WASHINGTON — The Washington National Opera announced Friday that it had decided to end its arrangement with the Kennedy Center in the nation’s capital, though it said it was hoping for an “amicable transition.”
“To ensure fiscal prudence and fulfill its obligations for a balanced budget, the WNO will reduce its spring season and relocate performances to new venues,” the Opera said in a statement.
It said the decision stemmed from the Center’s new business model, which “requires productions to be fully funded in advance — a requirement incompatible with opera operations.”
Kennedy Center spokesperson Roma Daravi told The New York Times, “After careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision to part ways with the WNO due to a financially challenging relationship.”
Artists ranging from Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda to rock star Peter Wolf have called off events at the Kennedy Center since President Donald Trump ousted the previous leadership early last year and arranged for himself to head the board of trustees. The board’s decision in December to rebrand the venue the Trump-Kennedy Center led to a new wave of cancellations.
WASHINGTON — The head of the FBI’s New York field office has been named co-deputy director of the bureau, replacing Dan Bongino following his recent departure, an FBI spokesperson said Friday.
Christopher Raia, who helped lead the response to the deadly truck attack in New Orleans on New Year’s Day last year, was picked to run the New York office in April after having served as a top counterterrorism official at FBI headquarters. A former Coast Guard officer, Raia joined the FBI in 2003 and during the course of his two-decade career has investigated violent crime, drugs and gangs as well as overseen counterterrorism and national security investigations.
As a career FBI agent, Raia is a more conventional selection for the FBI’s No. 2 job than was Bongino, a popular conservative podcaster who had previously served as a Secret Service agent but had never worked for the FBI until being selected by the Trump administration last year.
Raia is expected to serve as co-deputy director alongside Andrew Bailey, the former Missouri attorney general who was named to the job last August. He is scheduled to start next week.
He became the head of the New York field office after his predecessor, James Dennehy, who was reported to have resisted Justice Department efforts to scrutinize agents who participated in politically sensitive investigations, was forced to retire.
Bongino announced last month that he was departing the bureau following a brief and tumultuous tenure. He officially ended his tenure last week.
No immediate successor was named for Raia in New York.
The Eagles will host the San Francisco 49ers to open the first round of the playoffs on Sunday. The last time both teams met was on Dec. 3 of the 2023 regular season, when the 49ers avenged an NFC championship loss to the Eagles a year prior.
Now, the Eagles enter as 4.5-point favorites. Will quarterback Brock Purdy lead the 49ers to a win in the postseason? Or will the Eagles back-to-back hopes stay alive?
Here’s what the 49ers players and coaches are saying about the Eagles …
‘Obviously, we know Philly’
Almost three years ago, the 49ers and the Eagles met in the NFC championship game. The Eagles dominated the 49ers at home in a 31-7 victory to secure their spot in the Super Bowl against the Kansas City Chiefs.
In the loss, Purdy tore his UCL in the first quarter, but returned to the field after the team’s backup quarterback, Josh Johnson, suffered a third-quarter concussion. Entering Sunday’s game, Purdy isn’t focused on his past encounters with the team.
“More than anything, it’s our 2025 season and we’re trying to finish strong and compete against a new team, scheme, kind of feel,” Purdy told reporters. “That’s where my mindset is at with that. Obviously, we know Philly, being there, their environment, their fans, all the things. It’s about getting prepared for that right now, rather than having flashbacks or anything like that.
“I already went in there in 2023 and played after what had happened in 2022. So, I feel like that’s out of the way and we’re ready to move on.”
The following season, the 49ers traveled back to Lincoln Financial Field during Week 13 and avenged the NFC championship loss with a 42-19 win over the Birds.
“Two completely different outcomes,” George Kittle told reporters this week. “They whooped up on us the first time. Then we did it the next year. I try not to think too much about that. I try not to hold onto grudges or anything like that because I think that just kind of clouds your judgment and you’re thinking about all this stuff that doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters to us is beating the Eagles who we haven’t played in two years.”
