptly abandoned.
Investigators are on the scene outside Lincoln University’s International Cultural Center (ICC) Sunday, Oct. 26, 2025, where one person was killed and six other people were shot the night before during homecoming weekend celebrations.
Vanessa Ayllon, who lives across the street, said she saw the chaos on her Ring doorbell camera.
“All I see is people running and just getting into cars, just trying to leave,” Ayllon said. “It was very hectic.”
She said cars were traveling in the same direction in both lanes on the street, nearly causing a crash as people fled.
Terina Clark, 61, of West Philadelphia, graduated from Lincoln in 1987 and said she came to homecoming weekend to reconnect with old friends. They left shortly before the shooting, Clark said, frustrated by a crowded scene where she said alcohol flowed freely and people rolled joints and smoked marijuana not far from security officers.
“The crowds grew like you were going to a stadium game,” Clark said, adding she wanted to see school officials held responsible for allowing things to get out of control.
“Parents trust these kids within these walls,” Clark said. “The walls have to control what comes in.”
Delaware State University students Darius Lawson and Jake Ferguson, who attended the Saturday night homecoming, returned to Lincoln’s campus Sunday to try to retrieve a friend’s purse that was left behind in the woods as people fled the gunfire. The two were turned away by campus police who told them the purse was now part of a crime scene.
“Everyone just started running and falling,” said Lawson, 21. He said he saw people lying on the ground after the gunfire, as ambulances arrived.
Lawson called it a sad end to what had been a great party. He added that Saturday wasn’t the first time he attended a homecoming party marred by violence: Last year he attended celebrations at North Carolina Central University, where two shootings occurred.
The scene at Lincoln University’s International Cultural Center (ICC) building Sunday morning Oct. 26, 2025, where one person was killed and six other people were shot the night before during homecoming weekend celebrations.
University officials, including Henry Lancaster II, a 1976 graduate and member of the board of trustees, were mum on details about the shooting when reached Sunday.
Marc Partee, Lincoln University police chief, declined to answer any questions about the shooting or estimate how many people were on campus at the time. The incident happened about a half hour before festivities were due to end at 10 p.m., said Partee, who has worked at the school since 2019.
Gov. Josh Shapiro, who received an honorary degree from Lincoln in 2023, said the state had “offered its full support” to the university and local police.
“Join Lori and me in praying for the Lincoln University community,” he said on X late Saturday.
Lincoln, one of four so-called state-related colleges in Pennsylvania, is in rural Chester County, about 45 miles southwest of Philadelphia.
The university’s alumni association said in a Facebook post Sunday morning that it was sending “thoughts and prayers to Lincoln University, our students, and the victims of last night’s tragic and senseless act of violence during Homecoming.”
“Homecoming should be a time of joy and unity,” the Alumni Association of Lincoln University posted. “Today, we stand together in grief, in strength, and in unwavering support of our beloved alma mater.”
Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle L. Parker is a Lincoln alumna, and was on campus last week, posting to social media Saturday, “It was an honor to help kick off @LincolnUofPA‘s Homecoming earlier this week — celebrating 171 years of Black excellence and The Lincolnian’s 100th anniversary.”
Lincoln pride is in full effect this weekend!
It was an honor to help kick off @LincolnUofPA‘s Homecoming earlier this week — celebrating 171 years of Black excellence and The Lincolnian’s 100th anniversary.
Parker did not immediately reply to a request for comment Sunday.
She’s among several notable Lincoln alumni, a list which includes Thurgood Marshall, the first Black U.S. Supreme Court justice; Harlem Renaissance poet Langston Hughes; Robert N.C. Nix, Sr., the first Black lawmaker from Pennsylvania to serve in Congress; Sheila Oliver, former New Jersey lieutenant governor and the first Black woman to serve as speaker of the New Jersey general assembly; and Harry W. Bass, the first Black Pennsylvania state legislator.
The school has achieved some milestones in recent years. The university in 2020 received a $20 million donation from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott, which became the largest single gift in the school’s history.
