Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro joined President Donald Trump at the White House for a breakfast on Friday, following weeks of uncertainty and strife over whether any Democrats would attend the traditionally bipartisan annual event after Trump reversed course on a decision to disinvite two other blue-state governors from the meeting.
A spokesperson forShapiro said he decided to attend the meeting at the White House once Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and Colorado Gov. Jared Polis were invited, despite Trump previously declaring the pair of Democratic leaders were not welcome.
“Gov. Shapiro chose to join his colleagues and go to the White House to raise real issues and harm the Trump administration is doing to Pennsylvania,” Rosie Lapowsky, Shapiro’s press secretary, said in a statement.
Trump initially planned to invite only Republican governors to the annual event that coincides with the National Governors Association winter meeting in Washington, D.C., but faced pushback by the group’s GOP chair. Trump then invited Democrats, as well, but rescinded the invitations for Moore and Polis. In a post on his Truth Social platform earlier this month, Trump wrote that the two Democratic governors were “not worthy of being there.”
The weekslong back-and-forth threatened the nonpartisan nature of the National Governors Association that represents 55 governors, including those from all 50 states and five U.S. territories. Ultimately, the NGA declined to facilitate the annual breakfast event, and Trump later re-invited Polis and Moore.
President Donald Trump arrives to speak during a breakfast with the National Governors Association in the State Dining Room of the White House, Friday, Feb. 20, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Moore, Polis, and Shapiro were among the more than two dozen governors who attended the White House breakfast Friday, where Trump delivered brief remarks. Other Democrats, including New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherill, decided against going.
Sherrill, a former member of Congress who just began her term last month, said in a statement that she opted to skip the White House breakfast to “focus on other NGA meetings.”
“The president’s chaotic back-and-forth about the NGA was counterproductive and Gov. Sherrill decided not to attend,” said Sean Higgins, a spokesperson for Sherrill.
What Shapiro talked about
Shapiro described the closed-door meeting between Trump, the governors, and all of Trump’s cabinet as productive for him to advocate for specific issues directly with federal leaders.
“Folks were respectful to me,” Shapiro told reporters following the meeting. “I went there with a mission to talk about things that were important to Pennsylvania.”
Shapiro, who is currently running for reelection and touts his ability to work across partisan lines, has expressed an openness to working with Trump on issues specific to Pennsylvania, though he has challenged the president more than a dozen times in court since Trump took office last year.
Shapiro said he was able to discuss his top issues directly with federal officials. He said he spoke with U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins about the reemergence of the avian flu in Pennsylvania; discussed releasing withheld broadband funding with Treasury Secretary Howard Lutnick about releasing withheld broadband funding; and talked with U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Director of the Office of Management and Budget Russ Vought about the ways “their policies are hurting rural Pennsylvanians.”
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, another Democrat who attended the meeting, said afterward in a news conference that she was glad to hear what lessons Trump said he learned from his administration’s immigration enforcement mission in Minneapolis that led to mass protests and the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens by federal agents.
Hochul said Trump told the group that “we’ll only go where we’re wanted,” alleviating concerns among some Democratic governors that their states may be the next to see a full-scale federal presence upending daily life.
Weeks of back-and-forth ahead of the White House breakfast
“Democratic governors have a long record of working across the aisle to deliver results and we remain committed to this effort,” they said in a joint statement on Feb. 10 through the Democratic Governors Association. “But it’s disappointing this administration doesn’t seem to share the same goal. At every turn, President Trump is creating chaos and division, and it is the American people who are hurting as a result.”
They added: “Democratic governors remain united and will never stop fighting to protect and make life better for people in our states.”
In comments to CNN last week, Sherrill said that “worse decisions” would be made without all the governors there.
“For the president to pick and choose who he is going to have to sort of undermine the very focus of this, of coming together to get stuff done for the country just seeds more … chaos,” the New Jersey Democrat said.
Gov. Mikie Sherrill, shown here at a news conference as volunteers gather prior to shoveling snow at Fairview Village on Martin Luther King Day during a day of service, in Camden, New Jersey, January 19, 2026.
Moore, the nation’s only Black governor, and Polis, the first openly gay man elected to U.S. governor, were the only two leaders Trump singled out, raising concerns by civil rights groups.
Trump, however, cited different reasons for his objections to Moore and Polis’ attendance. He said he wanted to exclude Polis because his state continues to incarcerate a former county clerk over her conviction related to allowing election-denier activists access to election data following the 2020 election. Trump also expressed a number of grievances toward Moore, including his handling of the rebuilding of the Francis Scott Key Bridge and Baltimore’s crime rates.
Following the meeting Friday, governors from both parties reaffirmed that they were still committed to working with Trump despite the turmoil.
“It’s really important imagery that we stand together as governors of our states and represent all of America, and just remind people that there’s really more that brings us together and unites us than divides us,” said Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, a Republican who chairs the NGA.
Shapiro separately told reporters that he has worked with directly Trump to “save steelworker jobs” but remains ready to challenge them in court if they threaten Pennsylvanians’ rights.
Asked whether he has a good relationship with Trump, Shapiro said: “We have a relationship where we can work for the people of Pennsylvania, that’s my job.”
Pennsylvania lawmakers say Congress should reclaim its power over taxes and tariffs after the U.S. Supreme Court quashed President Donald Trump’s controversial global tariffs.
The nation’s high court ruled 6-3 Friday that Trump overstepped with tariffs imposed under an emergency powers law, dealing a significant blow to the president’s economic agenda and reasserting congressional authority.
Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett — both Trump nominees — joined liberal justices in the majority. Justices Brett Kavanaugh, Clarence Thomas, and Samuel A. Alito Jr. dissented.
Trump told reporters at the White House Friday that he was “ashamed” of the three Republican-appointed justices for not having “the courage to do what’s right for our country.”
But local lawmakers celebrated the decision as a step toward alleviating inflation exacerbated by Trump’s tariffs.
It’s “the first piece of good news that American consumers have gotten in a very long time,” said U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle (D., Philadelphia), the ranking member of the House Budget Committee.
The decision is unlikely to be the end of the road for Trump’s efforts to impose tariffs. The court struck down the broad authority Trump had claimed to impose sweeping tariffs, but he could still impose additional import and export taxes using powers he employed in his first term.
Friday’s decision centers on tariffs imposed under an emergency powers law, including the “reciprocal” tariffs he waged on other countries, The Associated Press reported.
What’s next
It remains unclear what will happen to tariff revenue that’s already been collected — about $30 billion a month since Trump took office last year, NPR reported. But Pennsylvania lawmakers are pushing for Congress to reassert its power to control the country’s purse strings.
“As the Supreme Court validated this morning, Congress has the authority to levy taxes and tariffs,” Boyle said. “It’s time now for us to finally reclaim that authority and bring some certainty and rationality to our tariff policy, which under Donald Trump has been all over the map and changes day by day, even hour by hour.”
Casey-Lee Waldron, a spokesperson for U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R., Bucks), said in a statement Friday that the lawmaker “applauds” the high court’s decision, “which validates the Congressman’s opposition to blanket and indiscriminate tariffs that are not narrowly tailored, and that do not lower costs for the American consumer.”