Although both teams have history with one another, 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey is only focused on one thing.
“We have history with the team, but this is about executing, it’s about controlling what you can control, and going out there and playing extremely hard,” McCaffrey said.
Eagles fans can be hostile, but some 49ers players prefer it that way.
‘They hate us all equally’
And when it comes to traveling to the Linc, the 49ers are just as familiar with the Philly fan base. On Thursday, Kittle reflected on his past experiences in the city.
“The one thing that’s really unique about Philly is that they don’t really — I mean, maybe like a division rival is different, but any other road team that comes in there, they hate all of us equally and I just appreciate that,” Kittle said. “It’s incredibly loud, they flip you off, they moon you on your bus ride in.
“But, they do that to everybody. It doesn’t matter if you’re the 49ers, if you’re the Jacksonville Jaguars. It doesn’t matter. They just give you that no matter what and I appreciate that because you can tell how much they love their team.”
The veteran tight end has played four times in Philly, including that 2023 playoff game, but appreciates each one. “I just thoroughly enjoy it because it’s so unique every single time,” Kittle said.
However, there was one moment that really stood out to the seven-time Pro Bowler.
“I’ll never forget my rookie season, the year they won the Super Bowl, it was my first time playing in the Linc,” Kittle recalled. “There were like four 10-year-old kids holding a seven-foot-tall papier-mâché middle finger that had a rotating thing on it that made the middle finger come up. That was the coolest thing, I’ll never forget it. That was my rookie year and I was like this is excellent.”
Playing on the road in the postseason may be a tough challenge for the 49ers, but it’s one that fullback Kyle Juszczyk is ready to take on, especially in Philly.
“It’s more difficult [going into a hostile environment] but the payoff is better,” Juszczyk told reporters. “There’s nothing like that feeling of going into a hostile territory and getting a win. Yeah, it’s a little bit more difficult but it’ll be worth it in the end.”
Vic Fangio’s defense allowed the fifth fewest point in the NFL this season.
‘It’s a big challenge’
Sunday’s game likely hinges on Vic Fangio’s Eagles defense vs. Kyle Shanahan’s 49ers offense. Shanahan spoke earlier this week about how much respect he has for Fangio — and how he’s tried to hire him multiple times — but he’s not the only member of the Niners who appreciate the test they’ll face Sunday.
“I feel like Kyle does a good job at making sure we all understand what kind of game it’s going to be,” Purdy said. “If they’re going to load the box, what our answer is. If they’re not, let’s do our job — whether it’s still throwing the ball or running the ball efficiently.
“I feel like the Eagles do a really good job at switching things up and making it hard to run the ball with the front that they have and dropping guys back in coverage. So, we respect the heck out of what they do. But, we also have to be on top of our job and have success in what we’ve always done.”
The Eagles defense has been dominant this season, especially down the stretch, and 49ers offensive coordinator Klay Kubiak credits much of its success to coaching — and a physical defensive line.
“It always starts with the players,” Kubiak told reporters. “They’re super talented on defense, up front especially. It starts with 98, he’s one of the most talented interior players that we’ve gone against. All three levels, they’re talented. Extremely well coached and coordinated.
“Vic [Fangio] knows how to identify what you’re trying to do and take away those things that your offense is trying to exploit. That’s why they’re a top defense. We’re going on the road. So, the environment is going to make it harder. So, it’s a big challenge.”
On the opposite side of the ball, the Eagles have struggled to find an identity. But 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh is well aware of the threat that Saquon Barkley still possesses.
“I still think he’s elite,” Saleh said. “I know his production isn’t what it was a year ago. But he’s still a damn good football player. He’s still a threat to break it anytime he touches the ball. [Jeff] Stoutland is still one of the best O-line coaches in all of football, creating good angles and creating space for the backs. They can still run the ball as good as anybody.”
