WASHINGTON — The United States gained a decent 64,000 jobs in November but lost 105,000 in October as federal workers departed after cutbacks by the Trump administration, the government said in delayed reports.
The unemployment rate rose to 4.6%, highest since 2021.
Both the October and November job creation numbers, released Tuesday by the Labor Department, came in late because of the 43-day federal government shutdown.
The November job gains came in higher than the 40,000 economists had forecast. The October job losses were caused by a 162,000 drop in federal workers, many of whom resigned at the end of fiscal year 2025 on Sept. 30 under pressure from billionaire Elon Musk’s purge of U.S. government payrolls.
Labor Department revisions also knocked 33,000 jobs off August and September payrolls.
Workers’ average hourly earnings rose just 0.1% from October, the smallest gain since August 2023. Compared to a year earlier, pay was up 3.5%, the lowest since May 2021.
Healthcare employers added more than 46,000 jobs in November, accounting for more than two-thirds of the 69,000 private sector jobs created last month. Construction companies added 28,000 jobs. Manufacturing shed jobs for the seventh straight month, losing 5,000 jobs in November.
Hiring has clearly lost momentum, hobbled by uncertainty over President Donald Trump’s tariffs and the lingering effects of the high interest rates the Federal Reserve engineered in 2022 and 2023 to rein in an outburst of inflation.
American companies are mostly holding onto the employees they have. But they’re reluctant to hire new ones as they struggle to assess how to use artificial intelligence and how to adjust to Trump’s unpredictable policies, especially his double-digit taxes on imports from around the world.
The uncertainty leaves jobseekers struggling to find work or even land interviews. Federal Reserve policymakers are divided over whether the labor market needs more help from lower interest rates. Their deliberations are rendered more difficult because official reports on the economy’s health are coming in late and incomplete after a 43-day government shutdown.
Labor Department revisions in September showed that the economy created 911,000 fewer jobs than originally reported in the year that ended in March. That meant that employers added an average of just 71,000 new jobs a month over that period, not the 147,000 first reported. Since March, job creation has fallen farther — to an average 35,000 a month.
The unemployment rate, though still modest by historical standards, has risen since bottoming out at a 54-year low of 3.4% in April 2023.
“The takeaway is that the labor market remains on a relatively soft footing, with employers showing little appetite to hire, but are also reluctant to fire,” Thomas Feltmate, senior economist at TD Economics, wrote in a commentary. “That said, labor demand has cooled more than supply in recent months, which is what’s behind the steady upward drift in the unemployment rate.’’
Adding to the uncertainty is the growing use of artificial intelligence and other technologies that can reduce demand for workers.
“We’ve seen a lot of the businesses that we support are stuck in that stagnant mode: ‘Are we going to hire or are we not? What can we automate? What do we need the human touch with?’’’ said Matt Hobbie, vice president of the staffing firm HealthSkil in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
“We’re in Lehigh Valley, which is a big transportation hub in eastern Pennsylvania. We’ve seen some cooling in the logistics and transportation markets, specifically because we’ve seen automation in those sectors, robotics.’’
Worries about the job market were enough to nudge the Fed into cutting its benchmark interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point last week for the third time this year.
But three Fed officials refused to go along with the move, the most dissents in six years. Some Fed officials are balking at further cuts while inflation remains above the central bank’s 2% target. Two voted to keep the rate unchanged. Stephen Miran, appointed by Trump to the Fed’s governing board in September, voted for a bigger cut – in line with what the president demands.
Tuesday’s report shows that “the labor market remains weak, but the pace of deterioration probably is too slow to spur the (Fed) to ease again in January,’’ Samuel Tombs, chief U.S. economist at Pantheon Macroeconimics, wrote in a commentary. The Fed holds its next policy meeting Jan. 27-28.
Because of the government shutdown, the Labor Department did not release its jobs reports for September, October and November on time.
It finally put out the September jobs report on Nov. 20, seven weeks late. It published some of the October data – including a count of the jobs created that month by businesses, nonprofits and government agencies – along with the November report Tuesday. But it did not release an unemployment rate for October because it could not calculate the number during the shutdown.
For a game, at least, the Eagles looked like world-beaters, not the hardest thing to do these days when facing the lowly Las Vegas Raiders. The real question, however, isn’t if the 31-0 shutout win is going to be a cure all for the issues that ailed the Eagles during their three-game losing streak; it’s whether the progress the team showed Sunday can ultimately translate to the postseason, which arrives next month. Possible? Perhaps, but with two of their final three games coming against a weakened opponent, the Eagles might not know exactly what they’re capable of until the playoffs get here. The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane and Marcus Hayes scrutinize changes that surfaced in the Eagles’ victory over Vegas, starting with the performance of none other than quarterback Jalen Hurts.
00:00 The Eagles did what they were supposed to do
01:23 Assessing schematic changes and their impact on Jalen Hurts
10:45 Getting the run game going
20:14 Can this defense get the Eagles back to the Super Bowl?
25:49 The truth about “outside noise” and human nature
unCovering the Birds is a production of The Philadelphia Inquirer and KYW Newsradio Original Podcasts. Look for new episodes throughout the season, including day-after-game reactions.
Sometimes a terrible year can end with a moment of uplift. This actually happened in the last days of 1968, when Apollo 8 took the first humans in orbit around the moon and sent wonder back to a planet struggling with assassinations and riots. Alas, 2025 seems not such a year. A world already reeling from two mass shootings half a world apart learned Sunday night that Hollywood icon Rob Reiner and his wife Michele had been murdered in their home, allegedly by their own son. Boomers like me saw our own journey in that of Reiner — playing a young campus liberal, then taking down the pomposity of classic rock before both an unprecedented streak of classic movies and unparalleled social and political activism. He had more to give, and leaves a void that can’t truly be filled.
Americans fear AI and loathe its billionaires. Why do both parties suck up to them?
