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  • Dean Wade believes his self-made defense and ready-made shooting are a great fit next to Sixers’ stars

    Dean Wade believes his self-made defense and ready-made shooting are a great fit next to Sixers’ stars

    Dean Wade lived two houses down from the St. John High School gym, and had a set of keys.

    Well, his mother, Trish, did. She was the school’s volleyball and track coach in their town located “in the middle of nowhere, Kansas,” Dean said, and he often swiped those keys to let himself in for his own workouts.

    “I lived in the gym,” Dean recalled Tuesday. “That was all I ever really knew was basketball.”

    That commitment eventually led Dean Wade to the NBA, where he elevated himself from an undrafted player on a two-way contract to complementary contributor on the Cleveland Cavaliers team that advanced to the Eastern Conference finals this year. The 6-foot-9 forward has earned a reputation as a versatile defender — he guarded point guards, wings, and power forwards during the playoffs — who can space the floor on offense.

    Anfernee Simons brings shooting and bench spark. He hopes both make life easier for the Sixers stars.

    Now, Wade believes his beyond-the-box-score skills will translate to the Sixers, after signing his four-year contract worth almost $39 million.

    “A big reason was just kind of fit,” Wade said of why he joined a team that now boasts All-NBA wing Jaylen Brown alongside entrenched stars Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid.

    Wade acknowledged during Tuesday’s introductory session with Philly media that, while growing up in a place with a population of less than 1,200, the NBA felt like a “cool dream” but not exactly a realistic option.

    Still, Wade was part of an athletic and competitive household. Older sister Teresa was a standout volleyball player like their mother. Their father, Jay, played college football at Kansas State. Dean, though, was the “worst loser” if a parent beat him in a no-stakes card game.

    On the basketball court, Wade developed into the state’s top high school player in 2015 — despite playing for one of its smallest schools — and a four-year standout at Kansas State. After Wade was not selected in the 2019 draft, a Cavaliers front office featuring new Sixers president of basketball operations Mike Gansey signed him to a two-way contract to split time between the G League and NBA teams.

    “I think [Gansey] had a big say in that,” Wade said.

    Dean Wade has shot 36.7% on three-pointers in his career.

    Still, Wade was not regarded as a defensive stalwart when he first entered the NBA. During a candid conversation with Cleveland assistants, he learned that committing to that end of the floor would be his path to earning meaningful minutes.

    So he got stronger in the weight room. He embraced his stints in the G League. And in his second NBA season, a barrage of injuries suddenly pushed Wade into 19 starts that made him believe he could “truly stick in this league.”

    Now, Wade relishes whenever a ballhandler isolates against him, and the game becomes “head up, and who’s better?”

    “I’ve got to play with that little chip on my shoulder,” Wade said. “I love that competitive spirit, where it’s just whose will is going to outlast whose? That’s where I enjoy the defensive part of it. …

    “You don’t want to let any of your teammates down. You know how important you are on the defensive end, and you’ve got to do your job so everyone else can do their job.”

    Wade averaged 5.8 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in 59 games last season for the Cavaliers, and earned praise from teammates such as All-NBA guard Donovan Mitchell for his postseason defense.

    Jaylen Brown excited for ‘new chapter in Philly’ as his trade to Sixers becomes official

    Now, Wade gets to play alongside Brown, who is a stout defender in addition to his offensive excellence. Wade called Brown “definitely one of the toughest people I’ve had to guard” because of his blend of size, athleticism, skill, and “edge.” Wade also has experienced Maxey’s blazing speed firsthand, acknowledging the All-NBA guard has blown by him a time or two.

    So Wade’s goal on offense is to be enough of a three-point threat — he has shot 36.7% on an average of 3.2 attempts in his career — to give those perimeter scorers, plus Embiid, space to operate. He vowed to put himself in position to grab offensive rebounds. And he brings plenty of experience with playoff intensity, through team success and missteps.

    Wade won’t need a set of keys to enter his new home gym in Camden. He will navigate his first Sixers season alongside Gansey, who regularly was among the first faces he saw wherever he walked into the Cavaliers’ practice facility.

    And when asked about what he expects from Philly, Wade leaned on a tidbit he picked up from former Sixer and Cavalier Georges Niang.