Relief is coming to thousands of aggrieved trolley riders.
After two months of closure, the trolley tunnel connecting Center City and West Philadelphia is scheduled to reopen Monday at 5 a.m., SEPTA announced late Friday.
Test runs of trolleys through the 5-mile passageway have shown that repairs to damaged connections between the vehicles and the overhead electric wires that supply their power have worked and it’s safe to resume normal operations, officials said.
“We recognize that this prolonged closure of the trolley tunnel posed a significant inconvenience for our riders, and we appreciate their patience,” SEPTA General Manager Scott A. Sauer said. “Our crews worked around the clock to complete the emergency repairs.”
About 60,000 riders traveled daily through the tunnel between 13th Street and its West Philadelphia portal at 40th Street before SEPTA closed it in early November.
Since November, SEPTA has replaced nearly 5,000 feet of overhead wire, or about 20% of the wire in the tunnel. Crews will continue to replace wire during scheduled weekend closures, the transit agency said.
Documents released Friday offer new detail on how investigators assembled their striking case against Jonathan Christian Gerlach, who authorities say desecrated dozens of graves to steal human remains.
Gerlach, 34, who is charged with stealing more than 100 skulls, bones, and body parts from Mount Moriah Cemetery, also posted dozens of photos of human remains on social media, records show, and authorities are investigating whether he may have offered to sell them.
The investigation into Gerlach, who lives in Ephrata, spans multiple counties and law enforcement agencies. The historic cemetery stretches across Philadelphia and Yeadon, Delaware County, where officials charged Gerlach on Thursday.
Gerlach’s lawyer, Anna Hinchman, declined to comment Friday, citing the pending criminal case.
In all, Gerlach faces more than 500 counts of burglary, criminal trespassing, abuse of a corpse, theft, and related crimes.
“After 30 years, I can say this is probably the most horrific thing that I’ve seen,” said Yeadon Police Chief Henry Giammarco, whose department was involved in the investigation.
A few Mausoleum’s that Jonathan Gerlach broke into at Mount Moriah Cemetery in Philadelphia.
Grave sites damaged, remains stolen
Detectives were first dispatched to the burial ground on Nov. 7, according to the affidavit of probable cause for Gerlach’s arrest. There, a board member of the Friends of Mount Moriah Cemetery — the group that helps to maintain the burial ground — led the investigators to a mausoleum where a hole in protective cinder blocks revealed a damaged marble floor, 10 feet underground. A white rope, which detectives believe the thief used to rappel into the mausoleum, hung nearby.
They discovered other disturbed burial sites, both that afternoon and weeks later, according to the affidavit: a crypt with its marble entrance stone ripped off, whatever was inside stolen; a damaged, empty casket inside a mausoleum; a clear plastic tarp covering human remains discarded on the ground of the cemetery.
Investigators collected clues, including the rope, a “Monster” energy drink can, and a partially smoked Marlboro Menthol cigarette. Each will be sent for DNA testing, the affidavit said.
On Dec. 23, the document shows, police received a tip pointing to Gerlach. “Look into Jonathan Gerlach,” the tipster said, according to the affidavit. “I know someone who’s friends with his family, and they mentioned that they recently discovered a partially decomposed corpse hanging in his basement, but were afraid to tell police.”
The tipster also pointed investigators to Instagram. “You’ll see he follows accounts in taxidermy, skeleton collecting and sales,” the tipster said.
Delaware County District Attorney Tanner Rouse speaks to reporters on Thursday about Jonathan Gerlach, who is charged with burglary, abuse of corpse and desecration, and theft or sale of venerated objects for allegedly stealing from graves.
An Instagram trail
The last post on the Instagram account that Delaware County authorities have linked to Gerlach appeared on Tuesday, the day that detectives took him into custody, after they say they witnessed him carrying a burlap sack filled with human remains out of the cemetery.
