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  • Letters to the Editor | Feb. 12, 2026

    Letters to the Editor | Feb. 12, 2026

    Hope floats

    Pennsylvania is home to almost 86,000 miles of rivers and streams, more than any state except Alaska. The Shapiro administration understands the responsibility that comes with maintaining our waterways and remains committed to protecting them to keep Pennsylvania beautiful.

    The recent op-ed from the Stroud Research Center made important points about the challenges facing Pennsylvania’s rivers, lakes, and streams.

    Over the last three years, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has increased our assessments and evaluated more than 10,000 miles of streams, which has led to us identifying a higher number of impaired waterways. That is why we have accelerated our work to protect and restore our rivers, lakes, and streams and reduce pollution flowing through them, all while supporting our farmers, growing our economy, and strengthening communities across the commonwealth — meeting these challenges and delivering for the people of Pennsylvania, but we know there is more work to be done.

    DEP takes a “whole watershed” approach to protecting the water quality of Pennsylvania’s waterways. We look at rural and urban conservation opportunities that keep stormwater runoff from pulling pollutants into our waters. We work with landowners, watershed organizations, local governments, and conservation districts to identify the best ways to protect rivers and streams — and we have grant programs like Growing Greener, which invest in local communities to restore waterways.

    Restoring the remaining miles of impaired waterways will take a lot of effort, but with strong partnerships, we can continue to restore our rivers, lakes, and streams for all to enjoy.

    Jessica Shirley, secretary, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection

    More data, please

    I am a teacher at Parkway Northwest High School for Peace and Social Justice. I teach English, history, and journalism. I also serve as the elected Philadelphia Federation of Teachers building representative. In response to your editorial headlined, “Philadelphia school closure proposal is not perfect, but it is necessary,” The “recommendation” of Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr. to the Board of Education reeks of machine politics at its worst. It is clear to everyone directly involved that the district is not really concerned about improving outcomes for students; if it had produced real data that supported its conclusions, it would have already shared it with the public. There are scant details provided for these bright neighborhood community hubs upon the hill because, according to the district’s own briefing, this will all be figured out after the plan has been approved. Understandably, it can’t say what this is really about, but it doesn’t have to worry about transparency as long as the institutions meant to hold government accountable, like this one, are so obviously complicit in the “dirty work” of city politics. Instead of holding the district accountable for its shoddy process and threadbare arguments, you are helping sell the general public on the benefits of getting on board a plane that is only 10% built. You should be ashamed of yourselves, and it should come as no surprise when our students leave a school or political system that has failed the basic tests of democratic process and transparency.

    Brian Nevins, Philadelphia

    Dumb down AI

    With all the talk these days of artificial intelligence, I recently came across an interesting and uncanny quote from an 18th-century essayist and scholar, Joseph Addison, in which he said, “Artificial intelligence will never be a match for natural stupidity.”

    Addison surely had nothing in mind relating to current interpretations of artificial intelligence, but maybe he had a point in that snags should be expected in our adoption and use of AI. This would not be unusual for a new technology.

    B. W. Witty, Mount Laurel

    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.

  • Horoscopes: Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026

    ARIES (March 21-April 19). Maintenance is a kind of listening. Tighten the loose screw, clear the small pile, straighten the edge. These modest gestures calm the nervous system, signaling that it’s all in order, and when it’s not, it’s OK. Falling apart is the first sign of coming together.

    TAURUS (April 20-May 20). There’s strong psychological evidence that willpower is a limited resource. Willpower gets scarce when you’re already using so much to get through a tense situation or a demanding day. Self-discipline is made easier in an otherwise stress-free day.

    GEMINI (May 21-June 21). Every relationship has a story, and today you’ll be making it a more interesting one with your sense of play. Of course it means tapping into your creativity and daring. It’s better to be messy and silly than too regimented, literal or serious.

    CANCER (June 22-July 22). You’re avoiding mistakes for a reason. The consequences are real. Just “valuing effort” doesn’t pay bills or fix problems. Because you’re serious about doing a good job, you’ll put safeguards in place that make it impossible not to.

    LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). Being a “driven” person is easy when you simply accept your drives. It’s when you ignore or disapprove of them that motivation wanes. What’s standing between you and what you naturally want to do? A judgment? A fear? Grapple with and dismantle it.

    VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). You’re open-minded, flexible, amenable … and you still should try to get your way. Sometimes your way is just better. Today is one of those times when all will benefit when you politely advocate for it.

    LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). If people were stars, there’s one who is your North Star right now and you keep moving toward the light, constant and bright. Yes, there is still a distance between you, but what’s a few light-years among friends?

    SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). A bit of envy in the mix will be lucky for you because you’re naturally competitive, so the idea that someone else is winning the very thing you’re interested in will give you the energy to think smarter and move faster to make things happen for yourself.

    SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). You want people to be comfortable around you, but not so relaxed that they are also complacent, inconsiderate or greedy. There’s a balance to be struck between warmth and power, and it can be addressed sartorially.

    CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). The temptation of making a “bad” choice isn’t really about morality or a failure of discipline, so much as needs. Comfort, relief, connection, excitement, rest, reassurance — all are valid reasons to act. Understand the need and behaviors are easier to manage.

    AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). The focus you choose is the picture. What you don’t focus on may as well be absent entirely. Your world features the people, things and ideas you flow your attention to. As you witness the world, you also make it.

    PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). Only say yes when you’re genuinely excited about the offering or see a definite benefit to responding like you are. Keep focusing on the upside of extra responsibility and it will stop feeling like a chore and start feeling like choice, and maybe even a little fun.

    TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (Feb. 12). Welcome to your Year of Uncanny Social Intelligence, when you make moves that outperform the finest diplomats and strategists. Your solar year brings numerous opportunities to play these cards, parlay yourself into a sweeter position and round up the resources and ideas to leave your mark on the world. More highlights: Rivals become allies, higher learning and three financial bonuses. Cancer and Sagittarius adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 26, 10, 1, 3, and 7.

  • Dear Abby | Old friend seeks to control the narrative about couple

    DEAR ABBY: Last year, after several years overseas, my husband and I returned stateside and moved to my hometown. It has been a lonely transition. One of my friends from school, “Skip,” has helped, but more and more, he dominates social situations by framing what people first learn about me and my husband. It is usually unflattering or one-dimensional, or he’ll include me in a one-time event story but make it sound like it was my whole life, which it isn’t.

    Skip also dominates a conversation and always has to be right. This interferes with our meeting other people, and it leaves my husband feeling alienated and even more alone. He would like to meet and have conversations with new people, but Skip doesn’t take it well when I try to explain that his behavior is stifling.

    Should I pull back, or try to broach the subject of allowing my husband and me to interact with new people without Skip framing who we are before we meet them?

    — MISREPRESENTED IN THE MIDWEST

    DEAR MISREPRESENTED: Carve out time for you and your husband to socialize independently from your old “friend,” who does not seem like much of a friend from where I’m sitting. Use that time to look into volunteering opportunities for yourself and your husband, separately if necessary, and joining other social or special interest groups. If you do, those folks will have the opportunity to meet the real you, and your husband may begin to feel less isolated. Please don’t wait to start, because if you do, your husband may become depressed from the continued social isolation.

    ** ** **

    DEAR ABBY: My husband has two grown children from his first marriage and two grandchildren. When I met him, he was still in what he described as a very unhappy and unhealthy marriage of 30 years. Because of this, his family has labeled me a home-wrecker. While his children are polite and cordial, we don’t have any kind of relationship with each other.

    My husband feels that for every holiday, we must host his children for some portion of the day, after which they can go be with their mother and other family. I don’t think I should have to open up my home and cook for people who don’t like me. Could you please provide me with some guidance?

    — LOOKING FOR WHAT’S FAIR

    DEAR LOOKING: Please consider a change in attitude. You stated that your husband’s children are polite and cordial with you. They may not dislike you as much as fear that getting too close to you might alienate their mother. Your husband should be able to invite his children into the home you share if he wishes, and the atmosphere should be as warm and welcoming as you can manage. (“Kill them with kindness.”)

    If there is a lot of work involved, your husband should help you with it if he can. If you can manage to do this, you may be able to improve the relationship you have with your stepchildren, which will benefit everyone.

  • FBI combs desert terrain for clues in Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance

    FBI combs desert terrain for clues in Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance

    TUCSON, Ariz. — Fresh surveillance images from Nancy Guthrie’s porch the night she went missing, coupled with intense police activity across Arizona and the detention of a man had raised hopes that authorities were nearing a major break.

    But then the man was released after questioning, leaving it unclear Wednesday where the investigation stood into last week’s disappearance of Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie.