    “It’s the best fans in the world — as long as you’re playing the right way,” Wade said of Niang’s message. “I feel like I take pride in playing the right way.”

    Adem Bona’s $2.3 million salary for the 2026-27 season became fully guaranteed Tuesday.

    Adem Bona’s contract becomes guaranteed

    Adem Bona’s $2.3 million salary for the 2026-27 season became fully guaranteed Tuesday, after the Sixers did not waive the reserve big man before July 7.

    Bona, who is entering his third NBA season, is expected to compete with newcomer Ariel Hukporti for the backup center job behind Embiid. Last season, Bona shared that role with veteran Andre Drummond, who left the Sixers in free agency to sign with the New York Knicks.

    Bona averaged 4.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks in 17.1 minutes per game in 2025-26. He impressed with his athleticism and rim protection, but struggled to stay out of foul trouble and limit mistakes. He was a second-round draft pick in 2025.

    If the Sixers don’t land LeBron James, who should fill their final roster spot? Here are a few options.

    Hukporti ready to accept role

    Hukporti, who on Monday signed his one-year, $3.4 million contract, was a part of the Knicks’ championship team.

    Now, the 24-year-old big man is ready to learn from Embiid — and “just do my job.”

    Hukporti believes that will encompass the “dirty work” on the defensive end, where his athleticism allows him to switch onto multiple positions. He also plans to be a reliable screen-setter for the Sixers’ guards headlined by Maxey and VJ Edgecombe.

    Ariel Hukporti (left) has averaged 2.1 points and 2.7 rebounds in limited minutes across 79 games in his first two NBA seasons.

    “Just the little things that make a big impact when it comes to winning,” said Hukporti, who was New York’s third-string center behind Karl-Anthony Towns and Mitchell Robinson.

    Hukporti has averaged 2.1 points and 2.7 rebounds in limited minutes across 79 games in his first two NBA seasons. Still, experiencing the Knicks’ title run — which featured multiple dramatic comebacks including an epic Game 4 of the Finals — reinforced a mantra of “never give up.”

    “No matter what happens,” he said. “You can always win in every situation — the playoffs, especially.”

  • Police release images of suspect SUV in hit-and-run death of Temple University student

    Police release images of suspect SUV in hit-and-run death of Temple University student

    Philadelphia police on Tuesday released surveillance images of the white SUV suspected in a the fatal hit-and-run crash on Kelly Drive last month that killed 20-year-old Temple University student Bryce Wolfe.

    The unidentified driver dragged Wolfe for more than a mile on Kelly Drive, police said.

    The police department’s Crash Investigation Division released two images of what investigators believe is 2001-08 Chevrolet Trailblazer and a stock image that more clearly shows what the make and model looks like.

    Police said the white Trailblazer may have damage on the driver’s side with possible red paint transfer, a broken rear windshield, and a discolored passenger-side front wheel.

    A $10,000 reward funded by an anonymous donor is being offered to anyone who provides information leading to the arrest and conviction of the driver, Temple University president John Fry said last week.

    Wolfe, of Conyngham, a borough in Luzerne County, was an actuarial science major in the Fox School of Business and had just completed his sophomore year.

    Bryce Wolfe, 20, of Luzerne County, had just completed his sophomore year at Temple University when he was killed by a hit-and-run driver on Kelly Drive.

    Philadelphia police said they responded to a report of a crash at Kelly and Reservoir Drives around 11:15 p.m. on June 24.

    Wolfe was riding a red 2004 Triumph motorcycle when he was struck by a white SUV on Kelly Drive at Reservoir Drive. The eastbound SUV driver was trying to make an illegal turn onto Reservoir Drive, but then attempted to return to eastbound Kelly Drive when the SUV entered Wolfe’s westbound path.

    The 20-year-old became trapped beneath the SUV and was dragged to the area of Fountain Green Drive before he was dislodged from the SUV, police said. Wolfe was transported by medics to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center and pronounced dead at 4:41 a.m. on June 25, police said.

    Lori Wolfe, Bryce’s mother, said in a text message Tuesday evening that she was hopeful that the case would be solved.