Waldron added that Fitzpatrick supports enforcing trade laws, but “this should always be done in a collaborative manner with a bipartisan, bicameral majority in Congress.”
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and N.J. Gov. Mikie Sherrill, both Democrats, celebrated the decision Friday in statements that noted the challenges the tariffs had caused for local economies.
Speaking to reporters at the National Governors Association meeting in Washington, Shapiro said tariffs had done real harm to Pennsylvanians, citing rising prices for farmers and for consumer goods.
“There is a direct line connecting those price increases to the president pushing the tariff button,” Shapiro said. “I think the Supreme Court got it right, and I say that as a former attorney general, and I say that as someone who actually follows the law.”
U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick (R., Pa.), however, came to the defense of Trump’s tariff policies, saying in a statement that he believes Trump “was using legitimate emergency authorities very effectively to protect our national security and achieve fair trade for U.S. companies and American workers.”
McCormick, a former Treasury official and former hedge fund executive, said he was disappointed with the court’s ruling and called to find other ways to accomplish Trump’s economic and national security goals, which include preventing “foreign competitors from cheating Pennsylvania workers.”
Shockwaves in Philly and beyond
Trump enacted the sweeping tariffs early last year, arguing that the move would incentivize companies to bring operations back to the United States and even trade deficits with other countries.
The move, however, sent shock waves through the U.S. economy as prices increased and U.S. exports, including Pennsylvania’s lumber sales, suffered.
Tariffs slowed business at the Port of Philadelphia, which reported cargo volume down across the board.
Philly is a major gateway for produce, bringing in more fresh fruit than any other U.S. port, largely from Central and South America. The port saw record container volume last year, handling almost 900,000 units, up 6% over 2024. About two-thirds of that cargo was refrigerated — fruit and meat, for example.
But this year got off to a slow start. “The story is increased competition and tariffs,” Sean Mahoney, marketing director at the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority (PhilaPort), said during the agency’s board meeting on Wednesday.
Leo Holt, president of the city’s primary terminal operator Holt Logistics, hopes companies that see savings would pass them on to consumers. In practice, he acknowledged many would likely take a conservative approach.
“I think consumers are going to demand that at least there’s an accounting for what they’re paying,” Holt said Friday.
U.S. Sen. Chris Coons (D., Del.) said in a statement that he knows many Republican colleagues of his “are privately breathing sighs of relief this morning at the court’s decision.”
“They should instead be asking themselves why they didn’t use their legislative authority to do more to stop these tariffs when they had the chance — and what they’ll do differently next time when President Trump inevitably tries again,” Coons said.
‘Nobody is going to rush to drop their prices’
The Supreme Court’s ruling will be welcome news for some businesses, but it also sparks uncertainty.
Not all of Trump’s tariff increases came through the use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, and therefore some will remain in place, said Julie Park, a partner at London-based tax and business advisory firm Blick Rothenberg.
“This decision brings further uncertainty for businesses,” she said in a statement. That’s in part because Trump could seek to reimpose tariffs through other legal tools, leaving “businesses in limbo about if they will get refunded.”
U.S. exporters will also be closely following what happens next, since the fate of Trump’s tariffs will likely determine whether other countries, like Canada, keep their retaliatory measures in place. Canada is Pennsylvania’s biggest export market, with the state sending more than $14 billion in goods there in 2024. Top exports included machinery, cocoa, iron, and steel.
Pennsylvania’s dairy industry has also been caught in the middle of the global trade war, as China and Canada imposed extra taxes on those goods in response to U.S. tariffs.
It’s also unclear whether companies will receive refunds for the tariffs they’ve paid in the past year.
Tim Avanzato, vice president of international sales at Lanca Sales Inc, said his New Jersey-based import-export company should be eligible for as much as $4 million in tariff refunds.
“It’s going to create a paperwork nightmare for importers,” he said, noting that he doesn’t expect the Trump administration to make it easy to retrieve this money.
Avanzato said he is also watching for ways the administration may implement new tariffs. Consumers, he said, shouldn’t expect changes in the immediate term.
“Companies are not very good at passing on savings,” Avanzato said. “Nobody is going to rush to drop their prices.”
Sen. Andy Kim (D., N.J.) said Trump cost Americans “a lot of money.”
“Trump 2.0: You pay for his tariffs, tax breaks for his billionaire donors, & insane corruption for his friends and family,” the South Jersey Democrat added in a social media post.
The Supreme Court’s decision is “a step” in righting wrongs by the Trump administration, he said, but there’s “so much more to go.”
Staff Writers Katie Bernard, Max Marin, Aliya Schneider and Rob Tornoe and The Associated Press contributed to this article.
Haverford College president Wendy Raymond is considering convening a committee that would review whether mega donor and U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s name should remain on the campus library.
Raymond’s statement to the campus community this week follows concerns expressed by Haverford students and alumni about Lutnick’s ties to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. She noted “a growing number of Fords have written to express their dismay.”
“While forming a naming review committee does not predetermine any outcome, it is a serious step and not something I would take lightly,” Raymond wrote to the campus. “I will take the time necessary to continue to reflect and to engage with thought partners before determining whether to activate a review committee.”
Under Haverford’s gift policy, the school can rename a building if “the continued use of the name may be deemed detrimental to the college, or if circumstances change regarding the reason for the naming.” If Raymond convenes a committee, she would then consider its recommendations and make her recommendation to the external affairs committee of the board of managers, as well as to its chair and vice chair. The external affairs committee then would make its recommendation to the full board of managers.
Lutnick, a 1983 graduate and former chair of the college’s board of managers, is one of the school’s biggest donors, having given $65 million. Documents released by the U.S. Justice Department this month show that Lutnick had contact with the late financier as recently as 2018, long after Epstein pleaded guilty to obtaining a minor for prostitution and soliciting a prostitute.
And during congressional testimony last week, he said he visited Epstein’s private island with his family in 2012. Lutnick previously said he had not been in a room with Epstein, whom he found “disgusting,” since 2005.
The outside of the Lutnick Library at Haverford College.
Raymond’s announcement comes one day after students held a town hall to discuss their concerns and feelings about Lutnick‘s ties to Epstein.
Students who organized the town hall said Raymond’s communications about Lutnick have fallen short. They said they had hoped at least to see a review committee started.
“Many students, including myself, are deeply disappointed and, in many cases, hurt by the neutral and softened language in these communications,” senior English major Paeton Smith-Hiebert wrote to Raymond.
Smith-Hiebert is co-founder of the Haverford Survivor Collective, which started in 2023 and is led by Haverford students and survivors of sexual assault. She said while Raymond notes she is having conversations about the topic, the collective hasn’t been consulted.
“Given the gravity of this situation, survivors are among those most directly affected,” she wrote. “Many are feeling significant harm and institutional betrayal … While I understand there are many stakeholders to consult, it is difficult to reconcile the stated commitment to engagement with the apparent absence of those most impacted.”
