Words sufficient to describe the horrors of this administration and the complicit Republicans have long left me. Our senators, though, have an opportunity to slow the imposition of authoritarian rule by voting to remove U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement funding from the current appropriations package. There is no need to shut the government down again if that particular funding package is cut to be addressed another day. The Trump administration has been squirreling away money in offshore accounts in Qatar, but any pushback from the Senate will send a message that democracy isn’t dead yet.
Mary Ann Hanna,Media
History repeats
Unfortunately, governments murdering citizens and then lying about it is nothing new. I know because my grandfather was present when a band of government thugs attacked a group of people, killing four of them and injuring many more. The government lied and said shots had been fired at the thugs, and they were just acting in self-defense. So what we are witnessing in Minnesota is from an age-old playbook. In my grandfather’s case, the year was 1933, and the leader in charge was Adolf Hitler. I never thought that all these years later, I would live to see it happen in America.
Stefan Keller, Huntingdon Valley
No moral conviction
The tone of the civil rights and social justice movements of the 1960s and the anti-Vietnam War protesters of the 1970s had some moral character. In contrast, these U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement-related protesting mobs are fundamentally different from those times, as they have no morals and no credibility. This endless massive wave of anti-ICE protesters — their chaotic confrontations with federal agents, their disrupting of a Christian church service — is creating even more emotional volatility, rather than any unified moral conviction of the ’60s and ’70s.
Fueled by social media, the United States is now more polarized than ever before. As unrest continues to escalate, the armed military waits to get involved. We are now watching the collision of federal immigration enforcement and protesters (who I sincerely believe are being paid). The situation is now so unstable that it’s like we’re all just waiting for the next shooting. As law enforcement takes sniper positions, preparing for the mob’s coordinated violence, should we not take a minute of silence before the gunfire starts?
Carl Marchi, Holliston, Mass.
Standing on truth
I thank special counsel Jack Smith for his calm, factual, disciplined, and courageous public testimony before Congress last week. He laid out evidence in the criminal cases against Donald Trump, including the persistent lie of a “stolen” 2020 election, without theatrics or spin.
Mr. Smith did not editorialize or inflame. He stated the evidence and the law, exactly as his role requires.
The response from President Trump was telling. While Mr. Smith testified before the House Judiciary Committee, Trump attacked him on Truth Social, calling him a “deranged animal,” and directing Pam Bondi to investigate him. That is not oversight. It is intimidation. It is retaliation.
One man testified to facts and law. The other resorted to insults and threats. That contrast explains far more about the state of our democracy than any talking point ever could.
History will take note.
Maria Duca, Philadelphia
Join the conversation: Send letters to letters@inquirer.com. Limit length to 150 words and include home address and day and evening phone number. Letters run in The Inquirer six days a week on the editorial pages and online.
DEAR ABBY: My husband and I are raising our 7-month-old daughter together, and we generally get along well. I love him very much, but he has a habit that worries me. He’s constantly on the lookout for a new job. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but every couple of months he says he’s bored and wants to work somewhere else. These are decent-paying jobs, but they never pay much more than what he’s earning now. They are also not always located in the same city or even the same state we live in.
I don’t oppose moving away or moving up, but I don’t want to move clear across the country when the benefit won’t significantly add to what we have now and the relocation creates a burden with moving expenses.
Recently, my father made an offhand comment during a conversation about a business that offers good pay, benefits, etc. — nearly the same benefits and pay my husband is receiving now. It would require that we move out of state, and I’d have to search for a new job.
My husband has been at his current job less than a year, and I have been at mine less than six months. We just signed a new lease on our apartment. He wants to break the lease and move. What can I do to convince him that this is not a strategic move for our family at this time?
— STRESSED-OUT WIFE AND MOM
DEAR STRESSED-OUT: I don’t recommend breaking your lease and moving at this point because it will damage your credit. I don’t know what your husband’s problem is — whether he has trouble getting along with his co-workers or attention deficit disorder — but things won’t improve until you determine the cause.