A partial skull — its surface darkened and pitted with age, mounted upright like an artifact — appears in the post. Staged against a floral backdrop, the photo is paired with a caption that reads: “if you know, you know. skulls/bones available. dm to inquire.”
The post and dozens of others like it on the account suggest that Gerlach may have been part of a largely unregulated and little-known marketplace in which human bones and remains are bought and sold online and in specialty shops. It’s a trade that can be legal under certain circumstances in a number of states, including Pennsylvania, and one that records suggest Gerlach may have engaged with — though investigators have not confirmed he ever successfully made a sale.
Authorities say the investigation is continuing.
Gerlach is charged with crimes associated with how authorities say he acquired the bones: by breaking into the cemetery’s mausoleums and underground vaults and stealing the remains.
Investigators tied Gerlach’s vehicle to license plate readers near Mount Moriah, they said, and his cell phone to the area. A search of his recent purchases revealed trips to a hardware store to buy items that matched those that detectives had also recovered at damaged grave sites, including a stake.
When detectives executed a search warrant at Gerlach’s home, in the 100 block of Washington Avenue, they said they found skulls arranged on shelves, and a collection of other bones, skeletons and mummified body parts, including feet and hands. They also found a torso hanging from the ceiling, said Delaware County District Attorney Tanner Rouse.
Potential sales, and a call for change
Rouse and Detective Christopher Karr said law enforcement officials are aware of social media accounts associated with Gerlach and are investigating what, if any, connection they may have to his alleged crimes.
Rouse said accounts linked to Gerlach “certainly seemed to indicate” that Gerlach had attempted to sell the remains. “But whether that was real or not — whether a sale had ever been consummated — we can’t say for sure,” he said.
The Instagram account, which dates back to 2023, includes images of human remains arranged on shelves and tables, or held in a man’s hands. Its posts raise questions about whether Gerlach’s alleged activity extended beyond what authorities have detailed so far.
Investigators are working to determine when and where the images were taken and whether any of the items pictured were stolen from Mount Moriah, Rouse said.
In addition to a curator and potential salesperson, the Instagram account presents Gerlach as a forensic practitioner and professional.
In a recent post that pictured Gerlach holding a skull fragment beneath his heavily tattooed neck, the account’s operator wrote that he was completing a certification in forensic and osteological analysis, and planned to offer analysis through a planned company — describing services that would assess human remains using academic and forensic standards.
Gerlach is being held in the Delaware County jail in lieu of $1 million bail.
The investigation into Gerlach remains ongoing, Yeadon Borough Mayor Rohan Hepkins said Friday. Gerlach is suspected of burglarizing additional cemeteries, including in Ephrata, said Hepkins, who also sits on the board of the Friends of Mount Moriah Cemetery and said he helped to bring the case to police.
In a written statement, the Friends of Mount Moriah Cemetery thanked law enforcement officials but declined to comment.
Hepkins expressed dismay that the legal trade of human remains is even possible, and called for reform. “People never conceived that people would be stealing bones from graves and selling them in the market,” he said. “Politicians need to understand there is a type of individual out there — or a market out there — where legislation has to catch up with what’s happening out there.
“It’s a bad situation but a lot of good, preventive maintenance could come out of it,” he added.
The waves rocked a dead 30-foot juvenile humpback whale that lay belly-up near Delaware’s Bethany Beach Friday as marine rescue workers prepared for the open-air postmortem examination that would take place on the sand.
The whale was first seen “floating at sea,” two miles off the Indian River Inlet earlier in the week, according to the Marine Education, Research & Rehabilitation Institute, also known as MERR. It finally beached Thursday.
As Suzanne Thurman, executive director of MERR, waited for heavy machinery Friday morning, she guessed the whale might weigh about 20,000 pounds, posing a serious challenge for the people investigating the mammal’s cause of death.
The weight, the constant movement at the behest of the ocean, and the slippery feel of the oil in the whale’s blubber made cutting it open for a necropsy — the examination to determine cause of death — inherently risky, said Thurman. The heavy machinery would have to stabilize the whale on land so the scientists could do their work.