Raymond’s message, she said, also should have included a reference to resources or support for survivors who are struggling, she said.
Between 50 and 100 students attended the nearly two-hour town hall, several attendees said, with no students speaking in favor of keeping Lutnick’s name on the building. Students introduced an open letter with demands that has since been signed by 235 students, staff, and alumni as of 8:30 a.m. Friday, said Smith-Hiebert. The letter calls on the college to immediately convene a review committee, rename the library, acknowledge the distress and harm members of the community are experiencing, and “adopt a clear and unambiguous morals clause” in the gift policy.
Students also discussed the possibility of protest actions to urge the college to act as soon as possible.
The issue of Lutnick’s name on the library is likely to come up at a plenary session,where students discuss and vote on important campus issues. That session is scheduled forMarch 29.
If the students were to pass a resolution calling for the removal of Lutnick’s name from the library, it would go to Raymond for signing.
Milja Dann, 19, a sophomore psychology major from Woodbury, N.J., said she went through all of the Epstein files that mention Lutnick and Epstein and saw references to at least seven planned in-person encounters. Students compiled a 10-page document on the Lutnick-related material in the files.
“I feel it is extremely difficult for survivors of sexual violence to see that name and know it is so closely associated with a man who has perpetuated violence and harm to so many people,” Dann said.
A Commerce Department spokesperson told the Associated Press last month that Lutnick had had “limited interactions” with Epstein, with his wife in attendance, and had not been accused of “wrongdoing.” Lutnick told lawmakers last week: “I did not have any relationship with him. I barely had anything to do with him.”
Some students at the town hall talked about the difficulty of going in the library, which is the heart of the academic campus.
“For me, walking into that space has been uncomfortable for a while,” Smith-Hiebert said, referring to when Lutnick was named President Donald Trump’s commerce secretary. “That discomfort has only intensified given this news.”
Lutnick, formerly chairman of Cantor Fitzgerald L.P., a New York City financial firm that lost hundreds of employees in the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks, served on Haverford’s board for 21 years.
In addition to the library, which also bears his wife Allison’s name, the indoor tennis and track center is named for his brother Gary Lutnick, a Cantor Fitzgerald employee who was killed on 9/11, and the fine arts building carries the name of his mother, Jane Lutnick, a painter. He also funded the college’s Cantor Fitzgerald Art Gallery.
Students discussed whether removing Lutnick’s name from the library would be enough or if other references should come down, too, said Cade Fanning, the associate editor of the Clerk, Haverford’s student newspaper, who attended the meeting.
“That had the most split opinions,” said Fanning, 21, a senior history major from Annapolis.
But people were concerned thatseeing the Lutnick name on anything, even if it was a relative, would be difficult for survivors, Fanning said. And the relatives’ names still signify Lutnick’s “imprint” on the college, he said.
Students also discussed that while they want his name off the library, the college should install a plaque explaining the history, rather than erasing it, Smith-Hiebert said.
The Upper Darby Township Council passed a resolution Wednesday to restrict cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in response to growing concerns about the agency’s activities in the diverse township.
The 11-member council, made up entirely of Democrats, voted unanimously to pass a resolution saying the town will not use its resources to assist ICE with non-criminal immigration enforcement. But the largely symbolic resolution nearly mirrors the municipality’s existing guidelines, leading to criticism that it does not go far enough.
The resolution’s passage comes after Parady La, an Upper Darby resident struggling with addiction, died last month in a hospital while in ICE’s custody. It also follows the chaotic scenes in Minneapolis, where federal agents fatally shot Renee Good and Alex Pretti last month as President Donald Trump’s administration targeted the city with a massive immigration enforcement operation.
Those events have fueled anxiety in Upper Darby, where nearly a quarter of the population is foreign-born, compared with 15% in Philadelphia. Armed ICE agents wearing masks have become a familiar sight in the township, prompting residents to question why their community is suddenly under pressure, including high school students who held a walkout earlier this month.
Council President Marion Minick called the resolutiona chance to show immigrants in the community “they are not alone.”
“We can demonstrate through our votes and through our voices that Upper Darby Council will do everything within our legislative power to shield our residents and their families from this climate of intimidation,” he said.
The council’s resolution comes as localgovernmentsacross the country and in the Philadelphia area try to curb ICE’s impact on their residents. Last month, Haverford passed a similar measure and Bucks County ended its agreement with the agency that allowed sheriff’s deputies to act as immigration enforcement.
Council member Kyle McIntyre, a progressive community organizer who began his term last month, emphasized that the resolution is “just the start.”
“There is so much more than we can do, and we will be doing, and I make that solemn promise to the community right now,” he said before the vote.
“If we don’t do more, hold us accountable,” he added.
Kyle McIntyre, an Upper Darby Township council member, listens to residents’ comments during a township meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 21, at the Upper Darby Municipal Building in Upper Darby, Pa.
Township solicitor Mike Clarke said that police will cooperate with ICE if the agency has a criminal warrant signed by a judge.
“Local law enforcement is not supposed to be in the immigration enforcement business, and essentially that’s what this resolution is saying … but if it’s a criminal warrant, they will be involved,” Clarke said.
A list of frequently asked questions about ICE on the township’s website already stated that Upper Darby does not participate in civil immigration enforcement or ask residents their immigration status, though it does cooperate with lawfully issued criminal warrants and court orders. Township spokesperson Rob Ellis confirmed that the resolution reaffirms the town’s existing internal policy.
The lack of cooperation seems to be going both ways.
Upper Darby Mayor Ed Brown said earlier this month that ICE would no longer communicate with local police to tell them when agents are operating in the township, calling the change “scary.” ICE did not immediately respond to a request for clarity on Thursday.
Some residents at the meeting expressed concern about the reaffirmed policy getting in the way of public safety, and McIntyre later said the policy ensures anyone in Upper Darby can feel comfortable reporting crimes to the police. He said “anybody that commits a crime in Upper Darby Township will be held accountable,” regardless of immigration status.
Jennifer Hallam, who said she has worked with immigrants in Upper Darby for almost a decade, urged the council to postpone its vote and instead pursue legislation that has more teeth.
“The current resolution really just preserves the status quo,” she said.
She called for a resolution that would restrict ICE from municipal property without judicial warrants, prohibit the collection and sharing of immigration status among municipal employees, and prohibit ICE from wearing masks. Philadelphia lawmakers are attempting to ban ICE from wearing masks, though experts are split on whether the measure would be legally sound.
McIntyre said in an interview that Wednesday’s resolution puts the council’s values down on paper and provides clarity to the community, but he acknowledged that a resolution is not enforceable.
A death in ICE custody close to home
The community has been grappling with the death of La, a 46-year-old Cambodian immigrant and Upper Darby resident who, according to his widow, Meghan Morgan, struggled with addiction. La came the United States in 1981 as a refugee around the age of 2. He became a lawful permanent resident a year later but lost his legal status after committing a series of crimes over two decades, ICE said.
ICE said agents arrested La outside his home last month before he received treatment for severe withdrawal in a Philadelphia detention center. He was admitted to the hospital in critical condition, where his condition worsened and he died, the agency said.
