Itâs easier than ever to swing by a neighborhood shop and leave with a special wine bottle at a friendly price. Sande Friedman shares her favorite indie wine merchants in Philly and the suburbs.
đ· In these cold days, hereâs a luxe Chardonnay worth warming up to, says Marnie Old.
If youâre after squid ink risotto, surf and turf, or mostly just pasta, Kiki Aranita has you covered for this yearâs crop of seven fishes feasts with an array of festive, mostly fishy Philly restaurants.
The largest U.S. location of the Vietnamese coffee brand Trung NguyĂȘn Legend has opened near the Mummers Museum in Pennsport. Beatrice Forman stopped to visit the onetime cabinetry showroom, now a two-story destination with a year-round roof deck for espresso tonics, Vietnamese egg coffees, and phin pour-overs.
Critic Craig LaBan found much to enjoy at Phila and Rachel Lornâs Sao â a love letter to Philly, set to a soundtrack mix of vintage R&B, Cambodian rap, and Frank Sinatra.
An accolade for Omar Tate
Chef Omar Tate, who co-owns the Michelin-recommended Honeysuckle on North Broad Street with his wife, Cybille St.Aude-Tate, just received an $85,000, no-strings-attached grant from the Pew Center for Arts & Heritage. Pew says the grants support timely and compelling new projects and long-term stability. âTate uses food as a medium for storytelling and cultural preservation,â it blurbed. âHis curated culinary experiences assert cooking as a fine art that can express complex narratives about identity, memory, and history. In his visual artworks, collaborations with other artists, and his Philadelphia restaurant Honeysuckle, Tate connects people with Black creative lineages and cuisine.â
A sweet (and spicy) Market Street pop-up … belly-warming Indian food … a sticky dessert at Paffuto … a Greek spin on American Sardine Barâs namesake food. Read on to see where weâve been eating.
Scoops
Barcelona Wine Bar, the syndicated Spanish tapas house, appears to be in the initial stages of planning a second Philadelphia location, complementing its eight-year-old spot in East Passyunk. A real estate solicitation mentions Barcelona as a tenant in an adaptive reuse of an old warehouse on North Lee Street in Fishtown, next to Pizzeria Beddia and Hiroki and across from the new Pipâs, the cider bar by Ploughman Cider. No comment from a Barcelona rep.
Vons Chicken, a South Korean-rooted chain big on the West Coast, ventures east next month to open at 1714 Washington Ave., next to AutoZone. Vonsâ menu includes Korean fried as well as baked chicken, plus sides such as mandu and tteokbokki. Local franchisee Thao Le, who found Vons in California while visiting family, has assorted restaurant experience, including serving at Pietroâs Italian in Center City.
Restaurant report
Hira Qureshi tried falafel at more than 20 restaurants while scouting Middle Eastern cuisine for The Inquirerâs 76. Hereâs her rule: good falafel = good restaurant. She maps her picks.
Briefly noted
Eric Berley of Old Cityâs Franklin Fountain and Shane Confectionery now has a third business on the block. The Cacao Pod â a private event space that doubles as head chocolate maker Kevin Paschallâs chocolate roastery â rocks the same ye olde look at 104 Market. The space, which fits 24 guests (18 seated), is equipped with an ice cream counter, soda fountain, and hot chocolate bar.
Bombay Express completes its move from Marlton to 219 Haddonfield-Berlin Rd., the Centrum Shoppes in Cherry Hill, opening Thursday.
Homegrown 215 opens its second location, at the former Bison Coffee shop at 1600 Callowhill St. (enter on Carlton), on Saturday.
The Concourse at Comcast Center (1701 JFK Blvd.) has two openings teed up for Dec. 15: Paganoâs Market (Italian classics, prepared foods, and desserts) andKennyâs Wok (a fast-casual pan-Asian concept creating dishes using robotic-wok technology; itâs a version of InstaFooz, the Chinatown shop Poon owns with David Taing).
PanchoÊŒs Mexican Taqueria in Atlantic CityÊŒs Ducktown neighborhood â which has been running 12 hours a day, seven days a week, for 20 years â will close for what owner Josh Cruz predicts will be a five-week-long renovation.
Sisterly Love Collective, the alliance of women in the food and hospitality industries, will host a pop-up holiday market from noon to 4 p.m. this weekend at the old High Street Bakery space (101 S. Ninth St.).
Oyster Houseâs latest guest chef in its lobster-roll series is AmĂĄchef Frankie Ramirez. His roll ($39), whose proceeds will benefit PAWS, includes butter-poached lobster, salsa macha, refried beans, and cilantro macho on a split-top bun, served with hand-cut fries. Itâs on through Saturday.
Red Gravy Goods is a new gift shop from Valerie Safran and Marcie Turney (of Barbuzzo, Bud & Marilynâs, Little Nonnaâs, and Darling Jacks) at 1335 E. Passyunk Ave., across from Cartesian Brewing/CJ & Dâs Trenton Tomato Pies. Kitchen wares are part of the line and the big sell is a hat patch bar: about 100 patches designed by Safran and team that can be applied on-site.
Center City District Restaurant Week returns Jan. 18-31 with 100-plus restaurants offering three-course, prix-fixe dinners for $45 or $60 and two-course lunches for $20. (The district skipped the promotion this fall for the first time in 22 years.) Hereâs the rundown.
âPop quiz
A bar is on the way to Center City whose specialty will be:
A) âthe most tequilas under one roof in Philadelphiaâ
B) 50 varieties of Champagne, plus caviars
C) an espresso martini fountain
D) snacks whose names all start with the letter âGâ
I would have thought that with the college campuses nearby and booming University City business in general, the big spaces that formerly housed Pod, Distrito, and City Tap House would have been taken over by new restaurants already. Why do you think that is not the case? â Lyndsey M.
My real estate sources say the main force that makes large spaces tougher to fill in University City are the collegesâ schedules, which create slow summers and winter breaks. One also cited a lack of older architecture (which restaurateurs gravitate toward) and the surfeit of new construction, which tends to make rents more expensive.
On the bright side, Iâm hearing that a tenant may be on the way to the Pod space next to the Inn at Penn (3636 Sansom St.). This year, the UCity/West Philly area has seen the new Gather Food Hall at the Bulletin Building, as well as a slate of smaller destinations: Out West Cafe (5127 Walnut), Corio at uCity Square (37th and Chestnut), Haraz Coffee House (3421 Chestnut), and Good Hatch Eatery (4721 Pine). Next yearâs crop will include Mi Casa and a Tous Les Jours bakery at Schuylkill Yards.
đź Have a question about food in Philly? Email your questions to me at mklein@inquirer.com for a chance to be featured in my newsletter.
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âI have nothing. Iâve gambled everything away on FanDuel.â
đ± In Pennsylvania and New Jersey, two of only six states in the U.S. where both sports betting and online casino games are legal, gambling helpline calls have tripled since 2021. Half cite online gambling as their main problem.
đ± Many of those who call the helplines report the devastating impact the activity has on their lives, from blown paychecks and foreclosed homes to ruined relationships. In New Jersey, debt averages to about $34,000 for each caller.
đ± Meanwhile, advertisers have pounced on the fast-growing market, spending $37 million in the Philadelphia area in 2025 â more than New York City and much more than Las Vegas. Experts say lawmakers have struggled to keep pace with the industryâs rise.
