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  • Phillies’ Kyle Schwarber out of the lineup for a second straight game: ‘Just being a little cautious’

    Phillies’ Kyle Schwarber out of the lineup for a second straight game: ‘Just being a little cautious’

    WASHINGTON — Kyle Schwarber was out of the Phillies lineup on Wednesday, missing a second consecutive game with tightness in his lower back.

    The Phillies designated hitter felt his back lock up a few minutes before first pitch on Tuesday. He found it difficult to swing, and was a late scratch from what would ultimately be a roller coaster 14-9 win over Washington.

    Interim manager Don Mattingly said Wednesday that Schwarber was feeling better, but he wanted to be cautious and give him another day off. Bryce Harper was in the lineup at designated hitter, with Alec Bohm moving to first base and Edmundo Sosa starting at third.

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    “I think if it was a different time of year, we’d do everything we could to get him to play today, and he would too, I think,” Mattingly said. “But just being a little cautious with him, don’t want to end up being two weeks or something.”

    Mattingly said pregame on Wednesday that he hoped Schwarber would improve enough to be available off the bench in an emergency situation as a pinch-hitter. But he didn’t want to put a definitive timetable on Schwarber’s return.

    “If it takes another day, it takes another day,” Mattingly said. “And we got guys who can play. So [better to] be cautious.”

    On Tuesday, Sosa slid into the lineup at designated hitter in Schwarber’s place on short notice, and had five RBIs in the Phillies’ comeback win, including a ninth-inning double that was part of their eight-run rally with two outs.

    “I definitely wish Schwarber was out there every single night for us, but health always comes first, and we got to make sure he’s OK, and get him back out there,” Brandon Marsh said. “But it’s just next-man-up mentality. Sosa stepped up and had a tremendous game for us, man.”

    Andrew Painter was optioned to triple A by the Phillies on June 18.

    Painter set to return to action in triple A

    Andrew Painter is scheduled to start on Sunday for triple-A Lehigh Valley, his first game appearance since being optioned on June 18.

    After the Phillies’ prized rookie struggled to a 7.06 ERA in 14 games, the Phillies sent him down to the minors to work on his fastball. Batters were slugging .660 against his four-seam. The pitch has a run value of minus-11 according to StatCast, which is third-worst among four-seamers in the majors, only better than those thrown by Aaron Nola (minus-13) and the Rockies’ Kyle Freeland (minus-12).

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    Instead of getting into a triple-A game right away, Painter threw multiple bullpen sessions to work on his delivery. But he will be back facing the Syracuse Mets on Sunday, which Mattingly said he expects to be a “full start.”

    “I don’t know if it would be a 100-pitch type start, they may want to be cautious a little bit, but there’s no limitations on him, anything he can’t do. It’s a start,” Mattingly said. “Hopefully we get able to start ironing things out, and that starts to take hold.”

    Adolis García’s recovery from surgery is expected be last six to eight months.

    García undergoes surgery

    Adolis García’s season is officially over after undergoing right latissimus dorsi repair surgery on Wednesday morning in Chicago. The timeline for recovery is six to eight months.

    García tore his lat while making a throw from the outfield in Toronto on June 10. He had become a popular member of the Phillies clubhouse after signing a one-year deal in the winter.

    The right fielder has a strong relationship with Sosa, dating back to their time in the St. Louis Cardinals‘ minor league system. García would use his DJ skills to soundtrack the Phillies’ postgame win celebrations, and had a turntable set up in the home clubhouse at Citizens Bank Park.

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    Mattingly said García will be rehabbing at the Phillies complex in Clearwater, Fla., instead of being around the major league club.

    “It’s just hard to have guys that you’re rehabbing every day, when you have a bunch of guys that need treatment and things like that,” Mattingly said. “But he was very popular. I think he was easy to be popular, because he was a positive guy, played with a smile on his face, just a professional from the standpoint of being ready to play every day.”

    Extra bases

    Right-hander Bryse Wilson, who was designated for assignment on Monday, was claimed on waivers by the Chicago Cubs. … Cristopher Sánchez (9-3, 1.80 ERA) is scheduled to start Thursday’s series finale against Nationals right-hander Cade Cavalli (4-4, 4.07).

  • Rural area in Northern California jolted by its biggest quake since 1940

    Rural area in Northern California jolted by its biggest quake since 1940

    SAN FRANCISCO — A rural area of Northern California experienced its strongest earthquake since 1940 on Wednesday morning, causing some injuries but no immediate reports of major damage, officials said.

    The epicenter of the quake, with a preliminary magnitude of 5.6, was about 7 miles northwest of the agricultural town of Willits, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It was widely felt, including in the coastal city of Fort Bragg. The initial quake was centered inland about 50 miles east of Fort Bragg at 8:10 a.m. Pacific Time, and the USGS said it was about 5 miles deep.

    The area in Mendocino County dotted with small, agricultural towns is 140 miles northeast of San Francisco.

    Heather Rose, a Mendocino County spokesperson, said that hospitals had reported some injuries but that she had no details on their nature or extent. She said officials plan to meet later Wednesday when more information could be released.