President Brenda A. Allen at that time called the gift “transformational” for the then-2,100-student school and said it would fund new investments in teaching, research, and faculty development, as well as support need-based scholarships.
In 2021, Allen was named one of the 10 most dominant historically Black college leaders by a national nonprofit organization that advocates for the schools, and in May, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore delivered the commencement address at Lincoln.
But the university also has weathered controversy, including an internal battle over Allen’s leadership in 2020. The board attempted to oust her, but later decided to negotiate a new contract with her.
The school also has been the scene of prior shooting incidents.
In 2023, two people were shot inside a residential building on campus; the victims were not students but had been visiting the school. And in 2015, the campus tightened security after shots were fired in a dorm, though no one was hurt in the incident.
Staff writer Kristen A. Graham contributed to this article, which also contains information from the Associated Press.
The family of Kada Scott honored her life Sunday morning by releasing balloons on the steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum.
Organizers described the event as a vigil to honor the life and memory of Scott, the 23-year-old Mount Airy woman who police say was murdered earlier this month. Police found Scott’s body Oct. 18 after a two-week search, buried in the woods behind the vacant Ada H.H. Lewis Middle School.
Scott family members who attended Sunday’s vigil included her mother, Kim Matthews, who held a sign saying “RIP Kada” with her daughter’s photo on it, and her father, Kevin Scott.
Kim Matthews (center right), mother of Kada Scott, holds a sign featuring her daughter while releasing balloons before a Domestic Violence Awareness walk at the Philadelphia Art Museum on Sunday, Oct. 26, 2025.
The event was held immediately before a walk to increase awareness of domestic violence.
Philadelphia native and reality TV actress Sundy Carter, who authored a book on her own experiences with domestic violence, said she and other walk organizers were already planning an event when Scott was found dead.
“When the unfortunate situation happened with Kada, we knew that this was so much bigger than us,” Carter said.
Police have said they are still determining the relationship between Scott and her accused killer, Keon King. But Carter emphasized that violence can occur even when people know each other but are not in a relationship.
Carter said the event offered a chance for Scott’s family and friends to share their stories with others.
“We just loved on each other, encouraged one another, and we turned today into something so powerful and positive,” Carter said.
Walk participants carried that feeling forward, she said.
“There were so many other domestic violence foundations and support groups that were out there and just there to give resources and everybody was just very much hands-on,” Carter said. “I think this is what the city needed.”
Participants meet at the Philadelphia Art Museum before starting the Domestic Violence Awareness walk on Sunday, Oct. 26, 2025.
Carter said organizers plan to hold similar walks at least once a year.
King has been charged with murder, illegal gun possession, abuse of a corpse, robbery, and additional crimes. He was denied bail and will appear in court Nov. 3 for the first of three preliminary hearings.
Just before they were set to make their derby debut, Jake Poeske and Jack Gentry suffered a crushing blow: Their package of bird costumes was stolen.
Last-minute Big Bird Halloween onesies would have to suffice.
The duo had welded, papier-mâchéd, and crafted their way to the start line of the 17th Kensington Kinetic Sculpture Derby, a uniquely Philadelphian tradition where absurd human-powered contraptions — no motors, no nothing, just people — travel a three-mile course with obstacles, and then face the final boss, a mud pit.
The derby was the centerpiece of Saturday’s all-day arts festival on Frankford Avenue, celebrating the East Kensington and Fishtown corridors’ creative, kitschy flair and pride, said Marc Collazzo, executive director of the Fishtown Kensington Area Business Improvement District, which puts on the event.
“There’s unfortunately a lot of negative views of what this neighborhood is,” he said, “and it doesn’t give enough highlight or spotlight on the people that are here — the people that really have invested their time, talent, and treasure to live, shop, and work here.”
Collazzo added: “We have people coming from all over the region to really see the good that Kensington is.”
Poeske and Gentry’s entry, “The Early Bird Doesn’t Catch the Worm,” was a punny nod to the Philadelphia Eagles. Poeske welded two bikes side-by-side, built a steel frame wrapped in chicken wire and stuffed it with twigs and hay, creating a bird’s nest. Gentry donned a handmade cockatoo head, while Poeske was an eagle.