    FBI agents carrying water bottles to beat the 80-degree F (26.7-degree C) heat walked among rocks and desert vegetation at Guthrie’s Tucson-area home. They also fanned out across a neighborhood about a mile (1.6 kilometers) away, knocking on doors and searching through cactuses, bushes and boulders.

    Several hundred detectives and agents are now assigned to the investigation, which is expanding in the area, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department said.

    In a nearby neighborhood, two investigators emerged from daughter Annie Guthrie’s home with a paper grocery sack and a white trash bag. One, still wearing blue protective gloves, also took a stack of mail from the roadside mailbox. They drove away without speaking to reporters.

    Barb Dutrow, who was jogging through a neighborhood where teams were searching, said an FBI agent told her they were looking for anything that might have been tossed from a car. Dutrow, who was visiting from Louisiana for a convention, said she “can’t imagine the feeling of the family of having their mother taken.”

    A day earlier, authorities said they had stopped a man near the U.S.-Mexico border, just hours after the FBI released videos of a person wearing a gun holster, ski mask and backpack and approaching Nancy Guthrie’s home in Tucson. The man told media outlets early Wednesday that he was released after several hours and had nothing to do with Guthrie’s disappearance last week.

    Authorities have not said what led them to stop the man Tuesday but confirmed he was released. The sheriff’s department said its deputies and FBI agents also searched a location in Rio Rico, a city south of Tucson where the man lives.

    It was the latest twist in an investigation that has gripped the nation since Nancy Guthrie disappeared on Feb. 1. Until Tuesday, it seemed authorities were making little headway in determining what happened to her or finding who was responsible.

    The black and white images released by the FBI showing a masked person trying to cover a doorbell camera on Guthrie’s porch marked the first significant break in the case. But the images did not show what happened to her or help determine whether she is still alive.

    FBI Director Kash Patel said investigators spent days trying to find lost, corrupted or inaccessible images.

    Even though the images do not show the person’s face, investigators are hopeful someone will know who was on the porch. More than 4,000 calls came into the Pima County sheriff’s tip line within the past 24 hours, the department said Wednesday afternoon.

    Authorities have said for more than a week that they believe Nancy Guthrie was taken against her will. She was last seen at home Jan. 31 and reported missing the next day. DNA tests showed blood on her porch was hers, authorities said.

    Savannah Guthrie posted the new surveillance images on social media and said the family believes their mother is still alive.

    The longtime NBC host and her two siblings have indicated a willingness to pay a ransom.

    It is not known whether ransom notes demanding money with deadlines that have already passed were authentic, and whether the family has had any contact with whoever took Guthrie.

    TMZ reported it received a message Wednesday from someone claiming to know the kidnapper’s identity and that they unsuccessfully tried to reach Savannah Guthrie’s brother and sister. The person asked for bitcoin in exchange for the information, TMZ said. The FBI did not immediately respond to a message.

    Authorities have said Nancy Guthrie takes several medications and there was concern from the start that she could die without them.

  • Sixers takeaways: Struggles without Joel Embiid, horrid three-point shooting, and more from loss to Knicks

    Sixers takeaways: Struggles without Joel Embiid, horrid three-point shooting, and more from loss to Knicks

    So much for the early-season banter about the 76ers being better without Joel Embiid.

    Guard depth went from the biggest strength to a glaring weakness.

    And poor three-point shooting was another major problem.

    These things stood out in the Sixers’ 138-89 loss to the New York Knicks at the Xfinity Mobile Arena.

    Knicks rout the Sixers behind strong performances by Jose Alvarado and Mikal Bridges

    The loss dropped the Sixers to 30-24. The Eastern Conference’s sixth-place team takes a two-game losing streak into the NBA All-Star break. Meanwhile, the third-place Knicks improved to 35-20 after posting their largest victory in franchise history and evened the season series with the Sixers at two games apiece.

    No Embiid, no victory

    Remember when Embiid couldn’t move well at the beginning of the season?

    Back then, the Sixers played at a noticeably slower pace on nights when the 7-foot-2, 280-pound center was in the lineup. As a result, there was a growing belief that the team was better when Adem Bona or Andre Drummond started in his place.

    No one thinks that anymore.

    Embiid missed his second consecutive game on Wednesday with right knee soreness. And he was sorely missed.

    The Sixers have now lost six of the last seven games that Embiid has not played. Their lone victory during that stretch was a 113-94 decision over the Golden State Warriors on Feb. 3 at Chase Center. The Sixers are 11-12 without him and 19-12 when he plays.