    “We feel this along with the 10k reward will help to give our son justice in finding the driver,” she said.

    A GoFundMe page has been created to help Bryce Wolfe’s family.

    Fry, Temple’s president, in a June 30 joint statement with Jodi Bailey Accavallo, vice president of student affairs, and Denise Wilhelm, interim vice president for public safety, said Wolfe “had quickly established a reputation as both an excellent student and engaged member of the Temple community,” maintaining a high grade-point average while being enrolled in both Temple and Fox Honors program.

    “Bryce was also deeply involved outside of class as he was a member of the student professional organization Gamma Iota Sigma and had recently started an internship with United States Liability Insurance Group,” Fry said.

    “There is no doubt that he had a very bright future ahead of him, and that’s what makes delivering this news especially difficult,” Fry said.

  • Mayor Parker’s office declined to say if the city will be refunded for Christina Aguilera’s canceled July 4th concert set

    Mayor Parker’s office declined to say if the city will be refunded for Christina Aguilera’s canceled July 4th concert set

    Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s office on Tuesday declined to say whether the city will save money after pop star Christina Aguilera, who was scheduled to headline the city’s free July Fourth concert, ended up not taking the stage Saturday due to the weather delays that pushed much of the concert and the subsequent fireworks display into the early morning hours of Sunday.

    Parker spokesperson Joe Grace said the city had “no comment as yet” on whether the city would be refunded in light of the change in plans triggered by Saturday’s severe thunderstorms.

    Aguilera was the only artist who ended up skipping their set, and Grace emphasized Parker’s role in ensuring the rest of the performers returned to the Benjamin Franklin Parkway to restart the show around midnight after it was suspended about 9 p.m.

    “We’re focused on the performers who did return and put on a tremendous show once the storms subsided,” Grace said in a statement, noting that the Roots, Kathy Sledge, State Property, Meek Mill, Will Smith, and DJ Jazzy Jeff all performed after the concert restarted. “In the evening, those artists came back, at the request of [concert producer] ESM and Mayor Parker — and put on a great concert. … All the evening artists credited the mayor with bringing them back to perform.”

    The decision to restart the concert pushed the fireworks display to about 2:30 a.m. Sunday.

    “After the storms passed, there were a lot of people who could have called it a night,” Parker said in a statement Tuesday. “Instead, we made one more call. The Roots and the other artists, including Will Smith returned. Thousands of people returned. Our city employees never stopped working. Our first responders stayed at their posts. Together, we finished what we started. That’s who Philadelphia is.”

    Smith, in an Instagram post on Monday, said he returned to the Parkway to perform in the Independence Day concert after midnight after receiving a personal call from Parker.

    Will Smith was ready to go home on July 4 night. Then he got a call from ‘Mrs. Mayor.’
    Will Smith and DJ Jazzy Jeff (left) perform at One Philly: Unity Concert for America on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway Sunday, July 5, 2026, in Philadelphia.

    Parker’s administration this year agreed to pay $15.5 million to ESM Productions, a for-profit Philadelphia-based company known for putting on major events on the Parkway, to organize the show. The city paid ESM at least $10 million prior to July Fourth, but it is unclear if any money was paid out to performers in advance of the show.

    The annual concert was previously managed by the nonprofit Welcome America, a public-private partnership organized by the city in the 1990s, and cost taxpayers far less.

    The last July Fourth concert cost Welcome America about $3 million to produce, according to a person with knowledge of the event who was not permitted to discuss details about its costs. Welcome America’s entire budget for 2024 — its salaries and office expenses, a concert that featured Kesha and Ne-Yo, and several smaller events it organizes — totaled about $6.6 million, about $5.3 million of which came from government grants, according to the group’s most recent federal nonprofit disclosure.

    Mayor Parker changed things up for this year’s July 4th concert — and it’s costing Philly’s taxpayers millions more

    It is unclear how much Aguilera was supposed to be paid for her performance this year.

    ESM’s original $10 million contract with the city, which was obtained by The Inquirer, included a nearly $3.4 million budget for “talent.”

    The contract between the city administration and ESM did not include a breakdown on how much each artist would be paid, and it did not include details related to artists’ pay in the event of canceled performances.