Neither of you has a solid job history. In a few short years, your daughter is going to be in preschool, and you do not want to constantly disrupt her education or socialization. Stay put until a move will be more financially beneficial.
** ** **
DEAR ABBY: An elderly couple moved in next door. They once mentioned that they believed mothballs would keep ants away. That’s not all. Every time they open their garage door, we get blasted with the stench. It is so pungent we must retreat inside our house, which is about 80 feet from their property. We can’t open our windows, sit on our deck or do yard work outside until their garage door comes down. I don’t know how they stand it. How can we let them know it’s affecting our quality of life without causing a permanent rift?
— STUNK OUT IN PENNSYLVANIA
DEAR STUNK OUT: Contact your local health department to report what you are enduring and to share your concerns. Mothballs are not supposed to be used in the manner you have described. If you live in an area with a homeowner’s association, it also may be able to help. However, if there ISN’T one, you may have to bite the bullet and ask these neighbors to close their garage door more quickly because the scent of mothballs is making you ill.
ARIES (March 21-April 19). Even when the work is important, you try to appear relaxed because overseriousness seems uncool when there are so many people in the world handling all kinds of challenges. Don’t doubt or judge yourself. Your instincts are legendary.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20). You’re not wrong or vain to think about the optics of a situation. A reputation is a thing you own, like property. It’s an asset that you can leverage. Like all possessions, a reputation requires maintenance. You’ll make updates today.
GEMINI (May 21-June 21). The answers are not in the attic of your mind, so no need to crawl through those cobwebs. The world around you will show you every single thing you want to know. All you have to do is slow down and observe.
CANCER (June 22-July 22). Balancing work and play is challenging when all you want to do is play and all there is before you is work. But if you can turn the work into play, you’re golden. It’s done with an attitude. Your approach makes all the difference.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). Your predictions will be accurate because you are a realist. Friends and loved ones will behave true to form, particularly in the form you have come to learn they tend to take, and not the form hopefully projected upon them.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). The good life is your current life. It’s good because you know this. Your senses take you to a vivid experience of things. To live fully, you don’t need to go anywhere or become anything other than what you already are.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). Your talent for organization kicks in. You want to move a mountain, so little by little you will make it move. You can make this clean and orderly. Amazing what a few containers and shelves can do.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). As generous as you are, it’s good to keep reminding yourself that if you’re not the one deciding about the people, projects and terms of your life, then it gets decided for you. Stay at the center of your life.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). When something is personal, we can’t see it very well, the way we don’t see our own backs very well. We need mirrors and the eyes of others to get the whole perspective. Those lenses aren’t necessarily correct, but they do give more information.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). You’re looking forward to the day you get to the goal. It doesn’t mean you’re not engaged now. Of course there is no real success without a journey. What’s happening right now inside this work is golden, and you know it.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). When life comes at you fast and colorful, it inspires excitement and awe. There is just as much of that in the slow shadows of your interior world today. Treasures will gleam in the silence.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). There’s a lot happening in your realm today that is not your responsibility, and yet, whatever you do to improve it will make your life much easier. Can you take it on unofficially? Anonymously?
TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (Jan. 29). Welcome to your Year of the Stellar Fit. You discover where your skills are needed most and step into a role that seems made just for you. Meaningful, energizing work leads to recognition and the compensation you always knew was possible. More highlights: romantic sparkle, memorable gatherings and travel stories you’ll tell for years. Leo and Pisces adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 3, 22, 31, 8 and 27.
The former mayor of Willingboro Township and a business associate were found guilty by a federal jury of mortgage fraud, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Jersey said Wednesday.
Nathaniel Anderson, 59, who is still a town councilman in Willingboro, and Chrisone D. Anderson, 58, of Sicklerville, were each convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud affecting a financial institution, one count of bank fraud, and two counts of making a false statement on a mortgage application, said Senior Counsel Philip Lamparello from the prosecutor’s office.
The jury deliberated for less than three hours after a two-week trial before U.S. District Judge Robert Kirsch in federal court in Trenton, Lamparello said.
Sentencing is scheduled for June 1. “Though we respect the jury’s decision, we plan to appeal this conviction to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals,” Troy A. Archie, attorney for Chrisone Anderson, said in an email.
