Comcast owes a California company $240 million for infringing on its patent when rolling out a voice-activation feature on television remotes over a decade ago, a Philadelphia federal jury decided.
Promptu Systems Corporation “pioneered” the technology that allows users to control their TVs through voice commands spoken into a remote control in the early 2000s, the company said in legal filings.
After Comcast launched its voice remote in 2015, Promptu sued, accusing the telecommunication giant of utilizing patented technology. Comcast executives were aware of the patents, expressed interest in Promptu’s capabilities as early as 2001, and took steps to launch a remote in collaboration with Promptu, the 2016 lawsuit said.
But Comcast ended up launching a voice-controlled remote on its own, which the suit says was based on technology that Promptu shared with Comcast in demonstrations.
“Promptu technology was exploited without permission over a 10-year period,” said Jerry Ivey, an attorney at the law firm Finnegan who represented the company in the trial.
Propmtu’s attorneys asked the jury to award $346 million, based on a calculation that the company was owed 30 cents per month for each Comcast cablecustomer over a 10-year period.
At the conclusion of a six-day trial in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, on Jan. 23, jurors found that Comcast infringed on two patents but that only one of them was valid. The jury deliberated for less than three hours and awarded $240 million.
The verdict will have no impact on Comcast’s customers, a company spokesperson said.
“We will continue to pursue our claim in court against Promptu to show that these expired patents are unenforceable and appeal this decision if necessary,” the spokesperson’s statement said.
During the 10 years of litigation, Comcast attacked the validity of the patents. It is pursuing a separate claim arguing that the patent that led to the verdict is not enforceable.
Promptu technology wasn’t ahead of its time, the attorney representing Comcast told the jurors, and the start-up did not succeed in becoming a big player in the TV remote market.
“Investors from Promptu have come here to ask you to not only bail them out of their investment in Promptu but to give them an enormous windfall in profits that they didn’t earn in the marketplace and for technology that they didn’t invent,” said Douglas Lumish, a Weil Gotshal & Manges attorney representing Comcast, according to court transcripts.
By 2017, Comcast said it had voice-activated remotes in about 12 million homes — roughly half its subscribers at the time — and the company expected to process 4 billion voice commands that year. In a 2024 meeting with investors, Comcast said their remotes were processing about 50 million voice commands daily in five languages, allowing users to quickly access cable and streaming content.
The company also developed a large-button voice remote with accessibility in mind. Both have been provided to their cable subscribers at no additional cost.
Comcast’s large-button remote with added accessibility features, as released in 2022.
Even if they don’t directly bring in revenue, these kinds of tech features can help a company keep customers. (In recent years, Comcast has been losing more cable customers than gaining, but it counts its Peacock streaming service among areas of growth.)
On Thursday, Comcast reported its 2025 financial results, showing flat revenue from the year before. The company touted Peacock’s 22% increase in paid subscribers, the release of Wicked: For Good from its studios division, and growth in its mobile phone business.
Its count of cable customers decreased — again — to 11.2 million.
Also this month, Comcast agreed to a $117.5 million settlement to resolve 24 lawsuits surrounding a 2023 data breach. The settlement received initial approval from a judge, with a final approval hearing scheduled for July.
It remains a long shot that a fresh layer of frosting will coat the hardening and tenacious snowpack, but evidently that street-congesting frozen mass isn’t exiting in the near future.
As of Friday morning, it appeared that a potent coastal storm that is expected to qualify as a meteorological “bomb” was going to spare the Philadelphiaregion from another snowfall.
But it is expected to have serious impacts on the New Jersey and Delaware beaches, with a combination of onshore gales and a tide-inciting full moon, forecasters are warning.
On the mainland, it is poised to generate winds that would add sting to what has been one of the region’s most significant outbreaks of Arctic air in the period of record.
Lows at Philadelphia International Airport both Thursday and Friday mornings — 13 and 11, respectively — were several degrees above what was forecast.
But they are to drop into single digits Saturday morning, and flirt with a record. Wind chills during the weekend are expected be in the 10-below range, said Mike Silva, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Mount Holly.
“Even though there might not be much or any snow in Philly,” he said, “it’s going to be cold, and we’re still going to have the wind impacts.”
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But “it wouldn’t take much of a jog west to really mess up the forecast,” said Tom Kines, senior meteorologist with AccuWeather Inc. It’s been known to happen.
On Friday morning, the National Weather Service was posting a 30% chance that Philly would get something measurable — technically 0.1 inches — Saturday night into Sunday, with about a 10%shot at an inch.
The weather service was expecting an inch at the Shore, but with a slight chance of several inches.