    The city also signed a $5.5 million contract amendment with ESM that did not include budget details.

    ESM Productions declined to comment.

    Fireworks fill the sky at the One Philly: Unity Concert for America on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway on Sunday, July 5, 2026 in Philadelphia.

    United Talent Agency, which represents Aguilera, did not return a request for comment. The pop star on Sunday posted videos from her rehearsals prior to the show on social media.

    “Philly, we had such a special 4th of July show planned for you!! 😭😫☔️🌧️,” Aguilera wrote on Instagram. “We poured so much heart and soul into this one, but safety always comes first—and sadly, the storm meant we couldn’t give you the show we worked so hard to bring to life 💔 Thank you to everyone who came out, and to my team for all the hard work that went into building this show… I hope to be back to Philly soon! xxxx.”

    The city’s payments to ESM are only part of the taxpayer costs for putting on the annual concert. The city also increases hours for city workers such as sanitation workers and police officers to put on the event.

    Grace on Tuesday declined to share the total cost of the concert, and reiterated Parker’s previous promise to lay out all expenses related to it at a future date.

    “As we’ve said previously, we will account for all expenses associated with the concert, along with producing an analysis of economic benefits accruing to the city, and release a report at a later time,” he said. “We want the report to be comprehensive.”

  • Historians reject White House’s criticism of Smithsonian museum

    Historians reject White House’s criticism of Smithsonian museum

    On July 4, the White House posted a lengthy report condemning the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History, accusing it of promoting “extreme ideological activism” while denigrating the nation’s founders and its founding.

    Historians have started to reply with failing grades of their own.

    The Organization of American Historians, the nation’s largest group of scholars of U.S. history, blasted the report in a statement Monday, accusing the administration of presenting a partisan ideological attack in the guise of historical critique.

    “The National Museum of American History interprets America’s history through its vast collection,” it said. “This report’s objective is to punish it for doing that in a way that makes U.S. history accessible to and reflective of all Americans. The report is only the latest chapter in a broader, systematic campaign that now targets an institution that was never meant to answer to any single administration.”

    The group accused the administration of ignoring decades of scholarship and trying to “erase the conflict, struggle, and diversity — the complexity — that have always defined the American experience.”

    “Make no mistake: The report represents an attempt to turn back the clock to a time when U.S. history was taught as the history of white Christian men who conquered a continent, U.S. military leaders who rarely lost a battle and U.S. presidents who were single-handedly responsible for national greatness, all under the cover of ‘anti-DEI’ and ‘anti-woke’ crusading,” it said.

    The White House report presents a wide array of charges, including that the museum promotes transgender issues and engages in “pro-illegal immigrant activism.” But at its core is a complaint that it fails to tell an “inspiring and unifying” national story that focuses on the heroism of the founders and acknowledges Christianity’s “constructive role” in “shaping the nation and its freedoms.”

    In a separate email to the New York Times, the president of the Organization of American Historians, Marc Stein, questioned the symbolic timing of the report.

    “Released on July 4, 2026, the 250th birthday of the U.S. Declaration of Independence, the report is a declaration of independence from history,” he said.

    Stein, a history professor at San Francisco State and the author of a recent history of the 1976 Bicentennial, defended the museum’s director, Anthea M. Hartig, a scholar of architectural history and cultural heritage who took over that role in 2019.

    The report “mischaracterizes and misrepresents the words of Anthea Hartig, who has consistently worked to educate and inform visitors to the museum with innovative exhibits and inspirational programs,” he said. (Hartig is a past president of the Organization of American Historians.)

    Some historians have questioned the accuracy of some of the report’s claims, including that the museum largely ignores the American Revolution and figures such as George Washington.

    Sarah Weicksel, the executive director of the American Historical Association, which has more than 10,000 members, noted in an email that the museum includes some “extraordinary” Revolutionary-era objects, like the newly restored gunboat Philadelphia, which it is highlighting for the nation’s 250th anniversary.

    Weicksel questioned some of the report’s criticisms of specific wall labels — for example, one about the history of U.S. education that refers to portraits of George Washington that have hung in many classrooms to promote patriotism. The report faults the label for not including biographical information about Washington and why he is important.