Anderson was represented by federal public defenders who could not be reached Wednesday night.
The Andersons, who are not related, conspired to save Nathaniel Anderson’s home, which was facing foreclosure in 2015, by orchestrating a fraudulent short sale to Chrisone Anderson, prosecutors said.
The scheme involved Chrisone Anderson posing as a buyer of the home and claiming that Nathaniel Anderson would no longer live there so that his mortgage lender would forgive the rest of his loan.
The fraudulent misrepresentations included that Chrisone Anderson would occupy the home as her primary residence, prosecutors said.
Nathaniel Anderson’s problems with his residency began in 2009 as he and his then-wife fell behind on mortgage payments, prosecutors said.
The couple divorced, but Anderson wanted to keep his home through a short sale. That’s a process by which a mortgage lender agrees to write off the remaining debt of a mortgage holder in default — provided the holder can arrange a sale of the property to dispense with most of the remaining debt.
MINNEAPOLIS — President Donald Trump seemed to signal a willingness to ease tensions in Minneapolis after a second deadly shooting by federal immigration agents, but there was little evidence Wednesday of any significant changes following weeks of harsh rhetoric and clashes with protesters.
The strain was evident when Trump made a leadership change by sending his top border adviser to Minnesota to take charge of the immigration crackdown. That was followed by seemingly conciliatory remarks about the Democratic governor and mayor.
Trump said he and Gov. Tim Walz, whom he criticized for weeks, were on “a similar wavelength” following a phone call. After a conversation with Mayor Jacob Frey, the president praised the discussion and declared that “lots of progress is being made.”
But on city streets, there were few signs of a shift. Immigration enforcement operations and confrontations with activists continued Wednesday in Minneapolis and St. Paul.
A group of protesters blew whistles and pointed out federal officers in a vehicle on a north Minneapolis street. When the officers’ vehicle moved, a small convoy of activists followed in their cars for a few blocks until the officers stopped again.
When Associated Press journalists got out of their car to document the encounter, officers with the federal Bureau of Prisons pushed one of them, threatened them with arrest and told them to get back in their car despite the reporters’ identifying themselves as journalists. Officers from multiple federal agencies have been involved in the enforcement operations.
From their car, the AP journalists saw at least one person being pepper sprayed and one detained, though it was unclear if that person was the target of the operation or a protester. Agents also broke car windows.
Attorney General Pam Bondi, who is visiting Minnesota, said 16 people were arrested Wednesday on charges of assaulting, resisting or impeding law enforcement in the state. She said more arrests were expected.
“NOTHING will stop President Trump and this Department of Justice from enforcing the law,” Bondi said in a social media post.
Messages seeking comment were left with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Border Patrol.
Woman tells agents knocking on door: ‘They’re good neighbors’
On Wednesday afternoon in the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Center, half a dozen agents went to a house in a small residential neighborhood.
One agent knocked on the door of the home repeatedly. Another told the AP they were seeking a man who had been twice deported and was convicted of domestic abuse. The agent said the man had run into the home and the agents lacked a judicial warrant to get inside.
Some federal immigration officers are asserting sweeping power to forcibly enter people’s homes without a judge’s warrant and instead are using a more narrow administrative warrant to arrest migrants considered illegally present or otherwise deportable. The key difference is whether agents can forcibly enter a private property to make an arrest, as they were captured on video doing in Minneapolis earlier this month.
A handful of activists blew whistles at the agents in Brooklyn Center. One agent said: “They’d rather call the police on us than to help us. Go figure.”
As the agents were preparing to leave, a woman called out to them saying, “You need to know they’re good neighbors.”
Kari Rod told the AP that she didn’t know these neighbors well, but they had come to her garage sale, kept their yard clean, and waved hello when she drove by. She didn’t believe enforcement agents to be speaking the truth about whom they arrest, including another neighbor whom she said was deported to Laos last summer.
“I don’t trust a single thing they said about who they are,” Rod said. “From my interactions, I know them way better than anyone else does, any one of those federal agents.”