Two worms rode alongside. Francis Poeske fashioned pink pantyhose stuffed with towels and shirts to his helmet and repurposed a pink velour The Cheetah Girls outfit for his grub couture.
Jake Poeske and Jack Gentry navigate through a mud pit obstacle at the 17th annual Kensington Derby on Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025, in Philadelphia.Jake Poeske and Jack Gentry depart for the 17th annual Kensington Derby on Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025, in Philadelphia.
But before the derby kicked off, a rivalry was already brewing: Travis Schattle, a kinetic artist, also channeled the Birds for his rig, an eagle sculpture whose wings moved in tandem with his bike.
“We don’t have worms — you can quote me on that,” he said.
Schattle, who’s competed in the derby twice before, was in pursuit of glory this year: Make it through the mud pit in style. (Schattle originally envisioned Jason Kelce as the rider, and said he even reached out to the Kelce brothers’ beer company for a sponsorship to no avail.)
“We just want to make it to the mud pit,” Gentry said.
“What happens in the mud pit? We will see,” said Poeske.
Building a slurry, sloppy mud pit on a main drag requires roughly three tons of soil and lots of water, said George Mathes this year’s pitmaster and owner of neighborhood business Thunderbird Salvage. The mud is a staple of the derby, and the pit’s consistency received harsh scrutiny from spectators.
“The mud needs more water,” one woman heckled. Eventually, the crowd demanded, “Hose it down! Hose it down!”
Still, the mud pit claimed a few victims. Prophetically, a SEPTA train got stuck. The shark from Jaws — or “Jaw(n)s,” as it was aptly named — and his tuba accompanist sank. A Newsies-esque barkeeper who attempted to make cocktails along the route was ejected from his carriage, then dove and flopped into the mud.
A derby rider wipes out in a mud pit at the 17th annual Kensington Derby on Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025, in Philadelphia.
By Schattle’s turn, the crowd was amped, and the air smelled of Philadelphia Brewing Co. beer, incense, and brisket. Schattle’s eagle elicited many chants of “Go Birds” and “E-A-G-L-E-S” from festivalgoers, as he soared across the mud pit.
Travis Schattle, 33, rides his Eagles-themed vehicle through a mud pit at the 17th annual Kensington Derby on Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025, in Philadelphia.
Glory achieved.
“We flew to victory,” Schattle said postgame. “We got people flapping their wings.”
While roller-blading worm Kangeun Seo wiped out, Poeske and Gentry successfully flew their coop over the pit.
“I accomplished what I wanted to do: I made it through the end and we made it through the mud,” Gentry said.
Kanguen Seo, 29, is covered in mud after crashing through a mud pit at the 17th annual Kensington Derby on Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025, in Philadelphia.
A panel of lab-coat-and-goggle-wearing judges scored the participants’ pit performances based on design, durability, and dynamism. Schattle ultimately ended up taking home third place. Poeske and Gentry got second — one point short of the champions, The UnderTowed barkeepers, who earned a perfect score.
Accepting their trophy, one barkeeper dangled a cigarette from his lips and held up a Pabst Blue Ribbon.
And any jocular rivalry between the dueling birds seemed quashed.
“There can always be more birds in the city,” Gentry said.
C.B. can’t even comprehend her transgender daughter being required to use the boys’ bathroomat her South Jersey school.
“If you went into her classroom and someone said, ‘Pick out the trans kid out of these 25 kids,’ you would not be able to,” C.B. said. “You might very well get it wrong.”
C.B., who asked to be identified by her initials to protect the privacy of her child, said she loves the Garden State. She has a “very Jersey family.”
But, like other parents of trans children, she’s considering packing her family’s bags depending on the results of the Nov. 4 election, and whether the next governor maintains the state’s LGBTQ+ friendly policies.
“I can’t think of anyone who’s not at least thinking of a contingency plan. I think we all have our limits of when we’ve got to go,” C.B. said. “We just have to protect our kids.”