    “Studies of museum visitation have shown that labels should be presented no higher than an eighth-grade reading level and that most visitors will read no more than a brief label,” she said. “If every label that mentions Washington or Lincoln needs to recount a rote interpretation of their importance to the country, visitors will never learn anything new.”

    This article originally appeared in the New York Times.

  • Gov. Mikie Sherrill says fighting data centers is part of her response to extreme weather during Camden visit after flooding

    Gov. Mikie Sherrill says fighting data centers is part of her response to extreme weather during Camden visit after flooding

    New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill climbed onto an emergency water vehicle in Camden on Tuesday with Camden Fire Chief Jesse Flax. That vehicle, called the High Water One, was used by local emergency responders on Monday to rescue 14 people from the flooded streets of Camden, Flax said.

    The vehicle had arrived in the city one week earlier, just in time for what officials said was the worst flooding they had ever seen in the city, including from Hurricane Sandy in 2012.

    “I’ve never seen this in my whole career,” said Flax, who has worked in the city for three decades. “I’ve seen bad fires, I’ve seen a lot of different things. But I’ve never seen it flood in this capacity.”

    The new High Water Rescue vehicle that was used in the recent rainfall and flooding at the Fire Administration Building in Camden on Tuesday.

    No one was reported injured among 1,000 calls to emergency services.

    Sherrill thanked emergency responders and comforted Maria Perez, a Camden resident recovering from surgery who worked with her neighbors to fight the flooding by “telling them what to do and keeping them calm.”

    “I wanted them to keep plastic bags on their feet, too, because you don’t know what’s in that water. … I’m so glad that we had such a great team,” Perez, a member of the Camden schools advisory board, said in an interview.

    The governor’s visit came just a little more than an hour after she signed legislation in Salem County aimed at data centers. She said that very work can help prevent strain on the power grid during future storms and that the electrical grid is “top of mind” for her.

    Gov. Mikie Sherrill, left, speaks with Maria Perez, center, and Sen. Nilsa Cruz-Perez, right, at the fire house in Camden on Tuesday.

    “We are seeing these extreme weather events more and more and more frequently,” said Sherrill, who was dealt a historic snowstorm just weeks into her term and has recently seen a deadly heat wave. After her stop in Camden, she went to a BJ’s Wholesale Club store in Monmouth County where a roof fell in from Monday’s flooding.

    One of the bills Sherrill signed into law on Tuesday creates a new ratepayer class and rate structure for data centers that is meant to ensure they pay for their own energy. Another creates more oversight for utility companies’ grid upgrades to try to save money.

    “We’ve set them aside in a separate class of utility users, so that if we have storms like this, they will be first impacted, not normal rate payers,” Sherrill said.

    Data centers have caused concern on both sides of the aisle in South Jersey, with towns including Medford taking steps to block their development locally. But according to county spokesperson Dan Keashen, Camden did not have widespread power outages during the storm, just a handful that were rectified the same day.

    Oscar Parra makes his way to his car in the flooded parking lot at the Ferry Avenue PATCO station in Camden on Monday amid a flash flood threat for the region.

    So what about the damage in Camden?

    Sherrill said residents should report damage through the New Jersey Office of Emergency Management so the state can calculate how much federal assistance to request.

    “There are technical things we need to meet,” she said. “I think we probably will, but we’re collecting that now.”

    American Red Cross workers in Camden on Tuesday were providing cleaning supplies like mops, bleach cleaners, gloves, and tarps — as well as snacks and water, said Diane Concannon, the organization’s communications director for the New Jersey region.

    “Flooding is horrible for any family … because everyone wants to be able to save everything,” she said.

    While the rain was intense, it cleared up quickly because the city has maintained its sewers so well, Sherrill said.

    “They have done a really good job here in Camden with some of these resiliency efforts,” she said. “It’s why this wasn’t worse.”

  • Jalen Brunson has left wrist surgery, Knicks star expected back on court this summer, AP source says

    Jalen Brunson has left wrist surgery, Knicks star expected back on court this summer, AP source says

    NEW YORK — Jalen Brunson has undergone left wrist surgery and is expected to be back on the court when the New York Knicks begin defense of their NBA title, a person with knowledge of the details said Tuesday.