    Power outages are affecting more than 6,000 residents of six towns near the epicenter, the Mendocino County Executive Office said in a statement. The office encouraged people to stay off the highways and roads to allow work crews to inspect for damage and make repairs.

    Brie Leon and her colleagues had just opened Club Calpella Restaurant when the building started shaking, rattling plates and liquor bottles.

    “I had just turned the open sign on and went back into the kitchen, and that’s when it happened,” she said. “It almost felt like something hit the building.”

    The restaurant is in Calpella, Calif., a town about 10 miles south of the epicenter and in a region of Mendocino County that has been struck by smaller quakes this year.

    This was the biggest earthquake in nearly nine decades in the region, which is not on a major fault, said Lucy Jones, a veteran California seismologist.

    “The area is not without earthquakes, but they’re usually smaller than this,” Jones said. She added that aftershocks are likely, but they’ll “probably stay on the low side.”

    Three other quakes under a 2.7 magnitude struck near the epicenter within an hour.

    Leon said the quake knocked frames off the walls and bottles off the shelves in the restaurant and the stockroom next door. She and other servers were cleaning up not long after to welcome customers for breakfast.

    “It wasn’t a big, big quake, but things went everywhere,” she said.

    Alan Harris and his family were at home in Kelseyville, about 40 miles southeast of the epicenter, when he received an earthquake alert on his cell phone. Soon after, the house began shaking.

    “I yelled downstairs immediately to my wife and daughter to make sure they were hanging on,” Harris said. “It was scary. You could hear things crashing, mostly on the third floor of the house.”

    A security camera inside Harris’ home shook vigorously as the quake struck. A few loud, crashing sounds can be heard on the video footage before Harris calls out: “Is everyone OK?”

    It lasted only about 30 seconds. Framed photos fell off the walls and a computer monitor was knocked over, Harris said. Nothing appeared badly damaged, he added, noting he found no structural damage to the house.

    Nearly 657,000 earthquake early warning alerts were sent by the MyShake App throughout Northern California, the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services said. Cal OES had not received any reports of damage or injuries, but it was coordinating with authorities to evaluate impacts, the office said in a statement.

    Hundreds of thousands more people received alerts through other public safety alert systems, but those numbers have not been finalized, said Robert de Groot, a scientist with the ShakeAlert operations team.

    “The alert deliveries for this are going to be well over a million,” Groot said.

  • Trump-endorsed de la Espriella declared winner of Colombia’s presidential runoff election

    Trump-endorsed de la Espriella declared winner of Colombia’s presidential runoff election

    BOGOTA, Colombia — Conservative outsider Abelardo de la Espriella, a millionaire political neophyte, will be Colombia’s next president after electoral authorities on Wednesday declared him the winner of Sunday’s runoff election.

    The businessman and lawyer, whose ventures include a clothing line, wine and rum brands, and a restaurant, earned President Donald Trump’s endorsement despite never having run for office. He defeated progressive lawmaker Iván Cepeda by 1 percentage point, or more than 251,000 votes.

    The result effectively was an indictment of outgoing President Gustavo Petro’s government, whose policies Cepeda had promised to continue, including a largely failed effort to establish dialogue with multiple armed groups.

    Electoral authorities published all but a fraction of the vote count hours after polls closed Sunday. Petro and Cepeda did not accept those results, with the latter saying he would wait for a recount to do so. Authorities finished the recount before declaring de la Espriella’s victory.

    De la Espriella’s victory adds Colombia to a growing list of countries that have turned to political outsiders in search for solutions to complex social, security, and economic challenges.

    The self-proclaimed representative of “the never-before-seen” promised voters fearful of renewed internal conflict to take a heavy-handed approach to combating violent crime with strategies borrowed from Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele’s playbook, including building mega-prisons. Those tactics have lowered homicide rates in the Central American country but have fueled accusations of human rights abuses.

    Earlier Wednesday, Cepeda conceded Colombia’s presidential election to de la Espriella and accepted a Senate seat reserved for the runner-up in the presidential election.

    “We assume with serenity, responsibility, and absolute resolve — and let there be no doubt about it — the role that circumstances demand of us,” Cepeda said in an address to the nation. “We will exercise a democratic, vigilant and constructive opposition.”

    De la Espriella, 47, will begin a 4-year term Aug. 7.

    In a statement on Wednesday, de la Espriella’s campaign said de la Espriella’s “purpose is to work for national unity, with the people and for the people.” The campaign also stated his government will be committed to guaranteeing “the right to political opposition and peaceful protest, within the framework of the Constitution, the law, and respect for democratic institutions.”

    A day earlier, de la Espriella announced he is putting together his cabinet. He also said he plans to add Colombia to the Trump-dubbed “Shield of the Americas,” a coalition of countries purportedly aimed at cracking down on criminal groups in Latin America.

    More than 26 million people voted in the polarizing runoff, setting a historic record. Of those, over 426,000 people chose a third, no-name option on the ballot that allows voters to express dislike of both candidates. About 29,000 people cast blank ballots.