Time’s 2025 person of the year are the architects of AI, depicted in this painting by Jason Seiler. The painting, with nods to the iconic 1932 “Lunch atop a Skyscraper” photograph, depicts tech leaders Mark Zuckerberg, Lisa Su, Elon Musk, Jensen Huang, Sam Altman, Demis Hassabis, Dario Amodei, and Fei-Fei Li.
“This is the West, sir. When the facts become legend, print the legend.” — journalist in the 1962 film, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
The top editors at Time (yes, it still exists) looked west to Silicon Valley and decided to print the legend last week when picking their Person of the Year for the tumultuous 12 months of 2025. It seemed all too fitting that its cover hailing “The Architects of AI” was the kind of artistic rip-off that’s a hallmark of artificial intelligence: 1932’s iconic newspaper shot, “Lunch Atop a Skyscraper,” “reimagined” with the billionaires — including Elon Musk and OpenAI’s Sam Altman — and lesser-known engineers behind the rapid growth of their technology in everyday life.
Time’s writers strived to outdo the hype of AI itself, writing that these architects of artificial intelligence “reoriented government policy, altered geopolitical rivalries, and brought robots into homes. AI emerged as arguably the most consequential tool in great-power competition since the advent of nuclear weapons.”
OK, but it’s a tool that’s clearly going to need a lot more work, or architecting, or whatever it is those folks out on the beam do. That was apparent on the same day as Time’s celebration when it was reported that Washington Post editors got a little too close to the edge when they decided they were ready to roll out an ambitious scheme for personalized, AI-driven podcasts based on factors like your personal interests or your schedule.
The news site Semafor reported that the many gaffes ranged from minor mistakes in pronunciation to major goofs like inventing quotes — the kind of thing that would get a human journalist fired on the spot. “Never would I have imagined that the Washington Post would deliberately warp its own journalism and then push these errors out to our audience at scale,” a dismayed, unnamed editor reported.
The same-day contrast between the Tomorrowland swooning over the promise of AI and its glitchy, real-world reality felt like a metaphor for an invention that, as Time wasn’t wrong in reporting, is so rapidly reshaping our world. Warts and all.
Like it or not.
And for most people (myself included), it’s mostly “or not.” The vast majority understands that it’s too late to put this 21st-century genie back in the bottle, and like any new technology there are going to be positives from AI, from performing mundane organizing tasks that free up time for actual work, to researching cures for diseases.
The most recent major Pew Research Center survey of Americans found that 50% of us are more concerned than excited about the growing presence of AI, while only 10% are more excited than concerned. Drill down and you’ll see that a majority believes AI will worsen humans’ ability to think creatively, and, by a whopping 50-to-5% percent margin, also believes it will worsen our ability to form relationships rather than improve it. These, by the way, are two things that weren’t going well before AI.
So naturally our political leaders are racing to see who can place the tightest curbs on artificial intelligence and thus carry out the will of the peop…ha, you did know this time that I was kidding, didn’t you?
It’s no secret that Donald Trump and his regime were in the tank from Day One for those folks out on Time’s steel beam, and not just Musk, who — and this feels like it was seven years ago — donated a whopping $144 million to the Republican’s 2024 campaign. Just last week, the president signed an executive order aiming to press the full weight of the federal government, including Justice Department lawsuits and regulatory actions, against any state that dares to regulate AI. He said that’s necessary to ensure U.S. “global AI dominance.”
This is a problem when his constituents clearly want AI to be regulated. But it’s just as big a problem — perhaps bigger — that the opposition party isn’t offering much opposition. Democrats seem just as awed by the billionaire grand poobahs of AI as Trump. Or the editors of Time.
Also last week, New York Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul — leader of the second-largest blue state, and seeking reelection in 2026 — used her gubernatorial pen to gut the more-stringent AI regulations that were sent to her desk by state lawmakers. Watchdogs said Hochul replaced the hardest-hitting rules with language drafted by lobbyists for Big Tech.
As the American Prospect noted, Hochul’s pro-Silicon Valley maneuvers came after her campaign coffers were boosted by fundraisers held by venture capitalist Ron Conway, who has been seeking a veto, and the industry group Tech:NYC, which wants the bill watered down.
It was a similar story in the biggest blue state, California, where Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2024 vetoed the first effort by state lawmakers to impose tough regulations on AI, and where a second measure did pass but only after substantial input from lobbyists for OpenAI and other tech firms. Silicon Valley billionaires raised $5 million to help Newsom — a 2028 White House front-runner — beat back a 2021 recall.
Like other top Democrats, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro favors some light regulation for AI but is generally a booster, insisting the new technology is a “job enhancer, not a job replacer.” He’s all-in on the Keystone State building massive data centers, despite their tendency to drive up electric bills and their unpopularity in the communities where they are proposed.
Money talks, democracy walks — an appalling fact of life in 2025 America. In a functioning democracy, we would have at least one political party that would fly the banner of the 53% of us who are wary of unchecked AI, and even take that idea to the next level.
A Harris Poll found that, for the first time, a majority of Americans also see billionaires — many of them fueled by the AI bubble — as a threat to democracy, with 71% supporting a wealth tax. Yet few of the Democrats hoping to retake Congress in 2027 are advocating such a levy. This is a dangerous disconnect.
Time magazine got one thing right. Just as its editors understood in 1938 that Adolf Hitler was its Man of the Year because he’d influenced the world more than anyone else, albeit for evil, history will likely look back at 2025 and agree that AI posed an even bigger threat to humanity than Trump’s brand of fascism. The fight to save the American Experiment must be fought on both fronts.
Yo, do this!
I haven’t tackled much new culture this month because I’ve been doing something I so rarely do anymore: Watching a scripted series from start to finish. That would be Apple TV’s Pluribus, the new sci-fi-but-more-than-sci-fi drama from television genius Vince Gilligan. True, one has to look past some logistical flaws in its dystopia-of-global-happiness premise, but the core narrative about the fight for individualism is truly a story of our time. The last two episodes come out on Dec. 19 and Dec. 26, so there’s time to catch up!