Morgan and La’s daughter Jazmine La said they believe he was not given proper medical treatment and the Pennsylvania ACLU filed a Freedom of Information Act request surrounding his detention and death.
McIntyre last month called on Delaware County District Attorney Tanner Rouse and Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner to investigate La’s death.
Rouse said at the time that Delaware County law enforcement was not involved or aware of La’s detainment when it happened, and that his office would investigate it. He said Thursday that surveillance footage showed La was detained “without violence” but that his death in Philadelphia should be addressed by “investigating authorities” in the city.
Krasner’s office declined to comment, saying it was a federal matter.
Staff writer Jeff Gammage contributed to this article.
State Rep. Chris Rabb announced Thursday he will not seek reelection to Harrisburg this year while he runs for a seat in Congress.
State lawmakers are allowed to simultaneously run for two offices. But Rabb, a Democrat, said he is fully committed to his campaign for Pennsylvania’s 3rd Congressional District, which covers roughly half of Philadelphia and is, by some measures, the most Democratic district in the nation.
“I’m so inspired and overwhelmed by the tremendous outpouring of support we are seeing all across the city, and today I want to send a message loud and clear: I am all in on this race for Congress,” Rabb said in a statement.
Rabb served five terms in the Pennsylvania House’s 200th District in Northwest Philadelphia, a seat once held by Mayor Cherelle L. Parker. A progressive who often operates as a political lone wolf, Rabb has frequently clashed with the city’s Democratic establishment, especially Parker and her allies in the Northwest Coalition political organization.
In his first election, Rabb in 2016 defeated Tonyelle Cook-Artis, Parker’s close friend who now serves as an aide in the mayor’s office. Two years later, he bested Melissa Scott, who is now the Parker administration’s chief information officer. In 2022, redistricting forced Rabb to run against fellow incumbent State Rep. Isabella Fitzgerald, and he won again.
Map of Pennsylvania’s Third Congressional District.
State Sen. Sharif Street, of North Philadelphia, is not up for reelection this year, meaning he will keep his seat in Harrisburg if he loses the congressional race without having to run two campaigns. Street last year resigned as chair of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party after facing questions about whether his congressional campaign would conflict with his party leadership role.
State Rep. Morgan Cephas, who chairs the Philadelphia delegation in the state House and represents a West Philadelphia district, is up for reelection this year. Her campaign on Thursdaysaid she intends to simultaneously run for another term while vying for the congressional seat.
(left to right) Alex Schnell, physician Dave Oxman, State Sen. Sharif Street, physician Ala Stanford, State Rep. Morgan Cephas, and Pablo McConnie-Saad appear during a candidate forum for the 3rd Congressional District seat at Church of the Holy Trinity on Monday, Feb. 9, 2026 in Philadelphia. The seat vacancy comes from Rep. Dwight Evans’ retirement.
It is common for state legislators to run two simultaneous campaigns while seeking federal office. Their reelection bids often require little effort, as incumbents rarely face serious challenges. (Rabb’s career as an anti-establishment legislator in the backyard of one of Philadelphia’s most powerful political factions, however, has made him an outlier in that regard.)
He declined to say how much money went missing. In his most recent campaign finance report, Rabb reported raising $127,000 in the last three months of 2025 and entering the year with $99,000 in cash on hand, which at the time represented the fifth-largest reserve among the 3rd District hopefuls.
Rabb’s decision not to run for reelection means the Northwest Coalition now has its best opportunity in a decade to recapture the 200th District state House seat. Northwest Philadelphia’s liberal voter base, however, also opens the door for another progressive to follow in Rabb’s footsteps.
“It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve Philadelphia families across the 200th House District for the past 10 years and I look forward to seeing the great candidates who will run,” Rabb said. “In the coming weeks, I’m committed to working with my fellow progressive leaders and advocates across this district to ensure that this seat continues to be held by a true champion for Philadelphia’s working families.”
Anyone hoping to succeed Rabb in Harrisburg will have to act quickly. Candidates must submit petitions to appear on the ballot. The window to gather signatures opened this week and closes March 10.
Rabb said Wednesday that his congressional campaign collected the required 1,000 signatures in just 12 hours, which he said makes him the first candidate in Pennsylvania to submit qualifying petitions and shows that his campaign “continues to build strong grassroots support across Philadelphia.”
The contentious national discussion over the rapid expansion of ICE came to the doorstep of the Philadelphia region on Wednesday, as the Bucks County commissioners voted to oppose having any processing or detention facilities in the county.
Commissioners said they learned that the federal government had recently approached warehouse owners in two communities, Bensalem Township and Middletown Township, about possible conversions. Neither owner is going forward, they said.
The commissioners voted 3-0 ― including the board’s lone Republican ― to approve a resolution that said such a center would be harmful for county residents and the people who would be confined there.
ICE officials did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
The commissioners voted a day after U.S. Rep Brian Fitzpatrick said that he would oppose such a facility ― and that he had received federal assurances none was planned in his district, which covers Bucks County and parts of eastern Montgomery County.
Fitzpatrick, a Republican who is seeking reelection in the purple district, faces a likely November challenge from Democratic Bucks County Commissioner Bob Harvie, who also opposes ICE sites.
In Doylestown on Wednesday, Commissioner Gene DiGirolamo, a Republican who serves with two Democrats, said he heard about the federal interest in two local sites and strongly disapproved.
Jake Didinsky of Southampton, said he opposes ICE warehouses in his county, comparing them to Japanese interment camps.
“Bucks County is not a county that needs or wants a detention facility,” he said.
Harvie, the board’s vice chair, said Bucks County “is no place for these kinds of facilities” and cautioned: “We have been down this road before, with Japanese Americans. And with Italian Americans.”
During World War II the U.S. government forcibly incarcerated thousands of people of Japanese descent, holding them in concentration camps mostly in the western part of the country. About two-thirds of those confined were American citizens.
Some Italian Americans endured the same treatment.
A resolution conveys the opinion and wishes of the board, but holds no force of law.
The Bucks resolution said the county opposes “the use of warehouses or similar industrial facilities not intended for human occupancy as facilities to hold, jail, detain, house or otherwise store human beings.”
In addition to humanitarian concerns, the resolution says, “such facilities, being hastily erected in areas and structures not intended for human occupation, would place unanticipated demands upon water and sewer systems, creating hazards to public health, as well as heaping new strain upon public safety services.”
The vote came as the growth of ICE leasing and purchases has become contentious in Pennsylvania and across the United States.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement expects to spend $38.3 billion to acquire warehouses around the country and retrofit them into immigrant detention centers to hold tens of thousands of people, the Washington Post reported. The newspaper analyzed agency documents that were provided to New Hampshire’s governor and published on the state’s website.
ICE intends to buy and convert 16 buildings to serve as regional processing centers, each holding 1,000 to 1,500 immigrant detainees. An additional eight detention centers would hold 7,000 to 10,000 detainees and serve as primary sites for deportations.
Last week Gov. Josh Shapiro formally asked Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in a letter to reconsider the conversion of the Berks and Schuylkill sites, citing “real harms” to the communities.