Immigrants are ‘still very worried’
Many immigrant families are still fearful of leaving their homes, and Latino businesses are still closed, said Daniel Hernandez, who owns the Minneapolis grocery store Colonial Market. He also runs a popular Facebook page geared toward informing the Hispanic community in the Twin Cities.
While Colonial Market is open, all but one of the dozen immigrant-run businesses that rented space inside to sell clothes, jewelry, and toys have closed since late December, and none has plans to reopen, Hernandez said.
“The reality is the community is still very worried and afraid,” Hernandez said.
Hernandez referenced Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino, who helped lead the administration’s crackdown in the Twin Cities and who has reportedly been assigned elsewhere.
Bovino “was removed, but the tactics so far are still the same,” Hernandez said. “Nobody now is trusting the government with those changes.”
Judge warns ICE about not complying with federal orders
In Minnesota federal court, the issue of ICE not complying with court orders came to the fore as Chief Judge Patrick Schiltz said the agency had violated 96 court orders in 74 cases since Jan. 1.
“This list should give pause to anyone — no matter his or her political beliefs — who cares about the rule of law,” he wrote. “ICE has likely violated more court orders in January 2026 than some federal agencies have violated in their entire existence.”
Schiltz earlier this week ordered ICE’s acting director to personally appear in his courtroom Friday after the agency failed to obey an order to release an Ecuadorian man from detention in Texas. The judge canceled the order after the agency freed the man.
The judge, who was appointed by President George W. Bush, warned ICE that future noncompliance may result in future orders requiring the personal appearances of Acting Director Todd Lyons or other government officials.
ICE didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
Vietnam War veteran Donnie McMillan places a sign that says “In remembrance of my angel” at a memorial set up at the location where VA nurse Alex Pretti was shot by federal agents in Minneapolis.
Veteran visits sidewalk memorial
Elsewhere on Wednesday, Donnie McMillan placed a cardboard sign reading “In remembrance of my angel” at the makeshift memorial where Alex Pretti was shot.
The Vietnam veteran knelt to pay his respects and saluted to honor the nurse whom he said he remembered seeing during his frequent visits to the VA hospital where Pretti worked.
“I feel like I’ve lost an angel right here,” McMillan, 71, said, pointing to the growing sidewalk memorial covered in flowers, candles, and signs.
“This is not the way we should operate,” McMillan said. “I respect everybody, but I respect my angel more, and now he’s no longer with us.”
Also Wednesday, the Department of Homeland Security said two federal agents involved in Pretti’s death have been on leave since Saturday, when the shooting happened.
“What is unfolding in our state is not accidental. It is part of a coordinated effort to target Black and brown, immigrant and Muslim communities through fear, racial profiling, and intimidation,” Omar said. ”This administration’s immigration agenda is not about law enforcement — it is about making people feel they do not belong.”
On the latest episode of New Heights, Jason and Travis Kelce break down Championship Sunday and make their Super Bowl predictions.
The brothers welcomed Hall of Famer Michael Strahan, who spoke about his transition to television host after his NFL career and shared some personal anecdotes of his time with the Giants.
Strahan was quick to point out that Denver should have beat New England — and even Houston should have came up with a win over the Patriots in the divisional round two weeks ago, he said.
“[Denver] should have kicked that field goal and gone up,” Strahan added. “Early on, take the points — but I don’t get these coaches now because fourth down now is automatic go for it more than it’s not.
“I get analytics but you got to feel the team. You got to feel the situation. … I felt bad for Sean Payton — I talked to him before the game, very confident in what they were doing.”
Michael Strahan said Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton was “very confident in what they were doing,” ahead of their matchup against New England in the AFC Championship.
In the NFC Championship, Jason, Travis, and Strahan acknowledged the tough battle between the Rams and Seahawks, but were happy to see Seattle quarterback Sam Darnold get his opportunity on the big stage.
“I’m happy for Sam Darnold,” Strahan said. “I played in New York, it’s hard. He comes in here as the third overall pick, doesn’t go well, gets beat down; mentally, physically, and then five teams in eight years, and everyone thinks he’s washed.