More details are emerging about the millions of pieces of mail from Pennsylvania agencies that never made it to residents last month.
A state-contractedvendor was fired last week after officials discovered the mistake, which affected PennDot and Department of Human Services correspondence from Nov. 3 through Dec. 3.
Missing mail from PennDot included driverâs license and vehicle registration renewal invitations. Itâs not yet clear what type of communications went unsent from DHS, a representative said, though Electronic Benefit Transfer cards and some other benefits-related items were not affected.
Questions remain, too, about why it took a full month for officials to determine that the mail had not been reaching residents, and how the issue was discovered.
Wayne P. James plays jazz at Portabello’s of Kennett Square.
đ One last festive thing: Brandywine Valley businesses get a Christmas boom from Longwood Gardens visitors. In the run-up to the Kennett Square attractionâs light show festival, âwe know that we need to be staffed up and ready,â one local restaurateur told The Inquirer.
Thanks for starting your day with The Inquirer. Stay warm out there.
By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirerâs Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10.
State Street in Kennett Square sees lots of additional visitors during the holiday season.
Kennett Square is buzzing thanks to a holiday swell of visitors in town for the annual Longwood Gardens holiday display.
To capitalize on the âeconomic engineâ that is âA Longwood Christmas,â merchants kicked off the holiday season a little early this year, including with a festive parade a week ahead of its usual schedule. That decision was a boon for businesses, which reported ârecord-breakingâ sales during Thanksgiving week, something they plan to replicate next year.
The Longwood effect isnât just great for the gardens or area shops â it also means increased hotel bookings and full restaurant dining rooms.
The countyâs Board of Elections certified Novemberâs general election results on Friday as it continues to investigate why third-party voters werenât included in poll books. (WHYY)
The Chester County Economic Development Council launched a new program last week aimed at helping startups and entrepreneurs throughout southeastern Pennsylvania. The investment group, i2n Angels, will fund promising early-stage companies with between $50,00 and $500,000, as well as provide coaching and advice.
The Chester County Department of Community Development was recently recognized by community solutions organization Built for Zero for its efforts in reducing homelessness. County CEO David Byerman said there was a 33% decrease in first-time homelessness in 2024 compared to 2022 and that the number of people entering emergency shelters was slashed by nearly half over the past five years.
SEPTA missed Fridayâs federally imposed deadline to finish repairs to the heat-detection system on its Regional Rail cars. The agency said the lapse was due to a shortage of the thermal wire required to make the repairs. Installation of the backordered wire for 30 of SEPTAâs remaining trains is expected to be completed next week.
đĄ Community News
Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott has made another donation to Lincoln University, this time for $25 million. The no-strings-attached gift to the historically Black college will support scholarships and other initiatives.
Last week, PennDot outlined its updated plans for the busy intersection at Old Baltimore Pike and Newark Road in New Garden Township, a project that is expected to cost upward of $11 million and has already been pushed from its original timeline. In 2022, the agency projected work would get underway in 2025, but plans now call for the three-phase project to begin in 2028 and is expected to take several years to complete. (Daily Local)
South CoatesvilleBorough has been awarded a $200,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development to hire a full-time municipal manager. Thereâs no timeline yet for when the hiring process will begin.
After 45 years, Brandywine Conservancy announced last week that 2026 will be its last year as the sole operator and beneficiary of the Radnor Hunt Races. The popular Malvern steeplechase event is looking for a new operator going forward. The 2026 races will take place May 16.
Still in search of a fresh-cut Christmas tree? Wiggins Farm, which has locations in Cochranville and West Chester, is one of a number of area farms offering delivery this year. The service runs about $50 near West Chester and jumps to $75 for deliveries more than 30 minutes away.
Residents in West Bradford Township are expressing concern over skyrocketing sewer bills after being switched to a metered rate for running water rather than the previous flat rate. The change doesnât differentiate between interior and exterior water use, causing some residents to say theyâre now being charged for a service that isnât being provided. (CBS News Philadelphia)
NBC10 recently profiled The Barn at Spring Brook Farm in West Chester, a nonprofit that connects children and teens with disabilities to nature- and animal-based programming. The organization launched in 2005 and served 477 children last year alone. See the segment here.
Gadaletoâs Seafood Market in West Chester will continue providing family meals for free to those in need throughout the holiday season. (6abc)
Santa is making a stop in Spring City and East Vincent Township this weekend. At 11 a.m. on Sunday, Santa, Mrs. Claus, and Rudolph will hop aboard one of Liberty Fire Companyâs trucks and travel around town.
đ« Schools Briefing
New student registration for kindergarten through 12th grade is now open for the 2026-27 school year at Downingtown Area School District.
Last Friday, several school districts throughout the county held reorganization meetings, swearing in new members as well as voting on leadership. In Tredyffrin/Easttown School District, Sue Tiede was elected president and Kenneth Hong as vice president. In the Unionville-Chadds Ford School District, the board reelected Victoria Baratta and Erin Talbert as president and vice president, respectively. And Avon Grove School Districtâsboard reelected Dorothy Linn as president, and elected Ruchira Singh as vice president.
Some local high school football players have signed on to play college ball. Last week, Malvern Prep edge rusher Jackson Ford committed to playing with Penn State next year. Fellow Prep teammates Max Mohring, a linebacker, will head to Northwestern University, and running back Ezekiel Bates will play for Minnesota. Kennett Square kicker Shay Barker is headed to Syracuse University and West Chester East offensive tackle Tyler Duell is off to Rutgers.
đœïž On our Plate
The former Lotus Inn in Berwyn has gotten new life. Karthic Venkatachalam and Gopal Dhandpani of Nalal Indian Cuisine in Downingtown and Adyar Cafe in Exton opened Vibe Haus Indian Plates & Taps there last week. The restaurant, at 402 Swedesford Rd., features Indian-meets-American pub food, with plans to add a brewery in the coming months.
After nearly two years in business, Bookstore Bakery in West Chester has announced it will close at the end of the year. Located at 145 W. Gay St., the shop was known for its selection of both books and baked goods, including customized cakes.
đł Things to Do
đ There are more holiday markets and events taking place this weekend, including the Downingtown Good Neighbor Christmas Parade on Saturday. That same day, Christkindlmarkt takes over part of Gay Street in West Chester, and on Sunday, shoppers can browse vendors at the Berwyn Holiday Market at Bronze Plaza. On Saturday and Sunday, the Kennett SquareHoliday Village Market returns for its second weekend at The Creamery, while in Phoenixville, Fitzwater Stationâs Christmas Villagecontinues. On Sunday evening, Congregation Bânai Jacob in Phoenixville will host its Hanukkah Celebration with a menorah lighting, jelly donuts, and games of dreidel.
Hereâs what else is happening around Chester County:
đAnastasia:Itâs the final weekend to catch SALT Performing Artsâ stage performance of the lost Romanov. â° Saturday, Dec. 13 and Sunday, Dec. 14, times vary đ” $31.60-$36.70 đ SALT Performing Arts, Chester Springs
đĄHome Alone: Catch a screening of the beloved holiday classic, which celebrates its 35th anniversary this year. â° Saturday, Dec. 13, 12:15, 4:30 and 7 p.m. đ” $10-$15 đ The Colonial Theatre, Phoenixville
đŠâđ„ Phoenixville Firebird Festival: Now in its 22nd year, the festival inspired by ancient mythology and the symbols of resurrection and renewal returns to Phoenixville, where a 20-foot phoenix will be burned. There will also be a Festival Village. â° Saturday, Dec. 13, 4 p.m. đ” Pay as you go đ Reservoir Park, Phoenixville
Part of the family room’s ceiling reaches two stories, while another part has a stone fireplace.