The shock and sorrow of Rob Reiner’s murder at age 78 has, not surprisingly, sparked a surge of interest in his remarkable, and remarkably diverse, canon of classic movies. His much-awaited sequel Spinal Tap II: The End Continuesbegan streaming on HBO Max just two days before his death. Check it out, or just re-watch the 1984 original, which is one of the funniest flicks ever made, and which is also streaming on HBO Max and can be rented on other popular sites. Crank it up to 11.
Ask me anything
Question: What news value, not advertising value, is accomplished by publicizing every one of Trump’s insane rantings daily? — @bizbodeity.bsky.social via Bluesky
Answer: This is a great question, and the most recent and blatant example which I assume inspired it — Trump’s stunningly heartless online attack against a critic, Hollywood icon Rob Reiner, just hours after his violent murder — proves why this is a painful dilemma for journalists. I’d argue that Trump’s hateful and pathologically narcissistic post was a deliberate troll for media attention, to make every national moment about him. In a perfect world, it would indeed be ignored. But it was highly newsworthy that his Truth Social post was so offensive that it drew unusual criticism from Republicans, Evangelicals, and other normal supporters. We may remember this is as a political turning point. Trump’s outbursts demand sensitivity, but that Americans elected such a grotesque man as our president can’t easily be ignored.
What you’re saying about…
It’s been two weeks since I asked about Donald Trump’s health, but the questions have not gone away. There was not a robust response from readers — probably because I’d posed basically the same question once before. Several of you pointed to expert commentary that suggests the president is experiencing significant cognitive decline, perhaps suffering from frontotemporal dementia. Roberta Jacobs Meadway spoke for many when she lambasted “the refusal if not the utter failure of the once-major news outlets to ask the questions and push for answers.”
📮 This week’s question: We are going to try an open-ended one to wrap up 2025: What is your big prediction for 2026 — could be anything from elections to impeachment to the Eagles repeating as Super Bowl champs — and why. Please email me your answer and put the exact phrase “2026 prediction” in the subject line.
Backstory on how I covered an unforgettable year
Rick Gomez, who travelled 65 hours by bus from Phoenix, Ariz., holds an AI photo composite poster of Donald Trump, in Washington, the day before Trump took the Oath of Office to become the 47th president of the United States.
Barring the outbreak of World War III — something you always need to say these days — this is my final newsletter, or column, of 2025, as I use up my old-man plethora of vacation days. To look back on America’s annus horribilis, I thought I’d revive a feature from my Attytood blogging days: a recap of the year with the five most memorable columns, not numbered in order of significance. Here goes:
A year that many of us dreaded when the votes were counted in November 2024 began for me with a sad reminder that the personal still trumps the political, when my 88-year-old father fell ill in the dead of winter and passed away on March 11. I wrote about his life, but also what his passion for science and knowledge said about a world that, at the end of his life, was slipping away: Bryan H. Bunch (1936-2025) and the vanishing American century of knowledge.
Still, Donald J. Trump could not be ignored. On Jan. 19, I put on my most comfortable shoes (it didn’t really help) and traipsed around a snowy, chilly Washington, D.C. as the about-to-be 47th president made his “forgotten American” supporters wait on a soggy, endless line for a nothingburger rally while the architects of AI and other rich donors partied in heated luxury, setting the tone for a year of gross inequality: American oligarchy begins as Trump makes billions while MAGA gets left out in the rain.
One of the year’s biggest stories was Trump’s demonizing of people of color, from calling Somali immigrants “garbage” to his all out war on DEI programs that encouraged racial diversity, when the truth was always far different. In February, I wrote about the American dream of a young man from Brooklyn of Puerto Rican descent and his ambition to become an airline pilot, who perished in the D.C. jet-helicopter crash. His remarkable life demolished the MAGA lie about “DEI pilots.” Read: “Short, remarkable life of D.C. pilot Jonathan Campos so much more than Trump’s hateful words.”
If you grew up during the 1960s and ‘70s, as I did, then you understand the story of our lifetimes as a battle for the individual rights of every American — for people to live their best lives regardless of race or gender, or whether they might be transgender, or on the autism spectrum. I wrote in October about the Trump regime’s consuming drive to reverse this, to make it a crime to be different: From autism to beards, the Trump regime wages war on ‘the different’
A grim year did end on one hopeful note. Trump’s push for an authoritarian America is faltering, thanks in good measure to the gumption of everyday people. This month, I traveled to New Orleans to chronicle the growing and increasingly brave public resistance to federal immigration raids, as citizens blow whistles, form crowds and protest efforts to deport hard-working migrants: In New Orleans and across U.S., anger over ICE raids sparks a 2nd American Revolution
What I wrote on this date in 2021
On this date four years ago, some of us were still treating Donald Trump’s attempted Capitol Hill coup of Jan. 6, 2021 like a crime that could be solved so that the bad guys could be put away. On Dec. 16, 2021, I published my own theory of the case: that Team MAGA’s true goal was provoking a war between its supporters and left-wing counterdemonstrators, as a pretext for sending in troops and stopping Congress from finishing its certification of Joe Biden’s victory. That didn’t happen because the leftists stayed home. More than 1,000 pardons later, check out my grand argument: “A theory: How Trump’s Jan. 6 coup plan worked, how close it came, why it failed.”
Recommended Inquirer reading
Only one column this week, as this senior citizen was still recovering from that grueling trip to New Orleans. On Sunday, I reacted with the shock and sadness of seeing a mass shooting at my alma mater, Brown University. I wrote that in a nation with 500 million guns, it’s a virtual lock that some day our families — nuclear or extended, like the close-knit Brown community — will be struck by senseless violence. And I took sharp issue with Trump’s comment that “all you can do is pray.” There is much that can and should be done about gun safety.