  • The Pennsylvania House passes two bills protecting parental rights, including for incarcerated people

    The Pennsylvania House passes two bills protecting parental rights, including for incarcerated people

    The Pennsylvania House has approved a measure that could help reinstate the rights of parents whose children are in state custody and another that would protect the parental rights of incarcerated people.

    The latter bill clarifies that a person’s incarceration status cannot be the sole reason for taking away parental rights.

    It gives courts flexibility in parental-right termination cases by allowing them to consider an individual’s efforts to comply with family service plan requirements despite being incarcerated. Also, courts could delay filing for termination when incarceration is the primary reason a child has been placed in foster care.

    The Joint State Government Commission’s Task Force on Children recommended the changes in 2011.

    The other bill would give parents whose children have been in the custody of the state for at least 15 months, or who are at least 17 years old, a process to reinstate their parental rights. Those parents would now be able to petition the court and demonstrate they are willing and able to properly care for their children.

    Both bills, which were passed earlier in the week with minimal opposition, now head to the Senate for consideration.

    Democratic State Rep. Rick Krajewski, whose district covers West and Southwest Philly, introduced both bills. Krajewski said that under current law, it is extremely difficult for people whose parental rights have been removed to get them reinstated, and he is interested in providing people second chances.

    “It doesn’t mean those parents are any less loving, any less caring, or any less willing to show up for their children. And unfortunately, people make mistakes … people are also not static. People grow, they go through changes,” he said.

    PA Democratic State Rep. Rick Krajewski speaks to people gathered for a protest in 2022.

    Krajewski said his personal experience witnessing his stepfather being incarcerated and other family members being involved in the criminal justice system helped him understand how detrimental separating children and parents can be for both parties. He said removing a person’s parental rights solely because of incarceration is cruel.

    “This feels like an additional punishment that isn’t relevant to whatever harm they caused. … I don’t think it’s just to add this additional penalty on top,” he said.

    Krajewski has also introduced another child-welfare-related bill that would end the practice of intercepting benefits intended for foster children, and instead place the benefits in a savings account. City Council banned the practice in Philadelphia in 2022 following an Inquirer investigation, but the Philadelphia Department of Human Services still kept over $1 million a year meant for foster children and the practice remained common statewide. The bill was passed out of committee on Wednesday and will be considered by the full House.

    Local advocates like Community Legal Services Philadelphia and Philly Voice for Change, a nonprofit working to prevent family separation, voiced their support for the parental rights bills after they passed.

    “The bipartisan support in the House demonstrates a commitment to families and a recognition that children should not remain in the system when their parents are ready, willing and able to provide safe and loving care,” said Philly Voice for Change cofounder April Lee in a statement.

    “This vote is an important step toward keeping families together, promoting reunification and ensuring that children have every opportunity to return home when it is in their best interest,” she said.

  • Zach Ertz shares his one career regret and gets emotional about the Eagles on ‘New Heights’

    Zach Ertz shares his one career regret and gets emotional about the Eagles on ‘New Heights’

    Entering his ninth season as an Eagle, Zach Ertz could see the writing on the wall. With the continued emergence of tight end Dallas Goedert and a rough four-win 2020 season at the front of mind, it seemed certain the two parties would be headed for a divorce.

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    But finding a landing spot for the three-time Pro Bowler took longer than originally anticipated. Expecting to be dealt before the 2021 preseason, Ertz was still on the roster when training camp arrived. So on a whim, the veteran tight end decided to dye his hair bleach blond.

    “I essentially hadn’t been there all offseason. I had ankle surgery so I was missing OTAs anyway. And I showed up for training camp with blond hair,” Ertz said on his former teammate Jason and Travis Kelce’s New Heights podcast. “I don’t regret much about my time in Philly or this career, but the one thing I do regret is kind of that phase, showing up to training camp with blond hair.”

    Eagles tight end Zach Ertz jogs off the field after the Eagles beat the Atlanta Falcons to open the 2021 season.

    Jason Kelce, who played alongside Ertz for over eight seasons, was as sure as anyone that the Southern California native would get dealt before games started. He was so confident that he put his own head of hair on the line.

    “It was so obvious, unfortunately, that my time was probably coming to an end, that Jason was like, ‘Bro, when are you getting traded? You’re going to get traded any day now. If you’re still on the team Week 1 then I’ll dye my hair,’” Ertz recalled. “I don’t think I had anything to lose in this situation.”

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    And as the summer days rolled on, Ertz’s wait for a trade didn’t materialize — at least not before the Eagles’ Week 1 game against the Atlanta Falcons. So when the longtime teammates ran out onto the field at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, they were rocking a matching hairdo.

    “I just wanted Zach to have something to look forward to if he was still on the team, like, ‘At least Jason dyed his hair to match,’” Kelce recalled.

    Most important, Ertz’s wife and former U.S. women’s national soccer team star Julie Ertz, who was also a guest on this week’s episode, said she liked her husband’s new look.

    “That’s really all that matters, honestly,” Zach quipped.