    The Sixers trailed by as many as 52 points against the Knicks. This came after they trailed by as many as 31 points against the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday.

    New York scored 32 points off 18 Sixers turnovers. The Knicks also had a commanding 51-38 rebounding advantage in Philly’s most-lopsided loss of the season.

    The Sixers must find a way to play well in games without Embiid, considering he’s going to miss more time due to not playing in back-to-backs.

    “There’s been some, probably not as good of nights [without Embiid],” coach Nick Nurse said. “And I think most of it has been offensively. When I thought we were operating really well early in the year with some of the stuff we kind of put in in training camp, and just kind of maybe get back and readjust [to playing without him] we go over it a little bit and look at some of that stuff, because we’re obviously capable of playing pretty decently offensively as well.”

    Tyrese Maxey finished with a game-high 32 points to go with two assists. His backcourt mate, VJ Edgecombe, added 14 points, four rebounds, and two assists. Dominick Barlow had 13 points on 6-for-10 shooting.

    Joel Embiid and Quentin Grimes miss second straight game as Sixers face Knicks

    However, Bona got into early foul trouble and finished with six points, five rebounds, two steals, two turnovers, and four fouls, while being minus-24 in 22 minutes, 42 seconds. Drummond had two points and four rebounds and was minus-10 in 10:38 off the bench. He was replaced by Charles Bassey in the rotation during the second half.

    Bassey, whose second 10-day contract expires on Saturday, had two points and one block in 4:38. Following the game, he was assigned to the Delaware Blue Coats.

    “It’s weird, man,” Maxey said of readjusting to play without Embiid. “It’s weird because you got to play multiple different ways. A lot of times when he sits out, it’s on back-to-backs, so it’s hard. You go from playing one way with him or without him early in the season. He comes back and then you got to play that way and then a different way when he’s there, which is OK. It’s fine, you know what I mean?

    “It’s the reality of it, and I think we’ll be all right. He’ll be here more than he isn’t here when we get back, and we just got to maintain. Those games that he’s not there and [suspended forward] Paul [George] probably won’t be there till the end, so we just got to maintain.”

    The Sixers also struggled to contain Jose Alvarado. The reserve guard, acquired last week in a trade from the New Orleans Pelicans, finished with 26 points on 8-for-13 shooting from the three-point line. He also finished with a game-high five steals.

    The Brooklyn native’s play drew loud “Jose … Jose … Jose!” chants from the Knicks fans who made up at least half of the 19,746 in attendance.

    “Obviously, we had zero readiness and energy physically or mentally,” said Nurse, whose squad trailed 72-42 at intermission. “We kind of got to the half, the game was pretty much settled by then, and just going over all the things that we already gone over that we couldn’t get done.”

    Lack of guard depth

    This past summer, the Sixers were excited about their deep, versatile backcourt rotation featuring Maxey, Edgecombe, Quentin Grimes, and Jared McCain.

    Daryl Morey, the team’s president of basketball operations, likened it to the guard-heavy style used by the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers to reach last season’s NBA Finals.

    But the Sixers traded McCain on Feb. 4 to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for a first-round pick and three second-rounders. Meanwhile, Grimes has missed the past two games with an illness.

    The Sixers also traded Eric Gordon to the Memphis Grizzlies on Feb. 5 for a pick swap. As a result, Kyle Lowry, MarJon Beauchamp, and Dalen Terry joined Maxey and Edgecombe as the available guards against the Knicks.

    And that wasn’t good.

    Sixers’ Tyrese Maxey (right) scored a game-high 32 points against the Knicks on Wednesday.

    Lowry is a six-time All-Star and future Hall of Famer. But in his 20th NBA season, the 39-year-old has taken on more of a player-coach and mentor role. Meanwhile, Beauchamp and Terry are both on two-way contracts.

    Beauchamp made his first appearance in Monday’s loss to the Portland Trail Blazers. He finished with eight points, three rebounds, one assist, one block, and three turnovers against the Knicks. And Terry had a rebound, an assist, and one turnover one day after signing his two-way contract with the team.

    Regardless of Daryl Morey’s comments, the Sixers used the NBA trade deadline to duck luxury tax

    The Sixers need to strongly consider adding a guard in the buyout market. That will help Maxey and Edgecombe, especially on nights Grimes is unavailable.