He questioned the legality of the facilities and hinted at a possible lawsuit, saying if DHS goes forward, his administration will “aggressively pursue every option to prevent these facilities from opening.”
DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin confirmed the plans for the Pennsylvania sites, saying that they would undergo community-impact studies and a rigorous due-diligence process, and that they would bring 11,000 jobs to the two Pennsylvania communities.
The two sites would hold a combined 9,000 people.
On Tuesday, Fitzpatrick’s office said it had received assurances from DHS and ICE that they had no plans or intention to open a detention facility within the First Congressional District.
“After hearing from concerned residents, our office immediately contacted U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and we have received assurances that no such facility is planned,” Fitzpatrick said.
Enrique Fuentes counted on the $250 he received monthly in federal nutrition assistance to cover the cost of groceries. That changed last month.
Fuentes works three days a week as a technician assisting therapists who help autistic children and adults, ages 3 to 22. He is one of an estimated 3 million able-bodied Americans who do not work enough hours to qualify for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) under a law signed by President Donald Trump.
“They cut me off because you need to work more than 20 hours a week to get benefits, and I didn’t have those hours,” said Fuentes, 27, who lives in Philadelphia. “I wasn’t even aware of that stipulation.”
Roughly 4 million Americans are expected to lose SNAP benefits in 2026 under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Many of them do not meet work requirements added to the anti-hunger program under the legislation, which paid for Trump’s tax cuts with cuts to SNAP and Medicaid.
In Pennsylvania, around 144,000 SNAP recipients could see benefits cut this year — an estimated 45,000 in Philadelphia and 12,000 in its collar counties, according to Pennsylvania Department of Human Services estimates.
Without enough food, Fuentes, who has an associate’s degree in psychology, felt overwhelmed, he said. He is consulting Community Legal Services, which serves people in poverty, for help.
“I fell into a downward spiral. It’s been upsetting,” he said.
“Lots of people didn’t know the rules, thinking the winds of Washington don’t affect them. But they do.”
Since January, advocates say, they have begun to hear from increasing numbers of people suddenly being removed from the program.
“The White House is rifling through our pockets for lunch money,” said George Matysik, executive director of the Share Food Program, a major provider of food to hundreds of pantries in the region. The cuts constitute “a rounding error for the federal government but [the money is] a lifeline for working-class families,” he added.
Asked for comment on criticism of the SNAP cuts, a White House spokesperson did not address the program. Instead, the spokesperson praised Trump for helping U.S. families by “fixing” former President Joe Biden’s “broken economy.”
The spokesperson saidthat benefits meant for American citizens are “no longer supporting illegal aliens.” But undocumented immigrants have never been eligible to receive SNAP benefits, according to the American Immigration Council,a group that provides legal services to immigrants.
Policy changes under Trump’s law
Because the new law revises categories of SNAP recipients — many of which will go into effect at different times — people are uncertain about what they may lose and when. Others who have already seen reductions say they are growing apprehensive because they don’t know whether the law is the reason, or whether bureaucratic adjustments or errors are the cause.
“Will all this change result in mass panic?” wondered Cailey Tebow, an education outreach coordinator for AmeriCorps VISTA, a national service program designed to alleviate poverty. Tebow works with low-income individuals in Northeast Philadelphia. “It’s scary to think what will happen when people realize what’s being taken from them.”
Hoa Pham, deputy secretary of the Office of Income Maintenancein the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, which administers SNAP in the state, is more hopeful. She said she believes the efforts her department has been making will help Pennsylvanians understand SNAP revisions and will “avoid chaos.”
One category of potential confusion is the change in work requirements.
Until Trump’s spending plan rewrote the rules, groups of low-income people in Pennsylvania and other states were exempt from a long-standing requirement that childless adults without disabilities and under the age of 54 work, volunteer, or go to school 20 hours per week in order to be eligible for SNAP benefits.
The work stipulation had been waived for decades because of high levels of poverty and hunger, as well as diminished job opportunities in Philadelphia and elsewhere in the state.
Under the new policy, childless, able-bodied adults — whose age limit has now been increased to 64 — can be exempt from the work requirements only in areas with at least 10% unemployment — a rate of joblessness considered catastrophic, experts say. In November, Philadelphia’s unemployment rate was 4.8% and other areas in the region saw similar or lower rates.
“Work requirements in SNAP will put forward a substantial amount of bureaucracy that Pennsylvanians have to contend with,” Pham said. “It could kick many people off SNAP. The impact to people could be severe.”
She added that reducing SNAP rolls should not be construed as a savings for taxpayers, as Trump and other Republicans have long argued. That is because food insecurity exacerbates health problems, which will add other costs in the long term, Pham said.
“That will just drive up healthcare and insurance costs,” she said.
‘Life is already crumbling’
At the Jenkintown Food Cupboard last week, “anxiety about what will happen is growing,” said Nicolino Ellis, the executive director. “But bellies are already aching from hunger. Life is already crumbling today.”
Nicolino Ellis, executive director of the Jenkintown Food Cupboard, in the warehouse.
Outside the cupboard at the Jenkintown United Methodist Church, food was distributed in a driveway to clients who drove up in cars. A phalanx of volunteers slid bags of perishables and shelf-stable foods into trunks and back seats.
As SNAP benefits dry up while food prices soar, cupboards like this one become overburdened. But they are a less efficient means of feeding Americans in need, according to Stuart Haniff, CEO of the nonprofit Hunger-Free Pennsylvania.
“For every single meal distributed at a food pantry,” he said, “SNAP provides nine. And need in Philadelphia increased 140% over the last two years.”
A Jenkintown Food Cupboard volunteer works to set up food distribution.
Shelley Gaither is one of the hundreds of people receiving groceries from the pantry.
Gaither, 51, is a former data analyst with an MBA who suffered a disability that caused her to stop working at a Malvern finance company 13 years ago. She now collects Social Security Disability Insurance and lives with her three sons, ages 6, 9, and 18, in Cheltenham.
Gaither said that in January, her SNAP payment dropped from $400 to $200. “I don’t know if it was a new formula from the government cutting me back, or some other reason,” she saidin a phone interview. “No one told me why. It’s not supposed to happen when you have a disability. It’s crazy.”
Whatever caused the cut, Gaither said, she is in trouble, and worried the benefit will shrink even further.
“Now, the money I used to pay for electricity and water has to go for food,” she said. “This makes surviving more difficult.”
The Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, a civil rights icon and a regular presence in Philadelphia who energized Black voters both locally and nationally for more than five decades, died Tuesday at his home in Chicago following a prolonged battle with a rare neurological disorder. He was 84.
“Jesse Jackson will be remembered in Philadelphia as a civil rights hero, and a leader in terms of independent Black politics nationwide,” said former Councilmember W. Wilson Goode Jr., the son of Philly’s first Black mayor, W. Wilson Goode Sr. “He loved Philadelphia, and Philadelphia loved him.”
A native of Greenville, S.C., Rev. Jackson initially rose to prominence in the mid-1960s, when he joined the 1965 voting rights march that the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. led from Selma to Montgomery, Ala. In the years following King’s assassination in 1968, Rev. Jackson largely came to be considered his successor.