“Why Seattle pay him all this money? Now you see why.”
Super Bowl predictions
When it comes to Super Bowl LX, there seemed to be a mutual consensus on a favorable winner.
While Travis Kelce can’t share his opinion since he’s still in the league, he said he’s looking forward to watching the matchup between Seattle receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez.
As for Jason Kelce and Strahan, they were in agreement: Seattle.
“I think Seattle has the edge,” Strahan said. “I don’t think it’s going to be a cakewalk — football’s not like the other sports, if you don’t show up with your best one day, it’s a wrap.”
Jason Kelce, however, did praise the Patriots’ defense, noting their not getting enough credit.
Strahan reflects on playing career
Strahan, who spent 15 seasons with the Giants, said his real challenge in the NFL came five years into his career, when Jon Runyan was traded from Tennessee to the Eagles.
“The whole thing was ‘We brought him to Philly to stop Strahan,’ which pissed me off,” Strahan said.
“I studied Jon Runyan probably more than I studied anybody. I could tell what he was going to do before he could do it.”
Michael Strahan gets blocked by former Eagle Jon Runyan on Jan. 1, 2001.
As the two went head-to-head throughout their careers, the tougher the matchup became: Runyan got savvier and Strahan studied more. But the two ended their careers as friends. Strahan even recalled how Runyan attended Strahan’s Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
“Jon made me a better player, because playing against him made everyone else seem easy,” he said.
Life outside of the NFL
Strahan retired from the NFL in 2008 and quickly got involved with television and broadcasting. He’s appeared as a football analyst on Fox NFL Sunday,and served as a co-host of ABC‘s Good Morning America.
He shared some retirement advice on the podcast, including how to think about life after being a professional athlete, how he prepared himself for a new career, and when he knew it was time to walk away.
“I realized, for me, after 15 years, I had done everything,” Strahan said. “There was no way I was going to cry at the final press conference. I knew I had put everything I had into it.”
The Trump administration on Wednesday announced criminal charges against 16 people in Minneapolis whom it accused of assaulting officers or interfering with federal immigration enforcement operations as tensions in the city continue to escalate.
Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the Justice Department prosecutions in a social media post, naming those who were charged and indicating she expects more arrests.
“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: NOTHING will stop President Trump and this Department of Justice from enforcing the law,” Bondi wrote on X, adding that she was in Minneapolis.
Already this month, federal prosecutors had charged 17 people in Minneapolis with crimes tied to protests or related to the administration’s surge in immigration enforcement.
Bondi’s defiant posture came despite what appeared to be a shift in tone from President Donald Trump and other senior aides amid widespread outrage over immigration officers’ fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens in the city this month. Authorities said the two federal agents who fired at Alex Pretti, 37, on Saturday have been placed on administrative leave, per standard agency protocol.
Those developments came a day after the Department of Homeland Security provided the first official timeline of the deadly encounter in a statement sent to some members of Congress. The document, which was based on preliminary review, made no mention of Pretti brandishing a weapon, contradicting Trump administration comments in the immediate aftermath of the shooting, when senior officials described Pretti as a direct threat to federal agents and officers.
The Trump administration has begun to back away from some of its inflammatory rhetoric about the shooting and replaced Greg Bovino, the Border Patrol commander who was overseeing the Minneapolis operation, with border czar Tom Homan.
“I think the whole thing is terrible,” Trump said Tuesday in an interview with Fox News when asked about events in Minnesota over the past week and Pretti’s killing. “I don’t like the fact that he was carrying a gun that was fully loaded. … Bottom line, it was terrible.”
The news that two immigration agents involved in Pretti’s shooting are on leave undercuts Bovino’s previous claim that “all agents that were involved in that scene are working, not in Minneapolis, but in other locations.”
The broader shift in the White House’s tone on Pretti’s killing comes as a growing number of Republicans challenge the Trump administration’s handling of the shooting and become more critical of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem. It also reflects concern that without a significant course correction, Republicans are likely to lose control of Congress in November’s midterm elections.