Forecasters are certain that a storm is going to blow up off the Southeast coast as frigid air that is penetrating all the way to Disney World interacts with the warm waters of the Gulf Stream.
Gusts at the Shore during the day Sunday might be as high as 40 mph as the storm could reach “bomb” status.
What exactly is a ‘bomb?’
Two brave souls endure the snow and winds from a meteorological bomb cyclone in Atlantic City in January 2022.
The technical definition of a meteorological bomb is a drop in central barometric pressure of 0.7 inches in a 24-hour period, about a 2% to 3% change in the weight of the air. That might not seem like much, but it’s a big deal if you’re a column of air.
Such a drop in pressure indicates a rapidly developing storm. Air is lighter in the centers of storms, as precipitation is set off by lighter warm air rising over denser cold air.
As a weather term, bombfirst appeared in an academic paper in 1980 by atmospheric scientists Frederick Sanders at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and John Gyakum at McGill University.
They found that the western Atlantic, in the proximity of the Gulf Stream, was one of two regions on the planet most prone to bombs. The other was the area near the Kuroshio Current in the far northwestern Pacific.
Both are massive reservoirs of warmer waters that interact with cold air coming off land masses. Some of the European settlers in the colonial era learned about the effects the hard way, experiencing mega-storms that were alien to areas in England.
Gyakum, who was Sanders’ graduate student at MIT, recalled Thursday that the duo took some blowback for using the word bomb.
But with a cyclone of such ferocity, the term was worth using to draw the public’s attention to potential impacts, which sometimes exceed those of hurricanes, Gyakum said.
He said he had no doubt this weekend’s storm would reach bomb status.
While any heavy snows from this storm are likely to bypass the Philly region, some accumulating snow is possible the middle of next week, Kines said, although nothing in a league with what happened Sunday.
When can Philly expect a thaw?
Temperatures during the coming workweek are due to moderate, at least slightly, with highs around freezing Monday through Thursday, 10 to 12 degrees warmer than what is expected this weekend.
The cold “certainly eases up,” Kines said.
But that 9.3 inches of snow and sleet that accumulated Sunday evidently has taken a particular liking to the region. As for when it will disappear, he said: “It’s going to take a while.”
The overall cold upper-air pattern looks to persist, said Paul Pastelok, AccuWeather’s long-range forecaster. And the extensive snow cover is going to have a refrigerant effect on temperatures.
So when will it warm up and go away?
“We’ll find out Monday,” Kines said. He was referring to Groundhog Day, of course, when Punxsutawney Phil will issue his extended forecast.
Nevertheless, he said, meteorologists will be on call if needed.
“It never hurts to get a second opinion,” he said.
Gumienny, who grew up in Port Richmond cheering on the Polish American String Band and has been the chief operating officer for the Eagles since 2023, called Sam Regalbuto, president of the String Band Association, on New Year’s Day to see if a makeup event would be possible. It would, but the string bands needed an outdoor venue to host their competition.
“I was like, ‘Wow, we have probably the biggest and most well-known outside venue in Philadelphia,” Gumienny said.
Gumienny and the Eagles were able to offer Lincoln Financial Field to host the 2026 String Band Spectacular. The event, which is open to the public, will begin at 2 p.m. at the Linc on Saturday.
Julianna Bonilla (middle) and Stanley Wells (right) kiss after being officially married by Hegeman String Band captain Kelliann Gallagher (left) during this year’s Mummers Parade.
The show will give the string bands an opportunity to perform their four-and-a-half minute shows in front of judges and compete.
“They’ve been preparing all year,” Gumienny said. “They prepare 12 months to perform this on New Year’s Day. It’s a Philadelphia tradition. So we try to make sure that they can take everything that they’ve practiced all year and show off.”
When Gumienny let the Eagles’ neighbors in the South Philly sports complex know that the Linc would be hosting the string bands, the other teams were eager to help. The Phillies, Flyers, and Sixers all made financial contributions to help stage Saturday’s show, and the Union chipped in from Chester to help cover some costs.
“The other sports teams were like, ‘How can we contribute? How can we be a part of it?’” Gumienny said. “There are costs associated, obviously, with doing this. … A lot of people don’t understand all the costs that go on behind the scenes. And, obviously, the string bands [are] on, call it a tight budget. So we wanted to do whatever we can.”
The bands will perform on a stage on the Eagles sideline. The string bands will play toward the crowd, which will be seated in the lower level on the western side of the stadium. Gumienny said he’s estimating between 8,000 and 10,000 spectators will come to the Linc for the showcase, despite the cold weather in the forecast.