Rev. Jackson would go on to become a prominent Black political and cultural leader in his own right, with his lengthy time in the public eye including presidential runs in 1984 and 1988. His visits to Philadelphia date back to the 1970s, and run the gamut from time in town supporting his own presidential campaigns — though neither of which were successful in the ‘80s — to appearances at the Democratic National Convention in 2016.
The Rev. Jesse Jackson, founder and president of the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, acknowledges the cheers of delegates as he walks to the podium to deliver remarks on the third night of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia on July 27, 2016.Hillary Clinton supporters and the Rev. Jesse Jackson (right) on the fourth day of the Democratic National Convention at the Wells Fargo Center on July 28, 2016.The Rev. Jesse Jackson visits Baltimore’s turbulent intersection of West North Avenue and Pennsylvania Avenue on April 28, 2015.
Across that time, Rev. Jackson served as a sort of rallying figure for Black Philadelphians at large, who largely supported his candidacy during his presidential runs, despite him failing to secure the Democratic nomination statewide. Still, his impact for Black voters both in Philadelphia and nationally remains everlasting.
“That was the Rosetta stone to everything Jackson was trying to achieve,” said former Daily News scribe Gene Seymour, nephew of legendary People Paper columnist Chuck Stone. “We aren’t to be ignored or dismissed or cast aside — we matter.”
In that sense, Goode Jr. said, Rev. Jackson will remain a political icon who inspired the nationalization of Black political empowerment.
“Jesse Jackson is also a cultural icon in terms of telling people to be proud of being Black, and telling themselves, ‘I am somebody,’” Goode Jr. said, referencing Rev. Jackson’s famed refrain. “That is something that was indelible in the soul of Black people across the nation and world, and in Philadelphia here as well.”
The Rev. Jesse Jackson visits the turbulent intersection of West North Avenue and Pennsylvania Avenue in Baltimore on April 28, 2015.The Rev. Jesse Jackson visited Occupy Philadelphia protesters on Nov. 13, 2011. He told them to “never surrender.”The Rev Jesse Jackson at Joe Frazier’s funeral at Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church on Cheltenham Avenue in Philadelphia on Nov. 14, 2011.The Rev. Jesse Jackson (center) visits the Interfaith tent, donated by Quakers, to talk to the Rev. Peter Friedrich (left) and (from right) Phillip Hall, Hollister Knowlton, and Joyce Moore in 2011.
Though Philadelphia’s Black community generally was supportive of and receptive to Rev. Jackson’s messaging historically, Seymour said, he maintained something of a complicated relationship with the city’s prominent politicians. Wilson Goode Sr., for example, officially supported Walter Mondale and Michael Dukakis for president in the 1980s. At least in 1988, Seymour said, Rev. Jackson likely had “the people’s hearts,” despite lacking the official nomination.
Wilson Goode Sr. was not immediately available for comment.
“His presidential campaigns in 1984 and 1988 reshaped American politics,” said the Rev. Gregory Edwards, of the Philly-based POWER Interfaith, in a statement. “Those campaigns widened the political imagination of this country and helped cultivate a generation of Black elected leaders.”
Rev. Jackson’s relationship with Goode Sr. was somewhat complicated following the 1985 MOVE bombing, which brought the civil rights leader to tour the ruins of the 6200 block of Osage Avenue in its aftermath. Rev. Jackson urged a congressional investigation into the incident, which he called “excessive force,” but avoided criticizing Goode directly in subsequent meetings. Goode, meanwhile, said that the city would cooperate with any groups investigating the incident, The Inquirer reported at the time.
“He was not happy with what happened in ‘85 with MOVE,” Seymour said.
The Rev. Jesse L. Jackson speaks during during funeral services for civil rights activist C. Delores Tucker at Deliverance Evangelistic Church on Oct. 21, 2005. Seated in front row behind him, left to right are Eleanor Smeal, president of the Feminist Majority Foundation; Marion Barry, former mayor of Washington, and Philadelphia Mayor John Street. Rev. Jackson is projected live on a large screen monitor (camera operator in foreground) as he participates in a panel discussion laying out a legal and political strategy for fulfilling Brown v. the Board of Education, at the annual NAACP meeting on July. 14, 2004 at the Convention Center. Her family stands by as husband (partially hidden) William T. Tucker covers the body of civil rights activist C. Delores Tucker in her casket at the beginning of funeral service at Deliverance Evangelistic Church on Oct. 21, 2005. At right is the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, founder and president of the Rainbow Coalition/PUSH, who later delivered the eulogy. Seated in rear at right is former Vice President Al Gore. AIDS quilt panels flank the podium as the Rev. Jesse Jackson speaks at an African American AIDS conference at the Wyndham Franklin Plaza Hotel on Feb. 28, 2005.
Still, Rev. Jackson often served as a defender of Philadelphia’s famed Black figures. In 2011, for example, Rev. Jackson spoke at the funeral of legendary world heavyweight boxing champion Joe Frazier, who had long competed with the fictional Rocky Balboa for recognition. As Jackson put it at the time, Frazier was the “real champion,” not the “Italian Stallion.”
The Rev. Jesse Jackson, who has a sleeping bag draped around his shoulders, is talking and praying with Occupy Philadelphia demonstrators: Brad Wilson (from left); the Rev. Bill Golderer, pastor of Broad Street Ministry; and Donna Jones, pastor of the Cookman Baptist Initiative.
“If you were of importance as a Black person in America during the time [Jackson] was in the public eye,” Seymour said, “he was there to speak on your behalf.”
Goode Jr.’s most prominent memory of Rev. Jackson, meanwhile, dates back to the mid-1980s, when he was a student at the University of Pennsylvania. At the time, he said, Rev. Jackson attended a National Black Student Union conference following an invitation from its organizers, Goode Jr. included. It was, Goode Jr. said, an inspiration.
“It meant a lot to us,” Goode Jr. said. “Not just Black leaders at Penn, but across the nation, who were gathered there.”
Striking Red Cross worker Lenny Lerro takes a picture of himself with the Rev. Jesse Jackson as they walk the picket line in 2011 on Spring Garden Street in Philadelphia.Rev. Jesse Jackson visits with folks at Occupy Philadelphia, just outside City Hall on Nov. 20, 2011.The Rev. Jesse Jackson visits with folks at Occupy Philadelphia, just outside City Hall on Nov. 20, 2011.U.S. Rep. John Lewis (second from left) is presented with the Civil Rights Champion Award in 2013 by (from left) the Rev. Al Sharpton, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, and Marc Morial, president of the Urban League.
A new push to let Philadelphia bars stay open past 2 a.m. is being mounted by local trade groups and bars as the largest global sporting event arrives in the city in June.
The Pennsylvania Restaurant and Lodging Association, which represents restaurants, bars, and other hospitality businesses, wants state lawmakers to create a temporary permit that allows Philadelphia bars to serve alcohol until 4 a.m. during the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will come to Philadelphia and 15 other cities in North America from June 11 to July 19.
