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  • An artist started befriending strangers in Pa. prisons. Now she is turning them into artwork.

    An artist started befriending strangers in Pa. prisons. Now she is turning them into artwork.

    Over the course of three years, Carolyn Harper and Donna Martorano became fast friends.

    The two women, on different sides of Pennsylvania, lived very different lives and shared few similarities. But they bonded over emails, handwritten letters, and virtual visits.

    Martorano shared tales of her family, her health issues, her hopes of reconnecting with her two sons, and her growing sense of detachment from the outside world.

    They spoke daily, but before they could meet, Martorano died in July 2024 at age 74 at the State Correctional Institution in Cambridge Springs. She was serving a life sentence without parole for first-degree murder for contracting two men to kill her husband in 1992.

    The official cause of her death was a heart attack.

    Artist Carolyn Harper’s portrait series, “Prison Portrait Project: Faces of Despair, Hope and Transformation,” is on display at Old City’s Muse Gallery.

    Harper said Martorano’s past and conviction weren’t the end of her story. In the 32 years she was incarcerated, Harper said, Martorano became a certified braille transcriber and took violence prevention and mentoring programs.

    But in her later years, she grew increasingly “bitter,” Harper said. Martorano was confined to her bed and wheelchair and was often bullied as her health worsened.

    “Her spirits were crushed,” Harper said. “I really feel she died of a broken heart because she was not given institutional support. A lot of prison administrators just don’t care. She told me she had nothing left to live for.”

    Artist Carolyn Harper’s portrait of her friend, Donna Martorano, who was incarcerated for decades before her death at age 74.

    For the past five years, Harper, 60, has connected with dozens of other incarcerated people, some with stories similar to Martorano’s and others with far different lives.

    These stories, Harper said, opened her eyes to the emptiness, detachment, and inhumanity people experience in prisons.

    Their names, faces, and stories are now at the center of her latest portrait series, “Prison Portrait Project: Faces of Despair, Hope and Transformation,” on display at Old City’s Muse Gallery.

    Harper has placed their portraits on hand-sewn quilts and vibrant batiks, transforming the faces of those suffering from the country’s carceral system into artwork.

    For artist Carolyn Harper’s new exhibition, she highlighted the stories of incarcerated people in the state prison system. Among them is Harper’s friend, Lori, who has been incarcerated since 1988.

    Like Martorano, several of Harper’s subjects are serving death sentences, with little to no path for early release or commutation. Harper has never asked specific questions about their pasts, and everything she knows about them is what she has been told voluntarily. But she’s certain about one thing: None of the people she has befriended is the same person they were when they were first incarcerated.

    Pennsylvania, she found out, is one of two states in the country that has a mandatory life without parole sentence, known as “death by incarceration,” for both first-degree and second-degree felony murder.

    “I have come to see that guilt or innocence, while important, is not the critical thing here,” Harper said. ”It’s the idea of redemption and rehabilitation. This, to me, is the real story — the story of transformation.”

    For decades, people suffering from abuse, discrimination, and disenfranchisement have made their way onto Harper’s quilts.

    In the mid-1990s, she created panels for the AIDS Memorial Quilt, a visual project that memorializes the hundreds of thousands of Americans who died from AIDS-related causes at the height of the epidemic.

    She also developed a series of textile portraits championing queer love stories, and another shedding light on the systemic issues faced by those wrestling with dispossession and homelessness.

    “People often come out of prison and don’t have a pathway to find a real job or housing,” Harper said. “I started to see that connection, and I became interested in the issue of incarceration.

    “We pay lip service to this idea that prison is reformative, but really it’s punitive.”

    Among the subjects for Harper’s exhibition is Paul. He’s been incarcerated since 1982 for a crime he doesn’t remember committing.

    Born in Rochester, N.Y., Harper moved to Philadelphia in 1989 to study art at the University of Pennsylvania. Her days volunteering as an art teacher at local homeless shelters from 2013 to 2020 are what first drew her to the links between homelessness, dispossession, and incarceration. She was driven to learn more about the state’s prison system.