However, one of the 14 bands, Avalon String Band, said it is withdrawing from the event due to the weather. It is unclear if others will join them.
“With extreme cold predicted for this weekend, our top priority is the health and safety of our members, and the forecasted conditions may put them at risk,” the band posted on Facebook.
“I think it just highlights Philadelphia,” Gumienny said. “The spirit of Philadelphia, the pride of Philadelphia, the passion … The pride and passion of Philadelphia always shines, and I think things like the Eagles, our local sports teams, are always highlighted in this. And then, obviously, things like the Mummers parade that really coincide with what Philadelphia is.”
Former Eagles center Jason Kelce pauses during his colorful Super Bowl parade speech on the Art Museum steps while dressed in Mummers attire.
While all 14 string bands were able to march during the parade on New Year’s Day, the weather forced them to abandon their planned routines, and sent five people to the hospital. The postponement was the first in the parade’s 125-year history. Saturday’s event will give the bands an opportunity to show off their originally planned routines, which take months of planning and preparation.
“I’ve had a member of the Quaker City String Band reach out and just say, ‘Look, thank you so much, we put a lot of hard work in to do this, and to be able to showcase it at the stadium is awesome,’” Gumienny said. “It’s been super positive, and they’ve been super appreciative and such a good partner to work with. For us and our staff, we get to do something a little bit new and unique to us. But anything that shows off Philadelphia and shows off the stadium, we love it.”
For Gumienny, the chance to host the string bands is personal, too. In addition to his fond childhood memories of enjoying Port Richmond’s Polish American String Band, his late father-in-law was a captain of the Harrowgate String Band.
“Back as a little kid, I used to remember either going down to the parade or watching it on TV,” Gumienny said. “It doesn’t get much more Philly than the Mummers.”
Spectators looking to attend the String Band Spectacular can purchase general admission tickets through Ticketmaster. The event will be broadcast by WFMZ-TV, the same channel that broadcasts the parade on New Year’s Day.
Think you know your news? There’s only one way to find out. Welcome back to our weekly News Quiz — a quick way to see if your reading habits are sinking in and to put your local news knowledge to the test.
Question 1 of 10
A pair of topiary bears went viral for their pose outside a Southwest Philly strip club. How much did the owner of Sin City Cabaret Nightclub pay for the bawdy bears?
CorrectIncorrect. XX% of other readers got this question right.
The 8-foot bears cost $18,000. They were designed by celebrity topiary artist Joe Kyte, whose 2-acre topiary garden in Tellico Plains, Tenn. has churned out larger-than-life dragons, Formula 1 cars, and semi-realistic bottles of booze for clients ranging from Legoland and Ferrari to Absolut Vodka since 1992.
Question 2 of 10
D.C. bagel chain Call Your Mother is opening its first Philadelphia location in Fishtown. What color are they painting the building?
CorrectIncorrect. XX% of other readers got this question right.
Most of the building will be painted pink, the owners say. The expansion comes amid a bagel boom in the Philly area, including viral bagel chain PopUp Bagels coming to town and Bart’s Bagels of West Philly expanding. Penny’s Bagels is coming to Haddonfield this year, as well.
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Question 3 of 10
RJ Smith, the 21-year-old chef who has established a reputation doing pop-ups as Ocho Supper Club, is taking on a six-month residency at the restaurant space here:
CorrectIncorrect. XX% of other readers got this question right.
Smith’s Ocho Supper Club will begin a six-month residency at the Rittenhouse Hotel on Feb. 1, taking over the Scarpetta space ahead of construction on the Ruxton, a steakhouse from Atlas Restaurant Group due to open in 2027. Ocho’s run is expected to continue through July 26 — a month after Smith graduates from Drexel’s culinary program.
Question 4 of 10
Which 57-year-old Philadelphia dive bar is both responsible for popularizing the Citywide and hosting the city's longest-running drag show?
CorrectIncorrect. XX% of other readers got this question right.
Scads of Philadelphians and passers-through have whiled hours away at Bob and Barbara’s, the 57-year-old South Street institution. The dive popularized Philly’s citywide: a PBR and shot of Jim Beam. It also hosts Philly’s longest-running drag show. It’s a bar for absolutely everyone and anyone, which readers love.
Question 5 of 10
Philly-born rapper Chill Moody has a new children’s book out. It’s all about Gia and her magical ___:
CorrectIncorrect. XX% of other readers got this question right.
The rapper wants Gia, the protagonist who rocks a red golf tee and wields magical golf clubs, to inspire more Black and brown children to take up golf. And be the next Dora, the Explorer.
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Philadelphia’s African American Museum is showcasing six costumes from a popular movie as part of a traveling exhibit. Which film are the costumes from?