“When we’re trying to attract tourists from all over the world to a destination in the United States to enjoy the World Cup, we want to make sure that Philadelphia is offering at least the same amenities as the other host cities,” said Ben Fileccia, senior vice president for strategy for the restaurant and lodging association.
Many of the most popular U.S. host cities allow bars to serve alcohol past 2 a.m., including New York, Miami, and Kansas City. Other popular international destinations, such as Mexico City and Toronto, also allow it.
Philadelphia officials did not immediately return a request for comment.
Any changes to bar closing times would have to come from new legislation, as the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board does not have the authority to change the liquor code to allow bars to sell alcohol after 2 a.m., said PLCB spokesperson Shawn Kelly.
The crowd cheers and celebrates USA’s first goal against the Netherlands in the World Cup at Brauhaus Schmitz bar in Philadelphia, Pa., on Saturday Dec. 3, 2022.
Philly’s chance to prove 4 a.m. closing times work
Fileccia said this permit would allow bars to take advantage of the estimated 500,000 soccer fans expected to stay in Philadelphia for the six matches being played at Lincoln Financial Field.
Zek Leeper, co-owner of Founding Fathers sports bar in Southwest Center City, does not see this just as a way to earn more revenue with a surge of tourists coming to Philadelphia.
“This is our chance to prove that 4 a.m. nightlife can work in Philadelphia. Setting up a temporary license also allows the city and state to pull it back, depending on how it goes,” Leeper said. “With the amount of tourists this year, when is this opportunity going to come up again to justify giving this a try?”
Leeper and other local bar owners feel confident that the crowds will show up for late-night matches. “We host soccer games from leagues around the world, and those fans are committed. They have consistently shown up whenever the game is on,” Leeper said.
Steve Maehl (left) of Oconomowoc, Wisconsin laughs as Philly Seagulls President John Fitzpatrick and Dan Peck of Brighton, England (right) look on during the supporter meetup, to kickoff the summer series weekend, at Fadó Irish Pub in Phila., Pa. on Thursday, July 20, 2023.
Philadelphia soccer fans are already known to work deals with local bars to open as early as 7 a.m. Leeper said upward of 50 people will pack into the bar at sunrise to watch games. While there are no games being played in Philadelphia past 9 p.m. during the World Cup, at least eight of the group stage matches in June will be broadcast on the East Coast starting at midnight or 11 p.m.
With a 90-minute match, plus halftime and added time, there could be a handful of cases where bartenders have to face down a packed crowd of fans and ask them to leave before the final whistle, Leeper said.
There’s also the element of international tourists coming from cities that do not have a 2 a.m. cutoff, such as London and Tokyo, leading some visitors to find ways to late-night party outside of licensed establishments, Fileccia said.
Philly bars were allowed to close later during the 2016 DNC
Lawmakers allowed bars to stay open until 4 a.m. during the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. Bars and restaurants with contracts or association with the convention could apply for $5,000 special-event permits to serve alcohol past 2 a.m.
Fileccia said the details for a similar permit in 2026 are not available yet, as the effort is just underway. But he and others at PRLA want to bring the Philadelphia Police Department, the Philadelphia Department of Commerce, and other stakeholders to the table to find out the best resolution, he said.
Fans react to the Eagles play the Chiefs in the NFL Super Bowl LIX, in a bar near Frankford and Cottman Aves., Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025, in Philadelphia.
Will there be enough interest in late-night partying?
With millions of tourists in Philadelphia this year for the international and national events, there will be increased foot traffic throughout the city, but will there be a late-night crowd to meet the moment?
That is the question Chuck Moran, executive director of the Pennsylvania Licensed Beverages and Taverns Association, is asking despite his support for temporarily keeping bars open later.
“The one thing that I’ve been hearing across the state is that ever since COVID, the late-night crowds have left,” Moran said. “There could also be issues with finding staff who want to work till 4 a.m. in a bar.”
Moran said he would rally behind the cause but would look to other measures to maximize revenue for local restaurants and bars, such as allowing liquor-license holders to operate a “satellite location,” letting them serve liquor at a second establishment under their original license. That would open the door to partnerships with restaurants without liquor licenses, Moran said. State Rep. Pat Gallagher, a Philadelphia Democrat, introduced a bill to do just that last June.
No legislation on keeping Philly bars open later has been introduced yet, but Fileccia hopes to get the ball rolling with lawmakers in the coming months before the first match in Philly on June 14. Even with the window closing on getting new rules passed, Kelly said the PLCB turned around special-event permits in less than two weeks before the start of the 2016 DNC.
One night in early December, the phones of Radnor High School students started buzzing. Some freshmen girls were getting disturbing messages: A male classmate, they were told, had made pornographic videos of them.
When one of the girls walked into school the next morning, “she said everyone was staring at her,” said her mother, who requested anonymity to protect her daughter’s identity. “All the kids knew. It spread like wildfire.”
So-called AI deepfakes — pictures of a real person manipulated with artificial intelligence,sometimes with “nudify” features that can convert clothed photos into naked ones — have become the talk of school hallways and Snapchat conversations in some area schools.
As Pennsylvania lawmakers have pushed new restrictions cracking down on deepfakes — defining explicit images as child sexual abuse material, and advancing another measure that would require schools to immediately alert law enforcement about AI incidents — schools say they have no role in criminal investigations, and are limited in their ability to police students off campus.
But some parents say schools should be taking a more proactive stance to prepare for AI abuse — and are failing to protect victims when it happens, further harming students who have been violated by their peers.
In the Council Rock School District, where AI-generated deepfakes were reported last March, parents of targeted girls said administrators waited five days to contact the police about the allegations and never notified the community, even after two boys were charged with crimes.
“They denied everything and kind of shoved it under the rug and failed to acknowledge it,” said a mother in Council Rock, who also requested anonymity to protect her daughter’s identity. “Everybody thought it was a rumor,” rather than real damage done to girls, the mother said.
Council Rock spokesperson Andrea Mangoldsaid that the district “recognizes and understands the deep frustration and concern expressed by parents,” and that a police investigation “began promptly upon the district’s notification.”
Mangold said that current laws were “insufficient to fully prevent or deter these incidents,” and that the district was “limited in what we know and what we can legally share publicly” due to student privacy laws.
In Radnor, parents also said the district minimized the December incident. A district message last month said a student had created images of classmates that “move and dance,” and reported that police had not found evidence of “anything inappropriate” — even though police later saidthey had charged a student with harassment after an investigation into alleged sexualized images of multiple girls.
A Radnor spokesperson said the alleged images were never discovered and the district’s message was cowritten by Radnor police, who declined to comment.
The district “approaches all student-related matters with care and sensitivity for those involved,” said the spokesperson, Theji Brennan. She said the district was limited in what it could share about minors.
In both Radnor and Council Rock, parents said their daughters were offered little support — and were told that if they were uncomfortable, they could go to quiet rooms or leave classes early to avoid crossing paths with boys involved in the incidents.
“She just felt like no one believed her,” the Radnor mother said of her daughter.