    After her best friend was arrested in 2020 for abusing his husband, Harper’s interest became a lived reality. The health of her friend, who struggled with addiction and mental health issues, worsened due to his incarceration. Shortly after his release in 2021, he took his own life.

    That pushed Harper to join organizations such as the Coalition to Abolish Death by Incarceration, We The People Coalition, and others. She wrote postcards, letters, and emails to incarcerated people throughout the state.

    Before this, a self-described “snowflake,” Harper would veer away from conversations about incarceration. She started out fearing that she wouldn’t be able to emotionally cope with the struggles incarcerated people endure and write to her about in their letters. But she grew to become a listening ear, resource, and friend to people seeking human connection.

    Through her hand-sewn and fabric-dyed portraits, she encourages her audience to step outside their worlds and enter the worlds of her subjects. Through her art, she highlights the forgotten humanity of incarcerated people and uses their testimonies to draw attention to Pennsylvania’s “harsh sentencing laws,” and correct the misconceptions people hold of those who are incarcerated.

    The “Prison Portrait Project” started off with Harper writing to the people whose names, faces, and stories make up her art. Would they send her a photograph, she asked, and consent to be a part of her exhibition?

    Harper’s exhibit also features self-portraits from incarcerated artists.

    Most replied with a photo or told Harper where she could find one. Others had family members send photos to her. After she sewed them or transferred them onto quilts, Harper shared images of the final pieces with the subjects of the expressive portraits.

    “I think seeing their self-portrait, and knowing it’s going in an exhibition, helps them see themselves in a different light. And that can be empowering,” Harper said.

    Each quilt and batik-style image features a written statement from the person who inspired the portrait, ensuring their stories (along with their faces) are integral parts of the exhibit.

    A binder containing more stories, statements, and poems written by people Harper connected with through the years, sits at the front of the gallery. Three self-portraits of incarcerated artists are also on display.

    An image of Carolyn Harper’s new portrait series, titled “Prison Portrait Project: Faces of Despair, Hope and Transformation,” which is on view at Muse Gallery through Nov. 30.

    Harper is hopeful the show will inspire audiences to view those who are incarcerated as people, rather than lifeless serial numbers and charge sheets.

    “Most of us don’t think about people in prison. If we do, it’s sort of with the feeling, ‘Well, they probably did something and deserve to be there.’”

    She wants people to recognize the lack of redemptive pathways for people upon release, and the need for advocates to protect, defend, and humanize Pennsylvania’s incarcerated population.

    “Prison Portrait Project: Faces of Despair, Hope and Transformation,” through Nov. 30, Muse Gallery, 52 N. Second St., Wednesday to Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. musegalleryphiladelphia.com

  • 2026 Audi S3: Looks fun, sounds fun, drives fun, but keep it casual

    2026 Audi S3: Looks fun, sounds fun, drives fun, but keep it casual

    2026 Audi S3 Prestige vs. 2026 BMW 228 xDrive Gran Coupe: Battle of the little racers.

    This week: Audi S3

    Price: The 2025 starts at $48,700, according to the window sticker of the test model; the 2026 starts at $52,000.

    Conventional wisdom: Car and Driver likes the “entertaining handling, responsive powertrain, sophisticated and luxurious interior.” They were less fond of the “limited trunk space,” that there was “some road noise at higher speeds,” and that it was “not quite as raucous as the RS3.”

    Marketer’s pitch: “Upgrade the everyday.”

    Reality: It depends where all you go every day.

    What’s new: We’ve been exploring efficiency over the last two weeks with the Accord Hybrid and Prius Plug-In. The Prius had some kick, but the Audi and BMW really pack a punch.

    The little Audi sedan (which the EPA surprisingly classifies as “midsize”) is the souped-up version of the A3. That’s not to be mistaken for the super souped-up version, the RS3. Just think of the abbreviations as “Speedy” and “Really Speedy.”