    The NBA Finals MVP is expected to resume basketball activities later this summer, the person told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because there was no announcement about Brunson’s procedure.

    You can trace Jalen Brunson’s greatness and the Knicks’ NBA title right to Villanova

    Brunson’s surgery was first reported by SNY.

    Brunson, who is left-handed, didn’t let the wrist injury slow him down on the Knicks’ run to their first championship since 1973. The former Villanova standout scored 45 points when the Knicks won the title in Game 5 in San Antonio, after finishing with 36 when they made a record-setting comeback from a 29-point deficit in Game 4. The point guard averaged 32.6 points in the finals.

  • Ben Rice will participate in Home Run Derby, looking to become Yankees’ first winner since 2017

    Ben Rice will participate in Home Run Derby, looking to become Yankees’ first winner since 2017

    New York Yankees slugger Ben Rice will be swinging for the fences in Philadelphia on Monday.

    Rice, who leads the Yankees with 25 homers this season, announced Tuesday that he will be participating in the Home Run Derby at Citizens Bank Park.

    He’ll look to become the first Yankees player to win the derby since Aaron Judge in 2017.

    The 27-year-old Rice said on social media that his father, Dan, who was a pitcher on Brown’s baseball team in the 1980s, will throw to him. Rice said they’ve already been practicing for the contest.

    Meet the All-Stars: What to know about baseball’s best coming to Philly

    Rice has 58 homers over his first three seasons in the majors.

    This is the second straight a year a Yankees player will appear in the Home Run Derby. Jazz Chisholm Jr. entered last year but was eliminated in the first round.

    Judge is one of four Yankees players to win the Home Run Derby. The others are Tino Martinez (1997), Jason Giambi (2002) and Robinson Canó (2011).

    Tampa Bay’s Junior Caminero also is participating in the event. The full field has not yet been announced. The Phillies’ Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper are still deciding whether they will participate.

  • Former Flyers captain Claude Giroux re-signs with Ottawa Senators, dashing reunion hopes

    Former Flyers captain Claude Giroux re-signs with Ottawa Senators, dashing reunion hopes

    After he had been around the world — well, Florida and Ottawa — it sounded like there was only one place left Claude Giroux wanted to go: back to Philadelphia.

    But after 1,571 days away and several false reports, the former Flyers captain is not returning to the City of Brotherly Love. He has signed a one-year contract to stay with the Ottawa Senators. According to the team, the deal carries a base salary of $2 million with bonuses that could reach a maximum value of $5 million.

    “I chose to come back because I want to be here. I’m excited to be an Ottawa Senator,” Giroux said in a news release. “Being around those guys for four years, we got really close. This team feels like a family. I just care for those players.”

    Giroux has been with Ottawa for four seasons after signing with the team in July 2022. Following the trade of captain Brady Tkachuk, it makes sense that the Senators kept the 38-year-old veteran to stabilize things.

    The announcement comes days after some misinformation online. Were the Flyers out on Giroux, like some reports said on Friday? That was inaccurate, a team source confirmed to The Inquirer.

    Was he signing with the Flyers, as other reports said on Friday? Also no, clearly.

    Claude Giroux wore the ‘C’ for the Flyers for 1,000 games.

    As reported on X (formerly Twitter) by The Inquirer, the word of Giroux’s imminent return was premature, as the Flyers’ attention was on the announcement that they had tendered an offer sheet to Leo Carlsson on Friday afternoon. That seemingly put everything on hold.

    In the end, Giroux opted to stay in Ontario.

    “Claude took his time to evaluate his options, and his decision to re-sign with us shows his belief and commitment to our group,” Ottawa general manager Steve Staios said. “He is the consummate professional and brings veteran experience to our core on and off the ice.”

    Although it would have been a welcome return for many fans, without a reunion, Giroux stays on the nice, round numbers of 900 points in 1,000 games with Philly. He is one of only two players, the other being Bobby Clarke, to play at least 1,000 games for the Orange and Black. Current Flyers captain Sean Couturier is 48 games away from joining them.