    As for Kelce, Ertz referred to him as Guy Fieri as both the hosts and guests reacted an image of a blond Kelce, that Jason called “the worst photo of me possible.”

    Jason Kelce dyed his hair to match Ertz’s at the start of the 2021 season.

    “I don’t think Kylie [Kelce] liked your hair as much as I liked Zach’s hair,” Julie joked.

    Ertz remembers his Philly days

    Ertz was also asked to reflect on his time in Philly.

    “When you spend nine years somewhere, you’re going to always have a natural affinity for the place,” Ertz said. “Unfortunately … I wasn’t able to play my whole career [in Philadelphia].”

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    But what Ertz most appreciated from his time on the Eagles were his teammates. After getting selected in the second round of the 2013 draft, Ertz quickly inserted himself into a young Eagles foundation designed to remain intact for years — one that also included Kelce, Brandon Graham, Fletcher Cox, and Lane Johnson.

    “The thing I look back on fondest is our core group of guys that we had together for a long period of time, with you, Lane, BG, Fletch, myself,” Ertz said. “It wasn’t easy all the time for any of us. Like there were times we’d get killed in the media or whatever it was, and I always knew you four always had my back regardless of what we were going [through]. And I hope you guys felt the same about me.

    “And it is a little emotional talking about — I don’t know why — but just going through that, just being around the guys. No one is going to remember about how many yards or catches or starts we had, but I do remember the day-to-day, grinding, the stories of you kicking over a trash can because you didn’t like the way a coach was treating someone else, or Lane hiding your helmet — those are the things I remember.”

    Eagles tight end Zach Ertz (left) and defensive end Brandon Graham (right) walk off the field after a 37-17 loss to the Dallas Cowboys in December 2020.

    Ertz’s time in Philly ended in November 2021 when a long-awaited trade sent him to the Arizona Cardinals. The Eagles’ single-season receptions leader played two more seasons with the Cardinals and two with the Washington Commanders. But when Ertz, who is now a free agent, returned to the City of Brotherly Love with Washington, he couldn’t get the Birds’ fight song out of his head.

    “Even when [I was] on the other sideline … It’s still like subtly in the back of my mind,” Ertz admitted, “singing it as I’m over there watching.”

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    What’s next for Ertz?

    Looking ahead, Ertz is aiming to suit up to play in his 14th NFL season, but he does not yet know where. Complicating the situation is a season-ending ACL tear that the 35-year-old suffered in a Week 14 shutout loss to the Minnesota Vikings.

    But Ertz is pleased with the recovery progress he’s made and expects to be ready near the start of the season.

    “We’re in a good spot. We’re like five, almost six months now from surgery, so just training every day, doing everything I can to get back to where I was,” Ertz said. “It’s a long process. There’s some long days, there’s some long weeks, some long months … it’s tough, but we’re just trying to stack these days right now.”

    Ertz’s blond phase didn’t last long, but it was memorable.
  • A quiet World Cup rule change could become a loud controversy in the final group-stage games

    A quiet World Cup rule change could become a loud controversy in the final group-stage games

    IRVINE, Calif. — If you’re new to soccer, this is the sort of thing you should know about as you learn the sport. And even if you’re a veteran of the game, you might not have realized it had happened.

    For many years, FIFA’s first standings tiebreaker at World Cups was soccer’s tradition of goal difference: goals scored minus goals conceded. But this time, it has switched to head-to-head result, the format used by the Union of European Football Associations in the Champions League and other continental tournaments.

    It didn’t exactly go unnoticed when it was announced, but it wasn’t seen as a big deal. Now, though, it has become a growing controversy.

    The issue isn’t so much about determining group winners, though the U.S. has benefited on that front. If goal difference was the first tiebreaker, the Americans wouldn’t have clinched first place yet.

    The U.S. win over Australia combined with Paraguay’s win over Turkey last week clinched first place in the group.

    They have because Paraguay beat Turkey a few hours after the U.S. beat Australia. That left the U.S. with six points, Paraguay and Australia with three each, and Turkey with none.

    Since the U.S. has beaten Paraguay and Australia, it has the tiebreaker over both. So if Turkey beats the U.S Thursday night (10 p.m., Fox29, Telemundo 62) and there’s a winner in Paraguay-Australia (10 p.m., FS1, Universo), the U.S. will keep first with a tie on six points. With a goal difference tiebreaker, even though the Americans are sitting at a strong plus-5, a big loss plus a big win in the other game could have changed things.

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    The bigger issue tournament-wide is how head-to-head has eliminated teams after two games — and it’s magnified further by the best eight third-place teams qualifying.

    If goal difference was the first tiebreaker, a last-place team could jump to third in the last minute and have a prayer of making the cut. Instead, five of the tournament’s 48 squads were eliminated before playing their finales: Turkey, Haiti, Jordan, Panama, and Tunisia. (Haiti’s elimination came in Philadelphia with the loss to Brazil.)

    Cecilio Waterman’s Panama joined Haiti as Concacaf teams eliminated from advancing after two games.

    There has been some outrage among purists about this in Europe, even though they’re more used to the format than they might admit because of the Champions League. But even the talking heads who understand the head-to-head way’s benefits have agreed with something that Americans ought to be able to see, too.