    The sedan got a power boost and handling improvements for 2025. The 2026 carries on fairly unchanged.

    Competition: In addition to the BMW 2 Series, there are the Acura Integra, Cadillac CT4, and Mercedes-Benz CLA.

    The interior of the Audi S3 is comfortable when you’re riding up front, but not so much in the back row. The trunk helps teach how to travel light.

    Driver’s Seat: At first sit, the S3 started off strong. I hopped inside and felt instantly smitten with the no-nonsense black Dynamica faux leather interior, the firm but mostly comfortable seat, the narrow fonts in the typeface.

    Then I fired it up and heard the throaty exhaust recording that generally comes with Audi. But could this love last?

    Up to speed: The S3 certainly can get a move on. It’s powered by a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine that creates 328 horsepower, a lot for a small sedan, which kicks it to 60 mph in 4.4 seconds, according to Audi.

    Shifty: Audi has progressed even beyond its groundbreaking shift toggle switch and now has a shiny small shift mouse, for lack of a better term. Hold two fingers over it and push forward for Reverse and back for Drive. Kinda cool.

    You can shift the 7-speed automatic through the paddles, but with a vehicle as quick as the S3 you need to be in second gear before you finish rounding the corner at an intersection, so good luck finding the toggle. Here’s where a gearshift would come in handy.

    On the road: The S3 dazzles. It corners impressively and takes on country roads with a sense of wild abandon. What’s to prevent everyone from racing around the world like maniacs in this sedan?

    But what the Quattro all-wheel-drive system giveth, the suspension taketh away. The S3 starts to lose its charm on the highways; road seams and pocked road surfaces really jolt the little sedan abruptly. Be sure to check your dental plan before purchasing.

    Friends and stuff: You won’t squeeze much of either inside, friends nor stuff, not with this leg room, that hump, or the trunk. Feet and legs are pretty smushed.

    Farther back, the trunk seemed to identify as bigger but it’s rated at a snug 8.3 cubic feet, closer to a Miata (4.59) than a Civic (14.8). The rear seat does fold down, making things a little better.

    Play some tunes: Sound from the Sonos premium sound system is awesome — an A+. There’s a heavy echo in the surround sound, but I decided to live with it, as it only interfered with a few songs.

    Operation is all through the touchscreen. In a depressing application of function following form, the forward-reverse-volume controls live on a little round button on the console that matches the engine Start button. Beautiful to look at; disturbing to operate.

    I always love the Google Earth feature in Audi maps; it makes driving around quite scenic. Although so is looking at the actual road.

    Keeping warm and cool: The heater features a row of toggles that you push to lower and pull to raise. Somehow, though I’ve seen various toggles in different vehicles and they worked well, these black toggles felt hard to operate and distracting from the road.

    The blowers are also right in the driver’s face, which I was less enthusiastic about; there was no real way to send the air away from me.

    Fuel economy: I averaged about 24 mpg in a lively week of testing; every red light was an acceleration test. About 100 of those miles were there before me.

    Where it’s built: Ingolstadt, Germany. Just over half the parts hail from Germany as well (51%), and a mere 1% come from the U.S. or Canada.

    How it’s built: The less-fun A3 rates a 3 out of 5 from Consumer Reports for reliability, so that likely applies to the S3 as well.

    In the end: If your every day involves lots of highway, maybe this isn’t the choice.

    Next week: Let’s see how the BMW 228 compares.

  • Energy Department loans $1B to help finance the restart of nuclear reactor on Three Mile Island

    Energy Department loans $1B to help finance the restart of nuclear reactor on Three Mile Island

    HARRISBURG — The U.S. Department of Energy said Tuesday that it will loan $1 billion to help finance the restart of the nuclear power plant on Pennsylvania’s Three Mile Island that is under contract to supply power to data centers for tech giant Microsoft.

    The loan is in line with the priorities of President Donald Trump’s administration, including bolstering nuclear power and artificial intelligence.