Sometimes the big stories are the ones that play out over decades, not days. When I first started coming regularly to Philadelphia at the end of the 1980s, the dominant vibe was urban decline. The comeback of cities in the 21st century has altered our world, for good — but a lot of us old-timers have wondered: Just who, exactly, is moving into all these new apartments from Center City to Kensington and beyond? Last week, The Inquirer’s ace development reporter Jake Blumgart took a deep dive into exactly that — highlighting survey results that large numbers are under 45, don’t own a car, and moved here from elsewhere, and telling some of their stories. Local journalism is the backbone of a local community, and you are part of something bigger when you subscribe to The Inquirer. Plus, it’s a great Christmas gift, and you’ll get to read all my columns in 2026. See you then!
By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirer‘s Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10.
Chefs Amanda Shulman and Alex Kemp have each built distinct destination restaurants — the newly Michelin-recognized Her Place Supper Club and My Loup. This week, they opened one together.
Pine Street Grill, across from Fitler Square at 23rd and Pine Streets, is their take on a neighborhood restaurant. It’s a comfortable, restrained setting with white stamped-metal ceiling, Streamline Moderne-style schoolhouse light fixtures, white walls, and a long bar running through the narrow space. The two single-occupancy restrooms are intentionally contrasting: One is entirely pink, while the other is a tribute to the Sixers, from the photo-collage wallpaper down to the “Smells Like a Sixers Win” candle on the toilet tank and basketball-shaped soap dispenser on the sink. Fitler Square-based contractor Kaman Global built the restaurant, with Philadelphia firm Canno Design consulting.
One restroom at Pine Street Grill has a 76ers theme.
The menu, by Shulman, Kemp, and chef de cuisine Jonathan Rodriguez, is timeless American. For starters, there’s a snack plate of mortadella-stuffed cherry peppers, olives, and spelt crackers ($11); shrimp Louie served in little gem lettuce cups with avocado and pickled onion ($16); wings in brown-butter hot sauce with Stilton blue cheese ($14); and a small soft pretzel with hollandaise mustard ($10). There also are Philly Balls, croquettes filled with roast pork, provolone, broccoli rabe, and spicy relish ($12 for two) that previously appeared on My Loup’s opening menu.
Sandwiches include a turkey club with maple bacon on multigrain ($16) and a signature double dry-aged smashburger with Cooper Sharp and onion condiment on a seeded milk bun ($22).
Pine Street Grill owners Amanda Shulman and Alex Kemp.
There’s a chopped Greek salad with Persian cucumbers, marinated feta, tomato, red onion, and oregano ($15) and a root-vegetable salad with chicories, aged cheddar, cranberries, and praline vinaigrette ($16). Entrées include hanger steak with pot-roast jus ($30); half a rotisserie chicken with gravy ($28); grilled salmon with piccata and spinach ($27); and eggplant Parmesan ($26).
Desserts include a nut-free carrot cake ($13) with rum raisins, carrot jam, and cream-cheese mousse; sourdough chocolate-chip cookie skillet ($12) with vanilla ice cream — the same cookie Shulman serves at Her Place; and a sundae ($14) of malted-milk ice cream with brownie bites, spiced walnuts, hot fudge, and a cherry.
Carrot cake at Pine Street Grill.
There’s even a children’s menu, dubbed Belle’s Bites, after their daughter’s middle name: $10 each for nuggets and fries, grilled cheese, crudités and ranch, and red or white shells.
The late-night special for grown-ups, offered from 9:30 to 10:30 p.m., is any draft beer and the burger.
Co-owner Alex Kemp serves an artichoke dip appetizer at Pine Street Grill.
Jillian Moore, bar director of My Loup and bar consultant for the group, developed a cocktail list that includes a freezer martini made with local vermouth, a John Daly cocktail (a boozy Arnold Palmer) on draft, and Irish coffee. There’s Guinness, Strongbow cider, and birch beer on tap.
Nicole Sullivan, Her Place’s beverage director, set up the wine list, which draws inspiration from European tavern culture. General manager Allyson Allen has worked with Shulman and the couple’s Libbie Loup group for several years, including at Her Place and Amourette, their 2024 summer pop-up.
Buffalo wings at Pine Street Grill, 2227 Pine St.
Pine Street Grill’s corner space has had a busy history: It housed Stix, a vegetarian restaurant, from 1997 to 1999; a location of Dmitri’s from 1999 to 2014; a branch of wine bar Tria from 2015 to 2017; and most recently Cotoletta, which closed last year after a five-year run.
Shulman, a Connecticut native and Vetri alumna, burst onto the Philadelphia dining scene in 2021 with Her Place, offering versions of the homespun dinner parties she hosted in her student apartment at Penn. She and Kemp opened My Loup in 2023, three months before their wedding. Shulman has received multiple James Beard Award nominations, including Emerging Chef nominations in 2022 and 2023 and Best Chef Mid-Atlantic in 2025. Kemp, who is Canadian-born, previously worked at Montreal’s Joe Beef and New York’s Eleven Madison Park. The couple met at Momofuku Ko in New York.
Pine Street Grill, 2227 Pine St.,no phone, pinestreetgrill.com. Hours: 4 to 11 p.m. Wednesday to Monday; kitchen closes at 10:30 p.m. Half of the dining room is reservable via OpenTable for parties of up to eight; remaining tables are held for walk-ins. Happy hour: 4 to 6 p.m. weekdays, with a discounted food menu and $2 off draft beverages.
MELBOURNE, Australia — A mass shooting in which 15 people were killed during a Hanukkah celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach was “a terrorist attack inspired by Islamic State,” Australia’s federal police commissioner, Krissy Barrett, said Tuesday.
The suspects were a father and son, ages 50 and 24, authorities have said. The older man, whom state officials named as Sajid Akram, was shot dead. His son was being treated at a hospital.
A news conference by political and law enforcement leaders on Tuesday was the first time officials confirmed their beliefs about the suspects’ ideologies. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the remarks were based on evidence obtained, including “the presence of Islamic State flags in the vehicle that has been seized.”