    It’s more fun when more teams are alive going into the last round of games. If goal difference was the first decider, there could be a dose of chaos along with the stars, underdogs, and however many goals are scored.

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    Fortunately, Philadelphia’s last two group games will have drama. On Thursday, Curaçao, one of this tournament’s greatest underdog stories, could snatch one of the top eight third-place finishes if it upsets Ivory Coast (4 p.m., FS1, Universo) and Germany beats Ecuador in the Meadowlands (4 p.m., Fox29, Telemundo 62). On the flip side, if Ecuador wins that game, Ivory Coast will have to win or tie to keep hold of second.

    Then on Saturday, Ghana and Croatia will have lots to play for (5 p.m., FS1, Universo). Ghana could steal first place if Panama upsets England in the Meadowlands (5 p.m., Fox29, Telemundo 62), while Croatia needs a win to finish second and avoid playing a group winner in the round of 32.

    Ghana’s tie with England on Tuesday in Foxborough, Mass., means the Black Stars still have a slim chance of winning their group.

    Wondering what the players think? Alas, you won’t get much out of the U.S. camp. All they care about is winning games. But at least veteran centerback Chris Richards brought some humor.

    “On our end, we just want go into the next round with nine points,” he said. “I haven’t really thought too much about the rule change — I feel like the rules are always changing, so I’m kind of confused myself. But as long as we keep winning, that’s the number one thing.”

    Can the USMNT really win this World Cup? Probably not, but the players are allowed to believe it.

    Pulisic ‘feeling good,’ hopes to play

    Christian Pulisic got right to the point when he arrived to meet the media before Wednesday’s practice.

    “Can I guess the first question?” he said, knowing full well what it would be. Of course everyone wanted to know how he and his rehabbed calf were feeling.

    Christian Pulisic reaches for the ball in a drill at Wednesday’s practice.

    “I’m feeling good,” he said as he headed into a third straight day of full participation. “I’ve obviously joined with the team in the last few days. So I’m feeling good, positive going into [the game], and hopefully I’ll be able to play a part in it tomorrow.”

    The Hershey native reconfirmed that he was kicked in his left calf in practice a few days before the U.S.-Paraguay game (he politely declined to say who did it), then again in the first half of the contest.

    “Throughout the first half I felt good, and then I started to notice it a little bit, and I think adrenaline definitely carried me through,” he said. “I think I had a pretty strong contusion, strain, whatever you want to call it.”

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    It might have hurt more emotionally than physically that he couldn’t play against Australia. He certainly took in as much of that day as he could as a spectator.

    “I never really feared the worst, but I obviously didn’t want it to keep me out any longer than it had to,” Pulisic said. “And I was really trying to get ready for the last game — I feel like I could have gone, but it just wasn’t quite there.”

    U.S. manager Mauricio Pochettino (right) and goalkeeper coach Toni Jiménez at Wednesday’s practice.

    Players with yellow cards won’t play vs. Turkey

    In his news conference Wednesday afternoon, U.S. manager Mauricio Pochettino confirmed that the four players with yellow cards — Tyler Adams, Folarin Balogun, Richards, and Antonee Robinson — won’t play vs. Turkey so that they don’t pick up another and get suspended for the round of 32.

    “I think it isn’t necessary to take a risk and then to take another yellow card, and be not available for the next stage,” Pochettino said. “And I think that is a little bit a normal and easy answer: not to play with them from the beginning.”

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    He said of Pulisic’s status: “He’s available, and then we need to decide if it’s possible for him to play from the beginning or be on the bench and play in the second half.”

    Cristian Roldan is also dealing with a minor quad injury, and has not practiced for the last few days.

    “We need to assess tomorrow if he can be available,” Pochettino said. “I think he’s evolving really well. If it’s not for tomorrow, hopefully for next week.”

  • White House seeks $87.6B from Congress for Iran war costs, U.S. farmers, and Ebola response

    White House seeks $87.6B from Congress for Iran war costs, U.S. farmers, and Ebola response

    WASHINGTON — The White House has formally requested $87.6 billion mostly to replenish the Pentagon after the U.S. war against Iran, submitting the request to Congress at a politically difficult time as Republican and Democratic lawmakers have objected to any further military action.

    The Office of Management and Budget sent the supplemental spending request on Wednesday. It arrived just hours after President Donald Trump assailed Republican senators during a private lunch — engaging in a shouting match with one — over their votes to approve a war powers resolution that would halt further hostilities.

    The request is mostly for expenses incurred by the Defense Department as part of Operation Epic Fury, the U.S.-led attack on Iran. But it also includes a range of other items, including aid to American farmers, help for the Ebola crisis in Africa, and other needs closer to home, including restoration projects in Washington, D.C.

    “I urge the Congress to take action on these important and urgent requests as soon as possible,” said OMB Director Russ Vought in a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson.

    It’s unclear how quickly the House and Senate could act on the White House’s request, or if Congress takes up the matter at all. The funding faces a difficult path because many lawmakers could view any votes as a reflection of test of their support for the war effort.