    For Constellation Energy, which owns Three Mile Island’s lone functioning nuclear power reactor, the federal loan will lower its financing cost to get the mothballed plant up and running again. The 835-megawatt reactor can power the equivalent of approximately 800,000 homes, the Department of Energy said.

    The reactor had been out of operation for five years when Constellation Energy announced last year that it would spend $1.6 billion to restart it under a 20-year agreement with Microsoft to buy the power for its data centers.

    Constellation Energy renamed the functioning unit the Crane Clean Energy Center as it works to restore equipment, including the turbine, generator, main power transformer, and cooling and control systems. It hopes to bring the plant back online in 2027.

    The loan is being issued under an existing $250 billion energy infrastructure program initially authorized by Congress in 2022. Neither the department nor Constellation released terms of the loan.

    The plant, on an island in the Susquehanna River just outside Harrisburg, was the site of the nation’s worst commercial nuclear power accident, in 1979. The accident destroyed one reactor, Unit 2, and left the plant with one functioning reactor, Unit 1.

    In 2019, Constellation Energy’s then-parent company Exelon shut down the functioning reactor, saying it was losing money and Pennsylvania lawmakers had refused to subsidize it to keep it running.

    The plan to restart the reactor comes amid something of a renaissance for nuclear power, as policymakers are increasingly looking to it to shore up the nation’s power supply, help avoid the worst effects of climate change, and meet rising power demand driven by data centers.

  • Letters to the Editor | Nov. 20, 2025

    Letters to the Editor | Nov. 20, 2025

    The Pardoner’s Tale

    It seems the idea of a con man selling false pardons to fearful sinners was the subject of satire as far back as Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales. Whereas Chaucer’s barbs were directed at a corrupt medieval church hierarchy, we now almost daily witness a corrupt president handing out pardons like candy to his friends and co-indictees/conspirators, while at the same time prosecuting his perceived enemies. Chaucer was well aware of the irony of his tale’s narrator capitalizing on the very sin of avarice that he condemned. This rogue president continues to flout the spirit of clemency and the rule of law, brazenly lining his own pockets and those of his cronies. Meanwhile, an ineffectual Congress and a compromised U.S. Supreme Court allow this mockery of justice to go on unchecked. Who will finally call out the hypocrisy and end this criminal enterprise? We the people grow impatient.

    Charles Derr, Philadelphia

    Glaring omission

    A recent Associated Press article on the global conference on climate change in Brazil left out one crucial fact.

    While most of the world’s nations sent delegations to the annual gathering, the United States did not send any official emissary. Not only is the current administration ignoring the perils of climate change, but by being absent, we are missing an opportunity to promote American technology to the rest of the world.

    While we ignore the problem and prioritize the use of fossil fuels, the Trump administration is endangering Americans’ health and our economy. We need a government in Washington that takes climate change more seriously, rather than one that keeps its head in the sand and enriches its fossil fuel donors.

    Steve Stern, Mount Laurel

    Cassandras for our time

    As an emeritus professor at Drexel University, I would like to express my appreciation of professor Lisa Tucker of Drexel’s School of Law for her coauthorship with Dean Erwin Chemerinsky of their op-ed in praise of Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson’s principled dissents from the U.S. Supreme Court’s repeated failures to uphold the rule of law against President Donald Trump’s serial breaches of it. Drexel itself faced its own crisis when, at a time when Mr. Trump refused to accept his defeat in the 2020 presidential election, faculty realized that its School of Law had previously conferred an honorary doctorate on his chief defender, Rudolph Giuliani. Together with action by Drexel’s Faculty Senate and petitioners from each of its schools, both the faculty and student body of the law school called unanimously for Giuliani to be stripped of his degree, and the board of trustees revoked it. The nation’s law schools would, I think, do well to apply this precedent to Mr. Trump’s conduct in office, and to the Supreme Court majority that has been his chief enabler.