“It can’t be towed,” Thurman said. “There are no other effective ways to move the whale.”
Unlike other animal necropsies, the whale’s postmortem examination would have to take place on the open beach, she said.
“A necropsy is very important because we can’t always tell what happened to the whale simply by looking at it,” she said, adding even if a whale is injured, scientists have to check for signs of human impact and if there was an underlying disease that led to its death.
Finding the cause of death for whale fatalities is crucial for conservationists. Though whale populations have largely rebounded since their peak hunting days, they face more trafficked waterways and a changing climate, which put them at risk all the same.
Whenever there’s a significant die-off of any marine population that “demands immediate response,” the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration gets involved, declaring what’s called an unusual mortality event. This allows scientists to investigate the deaths and study the remaining population in real time.
There are three active unusual mortality events, all involving whales in the Atlantic — the Atlantic minke whale, the North Atlantic right whale, and the Atlantic humpback whale.
How the Delaware fatality factors into the larger picture of whale population health remains to be seen.
The speed at which MERR staff can finish the necropsy depends on environmental factors and equipment availability from the state.
After MERR is done with the necropsy, Thurman said the whale will be buried in the beach because it’s too heavy to move anywhere else and it will become an important source of nutrients.
The Delaware whale is the second such mammal death in the region this week.
A 25- to 30-foot fin whale was discovered on the bow of a ship Sunday night at a marine terminal in Gloucester City, N.J., though the necropsy process has been much slower.
The Marine Mammal Stranding Center took the lead in the New Jersey investigation, limiting public comments to its social media posts. By Wednesday, the Stranding Center said it had a necropsy plan in place for the 12- to 13-ton whale, but staff couldn’t move forward with it until they had a suitable burial location secured.
NOAA’s law enforcement arm, which is tasked with enforcing about 40 different marine laws, has opened an investigation into the whale death despite the incomplete necropsy. A spokesperson could not expand on what drove the decision, citing the pending investigation.
Stranding Center data, dating back to 2002, shows that whale strandings peaked in New Jersey in 2023, with a total of 14 cases. The following year saw a drop in strandings with a total of nine cases reported. Last year, strandings in New Jersey dropped to four.
Haldon House is working with Yass and his wife, Janine, on redeveloping a half-dozen properties in Gladwyne with historic architecture, green spaces, and new businesses. Golsorkhi called the proposal a “community impact project” for the Yass family, which has spent over $15 million acquiring the properties.
Gladwyne village has long been home to small businesses, namely OMG Hair Salon, the Gladwyne Pharmacy, the Guard House, and Gladwyne Market. OMG Salon and the Gladwyne Market shuttered last year after the developers acquired their storefronts, sending ripples, and rumors, through the Main Line community. House values for the 4,096-person village are among the highest in the state, with a recent median sales price of $2.3 million, according to Realtor.com data.
For the first time, Golsorkhi last week brought his development plans and his partnership with the Yass family to the public. He was met with both applause and skepticism from attendees. Some expressed optimism about the proposal, while others questioned why the developers would pour millions into a project with no apparent financial gain.
The Village Shoppes, including the Gladwyne Pharmacy, at the intersection of Youngs Ford and Righters Mill Roads in Gladwyne on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.
Gladwyne ‘needs a revitalization’
Haldon House’s proposal, as outlined by Golsorkhi, involves retaining much of Gladwyne’s historic architecture while bringing in new retailers, opening up green space, and increasing connectivity in the village’s downtown core.
The developer plans to expand local café Homeroom and keep the Gladwyne Pharmacy while courting new businesses that “fit the character and are contextually relevant to the town.” There are no plans for residential development, national chain stores, or high-rise buildings.
“This is a place that we grew up, that we love, that we care for tremendously, that has been protected for all the right reasons, but it has also not evolved,” Golsorkhi said. “It needs a revitalization.”