    Yet the White House was clear to include provisions to interest lawmakers from various regions, including $1 billion to assist “the final design and construction of a modernized Penn Station in New York City,” which would be of interest to the Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, both of New York.

    The administration said it is requesting $67 billion for the Department of Defense for what it said were urgent needs related to the war against Iran, including “funding for military personnel and readiness expenses, operational costs to rebuild stocks.”

    It also wants $11.1 billion toward economic assistance for American farmers, $1.4 billion for the Ebola virus outbreak in Central Africa and requests $500 million to support ongoing efforts “to complete restoration and construction projects in and around Washington, D.C.”

    The package also includes a collection of policy proposals that the administration strongly supports, and which are certain to raise interest among lawmakers.

    Among them, the package proposes revisions to federal regulations of hemp products that have long been in dispute, changes to the year-round sales of renewable fuels and lifting of restrictions around federal investment support in Venezuela.

    Washington Sen. Patty Murray, the lead Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, said the request is not merely to pay for “the president’s disastrous war, but an attempt to secure tens of billions of additional dollars for unrelated Pentagon priorities that should rightly be considered through the annual appropriations process.”

    Murray added: “I will closely review this request in its entirety and ensure we take care of our service members, but I will not rubber-stamp tens of billions more for this disastrous war of choice.”

    Rep. Tom Cole (R., Okla.), the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, and Rep. Ken Calvert (R., Calif.), who chairs the panel’s subcommittee on Defense, said in a joint statement, “President Trump’s request reflects the reality that our defense strength must be maintained, not merely demonstrated.”

    The biggest share of defense funding, $21 billion, will go to weapons munitions, with another $17.3 billion for operational costs and $12.1 billion for other classified programs. Funds are also requested to cover fuel costs, drone manufacturing, and cybersecurity.

    The money for farmers would provide $10 billion in economic assistance to row and specialty crop farmers and $1.1 billion specifically to Florida agriculture producers who suffered losses from this past year’s winter storms.

  • The Pa. Attorney General’s Office seeks to intervene in a murder case that Philly prosecutors helped overturn last month

    The Pa. Attorney General’s Office seeks to intervene in a murder case that Philly prosecutors helped overturn last month

    The Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office on Wednesday said it was appealing and seeking to intervene in a murder case that Philadelphia prosecutors helped overturn last month — the first application of a recent state Supreme Court ruling that gave state prosecutors more oversight over their city counterparts in appellate matters.

    The notice, filed Wednesday in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court, seeks to insert the attorney general’s office into the case of Marc Brittingham, Rasheed Turner, and Jermal Shuler, whose convictions in a 1997 killing were vacated in May after prosecutors and defense attorneys said key evidence presented at their trial was unreliable.

    As a result, Brittingham, Turner, and Shuler were freed from prison after 28 years.

    But last week, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court said in a forceful ruling that District Attorney Larry Krasner’s office had displayed a pattern of misleading judges while seeking to overturn murder convictions. Moving forward, the justices said, the state attorney general’s office should be given the opportunity to review such cases before a judge can decide whether to grant relief.

    Forceful Pa. Supreme Court ruling constrains one of DA Larry Krasner’s signature initiatives

    The filings raise a procedural question at the heart of the new ruling. The Supreme Court’s decision requires judges to notify the attorney general and gives the office “the right to intervene in the case before ruling on the concession.” But in this case, that moment had already come and gone; the judge had accepted the district attorney’s position and overturned the convictions.

    What may have allowed the attorney general back in was timing: The 30-day window to appeal the decision had not closed yet. The office filed its notice of intervention and an appeal on day 29.

    Krasner, in a brief phone call Wednesday, said, “I hope the public will watch this case carefully.”

    “I hope they will watch what our attorney general’s office stands for and what the district attorney’s office stands for,” he said. “Stay tuned. It’s going to tell us a lot about what’s really going on.”

    Deputy Attorney General Hugh Burns did not say in court documents how or why the office believed it had authority to intervene in this case, saying only that it was taking the action in response to the state Supreme Court’s order from last week.

    A spokesperson for the office declined to comment.

    Wednesday’s filing seeks to reopen a case in which many of the facts underlying the district attorney’s decision to join defense lawyers in seeking to vacate the convictions remain obscured by extensive redactions in court filings.

    Prosecutors and defense attorneys said the case was undermined by newly uncovered information about the work of Bennett Preston, a former assistant medical examiner whose testimony helped establish the prosecution’s timeline of Essie Mae Thomas’ death.

    Thomas, 73, was found stabbed to death inside her Northwest Philadelphia home in November 1997. A jury convicted Brittingham, Turner, and Shuler the following year, after hearing testimony from a neighbor who placed them at the home and from Preston, who linked Thomas’ time of death to the witness’ account. Nearly three decades later, Krasner’s prosecutors said that the testimony of the witness and Preston was questionable, and that disciplinary action had been taken against Preston.

    The details of those disciplinary actions, however, were redacted from filings.