    Robert Zaller, Drexel University, Distinguished University Professor of History, emeritus

    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, Nov. 20, 2025

    ARIES (March 21-April 19). Someone wants to hear about you. There was a time you didn’t know how to tell your story, and maybe you even minimized, hid or simply avoided talking about yourself much. Now you’re finding a way to share with confidence.

    TAURUS (April 20-May 20). Chasing the “hot” opportunity means facing lots of competition and gatekeeping. The more people want something, the harder it is to get. It’s all the more reason to follow your own curiosity instead. The more original your aim, the smoother your path.

    GEMINI (May 21-June 21). You’ll know the power of visualization, and you’ll merge practical goal-setting with mystical creativity. Picture your ideal outcome vividly so your subconscious understands what to build toward. Then trust your inner dream-weaver as an ally.

    CANCER (June 22-July 22). Experienced people have advice. Some want to help; others are in it to feel powerful or maybe to show off. Stay gracious but cautious; listen, learn and show respect, but don’t rush to take sides, make promises or adopt anyone’s approach.

    LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). Your drive to accomplishment is always present. Sometimes it’s steady and manageable, like a kitten’s purr. Today it’s intense and impactful as a lion’s roar. Ambition will take over your decisions and push you to act.

    VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). In a moment of stark lucidity, you will clearly see and fully understand the most difficult thing of all to comprehend: the environment you live in every day. This rare glimpse into the familiar illuminates a way forward.

    LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). Awareness and action go together. Our minds often protect us from information, storing it in the subconscious until we’re ready for it. Realizations come when you’re capable of doing something about the circumstance.

    SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). You’re headed into an adventure. Maybe you feel ill-equipped. Maybe you’re starting early, or late. Whatever makes you different, lean into that. You’ve undergone so many incarnations in your lifetime already, and you’re about to add another to the story.

    SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). Kindness may not be as flashy as other qualities like daring, or power, but having the courage to be kind when others aren’t is powerful, thus allowing you to claim all qualities and inspiring others in the act.

    CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). It takes a lot of energy to think. So when a person overthinks, energy gets wasted. Avoid circling the drain of thought. Move your body, change your focus and use that same energy to create instead of worry.

    AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). You know that success doesn’t have to come at someone else’s expense. In the spirit of collaboration, you’ll come up with an arrangement that benefits everyone. Fire signs (Aries, Leo, Sagittarius) will inspire, energize or help make the deal happen.

    PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). We don’t always know what we’re getting into. And sometimes participation is not our choice in the first place. Nonetheless, you’ll make quick work of the job and learn something in the process. Not fair, but you’ll benefit, so all is well that ends well.

    TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (Nov. 20). Welcome to your Year of Creative Triumphs. You’re the star of your own story, though you’ll share the stage generously, lifting others while shining yourself. Someone fascinating joins your orbit, and they are equally fascinated by you. More highlights: collaborations that stick, an investment that pays for years to come and family-centered fun. Virgo and Scorpio adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 15, 9, 27, 40 and 32

  • Dear Abby | Rambunctious children causing a ruckus for neighbor

    DEAR ABBY: I recently bought a first-floor condo because I am an older woman with a knee disability. Otherwise, I would have purchased a unit on the second floor of this two-story condo complex. I am only here part time because my husband is not ready for retirement.

    The owner above me has two children who jump off the kitchen counter onto the floor multiple times a night as late as 10 p.m. It causes everything in my kitchen cabinets to rattle. I have spoken with the property manager. He’s willing to send them violation notices which would eventually include fines. I haven’t taken him up on it because, since I am a part-time resident, I’m concerned about retaliation such as broken windows or vandalism to my car in the parking lot. Of course, that neighbor would be the prime suspect, but I would have no proof.

    I can’t afford a more expensive community. My husband and I did knock on her door in a congenial manner one day to introduce ourselves as new neighbors. She did not give us the time of day. What would you do if you were me?