Indian police said Tuesday that the older suspect was originally from the southern city of Hyderabad and held an Indian passport. They said he married a woman of European origin and migrated to Australia in 1998 in search of employment opportunities, maintaining little contact with his family in India.
“The family members have expressed no knowledge of his radical mindset or activities, nor of the circumstances that led to his radicalization,” Telangana State Police Chief B. Shivadhar Reddy said in a statement.
Twenty-five people are still being treated in hospitals after Sunday’s massacre, 10 of them in critical condition. Three are patients in a children’s hospital.
Also among those being treated is Ahmed al Ahmed, who was captured on video tackling and disarming one assailant, before pointing the man’s weapon at him and then setting it on the ground.
Those killed ranged in age from 10 to 87. They were attending a Hanukkah event at Australia’s most famous beach Sunday when the gunshots rang out.
Calls for stricter gun laws
Albanese and the leaders of some of Australia’s states have pledged to tighten the country’s already strict gun laws in what would be the most sweeping reforms since a shooter killed 35 people in Port Arthur, Tasmania, in 1996. Mass shootings in Australia have since been rare.
Officials divulged more information as public questions and anger grew about how the attackers were able to plan and enact it and whether Australian Jews had been sufficiently protected from rising antisemitism.
Albanese announced plans to further restrict access to guns, in part because it emerged the older suspect had amassed his cache of six weapons legally.
“The suspected murderers, callous in how they allegedly coordinated their attack, appeared to have no regard for the age or ableness of their victims,” Barrett said. “It appears the alleged killers were interested only in a quest for a death tally.”
Authorities probe suspects’ trip to Philippines
The suspects traveled to the Philippines last month, said Mal Lanyon, the police commissioner for New South Wales state. Their reasons for the trip and where in the Philippines they went would be probed by investigators, Lanyon said.
He also confirmed that a vehicle removed from the scene, registered to the younger suspect, contained improvised explosive devices.
“I also confirm that it contained two homemade ISIS flags,” Lanyon said.
The Philippines Bureau of Immigration confirmed Tuesday that Sajid Akram traveled to the country from Nov. 1 to Nov. 28 along with Naveed Akram, 24, giving the city of Davao as their final destination. Australian authorities have not named the younger suspect.
Groups of Muslim separatist insurgents, including Abu Sayyaf in the southern Philippines, once expressed support for the Islamic State group and have hosted small numbers of foreign combatants from Asia, the Middle East, and Europe in the past.
Decades of military offensives, however, have considerably weakened Abu Sayyaf and other such armed groups, and Philippine military and police officials say there has been no recent indication of any foreign militants in the country’s south.
Albanese visits man who tackled shooter
Earlier, Albanese visited Ahmed in a hospital. Albanese said the 42-year-old Syrian-born fruit shop owner had further surgery scheduled on Wednesday for shotgun wounds to his left shoulder and upper body.
“It was a great honor to met Ahmed al Ahmed. He is a true Australian hero,” Albanese told reporters after a 30-minute meeting with him and his parents.
“We are a brave country. Ahmed al Ahmed represents the best of our country. We will not allow this country to be divided. That is what the terrorists seek. We will unite. We will embrace each other, and we’ll get through this,” Albanese added.
Lifeguards praised for actions during massacre
The famous blue-shirted lifeguards of Bondi Beach attracted praise as more stories of their actions during the shooting emerged.
One duty lifeguard, identified by the organization’s Instagram account as Rory Davey, performed an ocean rescue during the shooting after people fled, fully clothed, into the sea.
Another lifeguard, Jackson Doolan, posted to his social media a photo taken as he sprinted, barefoot and clutching a first aid kit, from Tamarama beach a mile away toward Bondi as the massacre continued.
“These guys are community members, and it’s not about the surf,” Anthony Caroll, one of the stars of a popular reality television show called Bondi Rescue, told Sky News on Tuesday. “They heard the gunshots and they left the beach and came right up the back here into the scene of the crime, into harm’s way while those bullets were being shot.”
Record numbers sign up to donate blood as Australians mourn at scene of shooting
Israeli Ambassador to Australia Amir Maimon visited the scene of the carnage on Tuesday and was welcomed by Jewish leaders.
“I’m not sure that my vocabulary is rich enough to express how I feel. My heart is torn apart because the Jewish community, the Australians of Jewish faith, the Jewish community is also my community,” Maimon said.
Thousands have visited Bondi from all walks of life since the tragedy to pay their respects and lay flowers on a mounting pile at an impromptu memorial site.
One of the visitors on Tuesday was former Prime Minister John Howard, who was responsible for the 1996 overhaul of gun laws and an associated buyback of newly outlawed weapons.
In the aftermath of Sunday’s shooting, a record number of Australians signed up to donate blood. On Monday alone close to 50,000 appointments were booked, more than double the previous record, the national donation organization Lifeblood told the Associated Press.
Almost 1,300 people signed up to donate for the first time. Such was the enthusiasm at Lifeblood’s Bondi location that appointments to give blood were unavailable before Dec. 31, according to the organization’s website.
A total of 7,810 donations of blood, plasma, and platelets were made across the country on Monday, spokesperson Cath Stone said. Australian news outlets reported queues of up to four hours at some Sydney donation sites.
And it was an eventful one for our photographers and videographers who captured images that gave visual life to The Inquirer’s journalism and told stories in ways that transcend words. (For proof, see those racing hot dogs.)
They were on the scenes after two high-profile shootings that, combined, left five peopledead and18 others wounded, and for the march that poignantly drew attention to the tragic killing of Kada Scott.
In the months after the Eagles’ convincing Super Bowl victory, and the cheers in Chinatown when the 76ers decided they would rebuild in South Philly instead of moving, the region showed its resilience among challenges.
Dramatic decreases in homicides continued in Philly — 208 through Dec. 10, down from 527 through the same date in 2021. The city workers’ strike was over ineight days. The one in 1986 lasted three weeks.
SEPTA kept rolling despite fires, threatened drastic cuts, a possible strike, and serious railcar shortage.