Golsorkhi and his wife, Autumn Oser, the co-owner of Haldon House, are from the Gladwyne area.
Yass is a billionaire, conservative megadonor, and founder of the Bala Cynwyd-based Susquehanna International Group. The Yass family has lived in Haverford for more than 40 years.
Properties in Gladwyne acquired by the Yass family as part of their proposed revitalization project.
Haldon House and the Yass family have purchased multiple properties at the intersection of Youngs Ford and Righters Mill Roads, including the former Gladwyne Market building, the Village Shoppes, a residential property on the 900 block of Youngs Ford Road, and the Gladwyne Post Office, according to Golsorkhi. They’ve also leased the former OMG Salon at 351 Righters Mill Rd.
Citing the rumors that percolated in community after the shuttering of Gladwyne Market, Golsorkhi said there’s been “a lot of justified, warranted concern.”
Gladwyne Market shuttered in October after its building was purchased by developers Haldon House and the Yass family.
Renderings of the proposal show the village’s core buildings retaining their late-1800s architecture, with new wraparound porches, ivy-covered stone walls, Adirondack chairs, hydrangeas, and “Gladwyne Square” branded signs.
Golsorkhi said in an email that the developers were prepared to assume the costs and it was too early to specify how long the project would take.
In addition to keeping Homeroom and the Gladwyne Pharmacy in place, the developers plan to put a “casual, but elevated and approachable” restaurant in the former Gladwyne Market site. They‘ll recruit independent retailers like bakeries, boutique fitness studios, and ice cream parlors. They also intend to expand the village’s open green space with picnic tables, open lawns, and venues for community events.
Renderings of a proposed revitalization project in Gladwyne. Design firm Haldon House is working with longtime resident Jeff Yass to redevelop the Main Line village while preserving its historic architecture, developers told residents on Jan. 8.
Golsorkhi said they would take a “forward and involved approach” with new and existing tenants, from designing storefronts to offering input on products to stock.
They have worked closely with Gladwyne Pharmacy to help “reimagine” the “design and experience,” with “no expectation of return,” Golsorkhi said, adding that the pharmacy has “built up merchandise and square footage over time that isn’t necessarily best serving the business or the community.”
“We’re doing that because we believe that the consistent experience and character of Gladwyne is really important,” he said.
Golsorkhi told attendees at the meeting on Thursday that while they have “no particular intentions” for the recently purchased Gladwyne Post Office, it was “retiring its services” and there was potential to create a new, centralized storefront where residents could access USPS, UPS, and FedEx services.
Paul Smith, manager of public affairs and communications for the Postal Service in the Philadelphia region, said the Gladwyne post office was not retiring its services. In early 2024, Gladwyne and other local post offices moved their letter carriers to a large delivery center in Wayne, where they pick up mail and distribute it to their routes. Gladwyne’s post office is still used for retail transactions, mailing items, and for P.O. box holders.
Golsorkhi clarified in an email that he understood the post office’s changes. In case services are further reduced in the future, he said, “we want to be sure we’re ahead of it by considering what shipping hubs and/or shipping services we can bring to the village to ensure continuity of mailing services, while also augmenting USPS with other carriers.”
The Gladwyne post office at 326 Conshohocken State Road in Gladwyne on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.
Excitement for some, skepticism for others
Haldon House and the Yass family’s recent acquisitions left some business owners feeling slighted.
OMG Salon owner Maurice Tenenbaum said the building’s owners more than doubled his rent last fall, forcing him to give up the salon space.
Pete Liccio, owner of the now-closed Gladwyne Market, said in an October interview that he had also felt pushed out.
At Thursday’s meeting, some residents said Gladwyne was ready for a revitalization, from new restaurants to more pedestrian-friendly infrastructure.
“What I’m seeing here is a center of gravity and an identity for Gladwyne that’s well-deserved and long been needed,” one attendee said.