Located just outside the borough, this West Goshen Township home recently underwent a full update, with over $560,000 in improvements. The sprawling home features an office, dining and living rooms, and an open-concept kitchen on the first floor. A sunny family room, part of which spans two stories, features a stone fireplace. There are four bedrooms upstairs, including a primary suite with two vanities, a soaking tub, and dressing area with a wardrobe and separate walk-in closets. Other features include a finished walk-out basement and a new deck overlooking the pool.
By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirerâs Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10.
This suburban content is produced with support from the Leslie Miller and Richard Worley Foundation and The Lenfest Institute for Journalism. Editorial content is created independently of the project donors. Gifts to support The Inquirerâs high-impact journalism can be made at inquirer.com/donate. A list of Lenfest Institute donors can be found at lenfestinstitute.org/supporters.
David Ascalon’s sculpture, called âTotem,â is located near the entrance to the Cherry Hill Public Library.
The Cherry Hill Public Library brims with more than just books. It also houses an impressive collection of art, both within and outside its walls. One such work, an 8-foot-tall bronze statue, has long caught the eye of township resident David Jastrow.
His daughters even came up with a nickname for it: The âmixed-up elephant.â
Wondering about its meaning, Jastrow reached out to Curious Cherry Hill, where Inquirer reporters set out to answer reader questions from around town.
This week, The Inquirerâs Henry Savage found out how the abstract piece came to reside near the libraryâs entrance and how its creator wants it to be interpreted.
Gerald S. Yashinsky, a 51-year-old Cherry Hill man, died after being hit by a car Monday night when crossing Haddonfield Road near Yale Avenue. The driver is cooperating with investigators.
The cost of collecting and disposing trash for Cherry Hill will jump $1.4 million in January. Mayor Dave Fleisher said the township has accounted for the increase â about $12.4 million over the next five years â in its proposed municipal budget for 2026. Residents can share their thoughts on the budget at councilâs next scheduled meeting on Dec. 22. (South Jersey Media)
The former Fulton Bank at 1460 Route 70 East could becomea Dunkinâ. On Monday, the townshipâs Planning Board will consider variance requests from South Jersey Management, LLC to convert the former 2,300-square-foot bank into a 2,100-square-foot coffee shop. Changes call for removing the existing drive-through and making the western driveway along Frontage Road into an entrance only.
The AMC Cherry Hill 24 will be one of 500 movie theaters across the U.S. and Canada screening the finale of Stranger Things on New Yearâs Eve as it makes its global debut. Fans can reserve seats now for screenings of the feature-length finale.
A Powerball ticket purchased at the Wegmans on Route 70 for last Saturdayâs jackpot matched four of the five white balls called, meaning whoever purchased the ticket won $50,000. (Patch)
The Plaza at Cherry Hill has undergone several changes recently, including the opening of swimming lesson chain Big Blue Swim School and thrift store Savers, as well as the relocation of Pure Hockey. The shifts come as part of the shopping center undergoes a makeover. (42 Freeway)
New Jersey officials have declared a drought warning for many parts of the state, including Camden County, which has experienced about four inches below average precipitation over the past 90 days and is down six inches for the past year.
Cherry Hill East and Westâs girls basketball teams both have a number of Big North Conference stat leaders returning to their rosters this year.Kirsten Gibson of West had the second-most points per game in the conference last year, according to NJ.com data. Her teammates Jizel Dowling and Lilly Legato will also return. Eastâs Dylan Kratchman, who averaged 11 points per game, will sport the Cougar colors again, along with Maya Morgan, Michelle Le, Jessie Atlas, and Lily Shubach.
Reminder for families: There are early dismissals for preschool, elementary, and middle schools today and tomorrow as parent/teacher conferences continue. Thereâs a districtwide early dismissal Friday. See the districtâs full calendar here.
đœïž On our Plate
Indian restaurant Bombay Express is opening at its new location at 219 Haddonfield-Berlin Rd. tomorrow. The eatery, known for its traditional and vegan halal dishes, as well as its naan tacos, closed its Marlton storefront in late October. Its new spot will be open daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Italian restaurant Caffe Aldo Lamberti is hosting Christmas carolers during dinner service this Sunday and again next weekend. Students from East will perform this Sunday and next Friday, while students from West will sing tunes next Saturday and Sunday. Caroling will take place from about 6 to 9 p.m. each night.
Cherry Hill is home to three of the 99 greatest restaurants in New Jersey, according to NJ.com. The outlet ranked Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao, which is known for its soup dumplings, the top restaurant in town, coming in at No. 42. Itâs followed by Sichuan joint Han Dynasty at No. 81, and Korean barbecue eatery Dolsot House at No. 94.
đł Things to Do
âžïž Skate and Decorate: Hit the ice at the Winterfest Ice Skating Rink and decorate holiday cookies. â° Sunday, Dec. 14, noon-4 p.m. đ” Cookie decorating is free, skating admission is $6-$9 đ Cooper River Park
đ Menorah Motorcade: Now in its 16th year, cars adorned with menorahs will parade from Chabad in Cherry Hill to Barclay Farm Shopping Center, where the giant menorah will be lit. â° Sunday, Dec. 14, parade starts at 4 p.m., giant menorah lighting is at 5 p.m. đ” Free đChabad of Camden and Burlington Counties
The kitchen on the first floor has been recently updated.
Located on a corner lot, the first-floor unit of this duplex was recently renovated, including new flooring, lighting, and paint. It features two bedrooms, a kitchen with black and white cabinetry, a living room, an updated full bathroom, and a bonus room. It also has exclusive access to the basement and the front porch. The second floor is currently occupied by long-term tenants, providing passive income for a new owner.
Is your home a Haven? The Inquirer is seeking homeowners and renters for a weekly feature on how people make their houses, apartments, and condos into homes they love. Email details and a few photos to properties@inquirer.com.
đïž What other Cherry Hill residents are reading this week:
By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirerâs Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10.
This suburban content is produced with support from the Leslie Miller and Richard Worley Foundation and The Lenfest Institute for Journalism. Editorial content is created independently of the project donors. Gifts to support The Inquirerâs high-impact journalism can be made at inquirer.com/donate. A list of Lenfest Institute donors can be found at lenfestinstitute.org/supporters.
Kyle Schwarber is probably going to finish his career in a Phillies uniform.
The 32-year-old slugger agreed to a five-year, $150 million contract on Tuesday, fulfilling a priority that Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski spoke about getting done in the fall.
Schwarber hit 56 home runs â or as we like to say, Schwarbombs â this season to finish two shy of Ryan Howardâs franchise record, and he was runner-up for National League MVP.
But did anyone really think the Phillies werenât going to resign Schwarber?
They could have gone in another direction, especially as Schwarber got offers this week. But the Phillies believe Schwarber is unrivaled, and itâs the right move to not make sweeping changes to their roster.