    — FEELS THE NOISE DOWN SOUTH

    DEAR FEELS THE NOISE: I would knock on the woman’s door, explain the problem and politely ask her to instruct her children not to jump off the kitchen counter after 6 p.m. because the crashing noise prevents me from enjoying my apartment. If she didn’t cooperate, I’d have another talk with the manager. If the warnings and fines didn’t work, I’d contact Child Protective Services, because what those kids are doing is dangerous and their parent is unwilling to supervise them.

    ** ** **

    DEAR ABBY: I have been happily married to my husband for 35 years. My mother-in-law just drafted her will and is passing her entire estate to him, with it being split equally among our three adult kids if he were to pass away before her. She was asked to name a beneficiary if all four of them predecease her. (I know it would be extremely unlikely.) My MIL has no other living relatives — no parents, siblings, husband, cousins, etc.

    She named a friend and neighbor rather than me as the beneficiary of her estate in this event. This neighbor lives next door to her and drives her to the grocery store, bank and doctor appointments, since my MIL does not drive and we live 3 1/2 hours away.

    I thought she and I have always had a good relationship. My husband and I send flowers and cards on her birthday and Mother’s Day. I select thoughtful gifts for her at Christmas. I have always treated her with kindness, respect and gentleness. I am helpful when she has health issues. I assist her in the kitchen with dishes, etc. I have always treated her son well. Am I petty, unreasonable or immature for having negative feelings about not being mentioned in her will?

    — HURT IN COLORADO

    DEAR HURT: Not at all. You’re human. It does appear to be a glaring omission, and under these circumstances, your reaction is understandable. What does your husband feel about what his mother did? Perhaps he should speak to her and ask if she forgot she has a daughter-in-law when she made her will.

  • Sixers takeaways: Costly turnovers, another woeful third quarter, and more in loss to Raptors

    Sixers takeaways: Costly turnovers, another woeful third quarter, and more in loss to Raptors

    Tyrese Maxey continued to shine against the Toronto Raptors. However, he must take more than 14 shots for the 76ers to win.

    The team must do a better job of handling the ball.

    And it is becoming evident that the Sixers may never get over their third-quarter blues.

    Sixers mailbag: Paul George and Joel Embiid’s trade value, need for backup point guard, and more

    Those three things stood out in the Sixers’ 121-112 loss to the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday at Xfinity Mobile Arena.

    More shots needed

    The Sixers (8-6) can rely on Maxey to post solid numbers against the Raptors (10-5).

    He averaged 25.5 points and 5.5 assists in his previous 10 games against Toronto. That included a 44-point outing while making a career-high nine three-pointers at Scotiabank Arena on Oct. 28, 2022. Maxey also had 31 points and seven assists in the Sixers’ 130-120 victory over their Atlantic Division foe on Nov. 8.

    So it wasn’t surprising that he had 24 points, nine assists, and three steals against the Raptors on Wednesday. He made eight of his shots, including hitting 5 of 9 three-pointers.

    Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey finished with 24 points, nine assists and three steals.

    Maxey imposed his will from the start. He scored 12 points in the first quarter while making 3 of 5 three-pointers.

    “That was about as aggressive as he could be,” coach Nick Nurse said to reporters. “I think he was doing it all at the start of the game. And I don’t think that’s nearly enough shot attempts for him tonight.

    “Obviously, they were plugging and doing some late double-teaming on him.”

    Sixers say Kelly Oubre Jr. suffered sprained knee ligament and will be evaluated in two weeks

    Maxey made good plays while passing out of double teams. However, he needs to score more for the undermanned Sixers to win.

    He only attempted two shots in the second quarter. His made basket and only points of that quarter came on a 28-foot three-pointer that gave the Sixers a 54-53 cushion with 52.1 seconds left in the half.

    Maxey then scored nine points in the third quarter on 3-for-4 shooting before being held scoreless in the fourth while attempting just one shot.