Stephen Miller, Trump’s White House deputy chief of staff, called Pretti an “assassin” in the immediate aftermath of his killing. On Tuesday, Miller said the administration was evaluating whether Customs and Border Protection “may not have been following” official protocol before the shooting.
Noem also initially portrayed the circumstances surrounding the fatal shootings of both Pretti and Renée Good in Minneapolis as assaults on federal law enforcement, despite video evidence to the contrary.
A woman who said she filmed Pretti’s shooting rebutted DHS’s initial claims that Pretti had brandished a weapon or was acting in a threatening manner.
Speaking to CNN’s Anderson Cooper on Tuesday, Stella Carlson, who estimated she was no more than 10 feet from Pretti when he was shot, said he was filming immigration enforcement personnel and trying to direct traffic.
Carlson said she got out of her car and started filming Pretti, whom she had never met, as he directed traffic. She said that Pretti was acting “calm” and “definitely without threat,” and that she did not see him brandish a weapon. “If I had, I maybe wouldn’t have stayed so close” to him, she said.
Pretti’s death has prompted bipartisan calls for an independent investigation. Top Justice Department officials said previously that they saw no basis for a civil rights investigation into Good’s Jan. 7 shooting. The department, however, has sought to pursue an investigation into Good’s partner, the Washington Post has reported.
On Tuesday, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.), a frequent target of the Trump administration, was attacked during a town-hall meeting and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents tried to enter the Ecuadoran Consulate before being turned away.
A man used a syringe to spray an unknown liquid in Omar’s direction, police said, shortly after Omar called on Noem to “resign or face impeachment.” The man, later identified as 55-year-old Anthony Kazmierczak, was immediately tackled and arrested, and Omar later said she was “OK.”
The WNBA kicks off its 30th season in May, but that doesn’t mean fans have to wait until the spring to see stars take the court.
Unrivaled, the three-on-three professional women’s basketball league, tipped off its season on Jan. 5. In its second season, the league is hitting the road for Philly is Unrivaled, in which four of the eight teams will head to Xfinity Mobile Arena for a doubleheader.
Here’s everything you need to know:
What is Unrivaled?
Unrivaled is a three-on-three professional women’s basketball league that provides WNBA players with an opportunity to play domestically during the offseason.
Its inaugural season tipped off on January 17, 2025, with six teams. The league now has eight teams and a total of 54 players.
The teams are: Laces, Mist, Rose, Lunar Owls, Phantom, Vinyl, and the two new additions — Hive and Breeze.
Gameplay features three seven-minute quarters with a game clock, an 18-second shot clock, and six fouls per player.
The fourth quarter of play uses a “winning score” rule. This means at the end of the third quarter, officials determine a winning score by adding 11 points to the leading team’s score. The first team to get to that winning number wins the game.
In addition to the two new teams, another change this season is a development pool of six players. None of these athletes are assigned to a specific team at the start of the season but remain on-site and serve as injury-relief players.
Lunar Owls forward Napheesa Collier (right) and Skylar Diggins are among injured Unrivaled players this season.
How did Unrivaled start?
WNBA players Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier founded Unrivaled in 2023 to give players a new option for offseason play.
Within just one year, the league raised $35 million in capital and attracted sponsors like Miller Lite and Under Armour, while being backed by other professional athletes including U.S. women’s soccer star Alex Morgan.
Unrivaled began with six teams and 36 total players, with each of the 36 earning more than $220,000 in salary. The league also offers players equity and revenue sharing, which has created an incentive for WNBA players to not head overseas during the offseason.
In its second season, the league will feature more than a dozen first-time players, including Los Angeles Sparks guard Kelsey Plum, Indiana Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell, and Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers.
While Unrivaled games typically are played at Sephora Arena in Medley, Fla., the 2026 season has one scheduled stop in Philadelphia.
Philly is Unrivaled, a doubleheader announced in October at LOVE Park, is set for Friday at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
Game 1 is Breeze against Phantoms (7:30 p.m.), while the second game features last year’s champion, Rose, against the Lunar Owls (8:45 p.m.).
Breeze guard Paige Bueckers (5) is defended by Phantom guard Tiffany Hayes in their Unrivaled season opener.