CorrectIncorrect. XX% of other readers got this question right.
Ruth E. Carter's designs for Michael B. Jordan and the Sinners cast are a part of the museum's 250th birthday celebration, and will be on display through September. That includes Smoke and Stack’s (twins played by Jordan) memorable 1930s-era three-piece suits, with complementary fedora and newsboy cap, time pieces, and tiepins.
Question 7 of 10
Stephanie Stronsick of Berks County is intentionally housing, rescuing, and rehabilitating this animal — that is considered a pest by some — inside her home.
CorrectIncorrect. XX% of other readers got this question right.
Stronsick is the founder and executive director of Pennsylvania Bat Conservation and Rehabilitation (PA Bat Rescue), a nonprofit that underwent a major overhaul last year. She’d like the bats to leave, ideally, but only after they’ve healed. Currently, the facility is treating over 100 bats for injuries and illness.
Question 8 of 10
What activity does the University of Delaware's new president take part in with students and staff?
CorrectIncorrect. XX% of other readers got this question right.
On Thursdays at 7 a.m., Laura Carlson, faculty, staff, and students run a five-kilometer loop through campus. Typically, 10 to 20 people show. “Rain or shine, we run down to the track on South Campus, loop the track and come back,” said Carlson, 60, who began the treks as interim president last summer and is continuing them in her permanent role, which started earlier this month.
Question 9 of 10
A Super Bowl ad that’s already being previewed will feature Lincoln, the bald eagle who flies over Birds games, befriending whom?
CorrectIncorrect. XX% of other readers got this question right.
Lincoln, the 28-year-old bald eagle, will star alongside a Clydesdale in this year’s Budweiser Super Bowl LX spot titled “American Icons.” The ad follows Lincoln’s friendship with the iconic horse playing under the appropriate sounds of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Free Bird.” The 60-second in-game spot will air during the Super Bowl.
Question 10 of 10
Following a directive from the Trump administration, informational exhibits about slavery were removed by the National Park Service from the President’s House Site last week. The removal sparked outrage, national media coverage, and a lawsuit. As part of the city’s injunction, the fate of the removed panels has been revealed. What happened to them or where are they?
CorrectIncorrect. XX% of other readers got this question right.
The panels are being kept in storage at the National Constitution Center, according to a legal filing from the Trump administration. The exhibits will remain in the park service’s custody at the center, down the street from the President’s House, pending the outcome of the City of Philadelphia’s federal lawsuit against the Department of Interior and the National Park Service for taking down the exhibits.
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Before 9.3 inches of snow and sleet blanketed Philadelphia, in the biggest snowfall the city has seen in a decade, officials were adamant: Shovel or face a fine.
In a news conference last week, Director of Clean and Green Initiatives Carlton Williams said residents would have six hours to shovel after the last bit of snow fell. Failure to do so could result in a $300 fine.
But four days after the last icy flake fell, residents across Philadelphia say the city has set a bad example on the shoveling front, noting various city-owned properties, many of them parks, remain inaccessible for people with strollers, wheelchairs, and those who have limited mobility, and a frigid obstacle for even the most nimble.
“It feels emblematic of the city’s attitude towards its residents, where it’s like they have rules and laws for everybody, but if they can’t manage to do something, it’s like, ‘We don’t have the resources. People need to be patient. We’re trying,’” said Coryn Wolk of Cedar Park.
The 36-year-old said she does have some sympathy for the city, as do many others, because it isresponsible for so many sidewalks and buildings, and the icy weather isn’t helping cleanup efforts. But as she walked through Malcolm X Park Thursday, frustration set in as she trudged through a sidewalk of tightly packed, icy snow.
The city did not respond to a request for comment regarding shoveling issues but its rules say paths on sidewalks must be three feet wide. Those on streets with sidewalks less than three feet wide can carve out paths that are one foot wide.
A sidewalk of Malcom X Park in West Philadelphia on Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026.
Still, Greys Ferry’s Lanier Park, Ridgeway Park in the Hawthorne section of the city, and Cobbs Creek Park also had sidewalks covered by a trampled layer of gray and yellow snow Thursday. In Center City, outside the former Philadelphia History Museum, another city-owned property, passersby had molded a narrow path that should have been shoveled.
A sidewalk along Lanier Park in Grays Ferry on Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026.
Residents say the problem extends to trolley and bus stops that line streets, describing large mounds of snow they need to climb like athletes to reach their modes of transportation.