    Costly turnovers

    The Sixers came into the game tied with the Indiana Pacers and the Sacramento Kings for the seventh-fewest turnovers per game at 14.1. And their average of 11 over their previous three games was tied with the Denver Nuggets and Indiana Pacers for the fewest.

    But, on occasion, the Sixers get sloppy with the ball and become a turnover waiting to happen.

    Wednesday night was one of those occasions.

    They turned the ball over a season-worst 21 times, leading to 31 points for the Raptors.

    “They certainly have some length,” Nurse said of the Raptors. “But I just think, I got to look at it on tape, but for me, it was just we weren’t quite spaced where we should have been. Threw right into some denial lanes, thinking that if you move them up higher, they’re probably not in denial lanes. If you back cut them out, somebody else is probably coming to replace. It’s probably an easier pass.”

    Nurse added that the Sixers cut off their drives to the lane too early, taking pressure off the Raptors defenders.

    What Paul George can still give the Sixers — and what might be a thing of the past

    “You give them credit because of their length, and they got their hands on balls,” Nurse said. “But I think we contributed to a lot of it.”

    The Sixers turned the ball over eight times in the first quarter. Those giveaways led to 12 first-quarter points by the Raptors. They also committed eight turnovers in the third quarter, which led to 15 Toronto points.

    They must cut down on the careless passes and lackadaisical ball handling.

    Third-quarter blues

    The Sixers had another dismal third quarter, being outscored 44-26. The Raptors shot 68.4% from the field, including making 5 of 6 three-pointers. The Raptors also took a 97-82 lead into the fourth quarter as the Sixers were doomed by their turnovers.

    “Well, a lot of bad,” Nurse said of the quarter. “A lot of bad. We started to foul them right off the bat. I think they were in the bonus with 9:39 or something [remaining]. Bad start and a bunch of turnovers.

    “I think we turned it over three straight possessions and committed three or four straight fouls.”

    Sixers’ Trenton Watford attempts to block Raptors forward Brandon Ingram’s shot during Toronto’s victory on Wednesday night.

    But while they’ve struggled in the third quarter, they’ve been dominant in the fourth.

    So they attempted to post their fifth win in a game in which they trailed by at least 10 points. And it looked like they were about to make that happen.

    VJ Edgecombe pulled the Sixers within three points (111-108) with 3 minutes, 23 seconds remaining. However, the Raptors responded with a 5-0 run to push their lead up to eight points before winning by nine.

  • Sixers can’t overcome Raptors’ third quarter surge in 121-112 loss

    Sixers can’t overcome Raptors’ third quarter surge in 121-112 loss

    Brandon Ingram and RJ Barrett each scored 22 points and the Toronto Raptors won their fifth straight game, surging in the third quarter to beat the 76ers 121-112 on Wednesday night.

    Jakob Poeltl scored 19 points, and Immanuel Quickley had 18 — hitting two three-pointers in the final two minutes — to help the Raptors (10-5) win for the ninth time in 10 games. Scottie Barnes added 16 points, nine rebounds, and five assists.

    Tyrese Maxey led the Sixers (8-6) with 24 points. VJ Edgecombe and Quentin Grimes had 21 points each.

    Sixers say Kelly Oubre Jr. suffered sprained knee ligament and will be evaluated in two weeks

    The 76ers led 56-53 at halftime behind 15 points from Maxey. Toronto took the lead with an 18-7 run to start the third quarter, powered by seven points from Ingram. The Raptors outscored the Sixers 44-28 in the period.

    Toronto shot 2-for-15 from three-point range in the first half, then went 5 for 6 from deep in the third quarter. Toronto is 7-3 on the road and 9-2 against Eastern Conference teams.

    Sixers center Joel Embiid (right knee injury management) missed a fourth straight game and his ninth out of 14 this season. Paul George, who made his season debut Monday, was held out as part of management of his left knee injury. The Sixers announced before the game that Kelly Oubre Jr. will miss at least two weeks with a sprained LCL in his left knee.