Our visual staff was there for it all, and that won’t change in 2026.
— Anthony R. Wood
Saturnalian captain Thomas Dougherty dances on Second Street in Philadelphia during the Mummers after-party on New Year’s Day.Under the watchful eye of the eagle statue at the Wanamaker Building on Jan. 10, Bob Koherr, 64, and Walter Batt, 62, of Center City, embrace, remembering the time they spent together there.Lloyd Morgan (right) and a friend carry a cutout of President Donald Trump on a surfboard through Washington on Jan. 19, the day before Trump’s second inauguration.Saquon Barkley celebrates as he nears the end zone on a 78-yard touchdown run during the fourth quarter of the Eagles’ playoff game against the Los Angeles Rams on Jan. 19. The Eagles eked out a 28-22 win.Eagles players lift the Lombardi Trophy after their 40-22 Super Bowl LIX victory over the Kansas City Chiefs on Feb. 9 in New Orleans.Saquon Barkley leaps into the end zone for one of his three touchdowns against the Washington Commanders in the NFC championship game at Lincoln Financial Field on Jan. 26. The Eagles won 55-23 to clinch their second Super Bowl appearance in three seasons.Family and friends skate on the ice rink that Fox Chase resident David Bara built in his backyard last winter. “There aren’t many people in Philly who are crazy enough to do what I do,” Bara said.Jada Pichardo produced Pennsauken’s first state wrestling title when the senior won the 126-pound division at the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association championships in March.Emergency workers battle a fire at the 7200 block of Calvert Street in Northeast Philadelphia after a medical jet crashed nearby on Jan. 31.National Transportation Safety Board officials walk through debris from the medical jet crash along Cottman Avenue near Roosevelt Boulevard.Marisol Nelson was among the hundreds of thousands of Eagles fans who lined Philly streets on Feb. 14 for the Birds’ Super Bowl victory parade.A sea of fans greets Eagles team buses as they coast along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway during the Super Bowl victory parade.St. Joseph’s guard Laura Ziegler (center) celebrates with teammates after hitting the game-winning shot against Richmond in the Atlantic 10 tournament semifinals in March.Actor and rapper Will Smith, with mother Caroline Bright, attends a street renaming ceremony in West Philadelphia in March. The city renamed the 2000 block of North 59th Street “Will Smith Way.”Gabby Thomas poses for photos with fans after racing in the women’s 100 meters during the Grand Slam Track meet at Franklin Field on June 1.
City workers and volunteers move dumped tires toward garbage trucks during the Philly Spring Cleanup at Tacony Creek Park in April.Visitors tour Lucy the Elephant in April. The historic six-story structure has been a Margate, N.J., landmark for more than a century. Celal Emanet (center), with son Muhammed (right) and family friend Mustafa Tug, waits for his wife, Emine, to be released from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement center in Elizabeth, N.J., on March 12. The Emanets were arrested at their Jersey Kebab restaurant in Haddon Township two weeks earlier.Fulya Labernas (left) takes a picture of her 1-year-old son, Ibrahim, and her cousin, Neslihan Kalkan, outside Jersey Kebab on March 30. Celal and Emine Emanet prepared a feast to thank community members who rallied and raised money on their behalf after they were arrested by ICE agents.Andrew Ahl of the Reptile and Amphibian Department at the Philadelphia Zoo holds a Western Santa Cruz Galapagos tortoise that hatched in April.Montgomery County seniors in their 70s, 80s, and 90s cross Egypt Road from their continuing care retirement community in Audubon to protest the Trump administration on May 1. Members of the Camden High Marching Band attend a college signing day celebration at Rutgers Camden on May 2. Front row from left: Jazmynne Houston and Shaleah Navarro. Second row from left: Marjhani Land, Shalynn Mitchell, and Jaida Mitchell.Spectators watch the action during the Truist Championship at the Philadelphia Cricket Club’s Wissahickon Course on May 8. A roller blader passes the “Weaver’s Knot: Sheet Bend” artwork along the Delaware River Waterfront on May 12. Spectators people-watch outside Rim Cafe during the annual South 9th Street Italian Market Festival on May 18 in Philadelphia. From left: Joe Mirarchi, Howie Brown, William Gambino, and a person who didn’t want to give his name.On June 2, Saquon Barkley stopped by to help out at Geno’s Steaks, which was dubbed “Steakquon’s,” in celebration of the Eagles running back’s “Madden NFL 26” video game cover announcement.The aftermath of a large fire that engulfed multiple SEPTA buses at the Roberts Yard SEPTA Railroad Facility in Nicetown on June 5. Officials said 40 buses in the lot were damaged.Independence National Historical Park staff members fired muskets on June 6 during Revolutionary War weapons training. The training on reproduction flintlock muskets took place on the lawn south of Carpenter’s Hall in Philadelphia.Women dressed in colonial garb march in the “No Kings” political demonstration protesting the Trump administration on June 14 in Philadelphia.Wydad fans celebrate a goal as their team plays Juventus in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup Group G match at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia on June 22. Juventus won 4-1.Justin and Erica Vidal, of Galloway, N.J., enjoy ice cream cones in their 1967 Dodge Dart convertible with sons Alessio, 2 months; Nino, 2; and Alexander, 5, at Kustard Korner in Egg Harbor City.The Jewell and Alisio families celebrate the Fourth of July weekend with a block party on Roseberry Street in Philadelphia on July 5.Angel Luis Rosado with Athena Contracting Inc. works to clear garbage at a dump site at Caldera and Red Lion Roads on July 8 during the second week of AFSCME District Council 33’s strike.Mayor Cherelle L. Parker walks from her City Hall office on July 9 to speak hours after her administration struck a tentative contract agreement with AFSCME District Council 33 leaders, ending a strike. With her are Chief Deputy Mayor Sinceré Harris (from left), Chief of Staff