Chase Howell, 29, described a herculean snow trudge through Center City with the child she nannies Wednesday. In one instance, she tried to catch the Route 4 bus along Broad and Spruce Streets only to find there was “no way to access the bus lane” because of snow pileups. To her disappointment, the next bus shelter north “was halfheartedly shoveled a foot wide but incredibly slippery.”
In the process of lifting and pushing the stroller, Howell hurt her back, but she said that’s secondary in herwhole ordeal.
The city owes residents who use wheelchairs more than this, she said. “City curbs should be shoveled three feet wide just as the requirement is for residences and businesses.”
Those stops and bus shelters are not under SEPTA’s purview. The responsibility of cleanup falls to the city and others who own property next to the stops, according to the agency’s spokesperson Andrew Busch. SEPTA, however, is responsible for the bus stops at the major transit hubs and clearing platforms, entrances, lots, and other areas at train stations.
Walking around West Philadelphia, Razan Idris has seen plenty of businesses and properties that have also neglected to clear their sidewalks. But she thinks the cleanup is part of a larger issue that can be applied to property owners who don’t pick up trash or who let their buildings rot.
“I see it as kind of the same thing, like there is little to no accountability for whoever is owning a building or an area or a lot,” said the 30-year-old.
But ultimately, the buck stops with the city, said Idris.
The former Philadelphia History Museum, which is city-owned, on Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026.
By failing to care for public sidewalks surrounding parks and municipal properties, other residents feel the city is sending a message that the rules on shoveling aren’t being enforced.
In South Philly, pedestrians trudged through crusty snow on the sidewalk along West Passyunk Avenue next to the former Melrose Diner. The sidewalk looked like it hadn’t been shoveled since the storm hit last week.
The property is owned by M R Realty Limited Partnership, state records show. Business owner Michael Petrogiannis did not respond to a request for comment.
A passerby, who only identified himself as Derek, complained about how some property owners leave their neighbors with the responsibility of making the sidewalks safe for use.
“They don’t come out and shovel,” he said. “So I’m the one shoveling for them.”
Staff writers Henry Savage and Max Marin contributed to this article.
A 45-year-old man was pistol-whipped during a snow-related altercation over a parking space Thursday afternoon in the city’s Kensington section, police said.
Around 1:20 p.m., police responded to a report of a shooting on the 2700 block of A Street and found the man bleeding from a head injury, police said. The man identified two alleged perpetrators and was transported to Temple University Hospital.
The alleged victim and a 21-year-old man had been involved in a snow-related argument over a parking space that escalated into a physical altercation, police said.
During the fight, the older man produced a knife and the 21-year-old pulled out a legally owned handgun, police said. However, both men put their weapons down and continued fighting.
A 36-year-old woman then retrieved a firearm from a vehicle, hit the victim on the head with it, and fired it into the ground, police said.
The two alleged assailants were arrested and all the weapons were recovered by police.
The incident remains under investigation, police said.
New year, same you googling repeatedly, “Is a government shutdown happening?” We see you. We get it. And the answer is: “Maybe.”
The likelihood of a partial government shutdown this weekend has ramped up following a surge in immigration enforcement and related backlash in Minnesota.
The highly publicized presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security in Minneapolis, alongside the death of Alex Pretti, the second person federal agents havefatally shot in the state, has reinvigorated efforts among Democrats to reject a bill to fund DHS.
“The appalling murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti on the streets of Minneapolis must lead Republicans to join Democrats in overhauling ICE and CBP [Customs and Border Protection] to protect the public,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement Sunday. “People should be safe from abuse by their own government.”
Schumer (D., N.Y.) said Democrats would not support keeping the government fully open if it means funding the Department of Homeland Security. Other Democratic senators have joined in calling for Senate Republicans to collaborate on advancing five other pending bills, aside from the DHS bill, and separately retooling the DHS measure.
In case you need a refresher, here is what you need to know about deadlines, what a partial government shutdown looks like, and more.
What’s a government shutdown vs. a partial government shutdown?
A full government shutdown happens when all (or most) federal agencies have not secured funding. It usually means widespread furloughs, sometimes layoffs, and any nonessential government services are put on pause.
Meanwhile, a partial government shutdown happens when Congress has funded only certain federal agencies, leaving others in limbo. In turn, some parts of the government would close while others keep operating.
When a partial shutdown happens, some federal agencies and operations, like Social Security and air traffic control, keep running as usual. But other federal employees are furloughed.
In this instance, agencies at risk of expiring funding include the Departments of Defense, Health and Human Services, Labor, Education, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, Treasury, and State; the Securities and Exchange Commission; and the federal court system, according to Reuters.
Democrats are pushing Republicans to decouple the spending bill so disagreements over DHS don’t fuel disruptions to the other agencies. But Republicans so far say they will not break up the spending bill.