The stakes of the election are stark for C.B. and other parents. Jack Ciattarelli, the Republican nominee for New Jersey governor, opposes state policies implemented under Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy meant to protect transgender children. Ciattarelli says he would require schools to tell parents about their children’s gender identity and stop transgender girls from participating in girls’ sports. He also opposes gender-affirming care for minors and believes parents should be able to opt their kids out of LGBTQ+ related topics in school.
U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill, the Democratic nominee, has largely voted in support of transgender rights throughout her nearly seven-year legislative career. She was endorsed by LGBTQ+ advocacy groups as well as her friend U.S. Rep. Sarah McBride (D., Del.), the first openly transgender member of Congress. But Sherrill has not publicly defended trans rights when criticized by Ciattarelli and has declined to answer reporters’ questions on the matter.
L.B., another South Jersey parent facing the same dilemma in the lead-up to Election Day,said her 10-year-old transgender daughter isn’t stealing any thunder from other girls on her coed sports team — she is the smallest in her class. And it’s hard for her to imagine anyone seeing her child as a threat to anyone in the bathroom.
“People move from all over the country to New Jersey because it’s known as a safe haven for LGBTQ rights,” said L.B., who is using her initials to protect her child’s privacy. “And now, if Jack Ciattarelli wins, it could become a state that people have to flee from.”
Republican nominee for New Jersey governor Jack Ciattarelli speaks at a rally at the Corner House Tavern in Columbus.
During the 2024 election, President Donald Trump frequently attacked Vice President Kamala Harris for supporting transgender people.Ciattarelli has followedthat playbook, framing Sherrill on the campaign trail, in ads, and on the debate stage as being too supportive of transgender identities.
Sherrill has not just ignored the attacks. She has avoided talking aboutthe issue altogether.
“I don’t necessarily blame her for that, although more vocal support, outspoken support, would be amazing. It would make a lot of us feel much safer,” C.B. said.
Othertransgender rights advocates interviewed by The Inquirer also said they wish Sherrill would speak up more. But they understand why she doesn’t.
“Mikie Sherrill is not saying much of anything about the transgender population — which, you know, frankly, is what unfortunately might be her best strategy to be elected,” said Melissa Firstenberg, a transgender woman who founded Marlton Pride. “Unfortunately, for somebody like me, she is the only option.”
Melissa Firstenberg marching in a July 4 parade with Marlton Pride.
A page out of Trump’s playbook
Trump campaigned for president on the promise of stopping transgender athletes from competing in women’s and girls’ sports.
Ciattarelli has also made the popular GOP talking point a centerpiece of his campaign. In his stump speeches, he attacks Sherrill for voting “to allow biological boys to play in girls’ sports” despite being “a mother of two daughters,” in reference to her vote against the “Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act‚” which would prohibit transgender girls from participating in girls’ sports and had support from only two House Democrats.
Ciattarelli has championed a so-called parental rights movement and frequently touts his opposition to New Jersey School Policy 5756, an advisory policy calling for schools to support students’ gender identity and allow transgender students to compete on sports teams and use the restrooms where they feel comfortable. The guidance states that parental consent is not needed to accept a student’s asserted gender identity.
In the first general election debate last month, Ciattarelli tried to veer the conversation to transgender youth in schools multiple times, and said he was concerned about “the welfare of our children.”
“I don’t think school districts should be keeping secrets from parents. I don’t think that biological boys should be playing in girls’ sports,” he said.
“She opposes me on both of those issues,” Ciattarelli added, referring to Sherrill’s 2023 voteagainst the “Parents Bill of Rights Act” that would require parental notification of children’s gender identity, among other measures. No House Democrats voted for the bill.
Sherrill did not address her past votes, correct Ciattarelli, or respond to the specifics of his argument,beyond mentioning that “parents know their kids best, and they need to be able to determine if there’s something they want to opt out of.” That stance echoes Ciattarelli’s arguments, though it was unclear what exactly Sherrill was referring to.
When asked after the debate about participation of transgender athletes, Sherrill deferred to “New Jersey sports groups” and the National Collegiate Athletic Association. She also cited her support for the Kids Online Safety Act, mentioning an uptick in bullying of LGBTQ+ youth.