    This past season, Giroux had 14 goals and 49 points, including a power-play goal and 13 power-play points in 82 games. The expectation was that he could help a power play that, including his last season in Philly (2021-22), has been the NHL’s worst (14.1%). Across his first 14 seasons with the Flyers, the power play was ranked the fifth-best (20.3%).

    In March 2022, Giroux was traded to the Florida Panthers in a multiplayer swap. The Flyers acquired forward Owen Tippett, a 2023 third-round pick that became Denver Barkey, and a conditional first-round pick that was swapped with the Edmonton Oilers and then packaged to move up to get Jack Nesbitt in 2025.

    No one locally wanted to see Giroux depart. But it was time.

    One of the worst teams in the NHL, and a team that had not made the playoffs since the COVID-19 bubble of 2020, the Flyers had to change course.

    Claude Giroux was dealt to the Panthers in 2022, and was given a chance to win at a higher level than he could in Philly at the time.

    Giroux went to chase a Stanley Cup with the Panthers, which had 41 more points in the standings thanks to 23 more wins. They won the Presidents’ Trophy as the NHL’s top club but were ultimately swept in the second round by the two-time defending Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning. Florida would make the next three Finals, winning the last two, but Giroux was already back home in Ontario.

    The deal worked out for both sides. Giroux got a chance to win, and the Flyers picked up some valuable pieces. Nesbitt, a center, is heading to University of Michigan in the fall; Barkey has become a spark plug with an unstoppable motor; and Tippett is the speedy winger the Flyers need to keep defenses on their heels.

    A little more than a year after the trade, Chuck Fletcher was out as general manager, and Danny Brière was in. Many thought a Giroux deal would get done this summer since Giroux and Brière were teammates for several seasons, and Giroux had lived with Brière and his three sons during the 2010-11 season.

    The remaining players from Giroux’s tenure are forwards Couturier, Travis Konecny and Noah Cates, and defensemen Travis Sanheim, Rasmus Ristolainen, Nick Seeler, and Cam York.

  • A W hotel building contractor is hit with another court judgment, this time for $42.4 million

    A W hotel building contractor is hit with another court judgment, this time for $42.4 million

    One of the largest building contractors in the United States has been hit by another multimillion judgment as a result of the dispute over the W and Element hotels in Center City.

    Philadelphia Common Pleas Judge James Crumlish III ordered California-based Tutor Perini Building Corp. to pay $42.4 million in damages to the subcontractor retained to install the building’s exterior, the Chicago-based Ventana DBS LLC.

    “Throughout the project, Ventana was forced to navigate numerous obstructions and obstacles, stemming from Tutor Perini’s pervasive material breaches of contract,” Crumlish’s ruling read last week.

    Contractor caused construction of the W and Element hotels to go ‘off the rails,’ judge finds

    That judgment comes on top of a $174.7 million judgment Crumlish issued earlier this year for 2,797 days of construction delays to the 51-story building, to be paid to Philadelphia-based Chestlen Development LP.

    A Tutor Perini spokesperson said in April that the firm disagreed with the decision and intended to appeal it.

    The contractor declined to comment on the new developments.

    “This ruling is an important affirmation of the facts and of the principles that govern successful project delivery,” said Bob Clark, executive chairman of Clayco, a real estate development company that is Ventana’s parent company.

    “We are pleased that the Court awarded Ventana $42 million in damages and recognized that Tutor Perini failed to properly coordinate its subcontractors while acting in bad faith by concealing its knowledge of significant concrete defects,” said Clark.

    The judgment is the latest in the fallout from a construction project that Crumlish has said in an earlier ruling went “off the rails” because of Tutor Perini. Five years after the W hotel opened, the litigation is ongoing.

    Tutor Perini was in court again Tuesday for the start of a new trial, this time for the judge to assess how much a concrete subcontractor, Thomas P. Carney Inc. Construction, owes Tutor for botching the job.

    The proceeding had a tense opening as attorneys for Tutor Perini and Carney spent the morning arguing over motions.

    Crumlish, who has previously chastised the parties for their animosity and turning the litigation into a “challenging behemoth,” expressed frustrations at times and ordered everyone to stop talking.