How can I watch Unrivaled?
For the 2026 season, Unrivaled games can be viewed on traditional TV via TNT and truTV or streamed on HBO Max. Both games of Philly is Unrivaled will air on those channels.
Stateside Live! has partnered with the league and Miller Lite to offer watch parties for Friday’s doubleheader. The official pregame begins at 4:30 p.m.
Who should I be on the lookout for?
Natasha Cloud, a guard for Phantom, is a Broomall native and graduate of Cardinal O’Hara and St. Joseph’s. Cloud, a three-time WNBA All-Defensive team honoree, was traded to New York Liberty ahead of the 2025 WNBA season after stints with the Phoenix Mercury and Washington Mystics.
This also is a pro hoops homecoming for North Philly native Kahleah Copper, who plays for Rose and the Mercury. She starred at Prep Charter before moving on to Rutgers. Copper, a four-time WNBA All-Star, also won a gold medal with the United States women’s basketball team at the Paris Olympics in 2024.
While she won’t be competing in Philly is Unrivaled, former Villanova star Maddy Siegrist is playing for Laces in her debut Unrivaled season. Siegrist set Villanova’s all-time scoring record before getting drafted third overall by the Wings.
Can I still get Unrivaled tickets?
While Philly is Unrivaled is officially sold out, tickets are still available on the secondary market via websites such as Ticketmaster and StubHub. Prices started at $35 for standing room only, as of Wednesday afternoon.
Unrivaled tickets for the league’s Florida games can be purchased on their website or resale ticket websites, including Ticketmaster, Vivid Seats, and GoTickets.
A third round of “No Kings” protests is coming this spring, with organizers saying they are planning their largest demonstrations yet across the United States to oppose what they describe as authoritarianism under President Donald Trump.
Previous rallies have drawn millions of people, and organizers said they expect even greater numbers on March 28 in the wake of Trump’s immigration crackdown in Minneapolis, where violent clashes have led to the death of two people.
“We expect this to be the largest protest in American history,” Ezra Levin, co-executive director of the nonprofit Indivisible, told the Associated Press ahead of Wednesday’s announcement. He predicted that as many as 9 million people will turn out.
“No Kings” protests, which are organized by a constellation of groups around the country, have been a focal point for outrage over Trump’s attempts to consolidate and expand his power.
“This is in large part a response to a combination of the heinous attacks on our democracy and communities coming from the regime, and a sense that nobody’s coming to save us,” Levin said.
Last year, Trump said he felt attendees were “not representative of the people of our country,” and he insisted that “I’m not a king.”
‘No Kings’ shifts focus after Minneapolis deaths
The latest round of protests had been in the works before the crackdown in Minneapolis. However, the killing of two people by federal agents in recent weeks has refocused plans.
Levin said they want to show “support for Minnesota and immigrant communities all over” and oppose “the secret police force that is murdering Americans and infringing on their basic constitutional rights.”
“And what we know is, the only way to defend those rights is to exercise them, and you do that in nonviolent but forceful ways, and that’s what I expect to see in ‘No Kings’ three,” Levin said.
Trump has broadly defended his aggressive deportation campaign and blamed local officials for refusing to cooperate. However, he’s more recently signaled a shift in response to bipartisan concern over the killing of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis on Saturday.
Previous ‘No Kings’ protests have drawn millions across the U.S.
In June, the first “No Kings” rallies were organized in nearly 2,000 locations nationwide, including cities, towns and community spaces. Those protests followed unrest over federal immigration raids and Trump’s deployment of the National Guard and Marines to Los Angeles, where tensions escalated with protesters blocking a freeway and setting vehicles on fire.
They were organized also in large part to protest a military parade in the nation’s capital that marked the Army’s 250th anniversary and coincided with Trump’s birthday. “No Kings” organizers at the time called the parade a “coronation” that was symbolic of what they characterized as Trump’s growing authoritarian overreach.
In response, some conservative politicians condemned the protests as “Hate America” rallies.