    Officials with the district attorney’s office have said that the discovery of previously unknown disciplinary action involving Preston helped prompt the reinvestigation. But prosecutors have declined to publicly detail much of that information, and court records filed in the case concealed significant portions of the evidence that led them to conclude the convictions could no longer stand.

    When Common Pleas Court Judge Jennifer Schultz vacated the convictions in May, she found that the newly uncovered evidence would likely have changed the outcome of the trial. Prosecutors then withdrew the charges, ending the case and allowing the men to walk free.

    Jules Epstein, a criminal law professor at Temple University, said “this is unknown territory.” Because a court order is not final for 30 days, he said, the office could have a right to appeal.

    He pointed to comments from the attorney general’s office this week in which it said it was still working out a process for how and when to intervene in cases.

    “What disturbs me is did they actually look at the merits of this decision? Or did they just knee jerk and say, ‘It’s Krasner, we’re going to challenge it’?”

    Marissa Boyers Bluestine, assistant director of the Quattrone Center for the Fair Administration of Justice at the University of Pennsylvania‘s law school, said the language of the high court’s order did not appear to leave room for retroactivity.

    Bluestine, who worked on Brittingham, Turner, and Shuler’s case in her previous role leading the Pennsylvania Innocence Project, said it was also curious that the attorney general’s office was involving itself without the judge’s invitation.

    “They’re saying that they are intervening, not requesting permission to intervene, which is an interesting way to put it,” she said.

  • Ex-chief of staff to former NYC Mayor Eric Adams charged with taking bribes

    Ex-chief of staff to former NYC Mayor Eric Adams charged with taking bribes

    NEW YORK — A former chief of staff to ex-New York Mayor Eric Adams was arrested Wednesday in a federal bribery case about a lucrative migrant shelter contract, the latest sign that prosecutors continue to scrutinize Adams’ inner circle months after the scandal-bruised Democrat left office.

    The charges against Frank Carone are the latest in a string of corruption allegations leveled at the former mayor — who was himself indicted on bribery and other charges that were later dismissed — and key aides. Separately, federal authorities searched the homes of current and former New York Police Department leaders Wednesday in connection with a different bribery investigation.

    Adams was not accused of wrongdoing in Carone’s indictment. It alleges the ex-chief of staff exploited his position to get more than $100,000 in payoffs for steering a migrant shelter contract to a hotel that social service officials had deemed unsuitable.

    “Frank Carone was entrusted to run our city government and instead put his own wealth and status above duty,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Winik told a court.

    Carone and his brother, Anthony Carone; hotel owner Yan Po Zhu, and hotel employee Crystal Chen pleaded not guilty to various charges. The brothers sat across from each other at a defense table, where Anthony Carone rubbed his face and Frank Carone appeared to read along during the proceedings.

    Frank Carone’s lawyer, Arthur Aidala, said outside court that the case was based on “assumption after assumption after assumption.”

    “There is not one fact that indicates Frank Carone did anything specific to influence anything in our government,” Aidala said. The other defendants and their attorneys declined to comment.

    Frank Carone and the Sabrina Carpenter church video

    Carone, a former Brooklyn Democratic Party lawyer and longtime political power broker, is widely credited as one of the architects of Adams’ political rise. He also drew attention for his financial dealings with a Roman Catholic priest who let pop star Sabrina Carpenter film scenes for a provocative music video in a church.

    Federal investigators later subpoenaed the church. “They found nothing,” Aidala said Wednesday, contending that the government first targeted Carone, then looked for a case.

    Carone played a key role in Adams’ 2021 mayoral campaign, was chief of staff in 2022, then left and formed a political consulting firm.

    He “dedicated decades of his life to public service, the legal profession and helping countless individuals, businesses, and charitable organizations throughout New York,” Adams spokesperson Todd Shapiro said in a statement.

    Indictment focuses on how the hotel became a shelter

    Starting in 2022, the city scrambled to expand its shelter capacity amid an influx of migrants. Zhu’s hotel got $6.8 million to shelter some of the new arrivals, though the city’s Social Services Department had repeatedly rejected the facility, which was small and in a Queens neighborhood where residents objected to more shelters, according to prosecutors.

    Prosecutors said in court papers that Frank Carone accepted around $120,000 in bribes from Zhu and Chen to intercede on the hotel’s behalf. The money was passed through Anthony Carone’s law firm, according to the indictment.

    In a September 2022 text message, Zhu asked Frank Carone for help getting the hotel an immediate one-year contract, according to the indictment. It said Carone replied by asking for the address, and Zhu gave it, adding: “Thank you my big guy.”

    In December 2023, Zhu texted Carone: “I asked my partners to pay you for a year,” according to the document. Carone, who is also charged with obstruction of justice, deleted the message after learning he was under investigation, prosecutors said.

    Zhu “is anxious to establish his innocence,” lawyer Stephen Scaring said before the arraignments. All four defendants later were released on bond, ranging from $100,000 for Chen to $8 million for Zhu.