The Phillies are optimistic about re-signing J.T. Realmuto and announced manager Rob Thomsonâs contract extension through 2027.
Thomson has led the Phillies to a .580 winning percentage since he was named the manager in 2022. He is the fourth manager in MLB history to reach the postseason in each of his first four full seasons at the helm and was a finalist for manager of the year in 2025.
He doesnât want to âgo anyplace else whenever Iâm done, because I love the people and I love the organization,â Thomson said.
The perception is that the Phillies are merely bringing back the band.
Jalen Hurts turned the ball over five times Monday, including twice on the same play.
Jalen Hurts threw a career-high four interceptions in the Eaglesâ 22-19 overtime loss to the Chargers on Monday night, extending their losing streak to three games. The loss was not all on the sixth-year quarterback. However, it did expose his imperfections as a drop-back passer. He threw over and behind his intended targets, and made the wrong reads. The lowly Raiders offer a chance for the quarterback to get right this Sunday. Can he get the job done?
While the Eagles are still sit in the driverâs seat in the NFC East, their losing streak has not been good for their position in the NFL power rankings. There seems to be one consistent theme across every media outlet that ranked the Eagles: They all agree that the Birds are in serious trouble.
đ Learning: Heading into Week 15, the Eaglesâ matchup with Las Vegas might feel like a get-well game. But the Raiders have been scoring at roughly the same pace as the Birds over the last six weeks.
Ty Murchison made his NHL debut on Tuesday against San Jose.
During morning skate on Tuesday, Ty Murchison learned that he would be making his NHL debut later that night against the San Jose Sharks.
The 22-year-old was a fifth-round pick by the Flyers in 2021 and was a star at Arizona State. Not many would have pegged the California native, who grew up playing roller hockey before pivoting to the ice, to be the first guy to take a rookie lap this season, but the 6-foot-2 defenseman has adjusted to the pro game. He got to live out his dream in front of his family and friends, who were in attendance at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
Four different Flyers scored in a 4-1 win over the Sharks. Travis Konecny reached a career milestone, picking up his 500th career point with a goal and assist in the win.
From left, former Daily news sportswriters Bob Cooney, Ed Barkowitz, and Mike Kern at Wolf Burger in South Philadelphia. The bar will host their annual Christmas fundraiser on Friday.
Ed Barkowitz, a former Daily News sportswriter, has organized a toy drive for 23 years, a task that feels more arduous each December. Heâs 55 years old, teaches a college course, works with his family business, stays active as a freelance writer, and has to deal with the ever busy â and ever growing â holiday season.
But the donation boxes throughout his South Philadelphia neighborhood soon fill with toys. His friends â especially the ones he worked with for more than 30 years at the Daily News â will pack a corner bar on Friday night. And then heâll watch his nieces and nephews use the money collected to buy enough gifts for more than 50 South Philly families to have presents on Christmas morning.
Sports snapshot
Gabriel Luzbet of Harrison, N.J., doing some juggling and tricks with the soccer ball at the FIFA World Cup drawing at Stateside Live! on Dec. 5.
Weighing the aftermath: A week removed from the FIFA World Cup draw, these are our picks for the early winners and losers.
The Phillies have locked up Kyle Schwarber for his age-33 to 37 seasons.
Kyle Schwarber is a remarkable hitter on a number of different levels. His return to the Phillies was a given. There was a market for his services, and the Phillies would have been devastated to lose him. Of course, there are some risk. Over the last 15 years, only three players have had more than two seasons of 30-plus home runs between the ages of 33 and 37, but any judgment of the Philliesâ offseason will depend on what happens next, writes columnist David Murphy.
đ§ Trivia time answer
How many passing yards did Tom Brady have in the Patriotsâ loss to Nick Foles and the Eagles in Super Bowl LII?
D. 505 yards â Pete S. was first with the correct answer.
The national media, including a few former Eagles, had somethings to say about the teamâs performance.
While Jalen Hurts played the worst game of his career in the Eaglesâ overtime loss to the Chargers, this former Eagles player wouldnât put too much weight into it. Find out who said it here.
What youâre saying about the Eaglesâ loss
We asked: Who is most at fault in this Eagles slump? Among your responses:
I believe itâs a combination of whoever is calling the plays and Hurts poor play. The play selection seems easily predictable resulting in too many 3rd and longs in which the Eagles are extremely woesome. Hurts just seems off. High throws and appearing to not notice wide open receivers is very concerning. â Bob A.
Jalen Hurts lost that game!!â Joseph M.
After last nightâs game, there should be no question in anyoneâs mind, that the main player who is at fault would be Carson Wentz 2.0! Donât be surprised to see Howie move Hurts during the off season for almost nothing. And to think Howie gave the greatest kicker ever to play the game to the Chargers for nothing. 99 field goals out of 102 attempts is almost impossible. â Ronald R.
Stubborn Nick Sirianni and unimaginative Kevin Patulloâ Sheldon W.
Nick Sirianni argues a call during the second half against the Chargers on Monday.
Well since they are still searching for an âidentity â (Itâs December.) Got to be Sirianni. â Bill M.
Lots of coaches and players to blame, but the one who always has to answer for the overall lack of team success is the leader. Sirianni is the head coach and winning and losing is ultimately his responsibility. âHeavy lies the crown.â Hurts is playing like a rookie, the play calling is awful, and the O line needs help. Maybe the Saints will fire Kellen and he can come back and run the offense. And maybe bringing back Kelce is not all that laughable. A trip to Santa Clara is looking more and more like a fading dream, but we fans will not give up. â Everett S.
Youâve got to start with Patullo, because heâs really the only one doing a job heâs never done before. Sirianni, great record or no, for only seeing the silver lining and not the clouds. The OL, which doesnât have the consistency it had last year and a couple of their best playing hurt. And Jalen, who just doesnât seem to mesh with his tenth play-caller in 10 years. The schedule has been brutal, but two wins over the Daniels-less Commanders means they only need one other and they win the division. And then, who knows?â Joel G.
We compiled todayâs newsletter using reporting from David Murphy, Scott Lauber, Lochlahn March, Jeff McLane, Jeff Neiburg, Olivia Reiner, Jackie Spiegel, Matt Breen, Gabriela Carroll, and Kerith Gabriel.
By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirerâs Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10.
As always, thanks for reading. Kerith will be back in your inbox tomorrow, till then! â Bella
Thereâs this idea in the sports world that when your team wins a championship like the Super Bowl, fans canât really complain about whatever happens in the next season or two. The author of that maxim has obviously never been to Philadelphia, which is experiencing a 1776-level revolt over the Eaglesâ three-game losing streak and the increasingly erratic play of the Super Bowl MVP, quarterback Jalen Hurts. So much for brotherly love, pal.
No, the thing that finally caused the mainstream media to go all Watergate all the time on Donald Trump and his Pentagon chief was a lot more simple, if harder to stomach: the early September murder by drone strike of two men â their identities still unknown to the world, or most of it â clinging to a piece of ship-wreckage in the Caribbean Sea near Venezuela.