    Meanwhile, McCain appears to be finding his groove in Oklahoma City.

    The second-year guard had 12 points on 5-for-8 shooting — including making 2 of 3 three-pointers — in the Thunder’s 136-109 victory over the Suns. McCain scored eight of his points in 75 seconds.

    Poor three-point shooting

    The Sixers had more problems than being without Embiid and a lack of guard depth. Against the Knicks, they shot 18.8% (6 of 32) from three-point range.

    Kelly Oubre Jr. (0-for-5), Edgecombe (0-for-5), Justin Edwards (0-for-3), Trendon Watford (0-for-2), Terry (0-for-1), and Johni Broome (0-for-1) were a combined 0-for-17.

    A lot of the Sixers’ three-pointers were short or off target. The squad appeared noticeably fatigued in their first home after following a five-game West Coast road.

    “Maybe,” Maxey said when asked if being tired impacted their three-point shooting. “I think, in general, guys are a little tired, but that’s what the break is for, though. That’s what the [All-Star] break is for. Rejuvenate, get your legs back under you. Get mentally prepared for this stretch because after the break, it’s go time. It’s go time for every team in the NBA that’s trying to make a push, for sure. They want to play their best basketball down the stretch to get ready for the playoffs.”

    Inside Sixers: Tyrese Maxey’s three-point invite, Paul George suspension plan and more

    The Sixers are 16th in the league in three-point shooting at 35.6%. However, they’re 21st in made threes (12.7 per game). And the squad hit less than half that amount against the Knicks.

    As bad as things were, this wasn’t the fewest amount of made three-pointers for the Sixers this season. They made 4 of 28 in a road victory over the Orlando Magic on Jan. 9.

    The Sixers were fortunate that night. They know they must shoot the ball better to stay in games, especially when Embiid doesn’t play.

  • Knicks rout the Sixers behind strong performances by Jose Alvarado and Mikal Bridges

    Knicks rout the Sixers behind strong performances by Jose Alvarado and Mikal Bridges

    Jose Alvarado scored a season-high 26 points and Mikal Bridges added 22 points as the New York Knicks beat the 76ers 138-89 Wednesday night.

    The Knicks bounced back from an overtime home lost to the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday night for their 10th win in 12 games. Two of those victories have come against the Sixers. The teams split their four-game season series.

    Alvarado, acquired last week from New Orleans, shot 8-for-13 from three-point range and finished with five steals.

    Joel Embiid and Quentin Grimes miss second straight game as Sixers face Knicks

    Karl-Anthony Towns had 21 points and 11 rebounds. Mohamed Diawara scored 14 points. Jalen Brunson, who scored 40 points against the Pacers, scored eight on Tuesday.

    Tyrese Maxey led the way with 32 points in three quarters for the Sixers, who played without center Joel Embiid. The Sixers’ center sat out due to right knee soreness. VJ Edgecombe added 14 points, and Dominick Barlow scored 13.

    The Sixers, who lost their second straight and for the third time in four games, were held to a season-low point total, just their third game under 100 points this season.

    The Knicks jumped out to a 16-4 lead thanks to nine points from Bridges. They led by 30 at the half. The Knicks shot 58% from the field in the first half, paced by 19 points from Bridges and 16 from Towns. They finished with a season-high 41 assists.

    Embiid missed his second straight game. He hadn’t missed consecutive games since Dec. 19-20. Quentin Grimes missed a second straight game due to illness.

    OG Anunoby missed this fourth straight game for the Knicks with a right toenail avulsion.

    The Sixers head into the All-Star break with a 30-24 record and will host the Atlanta Hawks next on Feb. 19 (7 p.m., NBCSP).

  • Downingtown Interchange on Pennsylvania Turnpike reopened after toll-booth canopy collapse

    Downingtown Interchange on Pennsylvania Turnpike reopened after toll-booth canopy collapse

    The Downingtown Interchange reopened Wednesday night after being closed for several hours because a toll-booth canopy collapsed during planned demolition work on the toll plaza, Pennsylvania Turnpike officials said.

    “We were performing preliminary work to remove the canopy, in anticipation of a full closure this weekend. This is part of the demolition work as we reconfigure the toll plaza,” Turnpike spokesperson Marissa Orbanek said in an email.

    “During the preliminary work, canopy columns destabilized, and we immediately shut down the interchange to ensure the safety of employees and motorists. While the interchange was shut down, the canopy fell down on top of the toll booths,” Orbanek said.