Sherrill has garnered endorsements and donations fromLGBTQ+ advocacygroups like the Human Rights Campaign and GLAAD for her voting record — though she did take heat for a December 2024 vote for the National Defense Authorization Act, which included a provision that removed transgender healthcare for military dependents. Despite her vote,Sherrill criticized that measure as singling “out a small handful of innocent children to be used as political pawns.”
But Sherrill declined through a campaign spokesperson to share her stance on the state’s school guidance or protections for gender-affirming care for this story, or to be interviewed about trans rights.
U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D., N.J.) speaks during a gubernatorial debate with Republican Jack Ciattarelli Sept. 21, 2025 at Rider University.
Instead, in a statement, Sherrill said she “will govern in a way that keeps New Jersey kids, my own and others, safe and with parents in the driver’s seat regarding their kids’ education.” The 200-word statement did not mention “trans,” “gender,” or “LGBTQ.”
She also said that “schools are a place to learn, not to advance political agendas,” and that she would ensure they teach “the full history of our nation” and continue to give parents the choiceto opt out of “certain sex-education conversations.”
Meanwhile, Chris Russell, a Ciattarelli campaign spokesperson, said in a text message that Ciattarelli “opposes so-called gender-affirming care for minors” when asked about Murphy’s executive order that makes the state a “safe haven” for gender-affirming healthcare.
“As Governor Jack will review all of Governor Murphy’s EO’s and related policies to ensure that they are consistent with his positions regarding parental notification for minors, protecting women’s & girl’s sports & offering an age appropriate curriculum,” he added.
Sherrill is not the only Democrat across the country who has trod lightly on trans rights since Republicans upped the attacks last year, but Diane Rugala, a Collingswood-based parent whose transgender son is a Rutgers University graduate student, thinks Sherrill should “just own it” when it comes to defending transgender kids.
“You have to play the game, I get it,” said Rugala, who is also an activist with PFLAG, an LGBTQ+ advocacy group.
“But I also think that a really authentic statement would be good,” she added. “I don’t think people are asking for her to become this big advocate for the trans community … just a simple statement.”
Attack ads mirroring the presidential election
Ciattarelli’s campaign recently started running an adthat highlights Sherrill saying that she “would push an LGBTQ education into our schools,” and that “parents have a right to opt out of a lot of things” but “this is not an area where they should be opting out.”
The clip was from a Democratic primary debate earlier this year when she was responding to the question of whether parents should be able to opt their students out of “LGBTQ-related content” in the same way they can be taken out of sex-ed and health classes.
The ad calls it her “education plan” and tells viewers that it’s “your choice, not hers.”
She explained in that debate that students should understand “the background of people throughout our nation” and condemned the “erasure of history.” As of 2020, New Jersey schools are required to teach about societal contributions from LGBTQ+ people, along with other groups, in middle and high school social studies.
Jo Miller speaks at a rally for trans youth organized by Garden State Equality in Asbury Park in June.
Another ad echoes the attack that was lodged against Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign.
The American Principles Project (APP), a Virginia-based conservative group that identifies itself as “pro-family,” paid for an ad that vilifies trans people and accuses Sherrill of wanting to “protect they/them instead of your children,” referencing nonbinary pronouns. The group’s New Jersey PAC reported $126,000 in expenditures in the race as of Oct. 3, with $429,000 more cash on hand.
Trump’s campaign aired ads last year arguing that Harris is for “they/them,” while Trump is for “you.”
Jo Miller, 29, a transgender woman who serves on the Woodbury City Council, said she “would like to see a more forceful response” from Sherrill because not addressing the attacks can leave more people thinking that Republicans’ “demonization” of trans people — a small segment of the population — is true.
“I would love to see Mikie Sherrill take some stronger stances, and I think we will see that eventually as governor, but I think the truth is, it’s not her main focus,” Miller said. “And it’s kind of strange that it’s Jack Ciattarelli’s main focus, and it’s Donald Trump’s main focus.”
A Lower Gwynedd man has been charged with the attempted murder of a law enforcement officer after authorities say he struck a Plymouth Township police officer with his car multiple times before fleeing the scene.