Flip on the favorite show of the Beltway set â MS Nowâs Morning Joe â and there practically is no other story than the second attack on the seemingly helpless victims of an initial drone strike that killed their nine comrades. The media is demanding to learn what did self-proclaimed âSecretary of Warâ Pete Hegseth know about the strike, and when did he know it. Commentators are calling the killing a war crime at best, a murder at worst. An unnamed lawmaker who saw a video of the second strike told reporters that the film is nauseating.
Pressure on the Trump regime to release this 45 or so minutes of footage of the boat attack is intensifying, and itâs not hard to understand why. Itâs a bit like 2020âs video of the excruciating cop murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, which made a problem that activists had been talking about for decades â police brutality â so real for everyday folk that millions took to the streets.
Likewise, people have been calling Trump names â including the âf-word,â fascist â ever since the Manhattan real-estate mogul descended the escalator at Trump Tower to run for president in 2015. But somehow the mental image of men reportedly begging to be saved seconds before an admiral givesthe order to obliterate them has captured the angry imagination in a way that past Trump outrages did not. No wonder Trump has flip-flopped on releasing the video.
Look, Iâm glad the media and Congress, including some Republicans, are finally taking seriously the idea that major felonies are being committed in Trump World. Still, the two men killed in whatâs called the double-tap strike came after nine other people had already been blown up, in an attack against civilians of a nation America is not at war with, who were accused of committing a crime â drug trafficking â that is not a capital offense.
There is no legal, let alone moral, justification for this attack â and it was the first of a series of drone strikes that have killed at least 86 people. Thereâs a strong case that every one of these is a war crime. Itâs just that the killing of the two men clinging to debris appears even more egregious.
This highlights an even weightier issue. From Day One of Trumpâs second term, there has been a callous indifference to human life â a hallmark that the current U.S. government unfortunately shares with many other authoritarian regimes throughout history. But the media, and the watchdogs, have struggled to convey this reality with so many of the deaths taking place off camera.
So far, the worst crime has been the rash move back in the first weeks of the new administration by Trumpâs billionaire then-ally Elon Musk and his so-called Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, to dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) â a once-thriving $34-billion-a-year agency that funded food, medicine, classrooms and other aid in developing nations.
The Musk team labelled USAID as inefficient and out of whack with Trumpâs new priorities like curbing immigration. This despite the fact that experts saw the American agency as the best projector of âsoft powerâ around the globe as it saved literally millions of lives, especially for children under age 5.
âWe are now witnessing what the historian Richard Rhodes termed âpublic man-made death,â which, he observed, has been perhaps the most overlooked cause of mortality in the last century,â Atul Gawande, a surgeon who worked with USAID in the Joe Biden years, wrote last month in the New Yorker. Gawande estimated that the wanton destruction of USAID programs that offered vaccines and fought AIDS and infectious disease outbreaks caused 600,000 needless deaths in the first 10 months of the Trump regime, with millions more to come.
This week, the philanthropic Gates Foundation reported that for the first time in the 21st century, mostly preventable deaths of children under age 5 are rising instead of falling, and the main culprit is cuts in development aid, led by the United States. âWe could be the generation who had access to the most advanced science and innovation in human history,â the billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates said, âbut couldnât get the funding together to ensure it saved lives.â
The MAGA comebacks to cries that Trump is a fascist dictator often claim that innocent people arenât getting slaughtered as happened under Adolf Hitler or Mao Zedong or other historic despots. The truth is that the regimeâs cruelty-is-the-point demagoguery is inevitably becoming a death cult, epitomized by Muskâs chainsaw DOGE shtick. The murder happens in small batches, on boats off South America, and it also happens in big lots in places like famine-plagued South Sudan, as children die from aid cuts to badly needed health centers.
And increasingly, Trumpâs death cult is taking root here at home, from the 25 humans, and counting, whoâve died in ICEâs overcrowded detention centers this year, to individuals like Roberto Carlos Montoya Valdez, who was struck by cars while running awayfrom immigration agents who raided a Home Depot parking lot in Southern California. This is before we know the full and likely lethal impact of alarming health policy changes from Robert F. Kennedy Jr.âs Health and Human Services Department, and the toxic anti-vaccine culture he promotes.
We should be just as outraged by the deaths that take place out of sight, in dusty and remote places on the other side of the world, as by two premeditated murders captured in a MAGA snuff film. Understanding the nature of Trumpâs cult of death is critical for folks to find the courage to rise up and stop this before it gets much, much worse.
Yo, do this!
The one thing that truly sets MS Nowâs Rachel Maddow apart from her peers as an opinionated late-night cable-news host is her love for history, and her ability to put todayâs crisis in the context of what came before. In her second life as a top podcaster, Maddowâs sweet spot has become America before, during, and immediately after World War II, and what memory-holed stories from that era tell us about today. Her new audio series, Burn Order, is about immigration, paranoia and demagoguery â not now, but in the unconscionable internment of Japanese-Americans in the 1940s. Two episodes in, itâs her best podcast yet.
Iâve never really kept my promise to include great restaurants and bars in this space, but here goes. During last weekâs fairly frantic journalistic sojourn to New Orleans, I took one night off and grabbed a beer in what might be the greatest American dive bar, Jake and Snakeâs Christmas Club Bar. This shotgun shack of a watering hole in the middle of an otherwise residential street has to be seen to be believed, both on the ramshackle outside and in the dark interior pumping 1950s rockabilly and lit only by â what else? â Christmas lights. There is no better way to kick off your holiday season.
Ask me anything
Question: All things considered, the U.S. has weathered this first year of the second Trump regime OK. But three more years of this? Any guesses as to what happens between now and then? â Shawn âSmithâ Peirce (@silversmith1.bsky.social) via Bluesky
Answer: Weathered? Just barely. But I do exit 2025 slightly more optimistic than I began the year, thanks to the size of the No Kings protests and the growing resolve of citizen resistance to immigration raids. What happens in the next three years? I think 2026 will be pivotal. Trump will surely look at his sagging polls and double down on dictatorship, which could include misguided foreign wars, more aggressive use of troops at home, and efforts to somehow nullify next Novemberâs midterms. I also think these will fail, which means a Democratic Congress in 2027 and 2028 that will certainly impeach Trump and restrain his worst impulses. If not, I may be writing this newsletter from my prison cell.
What youâre saying about…
The question I posed here two weeks ago about the John F. Kennedy assassination was a good, evergreen topic ahead of a long break. Maybe it was my boomer-heavy readership, but all but one respondent didnât believe that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. âI also saw Jack Ruby shoot Oswald on live television, another searing memory,â wrote Laura Hardy, who was 8 in 1963. âNothing ever added up in my mind. Still doesnât. Was it the Russians? The CIA? The mob?â The one naysayer was Armen Pandola, who argues that âJFK was a fairly conservative Democrat at the time…Where is the motive?â
đź This weekâs question: This has been asked before, but itâs still the most important thing going. Trump is appearing in public with a bruised, bandaged hand, prone to weird digressions or outbursts. So what is the deal with his health? Please email me your answer and put the exact phrase âTrumpâs healthâ in the subject line.
Backstory on an all-too fitting venue for Trumpâs Pa. speech
The Mount Airy Casino Resort in Mount Pocono, Pa.