    Sixers’ Dominick Barlow (left) is defended by Toronto Raptors’ Scottie Barnes during the first half of Wednesday’s game.

    Raptors rookie forward Collin Murray-Boyles missed the game because of right knee soreness.

    Up next

    The Sixers will make the trip to Milwaukee to face the Bucks on the second night of a back-to-back on Thursday (8 p.m., NBCSP).

  • Authorities ID victim killed in South Jersey crash after suspect fled police

    Authorities ID victim killed in South Jersey crash after suspect fled police

    The New Jersey Attorney General’s Office on Wednesday identified Jose M. Martinez, 42, of Lindenwold, as the man killed in a crash caused after another man allegedly fled from police in West Deptford Township early last week.

    Prosecutors also identified the police officer, West Deptford Police Patrolman Conor Goggin, involved in the attempted stop and the man, George Linard, 28, of Waltham Cross, a town north of London, England, who allegedly caused the crash. Linard initially had been identified by authorities with a different name.

    On the evening of Nov. 9, Goggin was driving a marked police vehicle when he turned on his emergency lights in an attempt to stop a vehicle, prosecutors said.

    Linard allegedly drove away at high speed and collided in the area of Hessian and Red Bank Avenues with a third vehicle driven by Martinez, who also was known as José M. Martínez Peguero, according to his funeral home obituary.

    Martinez died and a passenger in the back seat sustained a leg fracture.

    Linard, who also was injured in the crash, was charged with second-degree death by automobile, fourth-degree assault by automobile, and fourth-degree fraudulent possession of a government license.

    The New Jersey Attorney General’s Office said it also was investigating the crash, as required by state law, because a police officer was involved.

  • Trump signs bill to release Jeffrey Epstein case files after fighting it for months

    Trump signs bill to release Jeffrey Epstein case files after fighting it for months

    WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump signed legislation Wednesday that compels his administration to release files on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, bowing to political pressure from his own party after initially resisting those efforts.

    Trump could have chosen to release many of the files on his own months ago.

    “Democrats have used the ‘Epstein’ issue, which affects them far more than the Republican Party, in order to try and distract from our AMAZING Victories,” Trump said in a social media post as he announced he had signed the bill.

    Now, the bill requires the Justice Department to release all files and communications related to Epstein, as well as any information about the investigation into his death in a federal prison in 2019, within 30 days. It allows for redactions about Epstein’s victims for ongoing federal investigations, but DOJ cannot withhold information due to “embarrassment, reputational harm, or political sensitivity.”

    Congress acts swiftly to force release of Epstein files

    It was a remarkable turn of events for what was once a farfetched effort to force the disclosure of case files from an odd congressional coalition of Democrats, one GOP antagonist of the president, and a handful of erstwhile Trump loyalists. As recently as last week, the Trump administration even summoned one Republican proponent of releasing the files, Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, to the Situation Room to discuss the matter, although she did not change her mind.

    But over the weekend, Trump did a sharp U-turn on the files once it became clear that congressional action was inevitable. He insisted the Epstein matter had become a distraction to the GOP agenda and indicated he wanted to move on.

    “I just don’t want Republicans to take their eyes off all of the Victories that we’ve had,” Trump said in a social media post Tuesday afternoon, explaining the rationale for his abrupt about-face.

    Takeaways from the newly released Jeffrey Epstein documents

    The House passed the legislation on a 427-1 vote, with Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., being the sole dissenter. He argued that the bill’s language could lead to the release of information on innocent people mentioned in the federal investigation. The Senate later approved it unanimously, skipping a formal vote.

    It’s long been established that Trump had been friends with Epstein, the disgraced financier who was close to the world’s elite. But the president has consistently said he did not know of Epstein’s crimes and had cut ties with him long ago.

    Before Trump returned to the White House for a second term, some of his closest political allies helped fuel conspiracy theories about the government’s handling of the Epstein case, asserting a cover-up of potentially incriminating information in those files.