    No injuries were reported.

    Certain lanes at the Downingtown Exit were closed late last month as part of the work on the toll plaza.

    The Pennsylvania Turnpike has been switching to an “open road tolling” system that allows tolls to be charged electronically without vehicles having to slow down.

  • Man in custody after allegedly stabbing his infant son in Chester County

    Man in custody after allegedly stabbing his infant son in Chester County

    A 44-year-old man was in police custody after he allegedly stabbed his 3-month-old child late Wednesday morning in Chester County, police said.

    Just after 11:35 a.m., Coatesville police were dispatched to the 2000 block of Smithbridge Drive to respond to a report on an infant that had been stabbed.

    Officers took Michael Phillips into custody for stabbing his infant son in the abdomen, police said.

    “After stabbing him, the father took the infant outside and threw him in the snow,” police said.

    The infant was reported to be in very serious condition and was flown to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia for surgery, police said.

    Just before 8 p.m., the Chester County District Attorney’s Office said the child was out of surgery and was listed in critical but stable condition.

    Police on the scene of a stabbing of an infant on Smithbridge Drive in Coatesville, Wednesday, February 11, 2026
  • Trump allows Democratic governors to White House meeting after initial snub

    Trump allows Democratic governors to White House meeting after initial snub

    President Donald Trump has backed down from his decision to exclude Democratic governors from an annual White House meeting that has long been bipartisan, according to the National Governors Association.

    For decades, the White House meeting between the president and governors — held around the NGA’s annual winter gathering in Washington — has included Republican and Democratic governors. That nearly changed last week when Trump did not extend an invitation to Democrats, sparking concern among governors. After telling Democratic governors Friday that they would not be invited to the meeting, the bipartisan NGA said the meeting would no longer be part of the organization’s official schedule for the gathering.

    On Wednesday, however, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R), the NGA chairman, told governors that Trump would be inviting all governors to the White House on Feb. 20 for the NGA’s business breakfast.

    “He was very clear in his communications with me that this is a National Governors Association’s event, and he looks forward to hosting you and hearing from governors across the country,” Stitt wrote to the governors. “President Trump said this was always his intention, and we have addressed the misunderstanding in scheduling.”

    Governors from all states are expected to gather in Washington for their conference from Feb. 19 to 21.

    And while all governors are now being invited to the White House, not all Democrats were invited to a separate dinner there scheduled to be held around the NGA gathering. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, both Democrats, said in recent days that their invitations to the dinner had been rescinded. The other 16 Democratic governors remained on the guest list but decided Tuesday that they would not attend unless all 18 of them were invited.

    Trump said on social media Wednesday that the situation over the White House meeting invitations had been a misunderstanding — and he blamed it on Stitt, whom he referred to as a “Republican In Name Only.” Stitt “incorrectly stated my position on the very exclusive Governors Annual Dinner and Meeting at the White House,” Trump wrote, and said that invitations were sent “to ALL Governors, other than two, who I feel are not worthy of being there.”

    Trump emphasized that Polis and Moore had not been invited to the dinner, slinging baseless accusations against them, but he noted that he did invite some Democratic governors that he has repeatedly sparred with, including Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and California Gov. Gavin Newsom.

    “Stitt got it WRONG!” Trump wrote. “I look forward to seeing the Republican Governors, and some of the Democrats Governors who were worthy of being invited.”

    White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt had defended Trump’s decision to exclude the Democrats from the meeting only a day earlier. “The president has the discretion to invite whomever he wants to the White House,” she told reporters.

    NGA CEO Brandon Tatum said in a statement that the organization was “pleased the president will welcome governors from all 55 states and territories to the White House.”

    “The bipartisan White House governors meeting is a valued tradition and an important opportunity to build bridges and hold constructive conversations,” Tatum said. “The NGA looks forward to continued collaboration between governors and the White House.”

    The Democratic Governors Association did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the meeting and dinner.

  • Protesters in multiple states press Target to oppose the immigration crackdown in Minnesota

    Protesters in multiple states press Target to oppose the immigration crackdown in Minnesota

    NEW YORK — Activists planned protests at more than two dozen Target stores around the United States on Wednesday to pressure the discount retailer into taking a public stand against the 5-week-old immigration crackdown in its home state of Minnesota.