When does government funding expire?
Federal funding is set to expire at 12:01 a.m. Saturday. A partial shutdown would occur if Congress and President Donald Trump’s administration do not reach an agreement by then.
Where does the DHS funding bill stand?
The House has done its part and is in recess until February. But Senate Democrats are pushing back on approvals, citing the Trump administration’s treatment of immigrants. That leaves the Senate with only a few options to avoid a shutdown if it cannot pass the current measures.
Most legislation in the Senate needs 60 votes to move forward. Republicans hold 53 seats, meaning they need bipartisan support to pass the existing measure, which covers about $1.3 trillion in annual government spending, including military and social service funding.
But Democrats want new guardrails on immigration enforcement and added oversight on DHS. Some demands include requiring judicial warrants for immigration arrests, and agents to wear visible identification, Time reported.
Several Democratic senators who broke with their party last year to keep the government open say the killings of Pretti and Good at separate protests have changed their stance.
Sen. John Fetterman (D., Pa.), who has historically broken with the Democratic Party to avoid government shutdowns, released a lengthy statement Monday saying that he wanted to see the DHS operation in Minneapolis end but would not support a government shutdown. But on Thursday, in a surprising break, Fetterman voted against advancing the six-bill package.
His vote, along with 54 other senators who voted “no,” meant the financial package could not move forward.
It is also worth noting that DHS would continue to operate and receive funding under a government shutdown. That is because DHS agencies received major funding through Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act last year. In turn, ICE and other parts of the agency would continue operating under a shutdown.
Who is affected by a government shutdown?
Hundreds of thousands of federal employees are affected, since many would be expected to work but would not receive pay until after the shutdown is lifted. Employees are typically guaranteed back pay.
Many employees are also at risk of being furloughed and would not be allowed to work (but would also receive back pay thanks to legislation passed in 2019).
Some of the main groups of employees that a shutdown could affect include (but are not limited to) active members of the military, federal law enforcement, federal transportation workers (like air traffic controllers and Transportation Security Administration agents, but not SEPTA workers), scientific researchers, and the IRS.
The federal court system said it would not be able to continue full operations past Feb. 4, which could disrupt hearings and other activities, Reuters reported. Data and research activity from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the National Institutes of Health could also go dark.
What about tax season?
This potential partial shutdown comes during tax season.
If a shutdown happens, funding for the IRS could lapse, which would in turn mean tax processing — and refunds — could be disrupted.
During last year’s shutdown in October, the IRS approved a contingency plan that let the agency continue some activities under a shutdown. But, the agency said, refunds would be delayed aside from some direct electronic returns that could be automatically processed and direct-deposited. Taxpayers were still expected to file and pay their taxes on time.
The IRS has not yet commented on a potential shutdown. Trump previously touted larger refunds this year because of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Some experts say that emphasis could play a role in the agency remaining partially open.
When would the government shut down?
Congress and the Trump administration need to reach an agreement by midnight Friday. If they don’t, a shutdown would go into effect at 12:01 a.m. Saturday.
What was the longest government shutdown?
The longest government shutdown was the most recent one, which began on Oct. 1, 2025, and lasted 43 days. It broke the record for the longest shutdown on the 36th day.
What could a government shutdown mean for Philly?
In Philadelphia, the October shutdown led to the closing of Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell Center, to the chagrin of tourists. But that would not happen this time, because the national parks are funded by the Department of the Interior, which secured its funding through an already passed appropriations bill for the year.
SNAP benefits would also notbe affected this time.
The Department of Transportation would close during this shutdown, but air traffic controllers would be required to work without pay. Similar to the last shutdown, this could lead to flight delays and cancellations.
Other impacts could be in store as the shutdown’s implications become more clear.
The layoffs are planned forthe end of April, according to a Thursday WARN Act filing with the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry. They include the employees of all six Philly-area Amazon Fresh locations — 205 at the Northern Liberties store, 189 in Broomall, 161 in Bensalem, 157 in Langhorne, 144 in Warrington, and 127 in Willow Grove, according to the filing.
By the end of April, Amazon also plans tolay off nearly 900 New Jersey employees, the vast majority of whom work in northern counties where there are Amazon Fresh stores, according to a WARN Act filing with New Jersey Department of Labor & Workforce Development.
The day after announcing the Amazon Fresh closures, Amazon said 16,000 employees companywide would be losing their jobs as part of a broader reorganization.
“We’ve been working to strengthen our organization by reducing layers, increasing ownership, and removing bureaucracy,” Amazon said in a statement announcing the layoffs.