Donald Trump may be constitutionally ineligible to run again for president â no seriously, he canât â but that factoid apparently isnât stopping the 47th POTUS from campaigning in the critical swing states. Why else did Trump choose Pennsylvania â a state he visited a gazillion times as a candidate â as the location for a major speech on the economy, to convince citizens that what they are seeing in supermarket aisles is not whatâs happening? I canât even imagine what Trump will say Tuesday night, but I was stunned to learn the regimeâs choice of venue: The Mount Airy Casino Resort, the former honeymoon haven in Mount Pocono.
Itâs not just that Trump is touting economic security in a casino, which seems way too fitting in an America where so many folks have decided that the only way theyâll ever get rich is through gambling, whether thatâs a get-rich-quick investment in crypto or meme stocks, or by an addiction to the betting sites like DraftKings that are devouring the sports world. Or that the backdrop might remind people that Trump was the rare entrepreneur who drove his own Atlantic City casinos â supposedly a license to print money â into bankruptcy.
The real problem is that the Mount Airy Lodge is the epitome of the real Trump economy: Public corruption. Like Trumpâs real-estate empire, the original Mount Airy Lodge fell on hard times in the 1990s, and its longtime owner died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in 1999. The supposed savior was the stateâs headlong rush into casino gambling and northeastern Pennsylvaniaâs landfill magnate Louis DeNaples, long dogged by allegations of ties to Scrantonâs organized crime family. In 2008, DeNaples was indicted on four counts of perjury tied to his casino permit application; ultimately the politically connected businessman turned over the casino to a trust chaired by his daughter and saw the charges dropped. But the Mount Airy Resort Casino remains dogged by controversy, including a recently proposed $2.3 million settlement with its table-games dealers who accused the owners of years of wage theft.
But Trump considers DeNaples âa close friend,â and the Mount Airy casino nabbed a $50 million federal bailout loan during the COVID-19 pandemic in the final year of Trumpâs first term. Five years later, is there a positive story about the Trump economy that can be told from this stage of dropped felony charges, alleged wage theft, and government largesse for the well-connected? Donât bet your nest egg on it.
What I wrote on this date in 2015
Ten years ago, I was fascinated by the decades-long political rise of Vermont senator and then-White House hopeful Bernie Sanders. This left-wing curmudgeon and relic of the 1960s didnât capture the White House but changed America, for good. On Dec. 9, 2015, I touted my Amazon Kindle Single e-book about Sanders (The Bern Identity…itâs still available!) and offered highlights. I wrote: âPolitics mattered then, before Chicago and Kent State and Watergate and all the cynicism, and the unvarnished, authentic voice of Bernie Sanders is bringing that feeling back for many.” Read the rest: â5 things I learned writing an e-book about Bernie Sanders.â
Recommended Inquirer reading
Did I mention that I went to New Orleans? I wrote two columns from the scene of Homeland Securityâs immigration raid that the Trump regime has branded âCatahoula Crunchâ in a gross homage to the Louisiana state dog. The first piece looked at Day One of the operation â the Big Lie behind the raids that claim to target criminals but instead go after day laborers, usually without criminal records â and the fear that pervaded the Latino community. The second column was a much more hopeful look inside the growing citizen resistance, as I profiled the everyday folks who are taking risks to blow whistles, chase cars, and generally impede Trumpâs mass deportation agenda.
Last week â if you could somehow make it through the sickening bromance between Donald Trump and FIFA, the world governing body of soccer â we finally learned the key groupings and early-stage matches of the 2026 menâs World Cup finals across the United States as well as our now frenemies Canada and Mexico. You wonât be surprised to know that The Inquirerâs soccer writer extraordinaire Jonathan Tannenwald was all over the key developments. We learned who the U.S. team will play: Paraguay, a to-be-determined European qualifier, and Australia, in a June 19 Seattle match I still want to attend if I can start a GoFundMe (kidding…maybe) for the astronomical ticket prices. The Philadelphia matches include perennial contenders France and Brazil as well as a Curaçao-Ivory Coast showdown that Iâm excited for because I might be able to afford it. The World Cup is going to be one of the biggest stories of 2026, and you know the Inquirer will cover this like an Italian center back. This alone will be worth the price of a subscription, so what are you waiting for?
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Hundreds of Philadelphians live next to dangerous abandoned buildings. The cityâs Department of Licenses and Inspections stopped using a tool meant to track vacant properties.
And in other housing news, Mayor Cherelle L. Parker visited pulpits across West and North Philadelphia on Sunday, promoting her vision for her signature H.O.M.E. initiative thatâs heightening tensions in City Hall.
Across Philadelphia, scores of families live next to vacant properties that are or could become dangerous â houses with collapsing porches, flooded basements, foundation-cracking weeds, and the like.
Many of those empty and imminently dangerous buildings are rowhouses, which share walls with neighboring homes. Disproportionately, they are based in the cityâs poorest zip codes.
The total amount, though, is unclear. L&Iâs methods of tracking vacant properties have shifted in recent years, including the discontinuation of an algorithmic tool to predict whether a property is likely to be vacant.
In the meantime, concerned residents and community activists want L&I to do more to ensure their safety, in some cases organizing to get the city to deal with abandoned properties more quickly.
Amid City Hall tensions, Mayor Cherelle L. Parker spent the weekend seeking public support for her signature housing initiative, the Housing Opportunities Made Easy program, aka H.O.M.E.
đ Parker on Sunday promoted the $800 million program to congregants at 10 churches, emphasizing that she wants to ensure the funding helps Philadelphians of varying incomes.
đ The speaking tour followed City Councilâs changes last week to H.O.M.E.âs initial budget and eligibility requirements to prioritize Phillyâs lowest-income households.
đ âWeâve got to take care of the people who are most in need, but we canât penalize the people who are going to work every day, pay their taxes, contribute to the city, and they canât benefit from home improvement programs,â Parker said during a stop at Cobbs Creekâs Church of Christian Compassion.
In other local funding news: A bilingual credit union, Finanta Credit Union, is now open in Port Richmond. Itâs seeking âunbankedâ customers who want to buy homes and build businesses.
U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick plans to introduce a bipartisan bill to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies after this fallâs shutdown battle left the issue unresolved. Meanwhile, for every person who signed up for Obamacare health insurance in Pennsylvania last month, two others dropped their plans in anticipation of skyrocketing costs.
Former U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez is permanently banned from holding public office in New Jersey â and if he tries, he could face criminal charges.
Jeffrey Yass, Pennsylvaniaâs richest man, detailed how school vouchers drive his massive political spending operation in a rare interview with The Washington Post.
A Wistar Institute scientistâs study has found a new approach to ovarian cancer treatment, which tends to be resistant to hormone therapy.
Former Fabric Workshop and Museum leader Christina Vassallo will become executive director of the Pew Center for Arts & Heritage on Jan. 5, Pew announced Monday.
The students of Room 221 at Fanny Jackson Coppin Elementary in South Philly watched a massive construction project rise for months outside their classroom window. At teacher Kate Atkinsâ request, the builders came to class last week and answered their questions about the project.
Among them: âWhy did you decide to make the house bigger by making it taller instead of making it wider?â and âWill it be done by Christmas?â (The latter answer is no â and not by Hanukkah, either.)
đ§ Trivia time
Tony Award-winning playwright Tom Stoppard died last week at 88. To which Philadelphia theater did the Czech writer have a close connection?