During a second round of protests in October, organizers said demonstrations were held in about 2,700 cities and towns across the country. At the time, Levin pointed to Trump’s sweeping immigration crackdown, his unprecedented promises to use federal power to influence midterm elections, restrictions on press freedom and retribution against political opponents, steps he said cumulatively represented a direct threat to constitutionally protected rights.
On social media, both Trump and the official White House account mocked the protests, posting computer-generated images of the president wearing a crown.
The big protest days are headline-grabbing moments, but Levin said groups like his are determined to keep up steady trainings and intermediate-level organizing in hopes of growing sustainable resistance to the Trump administration’s actions.
“This isn’t about Democrats versus Republicans. This is about do we have a democracy at all, and what are we going to tell our kids and our grandkids about what we did in this moment?” Levin said. ”I think that demands the kind of persistent engagement. ”
The exhibits will remain in the park service’s custody at the center, down the street from the President’s House, pending the outcome of the City of Philadelphia’s federal lawsuit against the Department of Interior and the National Park Service for taking down the exhibits.
But the center said it has no role in storing the exhibits.
“The storage facility [where the exhibits are being kept] is entirely under control and operation of the Park Service,” said a spokesperson for the Constitution Center, adding that the center does not have possession of or access to the space.
Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s administration is seeking an injunction to return the exhibits to the President’s House, which aims to educate visitors on the horrors of slavery and memorializes the nine people George Washington enslaved at the site during the founding of the United States.
Jali Wicker records NPS workers remove interpretive panels at the President’s House site in Independence National Historical Park Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. More than a dozen educational displays and illustrations about slavery were removed from the site, which serves as a memorial to the nine people George Washington enslaved there during the founding of America.
The location of the removed exhibits was revealed Wednesday in a motion objecting to the city’s injunction. The motion was filed by U.S. attorneys and assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate, representing Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, acting National Park Service Director Jessica Bowron, and their respective agencies.
The legal filing also provides further details into what transpired last Thursday when park service employees removed exhibits about slavery at the President’s House.
Park service employees dismantled the exhibit after Bowron ordered Steve Sims, the park service’s acting regional director, to have workers remove the panels and turn off video displays at the site, according to the filing. Sims said the takedown was carried out the same day that Bowron requested it.
There is also a remaining sign made of wood in a metal structure that was not removed last week because additional tools were needed.
“When and if NPS removes the sign, it will be stored with the other panels,” Sims said in a declaration included in the legal filing.
The footprints embedded in the site and the Memorial Wall featuring the names of the nine people Washington enslaved will stay at the President’s House, he said.
Last year, Burgum and President Donald Trump ordered content at national parks that could “inappropriately disparage Americans past or living” to be reviewed and potentially removed.
In addition to the actions in Philadelphia, the National Park Service has reportedly removed signage about the mistreatment of Native Americans from the Grand Canyon, among other changes implemented under the orders.
Tuesday’s filing previews the Trump administration’s legal argument for a hearing scheduled Friday on Philadelphia’s suit, which could be used in other cases around the country.
The attorneys claim in the filing that this case is “fundamentally a question of Government speech,” and they accuse the city of trying to “censor” the federal government.
“Such interests are especially weighty where, as here, the City effectively seeks to compel the Federal government to engage in speech that it does not wish to convey,” the attorneys wrote.
The city’s suit has received legal backing from Gov. Josh Shapiro and the Avenging the Ancestors Coalition, an advocacy group that helped establish the President’s House in the early 2000s.
The exhibit takedown has been a heartbreak for those who helped develop the site and for Philadelphians who have left artwork memorializing what the site used to be.
In a video posted to social media Tuesday, Parker said that her administration would keep “fighting” to have the panels restored to the site as the city prepares to play a central role in the nation’s 250th anniversary celebrations in July.
“This history is a critical part of our nation’s origins, and it deserves to be seen and heard, not just by the people of Philadelphia, but by every person who comes to Philadelphia from around our nation and the world to see and learn from, especially as we celebrate our Semiquincentennial 250th birthday, I want the world to know you cannot erase our history,” she said.
This story has been updated to include a comment from the National Constitution Center.