The company said most U.S. employees will have 90 days to look for a new role internally. After that, those leaving the company will receive severance pay, “outplacement services,” and health insurance benefits, as applicable, according to Amazon.
With its move to shutter the Fresh stores, Amazon has said it will “double down” on online grocery delivery and expand its Whole Foods footprint. Whole Foods, which Amazon bought in 2017, has more than a dozen locations in the Philadelphia area.
“Amazon Whole Foods, a trillion dollar entity, treats us like robots to be exploited and squeezed for maximum profits,” Jasmine Jones, a Philadelphia Whole Foods worker and member of Whole Foods Workers United, said Tuesday in a statement that noted the company’s Whole Foods expansion plans. “They are making billions of dollars off of our labor and we deserve better pay and benefits.”
Large slate-shaped slabs of ice in the Delaware River this week have been like a floating harbinger of things to come for the Philadelphia Water Department (PWD).
PWD, which draws its drinking water from intakes along the Delaware and the Schuylkill, takes a freezing river seriously.
It has implemented emergency plans to provide for 24-hour ice patrol at its river water intake plants — and it is on high alert for freezing and bursting water mains and pipes.
The department has two intakes on the Schuylkill and one on the Delaware that help provide drinking water for about 1.6 million people.
There is no easy way to say how much of the rivers are icing. But the Middle Atlantic River Forecast Center at State College, an office of the National Weather Service, uses gauges placed in the rivers by the U.S. Geological Survey. At various times this week, officials could not get readings from some gauges because they were affected by ice.
Brian Rademaekers, a spokesperson for PWD, said the city can also pull from already stored water if ice does became a problem at an intake.
“We’re getting into a stretch where we haven’t been above freezing for days,” he said, “And I think at least through Feb. 1 it looks like we’ll remain below freezing.”
Indeed, the region has been subjected to an Arctic blast for nearly a week. Daily highs have been below freezing since Saturday. The top temperature in that stretch was 28 degrees on Monday. Wednesday hit a low of 14. Overnight Thursday into Friday is forecast to drop to 2degrees.
The National Weather Service is not forecasting a high of 32 until Tuesday. And then it’s back to below-freezing temperatures.
Burst water main on S. 16th Street just below Federal Street, Philadelphia, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026.
Bursting pipes
PWD is warning residents and businesses that the extreme cold is affecting city water mains and reminding them thatwater lines that are the responsibility of property owners.
As the city facesunbroken stretches of below-freezing temperatures, PWD knows pipes will begin to freeze or, worse, burst, Rademaekers said.
Pipes can start to be seriously affected after 72 hours, or three days, of below-freezing weather. Philadelphia is past that benchmark.
PWD’scall center is already inundated with reports of water outages and leaks. But the department cannot help people with frozen pipes because that takes away from crews responding to public water main leaks.
Rademaekers said PWD has responded to 147 water main breaks in January, but noted that is a preliminary figure.
Last year, 256 breaks were reported in January. In recent memory, he said, 2018 was the worst year, with 366 breaks.
City mains are public property and range in sizefrom 96 inches in diameter to 48 inches, 12 inches, and 6 inches.
Breaks in smaller pipes are most common. PWD is currently fixing a 6-inch main at 16th and Federal Streets.
Property owners are responsible for the lateral pipes that run from the curb into a home.
Rademaekers said residents who suddenly find themselves without water should check with a neighbor first. If the neighbor has running water, it’s likely the homeowner has a frozen pipe.
In that case, PWD suggests trying to bring the pipes near your water to 40 degrees and opening faucets so that thawing water can drip out and release pressure.
He said running a hair dryer or using another source to gently warm the pipes could help them thaw. He said residents should be cautious trying to use space heaters to warm on pipes.
The department has tips online for how to deal with frozen pipes.
Homeowners should not to wait for the department to respond to take these steps, PWD advises. Doing so could lead to burst pipes.
Rademaekers said many homes in Philadelphia have their main water meter by the wall facing the street, often in uninsulated basements, some with cracked windows.
“When it falls to 6 degrees overnight, even if the heat’s on in your house, that particular space right there might just get cold enough to freeze that pipe up, and then ice kind of spreads through the system,” Rademaekers said. “Once the freezing starts, the pressure will build.”
Rademaekers cautioned customers against calling 311 if they have a frozen pipe. Instead, he said, they should call the PWD hotline at 215-685-6300 and press 1.
“Certainly whenever we see freezing temperatures for more than two days we start to see a surge of calls into the call center,” he said. “Over the last week, the top three reports we have been getting are water in the basement, leak in the street, or no water at the tap.” Some of those could be water main problems, he said, ”but most often they are traced back to private lines.”