    “I’m getting cranky, I will admit it,” the judge said at one point.

    Disruptive and costly delays

    Tutor Perini retained Ventana in 2015 for $14 million to assist in the design and installation of the building’ exterior and window-wall systems for floors nine to 50.

    But when Ventana moved to install the hotel’s wall-window systems, they immediately noticed a “big problem,” according to the judge’s October memo. In many places, the concrete was not level or did not meet the elevation requirements in the design.

    Tutor Perini denied there was a problem, while quietly attempting to grind the edges of the concrete slabs to address the issue.

    By failing to supervise the concrete pours, Crumlish wrote in the recent ruling, Tutor Perini caused the “inefficient, obstructed, and impaired installation” of the window-wall systems.

    “Ventana repeatedly encountered disruptive and costly delays due to Tutor’s lack of coordination while attempting to install its window wall systems,” the judge’s memo said.

    Tutor Perini, for example, didn’t clear debris left by other subcontractors, the judge said, to allow the Ventana team to transport the window-wall components.

    Judge orders contractor to pay $175 million for the W hotel’s construction going ‘off the rails’

    And while Tutor’s consultants confirmed the problem was the concrete pour, the company rejected Ventana’s delay notices and stopped paying the contractor.

    Crumlish ordered Tutor to pay Ventana the $7.5 million unpaid subcontractor balance, $7.3 million in labor inefficiency costs, and $2.4 million unpaid change order requests, and $18 million in other costs.

    The company is also on the hook for $7.1 million in attorney’s fees, expert witness fees, and litigation costs, bringing the total judgment to $42.4 million.

    The W hotel opened in 2021 at 15th and Chestnut Streets, three years after its intended opening date, and it still cannot be fully occupied because some window vents are inoperable.

    The project was developed by Brook Lenfest, son of former Inquirer owner H.F. “Gerry” Lenfest, whose foundation continues to own the newspaper.

    Editor’s note: This article has been updated with a statement from the subcontractor Ventana’s parent company.

  • 7 heat-related deaths have been reported in Philadelphia this month, 8 for the year

    7 heat-related deaths have been reported in Philadelphia this month, 8 for the year

    Philadelphia so far has confirmed seven heat-related deaths in the last week, bringing the seasonal total to eight, the city health department reported Tuesday.

    And officials in the Garden State are investigating 29 “suspected” heat-related deaths, most of them in the central and northern parts of the state, a spokesperson for the New Jersey Health Department said..

    Four deaths were reported on Monday, and three additional fatalities Tuesday, said James Garrow, a spokesperson for the Philadelphia Department of Public Health, with an eighth earlier in the season.

    No details were available about the victims, including their ages and when and where the deaths occurred.

    The possible New Jersey heat-related deaths would have occurred during the record three-day hot spell that ended on July Fourth, the state said.

    In Philadelphia, temperatures on those three days hit 101 degrees or higher, the first time that had happened in the period of record dating to 1873, the National Weather Service said.

    It also was only the third time that they officially reached triple digits on three straight days.

    In New Jersey, the suspected victims ranged in age from the mid-30s to the 80s, said health department spokesperson Dalya Ewais. She added, however, that death toll numbers “are still unconfirmed,” pending forensic examinations.

    In the last decade Philadelphia has averaged but five deaths annually, a dramatic drop from the deadly summers of the 1990s.

    In 1993, Philadelphia recorded 118 heat-related deaths — compared with 50 in the 10-year period that began in 2017. The eight reported so far are the most since the eight of 2022, according to health department records.

    The shock of the 1993 death toll in Philly — which foreshadowed Chicago’s 1995 disaster, and Europe’s in 2003 — led to the creation of the city’s heat-response system, recalled David L. Cohen, who was chief of staff under former Mayor Ed Rendell.

    Federal officials have lauded the program as a model for other cities. It includes setting up cooling centers, encouraging people to look in on neighbors, and having the Philadelphia Corporation for Aging set up a heat hotline.

    A study published in the Bulletin of the American Meteorology Society in 2025 credited the program with saving 270 lives from 1995 through 1998.

    If the forecast holds, the city can give the program a rest at least through the week. No highs of even 90 degrees are expected through Monday.