Dalton Lee Janiczek, 21, faces multiple felony charges, including attempted murder of a law enforcement officer, aggravated assault, and fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer.
Around 10:19 a.m. on Friday, Janiczek fled in a white Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon from an attempted traffic stop by Springfield Township police officers, according to police. The officers did not pursue but instead broadcast information about the incident to neighboring police departments.
Around noon, Sgt. Jon Bleuit of the Whitpain Township Police Department was out on patrol when he heard a radio transmission about the attempted stop, police said.
Earlier that day, Bleuit had received information that Janiczek had been involved in an incident in Chester County where he “threatened to blow up a police department,” police said. Bleuit and the Whitpain Township Police Department were “familiar with Janiczek” and his SUV, according to police. There was no warrant out for Janiczek’s arrest at the time.
Several minutes after Bleuit heard the radio transmission, he saw Janiczek driving and attempted to stop him for a traffic violation, police said. Janiczek allegedly drove over a center concrete median barrier and drove off again. Bleuit did not attempt to follow Janiczek and also relayed the information to neighboring departments.
At 12:39 p.m., a Plymouth Township police officer, whom police did not identify, responded to the Doubletree Hotel in the township, where he saw the Mercedes G-Wagon driven by Janiczek, police said.
The officer turned on his emergency lights. Within seconds, police said, Janiczek reversed his SUV, hitting the police officer’s car several times. The officer got out of his car, drew his firearm, and started yelling at Janiczek to stop the car and show his hands.
In response, Janiczek allegedly accelerated directly at the officer, trying to strike him. The officer discharged his firearm at least five times toward the front windshield of Janiczek’s car, police said. Janiczek struck the officer, causing him to fall to the ground and start bleeding out of his leg, police said. Janiczek then drove away briefly before allegedly striking the officer three more times as the officer lay on his back attempting to apply a tourniquet.
The officer was airlifted to a hospital in Philadelphia with severe leg injuries. As of Saturday afternoon, he was in intensive care and would require multiple surgeries for his injuries, police said.
The incident was captured by bodycam footage and video taken by a bystander at the hotel, police said.
After leaving the Doubletree lot, officials say, Janiczek fled the area and began traveling southbound on Walton Road. A Plymouth Township police car with its emergency lights on approached northbound on Walton Road. Janiczek allegedly crossed the double yellow line, striking the police car and causing it to strike another police car. Janiczek continued to travel southbound in the northbound lane, where he struck a stopped Plymouth police car head-on, injuring a Plymouth Township police sergeant.
The sergeant, who was not identified, was taken to a local hospital for injuries to his legs. Both injured officers are in stable condition, according to a news release from the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office.
Janiczek was taken into custody after striking the sergeant’s car. According to police, Plymouth Township Officer Mike Watts said he heard Janiczek say, “Put me in the car or I will kill you,” as officers took him into custody. Janiczek was treated at Jefferson Abington Hospital for injuries, including a graze wound to his head.
Janiczek was arraigned on Saturday by Judge Thomas P. Murt, who denied bail. A preliminary hearing before Judge Jodi L. Griffis is scheduled for Nov. 4.
Before Friday’s incident, Janiczek had been charged with driving violations multiple times in both Pennsylvania and Arizona, including careless driving, driving without a license, and driving an unregistered vehicle. Authorities say Janiczek had been involved in several traffic incidents within the last week where he had fled from police.
On the first day of early in-person voting in New Jersey, and with U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate, showing a slim polling edge over her Republican opponent, Democrats called in the popular governor from neighboring Pennsylvania to drum up some enthusiasm among Garden State voters.
Gov. Josh Shapiro stumped for Sherrill at a senior center auditorium and an African Methodist Episcopal church, targeting two groups seen as necessary for Sherrill to beat Republican Jack Ciattarelli.
“Thank you for getting off the sidelines,” Shapiro said to the crowd at the senior center, several of whom said they either voted by mail already or were on their way to the polls. “Thank you for doing your part. Thank you for being in this game. I am grateful.”