After a night of dancing and laughter in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Kelly Crispin and her fiance, Omar Padilla Vélez, were driving back to his family’s home when they made a wrong turn off the popular Calle Cerra nightlife strip.
It was about 1:45 a.m. on Jan. 3. The side street that the South Philadelphia couple had turned onto, which they thought led to the highway, was nearly pitch-black. Then suddenly, Crispin said, roughly a dozen masked men carrying AR-15-style rifles appeared in the road and quickly surrounded the car.
Padilla Vélez tried to press forward and drive around the crew, she said, when the men opened fire. She remembers the glass exploding around her and the pain in her shoulder and hand as bullets tore through the car. And then the words from her fiance: “I’ve been shot.”
Padilla Vélez, a 33-year-old chemist for DuPont, was shot in the head. He was rushed to a hospital, where he died days later.
Omar Padilla Vélez, of South Philadelphia, was shot and killed in San Juan on Jan. 3.
Crispin, 31, recounted the attack in a phone interview from her South Philadelphia home this week as she struggled to come to terms with what she said San Juan police believe was a random attack by a gang controlling a small stretch of road near a popular tourist area.
After the shooting stopped, at the intersection of Calle Blanca and Calle La Nueva Palma, Crispin said, one of the men appeared at the side of the car and took her phone as she was calling 911.
She said she heard some of the men yelling at one another that there was a woman in the car and urging others not to shoot, as if realizing they had made a mistake. They searched her purse, she said, but returned her phone. They took nothing.
Crispin and a friend,who was with them in the car and was unharmed, pulled Padilla Vélez into the back seat. As she held pressure on his wounds, her friend took the wheel, and the gunmen told them to leave and told them how to get out of the neighborhood.
It was surreal, she said, to be shot and then have one of the gunmen explain how to leave safely.
They called 911 again as they left, and met an ambulance at a nearby gas station and were rushed to Centro Médico de Puerto Rico.
About two days later, Padilla Vélez was briefly stable enough for Crispin to visit him.
“He told me that he loved me, and I told him that I loved him, too,” she said. “And he said, ‘I’m so sorry.’ Then he fell asleep.”
Kelly Crispin and Omar Padilla Vélez got engaged in the fall and were looking forward to getting married.
Later that day, she said, he suffered a catastrophic stroke. Days later, he was declared brain-dead. He was an organ donor, she said, and doctors were able to use his organs to save several lives.
Padilla Vélez was Puerto Rican, she said, and came to the mainland U.S. in 2015 to earn a Ph.D. in chemistry at Cornell University. He moved to Philadelphia in 2022 and worked as a senior scientist for DuPont in Wilmington.
The couple met about three years ago at their best friends’ wedding. Crispin, who works as a project manager for an electrical vehicle company, moved to Philadelphia about a year into their relationship. In September, they got engaged.
They often returned to San Juan to visit Padilla Vélez’s relatives. This trip, which began Dec. 30, was meant to ring in the new year.
Crispin said she has been frustrated with San Juan police, who she said did not appear to have visited the scene of the shooting until five days later, after her fiance died and the case was assigned to a homicide detective. She said she was not interviewed until Jan. 21 and worries those delays could hamper the investigation.
No arrests have been made.
Police in San Juan did not respond to several requests for comment about the case.
Crispin said the homicide detective assigned to the investigation told her that residents in the area, fearful of retaliation, have refused to provide information. Police, she said, told her that a gang operates on the street where they were ambushed, and that she and her fiance were likely shot in a case of mistaken identity.
Crispin said the city should warn people to avoid the area, especially since it’s so close to a popular tourist district.
Omar Padilla Vélez earned a doctorate in chemistry from Cornell, before moving to South Philadelphia, where he lived with his fiancée.
Since returning to Philadelphia last week, she has struggled to make sense of her new reality. The bones in her hand were shattered and will require multiple surgeries to repair. The bullet passed through her shoulder, and she will need months of physical therapy.
But that is nothing, she said, compared to the searing heartache of what she has lost.
Padilla Vélez, she said, was intelligent and funny. To meet him was to feel like you’d known him for years.
He had a booming laugh that was often the loudest in the room.
“I thought it was mortifying at first, how loud it was,” she said. “Then I just began to love it.”
She recalled sitting with him on their couch one night and laughing so hard that their stomachs ached. She can’t remember what started the laughing fits, she said, but she remembers thinking: I am so lucky.
“I would see other couples and wonder if they laugh like Omar and I do,” she said.
“We had just made this decision to spend the rest of our lives together, forever,” she said. “It just feels so cruel that this was taken away.”