Tiffany W. Thurman, and Chief Deputy Mayor Vanessa Garrett Harley.A wild turkey found itself stuck in traffic with many others after a crash on the northbound side of the North-South Freeway (I-76) in Gloucester City, N.J., on July 11.Phillies starter Ranger Suárez unraveled in the second inning of a game on July 20 against the Los Angeles Angels. The blur was created in-camera using a slow shutter speed and panning with the movement.Eagles players Nakobe Dean (from left), Jalen Hurts, Moro Ojomo, and Jordan Davis relax on the field after training camp practice on July 26.Willa Allen, the widow of Dick Allen, waves to the crowd as she rides in the Hall of Fame Legends Parade with her family on July 26 in Cooperstown, N.Y. Dick Allen, Dave Parker, CC Sabathia, Ichiro Suzuki, and Billy Wagner were among those inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.Union forward Mikael Uhre (second from left) celebrates his second half go-ahead goal with his teammates against the Colorado Rapids at Subaru Park in Chester, Pa., on July 26.James Burton, 59, of West Oak Lane (from left), Raymond Johnson, 62, of West Oak Lane, and Mike Johnson, 58, of Newport, Del., sit at the bay door watching a downpour at Ray’s Auto in Germantown on July 31.Closer Jhoan Duran makes his Phillies debut against the Detroit Tigers on Aug. 1 at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies win 5-4.Ari from Philly (back to camera) gets decorated by “the glitter guy” on Aug. 23 before the start of the 2025 Philly Naked Bike Ride at Lemon Hill.Philadelphia schools Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr. (left) and Mayor Cherelle L. Parker greet a student at Edward T. Steel School on Aug. 25, the first day of school.A rider carries his plants on the 66 bus at the SEPTA Frankford Transportation Center on Aug. 25. Frustration and confusion were being seen at Center City transit hubs amid SEPTA cuts.Steve Jamison, owner of Blue Sole Shoes at 1805 Chestnut St., on Aug. 26. After a vandal damaged the store’s window with a brick, Jamison cut a boot in half and glued each half on opposite sides of the window to create a “lighter situation” while he waited for new glass to be installed.Audenried players Myhaj Oliphant (26) and Jaylin Simms rest while head coach Roy-Al Edwards (far right) talks with another coach during halftime at Chichester High, in Boothwyn on Aug. 28. Chichester got the win 36-16.Phillies catcher Rafael Marchan tags out Atlanta Braves first baseman Matt Olson at home plate in the fifth inning on Aug. 29 in Philadelphia. Phillies win 2-1.A guest views Alexander Calder’s sculpture “Tripes” (1974) in the Vestige Garden, at Calder Gardens during a preview on Sept. 15.People gather for a prayer vigil for Charlie Kirk at Fluehr Park in Northeast Philadelphia on Sept. 17. Kirk was killed on Sept. 10 during a speaking engagement at Utah Valley University.Michael Coard, an attorney and leader of Avenging the Ancestors Coalition, speaks with a megaphone prior to a silent protest on Sept. 19, near the President’s House. “What can’t occur is slavery being censored in this historical place. We must show the harm,” Coard said. During the rally, the group led a nine-minute tribute to the nine enslaved people that George Washington brought to the Philadelphia residence.Defensive tackle Byron Young celebrates with fans a blocked a field goal sealed the team’s 33-26 comeback win over the Rams on Sept. 21 in Philadelphia.Hurricane Imelda brought conditions for an aurora sunset seen behind the Philadelphia skyline, captured from the Camden Waterfront on Sept. 30.Josh and Tabitha Filomeno, of Northern Liberties, enjoy the weather with their daughter, Joia, 5 months, along Kelly Drive on Oct. 3.Motorcyclists compete on the sand during the Race of Gentlemen in Wildwood on Oct. 5.Tanelsa Franklin-Phillips and moviegoers wait outside the Film Society Center on Oct. 5.Los Angeles Dodgers right fielder Teoscar Hernández (left) slides safely by Philadelphia Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto to score in the seventh inning of Game 2 of the NLDS at Citizens Bank Park on Oct. 6.The Dodgers’ Max Muncy celebrates after Phillies pitcher Orion Kerkering’s errant throw home allowed the winning run in the 11th inning of Game 4 of NLDS on Oct. 9 in Los Angeles. Dodgers won 2-1, ending the season for the Phillies.Friends Dennis Donnelly (left) and Jack Sharkey of Northeast Philadelphia are soaked as the surf crashes over the North Wildwood seawall during a nor’easter Oct. 12. Donnelly said they were in Wildwood to retrieve his jet ski so it wouldn’t get damaged by the storm.Flyers captain Sean Couturier leaps over Florida Panthers goaltender Daniil Tarasov during the first period of the Flyers’ home opener on Oct. 13, in Philadelphia. The Flyers won 5-2 over the defending Stanley Cup champs.Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey and forward Trendon Watford were all smiles after their 110-108 victory over James Harden and the Clippers on Nov. 17 in Philadelphia.Kada Scott’s mother, Kim Matthews (center right), holds a sign featuring her daughter while releasing balloons at a Domestic Violence Awareness walk at the Philadelphia Art Museum on Oct. 26.
Once considered the loudest hospital in the Philadelphia area, Riddle Hospital in Media has significantly reduced its nighttime noise levels, newly released federal data shows.
At the Main Line Health Riddle hospital, only 12% of patients from the most recent survey rated the area around their room at night as “sometimes” or “never” quiet — down from 26% of patients surveyed between July 2022 and June 2023.
Across the Philadelphia region, 52% of patients said their hospital room was “always” quiet at night. That’s slightly worse than nationally, where patients said hospitals were quiet throughout their stay 57% of the time.
Virtua Mount Holly Hospital in New Jersey is now rated the loudest by patients.
Nazareth Hospital in Northeast Philadelphia, owned by Trinity Health, was ranked the second loudest in the region.
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Quieter hospitals have benefits for both patients and staff, helping to lower anxiety levels, improve sleep quality, and ease the flow of communication.