Outside the Monroe Township senior center, Shapiro was a big draw among the crowd that lined up early Saturday to get through security.
“He’s very well liked,” said Connie Hamlin, 71, of Monroe Township, who sipped coffee to stay warm “Number one, he’s handsome. He’s young. That’s very important.”
Equally important, she said, is that Shapiro is “for democracy” and “a decent person,” two traits she said President Donald Trump lacks.
Gov. Josh Shapiro on the campaign trail for NJ gubernatorial candidate Mikie Sherrill (left) Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025.
At the two campaign stops, Sherrill ripped into Trump, saying that while the prices of consumer goods like coffee have skyrocketed, “Trump and his family are making billions.”
Sherrill said her opponent would rubber-stamp Trump administration policies that are unpopular with many in New Jersey — such as his cancellation of $16 billion in funding to build two new rail tunnels under the Hudson River.
“It’s about opportunity and affordability,” Sherrill said. “We’re fighting for our kids, to make sure they have a better future.”
Ciattarelli hit the campaign trail as well Saturday, stopping in Passaic, Bergen, and Morris Counties with a message of “a stronger, safer, and more affordable New Jersey,” according to Facebook posts.
Friday evening, Trump held a tele-rally for Ciattarelli, in which he said Sherrill would “be a travesty as the governor of New Jersey” and urged Republicans to take part in early voting.
“You got to make sure the votes are counted, because New Jersey has a little bit of a rough reputation, I must be honest,” Trump said.
There is no evidence of mass voter fraud in New Jersey or anywhere else in recent elections, but Trump still claims the 2020 election was rigged against him and has appointed a notorious Pennsylvania election denier to a federal position monitoring elections. On Friday, the Department of Justice said it will send federal observers to monitor elections in New Jersey and California.
At a news conference Saturday, Sherrill said she is proud that New Jersey’s elections have been “open, transparent, and free.”
“And we’re going to continue to do that, and ensure we don’t have any voter intimidation,” Sherrill said.
At the senior center, Hamlin said she supports Sherrill’s plan to lower energy costs, likes that she’s a woman, and feels it’s important that the next governor is a Democrat. “She’s soft-spoken, but she has meaningful things to say,” Hamlin said.
Shapiro spoke about how he was raised and how his faith teaches him that “no one is required to complete the task, but neither are we free to refrain from it.”
The message wasn’t lost on Steve Riback, who said Trump has given antisemites and other extremists “license to come out of the woodwork.” Riback, who is Jewish, said that Shapiro would be his top choice for president in 2028, above Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker.
Shapiro urged voters frustrated with Trump to send a message to the rest of the country “that here in Jersey, we value our freedom, we cherish our democracy, and we love our country.”
And Shapiro held up Sherrill as someone who would get things done in New Jersey. Sherrill has cited Pennsylvania as an example of a state with more efficient business licensure rules and better-managed energy costs.
Shapiro, who has not officially announced his reelection campaign, has long been floated as a presidential hopeful by Democratic insiders and national pundits. Shapiro’s soon-to-be-released memoir will likely add to speculation about his 2026 intentions.
After the senior center visit, Shapiro and Sherrill hit the turnpike up to New Brunswick, where a packed Mount Zion A.M.E. Church — congregants had come in on buses from around the state — was waiting for him.
Shapiro said it was up to Democrats to keep, and build upon, what the founders created. “We are those people, and this is a moment where we have to do this work. We’ve got to stand up for our rights,” he said. “We’ve got to keep perfecting our union.”
Pheobie Thomas, an A.M.E. member who traveled from Trenton for church, said Shapiro and Sherrill offered promising signs that they support “equitable access for all people, including Black people.”
Thomas, 48, said there is a long history of Democratic politicians courting Black churches for votes, and for good reason.
“The Black church is extremely important,” Thomas said. “We do go to the polls. We do show up.”
As for Shapiro, she said he was speaking to New Jersey — but at the same time, he hinted that he was speaking to a broader audience.
“You just know that there’s that potential of, you know, ‘I may come back again to ask for your vote.’”
Staff writer Robert Moran contributed to this article.