    ICE Out Minnesota, a coalition of community groups, religious leaders, labor unions, and other critics of the federal operation, called for sit-ins and other demonstrations to continue at Target locations for a full week. Target’s headquarters are located in Minneapolis, where federal officers last month killed two residents who had participated in anti-ICE protests, and its name adorns the city’s major league baseball stadium and an arena where its basketball teams plays.

    “They claim to be part of the community, but they are not standing up to ICE,” said Elan Axelbank, a member of the Minnesota chapter of Socialist Alternative, which describes itself as a revolutionary political group. He organized a Wednesday protest outside a Target store in Minneapolis’ Dinkytown commercial district.

    Demonstrations also were scheduled in St. Paul, Minnesota, Boston, Chicago, Honolulu, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Raleigh, North Carolina, San Diego, Seattle and other cities, as well as in suburban areas of Minnesota, California and Massachusetts. Target declined Wednesday to comment on the protests.

    Target first became a bull’s-eye for critics of the Trump administration’s surge in immigration enforcement activity after a widely-circulated video showed federal agents detaining two Target employees in a store in the Minneapolis suburb of Richfield last month. Luis Argueta, a spokesperson for Unidos Minnesota, an immigrant-led social justice advocacy organization that is part of the ICE Out Minnesota coalition, said his group is focusing its protests on the Richfield store.

    One of the demands of Wednesday’s protests is for Target to deny federal agents entry to stores unless they have judicial warrants authorizing arrests.

    Some lawyers have argued that anyone, including U.S. Border Patrol and Immigration and Customers Enforcement agents without signed warrants, can enter public areas of a business as they wish. Public areas include restaurant dining sections, open parking lots, office lobbies and shopping aisles, but not back offices, closed-off kitchens or other areas of a business that are generally off-limits to the public and where privacy would be reasonably expected, those lawyers say.

    Target has not commented publicly on the detention of the store employees. CEO Michael Fiddelke, who became Target’s chief executive on Feb. 2, sent a video message to the company’s 400,000 workers two days after a Border Patrol agent and a Customs and Border Protection officer shot and killed Minneapolis resident Alex Pretti on Jan. 24.

    Fiddelke said the “violence and loss of life in our community is incredibly painful,” but he did not mention the immigration crackdown or the fatal shootings of Pretti, an ICU nurse at a medical center for U.S. veterans in Minneapolis, and Renee Good, a mother of three fired on in her car by an ICE agent.

    Fiddelke was one of 60 CEOs of Minnesota-based companies who, in the wake of Pretti’s death, signed an open letter “calling for an immediate de-escalation of tensions and for state, local and federal officials to work together to find real solutions.”

    The protests over its alleged failure to oppose the immigration crackdown in Minnesota come a year after Target faced protests and boycotts over the company’s decision to roll back its diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. At the time, critics said the decision marked a betrayal of Target’s retail giant’s philanthropic commitment to fighting racial disparities and promoting progressive values in liberal Minneapolis and beyond.

    The retail chain also is struggling with a persistent sales malaise. Critics have complained of disheveled stores that are missing the budget-priced flair that long ago earned the retailer the nickname “Tarzhay.”

    While Wednesday’s protests targeted a tiny fraction of the company’s nearly 2,000 stores, the negative attention serves as another distraction from Target’s business, according to Neil Saunders, managing director of the retail division of market research firm GlobalData.

    “The agenda has been hijacked by this,” Saunders said. “And it is a bit of a distraction for Target that they’d rather not have.”

    In recent days, a national coalition of Mennonite congregations organized roughly a dozen demonstrations inside and outside of Target stores across the country, singing and urging Target to publicly call Congress to defund Immigration and Customs Enforcement among other demands.

    A spokesperson for Mennonite Action said the coalition was not formally connected to ICE Out but following the lead of organizers in Minneapolis.

    The Rev. Joanna Lawrence Shenk, associate pastor at First Mennonite Church of San Francisco, said the group did not plan any actions on Wednesday but was mapping out weekend singalong events at Targets in a handful of towns and cities, including Pittsburgh and Harrisonburg, Virginia. She estimated that by the end of the weekend more than 1,000 congregation members will have participated.

    Shenk noted that the Mennonites sing This Little Light of Mine and other gospel songs and hymns.

    “The singing was an expression of our love for immigrant neighbors who are at risk right now and who are also a part of our congregation,” she said. “For us, it’s not just standing in solidarity with others but it’s also protecting people who are vulnerable.”