Others expressed concern.
“I just wonder what the end game is. There’s always a price for this, having someone come in and say, ‘I’m going to make your community really, really cool and don’t worry about the money,’” another Gladwyne resident said during a question-and-answer segment.
“[This is an] investment and a philanthropic effort …,” Golsorkhi said. “I understand and I recognize that that is a challenging thing to sort of believe.”
The Village Shoppes, including the Gladwyne Pharmacy (left) and the now shuttered Gladwyne Market (right) at the intersection of Youngs Ford and Righters Mill Roads in Gladwyne on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.
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A New Jersey school resource officer has been charged with misconduct and child endangerment after an altercation with a juvenile in 2024, Gloucester County prosecutors said.
Charles P. Rudolph, 51, of Franklinville, was indicted on second-degree official misconduct and second-degree endangering, abusing, or neglecting a child on Wednesday, according to the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office.
Both counts carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in state prison.
Prosecutors say that while employed as a school resource officer, on behalf of the Gloucester County Sheriff’s Office, Rudolph “forcefully pushed” a juvenile’s neck, face, and chest onto a table while the juvenile was handcuffed during an incident that occurred on Dec. 19, 2024.
Officials did not release moreinformation on the incident that led to the altercation between Rudolph and the juvenile, any identifying details about the child,or the school where Rudolph worked.
The Gloucester County Sheriff’s Office declined to comment on the case.
Rudolph’s lawyer could not be reached for comment.
A court appearance is preliminarily scheduled for Feb. 5, according to prosecutors.
Five Democratic-led states are suing the Trump administration for freezing their share of federal food, housing, and childcare assistance dollars, saying officials failed to justify the sweeping actions that could strip billions in aid from needy families.
New York, along with California, Colorado, Illinois, and Minnesota, asked for a temporary restraining order that would allow them to continue receiving the funds, in a lawsuit filed Thursday evening with the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
The states argued that the Administration for Children and Families, which is within the Department of Health and Human Services, provided no evidence of fraud and acted illegally by enacting sanctions within the three welfare programs without following processes laid out by law. The administration wrote to the states earlier this week that the freeze was necessary to prevent “potential” fraud but didn’t detail what it meant, according to letters viewed by the Washington Post.
“I will not allow this administration to play political games with the resources families need to help make ends meet,” New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) said in a statement.
State officials and child advocates have said the funding freeze would wreak havoc on families relying on childcare aid and could cause ripple effects if parents are forced to quit their jobs to care for children or daycare centers shut down permanently.
HHS General Counsel Mike Stuart wrote on X late Thursday that the agency “stands by its decision to take this action to defend American taxpayers.”
“We identified serious concerns in these states that warranted immediate review and action,” he wrote. “These same officials were complicit in this perpetuation of this fraud and allowing it to happen.”
Minnesota was already in the administration’s crosshairs amid investigations into billions of federal dollars authorities say were fraudulently claimed by individuals and groups purporting to help the state’s low-income population. HHS broadened its crackdown this week, saying nearly $2.4 billion in childcare grants have been frozen to the five states, as well as $7.35 billion in temporary grants for needy families and $869 million in social services funds. These programs help cover childcare, housing, food, and home utility costs for families with low incomes.
Democratic leaders in those states blasted the move as politically motivated.Before the lawsuit was filed Thursday, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) told reporters that the administration is “coming after Democratic governors, five of us, for no reason at all.”
“I want them to know this, that you may think you’re punishing me as a Democrat, but this is a county program,” she said, referring to safety net programs in New York partly funded with federal dollars. “We are simply the pass-through. The money goes to providers selected by the counties. They run this.”
Under the freeze, the states must submit justification and receipts before being able to collect funds from any of the programs. The administration wrote in letters to the states that the freeze wouldn’t be lifted until they put in place more verification measures to ensure the funds are being used properly for eligible recipients.