Cheers to Nick Petryszyn, who solved Sundayâs anagram: Not for Nothing. The South Philly crime drama debuted on Amazon Prime this week.
Photo of the day
SEPTA operators costumed as Care Bears (from left) Jose DeCos and James Smith with mechanic Raymond Borges greet visitors during the Festibus Competition on Saturday.
Think back to the night that changed your life that could only happen in Philly, a true example of the Philly spirit, the time you finally felt like you belonged in Philly if youâre not a lifer, something that made you fall in love with Philly all over again â or proud to be from here if you are. Then email it to us for a chance to be featured in the Monday edition of this newsletter.
This âonly in Phillyâ story comes from reader Jack Kapp, who describes a perfect game â and afternoon â from his youth in Northeast Philadelphia:
I was 10 in the summer of 1964. My father started letting me handle the lawn mower. We didnât have much of a lawn, but it needed to be done. I did a fairly good job, and he proposed that my twin and I start a small business mowing the neighborsâ lawns. We agreed, enticed by the idea of making money.
I clearly remember mowing lawns the day of Phillies pitcher Jim Bunningâs perfect game on Fatherâs Day, June 21, 1964. This was to become a seminal event in Philadelphia sports history â one of the greatest games ever pitched. It was a doubleheader. His game was first. It was a hot day, and we rushed to get our work done. My father didnât watch too much TV or baseball, but I guess because it was Fatherâs Day, he watched it with us.
It was the first perfect game in the National League since 1880, the first in regular-season baseball since 1922, and only the seventh in the history of the majors. Quite the achievement. Bunning, the father of seven children at that time (he would have two more after that), threw only 90 pitches, and struck out 10 batters.
It was also one of the best days that I ever spent with my father. Bunning would go on, after a fabulous Hall of Fame career, to become a U.S. senator from Kentucky for many years. I met him once, and told him this story. He thanked me politely.
Wishing you a smooth start to your week. See you back here tomorrow.
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It has been 22 days since the Eagles last won a game. It has been a lot longer than that since they last felt good about their offense.
On the positive side, at 8-4, they can move a step closer to clinching the NFC East with a road victory this evening against the Los Angeles Chargers on Monday Night Football. Still, the Eagles are struggling and the vibes on the sideline reflect a team that is trying hard to correct its issues without success, Jeff Neiburg writes.
âHonestly I think itâs been awful,â Saquon Barkley said when asked what the sideline energy has been like. âI think if you asked anybody, if theyâre being honest, weâll all agree on that.â Maybe Barkley and the running game can lead the charge in changing those vibes.
And maybe the offense could finally get untracked if Jalen Hurts ran the ball more. Designed runs have become rarities for Hurts in his fifth season as the Eaglesâ starting quarterback. He has gotten hurt both in and out of the pocket throughout his NFL career, which has caused him to miss games. The threat of injuries figures into the equation, but the offense gets a jolt when he runs the ball.
Itâs unlikely the Eagles will suddenly have a high-powered offense at this late stage, Jeff McLane writes in his keys to the game. There is room for improvement and one way to address that is having Hurts run more.
The defense must get the job done without Jalen Carter, who is out after undergoing a medical procedure on both shoulders. Carterâs absence figures into the predictions from our writers on how things will pan out in California. Not everyoneâs picking the Eagles, either.
How can the defense turn things around? The Eagles will need a huge game from edge rushers Nolan Smith, Jaelan Phillips, and Jalyx Hunt, David Murphy writes.
Hereâs everything you need to know before Hurts and the Birds face Justin Herbert and the Chargers for the first time since 2021.
Maybe this completely different take on the game could calm the nerves of some Eagles fans: ESPN2 will offer a real-time animated broadcast of Eagles-Chargers set in the universe of Disney/Pixarâs Monsters, Inc. franchise. The alt-cast will use real-time player tracking data to place Barkley, Hurts, and the rest of the Eagles in the animated Monsters universe.
Flyers center Trevor Zegras fires a shot during the third period against Colorado at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
The Colorado Avalanche came into Xfinity Mobile Arena with an NHL-best 20-2-6 record, but the Flyers held their own Sunday in a 3-2 loss.
âSome people use games as measuring sticks, and I think we donât need to do that anymore,â Travis Konecny said. âWeâve shown we can compete with the best teams, so why not start believing that we should be right there with them?â
Paul George stares down Milwaukee Bucks guard Kevin Porter Jr. on Friday at Fiserv Forum.
There was a promising Paul George sighting for the Sixers in their victory over the Bucks on Friday night. George finished with 20 points, five rebounds, and five assists in just under 30 minutes. Even after knee surgery and an injury-riddled first season as a Sixer, he has shown flashes of the player who became a perennial All-Star.
The Villanova Wildcats celebrate defeating the Penn Quakers in the Big 5 championship at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Saturday.
Villanova came up short in the first two iterations of the Big 5 Classic, but the Wildcats left no doubt as they closed the tournamentâs tripleheader Saturday night at Xfinity Mobile Arena. They beat Penn, 90-63, in the finale and won their three Big 5 games by an average margin of 20 points.
Now theyâll take a big step up in competition. Next up for 7-1 Villanova is a showdown with unbeaten Michigan on Tuesday night in Ann Arbor. âWe have a big test Tuesday because I think, by far, theyâre playing the best basketball in the country,â Wildcats coach Kevin Willard said.
The loss to âNova was a costly one for Penn, as star forward Ethan Roberts was taken to the hospital after leaving the game with a injury.
Penn State’s Kaytron Allen scoring a touchdown against Rutgers.
Penn State will close a tumultuous season with a date against Clemson in the Pinstripe Bowl. The Dec. 27 game at Yankee Stadium will close a chapter on Nittany Lions football before new coach Matt Campbell takes over. Clemson (7-5, 4-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) has seen its own ups and downs this season, but the Tigers won six of their last eight games to earn bowl eligibility.
In the Football Championship Subdivision, Villanova advanced to the quarterfinals with a 14-7 upset of Lehigh.
Join us before kickoff
Gameday Central: Eagles at Chargers
Live from SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif.:Beat writers Jeff McLane and Olivia Reiner will preview tonightâs Eagles game against the Los Angeles Chargers at 6:45 p.m. Tune in to Gameday Central.
Sports snapshot
La Salleâs leader: Notre Dame-bound Joey OâBrien lifted the Explorers past Pittsburgh Central Catholic for the PIAA Class 6A state championship.
Ron Hextall becomes the first NHL goalie to score a goal by shooting the puck into the opposing net as the Flyers beat Boston, 5-2, on Dec. 8, 1987.
Dec. 8, 1987: Flyers rookie Ron Hextall became the first NHL goaltender to score a goal. Hextall scored an empty-netter in a 5-2 victory against the Boston Bruins at the Spectrum.
Jalen Hurts has to start playing up to his contract if the Eagles are to make another Super Bowl run.
Now that the drop-off in Jalen Carterâs play in 2025 compared with 2024 has been explained by his deteriorating shoulders, the responsibility for a late-season surge falls more squarely on the shoulders of embattled quarterback Jalen Hurts.
Heâs got to throw better passes. Heâs got to run the offense more efficiently. Heâs got to start using his legs as a weapon, because the main weapon on defense is gone.