How an investigation unfolded in Radnor
In Radnor, five freshman girls first heard they were victims of deepfakes on Dec. 2, according to parents of two of the victims who requested anonymity to protect their daughters’ identities. They said boys told their daughters that a male classmate had made videosdepicting them sexually.
In a Snapchat conversation that night, one boy said, “‘Nobody tell their parents,’” a mother of one of the victims recalled. Reading her daughter’s texts, “it quickly went from high school drama to ‘Wow, this is serious.’”
The girls and their parents never saw the videos. In an email to school officials the next morning, parents asked for an investigation, discipline for the students involved, and efforts to stop any sharing of videos. They also asked for support for their daughters.
Schooladministrators began interviewing students. The mother of one of the victims said her daughter was interviewed alone by the male assistant principal — an uncomfortable dynamic, given the subject matter, she said.
One mother said the principal told her daughter that it was the boys’ word against hers, and that he was “so glad nothing was shared” on social media — even though no one knew at that point where videos had been shared, the mother said.
The principal said the school had no authority over kids’ phones, so the girl and her family would need to call the police if they wanted phones searched, the mother said.
Brennan, the Radnor spokesperson, said that administrators contacted Radnor police and child welfare authorities the same day they spoke with families. “The district’s and the police department’s investigations have found no evidence that the images remain or were shared, posted, or otherwise circulated,” she said.
The male classmate acknowledged making videos of the girls dancing in thong bikinis, the parents said police told them. But the app he used was deleted from his phone, and the videos were not on it, the police told them.
The parents didn’t believe the admission.
“I don’t think a 14-year-boy would report a TikTok video of girls in bikinis,” said one of the mothers, who said her daughter was told she was naked and touching herself in videos.
The police told parents they did not subpoena the app or any social media companies, making it impossible to know what was created.
Radnor Police Chief Chris Flanagan declined to comment, as did the Delaware County District Attorney’s Office.
In a message sent to the district community Jan. 16 announcing the end of the police investigation, officials said a student, outside of school hours, had taken “publicly available” photos of other students and “used an app that animates images, making them appear to move and dance.”
“No evidence shared with law enforcement depicted anything inappropriate or any other related crime,” the message said.
A week later, the police released a statement saying a juvenile was charged with harassment after an investigation into “the possible use of AI to generate non-consensual sexualized imagery of numerous juveniles.”
Asked why the district’s statement had omitted the criminal charge or mention of sexualized imagery, Brennan said the statement was also signed by Flanagan, who declined to comment on the discrepancy.
Brennan said the district had provided ongoing support to students, including access to a counselor and social worker.
Parents said the district had erred in failing to initiate a Title IX sexual harassment investigation, instead telling parents they needed to file their own complaints.
“They kept saying, ‘This is off campus,’” the mother said. But “my daughter could not walk around without crying and feeling ashamed.”
Parents say girls were ‘not supported’ in Council Rock
In Council Rock, a girl came home from Newtown Middle School on March 17 and told her mother a classmate had created naked images of her.
“I’m like, ‘Excuse me? Nobody contacted me,’” said the mother, who requested anonymity to protect her daughter’s identity. She called the school’s principal, who she said told her: “‘Oh, my God, I meant to reach out to you. I have a list of parents, I just have not gotten to it’ — you know, really downplaying it.”
The mother and other victims’parents later learned that administrators were alerted to the images on March 14, when boys reported them to the principal. But instead of calling the police, the principal met with the accused boy and his father, according to parents. Police told parents they were contacted by the school five days later. The Newtown police did not respond to a request for comment.
Mangold, the Council Rock spokesperson, declined to comment on the specific timing of the school’s contact with police.
Police ultimately obtained images after issuing a subpoena to Snapchat; in total, there were 11 victims, the parents said.
Through the Snapchat data, police learned that a second boy was involved, the parents said, which made them question what was created and how far it spread.
Parents said they believe there are more pictures and videos than police saw, based on what their daughters were told — and because the delayed reporting to police could have given boys an opportunity to delete evidence.
“That’s kind of what the fear of our daughters is — like, what was actually out there?” said one mother, who also requested anonymity to protect her child’s identity.
Manuel Gamiz, a spokesperson for the Bucks County district attorney, said Newtown Township police had charged two juveniles with unlawful dissemination of sexually explicit material by a minor. Gamiz said the office could not provide further information because the case involved juveniles.
Juvenile cases are not public, but victims’ parents said both boys were adjudicated delinquent. While the boys had been attending Council Rock North High School with their daughters, the district agreed to transfer both after their cases were resolved, according to a lawyer representing four of the parents, Matthew Faranda-Diedrich.
“How can you let this person be roaming the halls?” said Faranda-Diedrich, who said it took formal demand letters in order for the district to transfer the boys.
He accused the district of mishandling the incident and “protecting the institution” rather than the victimized girls.
“They’re putting themselves above these students,” Faranda-Diedrich said.
Parents said school leaders warned their daughters against spreading rumors, and never sent a districtwide message about the incident.
“These girls were victims,” one of the mothers said, “and they were not supported.”
She and the other mothers who spoke to The Inquirer said the incident has deeply affected their daughters, from anxiety around what images may have been created — and how many people saw them — to a loss of trust in school leaders.
Some of the girls are considering switching schools, one mother said.
State law changes and a debate around education about deepfakes
Those changes came in 2024 and 2025, after a scandal over deepfakes of nearly 50 girls at a Lancaster private school.
Another bill that passed the state Senate unanimously in November would require school staff and other mandated reporters to report AI-generated explicit images of minors as child abuse — closing what prosecutors had cited as a loophole when they declined to bring charges against Lancaster Country Day School for failing to report AI images to the police. That legislation is now pending in the House.
Schools can also do more, said Faranda-Diedrich, who also represented parents of victims in the Lancaster Country Day School incident. He has pressed schools to conduct mandated reporter training for staff. “By and large they refuse,” he said.
In Radnor, parents urged the school board at last week’s committee meeting to make changes.
Parent Luciana Librandi walks back to her seat after speaking during a Radnor school board committee meeting last week.
Luciana Librandi, a parent of a freshman who said she had been “directly impacted by the misuse of generative AI,” called for timelines for contacting police following an AI incident, safeguards during student questioning, and annual education for students and parents on AI.
Others called for the district to communicate the criminal charge to families, to enforce existing policies against harassment, and to independently review its response to the recent incident.
Radnor officials said they are planning educational programming on the dangers of making AI images without a person’s consent.
There is somedebate on whether to teach children about “nudify” apps and their dangers, said Riana Pfefferkorn, policy fellow at the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI, who has researched the prevalence of AI-generated child sexual abuse material. Alerting kids to the apps’ existence could cause them “to make a beeline for it,” Pfefferkorn said.
While “this isn’t something that is epidemic levels in schools just yet,” Pfefferkorn said, “is this a secret we can keep from children?”
One of the victims’ parents in Radnor said education on the topic is overdue.
“It’s clearly in school,” the mother said. “The fact there’s no video being shown on the big screen in your cafeteria — we don’t live in that world anymore.”