A letter from HHS’s Administration for Children and Families to Colorado said the administration is committed to “rooting out fraud” and expressed concern that Colorado is providing“illegal aliens” government benefits.
Fraud investigations into the three programs targeted by the administration are typically handled by states, former HHS officials said. New York’s Office of the Welfare Inspector General reported it secured nearly $600,000 in fraud-related restitution in 2024, for example.
The administration froze childcare funding to nearly a dozen daycare facilities in Minnesota in late December after a viral video alleged they were collecting funds without caring for children — claims the state has rebutted. Federal prosecutors have charged 92 people with committing fraud in other, Medicaid-funded programs in the state.
All five states involved in the lawsuit filed Thursday are among more than two dozen states that previously sued the Trump administration over withholding other federal funds including for education, disaster relief and public health, arguing the actions jeopardize critical services.
A Philadelphia man who goes by the alias “YP SlumBoy” was arrested Thursday by U.S. Marshals and charged with killing the mother of his child, tampering with evidence and other crimes.
Quamir Jones, 25, is accused of fatally shooting 23-year-old Siani Smith early in the morning of Oct. 12, according to an affidavit of probable cause for his arrest.
Investigators say Smith was in the passenger seat of a vehicle with another man on the 7400 block of Dicks Avenue in the city’s Eastwick neighborhood when Jones pulled up in a car shortly after 5 a.m.
Jones approached the front driver side of the vehicle,the affidavit says. The other man, surprised at Jones’ presence, asked whether he was blocking the driveway.
After a short exchange between the two men, Jones drew a gun, stuck it inside the vehicle and fired once. As the vehicle sped off, Jones fired the weapon again, according to the affidavit.
Finding Smith had been struck, the man drove her to a nearby hospital, where she was pronounced dead around 5:30 a.m.
Meanwhile, Jones called Smith’s mother, police said. He told the woman that a group of men had been outside her home, and that she needed to go outside and pick up shell casings they left behind.
Jones told Smith’s mother that the casings would lead back to a gun registered in his name, but she did not find any casings outside, according to the affidavit.
Smith’s mother later told investigators she was asleep during the shooting but was awoken when she heard “five to six gunshots outside.”
The last time Smith’s mother had seen her daughter was earlier that evening, when Smith arrived home after a night out.
Smith’s mother said she had heard her daughter talking to the child she shared with Jones, according to the affidavit. Siani Smith and the child had moved back into the home two weeks prior.
The woman told police Jones was known to carry guns, and investigators later learned Jones had a valid permit to carry a concealed firearm, a Glock 9mm pistol that was registered in his name in Delaware County.
Jones had two prior arrests for gun crimes in 2022, according to the affidavit. One of those cases was dropped for reasons that were not immediately clear, and the other was dismissed for lack of evidence.
On Thursday, Marshals arrested Jones on the 200 block of E. Mermaid Lane in Chestnut Hill, nearly three months after Smith’s death. It was not immediately clear where Jones resided during that time.
In a post on X, the U.S. Marshals of Eastern Pennsylvania alleged Jones is a member of the city’s “Blumberg” gang.
@USMS_Philly@PhillyPolice@PAAttorneyGen agents, arrested Quamir Jones, 25, in the 200 block of E. Mermaid Lane. On Oct 12 Jones aka "YP Slumboy" allegedly shot and killed his child's mother in the 7300 block of Dicks Ave. Jones is a member of the "Blumberg" gang in North Phila. pic.twitter.com/fkcU9305A4
— U.S. Marshals Service Philadelphia (@USMS_Philly) January 7, 2026
In addition to murder, prosecutors charged Jones with possessing an instrument of crime, criminal solicitation, recklessly endangering another person, and tampering with evidence.
He is being held at the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility and was denied bail, court records show. He is represented by a court-appointed defense attorney.
Philadelphia police confirmed Friday that Jones went by the alias “YP SlumBoy,” a rap name that has garnered a modest following on social media.