We compiled todayâs newsletter using reporting from Jeff Neiburg, Olivia Reiner, Jeff McLane, David Murphy, Owen Hewitt, Jackie Spiegel, Keith Pompey, Marcus Hayes, Jonathan Tannenwald, Devin Jackson, Greg Finberg, Dylan Johnson, and Katie Lewis.
By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirerâs Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10.
Thank you for reading Sports Daily. Iâll see you in Tuesdayâs newsletter. â Jim
Experts in Philadelphia sharply criticized a CDC panelâs decision to end a long-standing recommendation to immunize all infants at birth against hepatitis B. The vaccine was first developed in the city.
A judge vacated more than 130 drug cases after prosecutors said three Philadelphia narcotics officers repeatedly gave false testimony in court. Hundreds more cases may see the same fate in the coming months.
A former top Philadelphia labor official claims in a lawsuit that she was passed over for a promotion because sheâs a woman, and was later fired afterraising concerns about gender-based discrimination spanning two mayoral administrations.
The celebrated architect Frank Gehry died Friday at the age of 96. His acclaimed signature can be found from the audacious Guggenheim in Bilbao, Spain, to the 2021 renovation of the Philadelphia Art Museum.
Every Saturday, we’ll talk about something happening around Philly. This time, it’s the city’s year in numbers via Spotify Wrapped and Google.
By now, you may have already seen your personalized music-listening habits courtesy of Spotify Wrapped and other streaming services, or swiped past countless social media posts of people sharing theirs. As far as Spotify goes, things are slightly different in the city this year.
Rappers Kendrick Lamar and Drake stood strong in our streams, so Taylor Swift is no longer Phillyâs top artist of the year (the Reading-born singer dropped to No. 2). Newtown native Alex Cooperâs âCall Her Daddyâ ranked No. 4 among Philadelphiaâs top podcasts. Personally, my favorite feature of Spotify Wrapped 2025 was âlistening age.â With âWhoâs Crying Nowâ playing in the background, mine said Iâm actually 60 years old with âan old soulâ because I enjoyed a lot of early â80s tunes.
But music isnât the only data dump we have to contend with. Just one look at Googleâs 2025 âYear in Searchâ report tells you everything you need to know about Philadelphiaâs psyche. It turns out we couldnât stop searching slang terms like âclock itâ and â6-7â (which was born here, IYKYK), Eagles players DeVonta Smith and Cooper DeJean (to cop kelly green jerseys), and two songs by Swift: âWoodâ and âFather Figure.â
These behaviors are a lot more algorithmically curated and influenced than, say, the number of cheesesteaks we ate or times we hollered âGo Birds.â Still, itâs been fun to see Philly make other creative end-of-year recaps, like Fillmore Philly crunching venue numbers, the Philliesâ âJohn Kruk Wrappedâ video, and the Brass Tap highlighting its most popular karaoke track â which just so happens to be Phillyâs No. 5 song of the year.
This week, Marraâs in South Philadelphia shut its doors for good. The classic Italian restaurant, just two years shy of a century in operation, cited parking challenges along the renowned dining corridor as a contributing factor.
Inquirer columnist Daniel Pearson argues that the neighborhood fixture and South Philly arenât alone in managing a process Pearson calls âsuburbanization.â
Cheers to Rick Eisenberg, who correctly guessed Fridayâs answer: High Note Caffe. The classic South Philadelphia restaurant has a new life as an old-time nightclub.
Itâs lit (literally). The Philly Holiday Tree shone its 6,000 lights bright for the lighting ceremony at City Hall on Thursday. Grammy-winning artists Ashanti and Lalah Hathaway performed for attendees.
Somewhere on the internet in Philly
A Redditor wants to know who is feeding the cityâs feral cones and road barrels: âNow weâre dealing with a full-on colony at 31st and Girard,â they wrote. The comments are a gold mine.
I canât be the only one trying to wrap my mind around the way Gritty described his perfect day in Philadelphia. Unfortunately for us, heâs gatekeeping the dumpster he eats âdelicious half-eaten burritosâ out of.
đđœ Thanks for starting your day here. Take care.
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THC-infused beverages, sold at smoke shops across the Philadelphia region, will soon be illegal. Companies are now mobilizing to save the billion-dollar industry, while officials say reforms could avert a public health crisis.
THC drinks, found for sale on shelves in Philadelphia and beyond, could soon be illegal after Congress banned intoxicating hemp products.
Catch up quick: Hemp-derived THC seltzers, teas, and sodas are widely available at gas stations and liquor stores. This unregulated market, made possible through a legal loophole that will close as soon as 2027, has exploded into a billion-dollar business.
The industry responds: As companies brace for impact, leaders are fighting for changes and extended grace periods for the legislation, warning the ban could hurt distribution lines and sales. Meanwhile, consumers say demand will remain even if the beverages are prohibited.
Concerns remain: Philly-area prosecutors stress the public health is at risk and are pushing for sweeping reforms and regulations, similar to those on alcohol and tobacco. And while some industry stakeholders also support more oversight, some small-business owners worry about the effects of âovercorrection.â
SEPTA had until Friday to finish equipping all 223 Silverliner IV Regional Rail cars with a new safety feature, but the transit agency didnât make the deadline.
It blames a shortage of thermal wire, necessary for the heat-detection system required by the Federal Railroad Administration.
To outfit the entire fleet, SEPTA needed about 39,000 feet of wire. Itâs short by about 7,000.
The Philadelphia School Board reelected its president and vice president and approved a new contract for principals that, for the first time, includes paid parental leave.
President Donald Trump will visit Northeast Pennsylvania on Tuesday to promote his economic agenda, including efforts to lower inflation, the White House confirmed to The Inquirer on Thursday.
Immigration activists rallied at Philadelphiaâs Criminal Justice Center Thursday to demand Sheriff Rochelle Bilal bar ICE from the courthouse, while Bilal supporters said sheâs been unfairly blamed. Meanwhile in Montgomery County, advocates urged local towns and municipalities to enact policies that would limit police and local government cooperation with ICE.
The family of a man accused of killing his wife is suing Montgomery County and two medical companies, saying they denied him crucial healthcare while in the county jail, leading to his untimely death.
Paul Staico, owner of the South Philly bar dedicated to the Kansas City Chiefs, has died at 59. Many of the people who packed Big Charlieâs Saloon every Sunday said they were mostly âthere for Paul.â
Uri Monson, Gov. Josh Shapiroâs longtime confidant and Pennsylvaniaâs budget secretary, is the new executive director of the $80 billion-asset Pennsylvania school pension and investment system.
A $78.6 million hybrid ferry slated to join the fleet of vessels connecting Cape May and Lewes, Del., is expected to begin construction in 2026.
This week, we have an explainer from reporter Michelle Myers on the dynamics of the live poultry business in the Philadelphia region.
Every week, about 500,000 birds are sent to live poultry stores across Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey. These markets are more common in areas like Philadelphia with significant and growing immigrant populations. Hereâs the full story.
Cheers to Morgan Flores, who solved Thursdayâs anagram: RuPaulâs Drag Race. Philly drag queen Mandy Mango will compete in the showâs 18th season, premiering in January.
Photo of the day
Christmas Village, open now through Dec. 24, features a new 30-foot “Christmas Pyramid” at LOVE Park.
Thanks for stopping by. Have a wonderful weekend.
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