    Police officials’ homes searched in unrelated probe

    Separately Wednesday, the FBI and the NYPD executed search warrants at the homes of NYPD Chief of Manhattan South James McCarthy and former Deputy Commissioner Tarik Sheppard, and federal agents also searched former Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey’s home, according to a law enforcement official briefed on the searches. The official, who was not authorized to discuss the investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity, said the searches were part of a bribery investigation that grew out of an inquiry into Maddrey.

    There was no immediate response to an inquiry to Maddrey’s attorney. Attorney information for Sheppard and McCarthy was not immediately available.

    There is no public indication of any arrests as part of those searches.

    They were not related to Frank Carone’s arrest, according to another person familiar with the matter who also was not authorized to publicly discuss details of the case and spoke on condition of anonymity.

    Once the NYPD’s highest-ranking uniformed officer, Maddrey resigned in 2024 over allegations that he demanded sex from a subordinate in exchange for opportunities to earn extra pay. Maddrey denied the claims of a quid pro quo.

    Adams was indicted in 2024 on charges of accepting illegal campaign contributions from Turkish officials and others in exchange for political favors. The case was tossed by federal Justice Department leaders who said it was distracting Adams from assisting in Republican President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. Adams has denied wrongdoing.

    After skipping last year’s Democratic primary, Adams mounted but eventually abandoned an independent campaign for a second term.

  • Engineer accused of using insider information on Three Mile Island nuclear plans to make $1.5 million

    Engineer accused of using insider information on Three Mile Island nuclear plans to make $1.5 million

    A nuclear power plant engineering manager for Constellation Energy has been indicted on federal insider trading charges of using advance knowledge that his company planned to reopen a uranium-powered electric plant at Three Mile Island to collect illegal profits on the stock options market.

    Casey Muggleston, of Marshallton, Del., worked on the license renewal team applying to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for permits to restart the plant. According to a Delaware grand jury indictment, Muggleston made $1.48 million from his “scheme to obtain illegal profits” using “material nonpublic information” before Constellation announced its decision.

    Following an investigation by FBI agents in Maryland and Delaware, Muggleston was charged Wednesday by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Delaware with securities fraud and four counts of insider trading.

    The charges carry a maximum sentence of 105 years, if he is convicted. However, white-collar sentences are typically a fraction of guideline terms. The government also wants Muggleston to forfeit the $1.48 million.

    Neither Muggleston, who worked for Constellation or its former owner Exelon Corp. from 2008 until 2025, according to a related SEC complaint, or his attorney returned a call seeking comment.

    “Constellation is aware of the government’s indictment,” company spokesperson Paul Adams said in an email. “As Mr. Muggleston is no longer an employee, we have no further comment.”

    According to the indictment, Muggleston bought call options on the company’s shares, a cheap way to collect gains in a stock’s share value, without having to pay the shares’ entire trading cost.

    Three relatives also bought options but have not been charged, according to the indictment.

    In a separate civil complaint, the Securities & Exchange Commission alleged Muggleston also shared information on other confidential Constellation deals as late as June 2025. He left the company that year, according to the SEC.

    Here’s what the indictment alleges:

    As early as April 2024, Constellation had said publicly that it was looking at restarting the reactor but hadn’t made a decision. Before going public with the news, Constellation had employees such as Muggleston refer to the restart as “Project Tetris.”

    A May 21 email to staff, including Muggleston, which was part of correspondence cited by both federal prosecutors and the SEC in their complaints, told employees to keep the licensing team’s progress “very confidential.”

    Three days later, Muggleston sent his cousin, who lives near the plant, an email noting “the restart is building steam. I’m trying to think of how to profit off this …” He added that there were “no guarantees.”

    Eight days later, on June 1, he gave the cousin a heads-up that a decision would likely be made later that month.

    By June 8, Muggleston had begun buying Constellation options in his Delaware brokerage account, betting the stock would rise, mostly by dates in July or August. By Aug. 14, he had accumulated 195 options contracts.

    But Constellation hadn’t announced the reopening. The share price for a time drifted lower, and some of his initial options expired and became unprofitable.

    Then on Aug. 15, two colleagues told Muggleston the restart was approved, and he was summoned to a restart planning meeting.

    Starting the next day, he bought another 150 options, then another 360. In early September the stock rose to over $200, making more of his options profitable.

    On Sept. 20, when Constellation made its announcement, the stock closed at $255, and he sold his 550 remaining options for a total profit of $1.48 million.

    Muggleston had taken Constellation’s annual training reminding employees, board members, and contractors that they and their family members are barred from trading on insider information and from “tipping” outsiders with that information, the indictment says. Insider trading is also illegal under federal securities law.

    The nuclear restart would help Constellation, a Baltimore-based power plant operator, supply data centers under a contract with Microsoft, among other customers. The plan is supported by President Donald Trump, Gov. Josh Shapiro, and other government officials. Environmental critics say the process is being rushed and could raise the likelihood of contamination.

    Constellation’s plan focuses on Three Mile Island’s reactor that closed in 2019 for economic reasons. It was not damaged in the 1979 partial nuclear meltdown.

    Constellation says it’s on track to load uranium into the reactor next spring and begin to supply electric power later in 2027.