Riddle Hospital’s improvement follows construction of a new 230,000-square-foot patient pavilion that had temporarily increased noise at its Delaware County campus.
“With the pavilion’s 2023 completion, as well as the resulting addition of more private rooms, noise is significantly reduced,” spokesperson Larry Hanover said.
Reducing noise is also priority for Penn Medicine, whose Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP) was rated the quietest hospital among the 25,000 patients surveyed in the Philly-area.
Chester County Hospital, also owned by Penn Medicine, was ranked the second quietest.
The health system has made big investments in recent years to address noise levels at its hospitals, according to the university’s website. The Pavilion, which opened at HUP in Center City in 2021, was designed to reduce noise levels and nightly disruptions by separating nonclinical work from patient care areas.
Each floor of the $1.6 billion building centers around an “offstage” area for staff to hold conversations and calls away from patient rooms that line the perimeter. The design of the rooms also allows care teams to check vitals and refill medications from the hallway, reducing nighttime disruptions.
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What’s the best chance for the Eagles to reach the Super Bowl and repeat as champions? Given the hit-or-miss performance by the offense this season, maybe it’s time for their dominant defense to seize the moment.
In 1991, an overpowering Eagles defense did just that after Randall Cunningham was lost for the season in the first game. Led by Reggie White and Jerome Brown, the Birds put together one of the best defensive campaigns in NFL history, surrendering the fewest passing yards and rushing yards in the league that season. Not only did the Eagles want to keep opponents from scoring, the defensive players wanted to score themselves.
“We knew that we were going to go as far as the defense could carry us,” linebacker Seth Joyner says. “And that just turned the intensity up.”
Joyner sees some of that great fire in Vic Fangio’s defense these days. So do former teammates Clyde Simmons and Mike Golic. The three ex-Eagles can see Fangio’s group taking charge this season the way they did under defensive coordinator Bud Carson in ’91.
So which member of the current Eagles D would have fit right in on Gang Green? They say it’s Jalen Carter. “I mean, put him on that line, with Jerome [Brown] in the middle, would have been ridiculous,” Golic says.
Nick Castellanos, left, is on the way out as the Phillies’ right fielder, and Adolis García is in with a one-year deal.
Adolis García is the new Nick Castellanos. That’s the simplest way to look at the Phillies agreeing to a one-year, $10 million contract with the former Rangers star on Monday. It’s true on a lot of different levels, including some that will make you scratch your head about why Dave Dombrowski decided to go in this direction. Not only is García likely to replace Castellanos in right field, his batting profile looks an awful lot like Castellanos’. Uncomfortably so, writes David Murphy.
The Phillies’ agreement with García comes 361 days after an identical one-year, $10 million free-agent deal with outfielder Max Kepler. It represents a similar bet, too.
Dan Quinn and the injury-riddled Commanders have headed in the wrong direction since facing the Eagles in the 2024 NFC championship game on Jan. 26.
At 4-10, the Washington Commanders are not as sad as the Las Vegas Raiders, but they’re not far from the bottom of the NFL’s barrel. The Commanders ended an eight-game losing streak on Sunday thanks to a date with the even-worse New York Giants.
Good news for the Eagles, who will visit the Commanders on Saturday: Washington allows a league-worst 7.5 yards per passing attempt and a sixth-worst 4.7 yards per carry. So the offense should continue to thrive against lousy competition. Washington’s offense hasn’t been setting the world on fire, either. Olivia Reiner has her early look at Saturday’s matchup.
Sixers forward Paul George looks like he is returning to form after two stellar performances, including a 35-point season high in Atlanta.
Paul George was called the worst free-agent signing in franchise history. He was going to set the Sixers back a decade. He was washed up and untradable. You sure about that?
Finally healthy after a litany of injuries ruined his 2024-25 season, George appears to be finding his rhythm and changing the narrative that has surrounded his Sixers tenure. Ask the main himself and he’ll tell you just how bad last season was from his own vantage point.
“Oh, my God. I mean, it was rough, man,” he said of last season. “It was brutal. And when you play for Philly, it’s brutal, man. I had an expectation coming into the year, and for me, me alone, like not even the noise outside and whatever people said, you know?”
Trevor Zegras scored for the third game running, scoring the equalizer with a few minutes left in regulation on Sunday.
The Flyers weren’t at their best on Sunday evening, but they still managed to salvage a valuable point against the Metropolitan Division-leading Carolina Hurricanes.
The Eagles defense sacked Kenny Pickett four times on Sunday.
Who said this after the Eagles pitched a shutout against the Raiders? Think you know? Check your answer here.
What you’re saying about old athletes
We asked: What’s the greatest performance you can remember by an “aged” athlete? Among your responses:
Chuck Bednarik’s performance in the 1960 NFL championship game playing both linebacker and center at age 35. — Dom R.
Gene Dykes, Bala Cynwyd, ran a world best marathon time for men 70 and over. … By the age of 60 most have lost over half the muscle fibers in your legs. His accomplishment is far beyond anyone else including Brandon, Wilt, Bednarik, and Schmidt. — Harry N.
Editor’s note: Dykes set a record for his age group in 2:54:23 at the Jacksonville (Fla.) Marathon in December 2018.
Eagles Norm Van Brocklin (center) and Chuck Bednarik celebrate after they won the NFL championship in 1960.
The first thing that came to my mind regarding a performance by an aged athlete was 35-year-old Chuck Bednarik, former Penn All-American and WW2 Vet, who played the entire 1960 NFL championship game at Franklin Field. Chuck played every minute of this game while holding down the center position as well as linebacker. — Everett S.
Jurgensen to McDonald, Norm Van Brocklin and Concrete Charlie ‘s performance in the 1960 NFL Championship game … — Bill M.
Roger Bannister’s mile! — Hunter L.
Editor’s note: Bannister was 25 when he broke the four-minute mile on May 6, 1954.
In my opinion, Jack Nicklaus winning the masters in 1986 at the age of 46! — William M.
We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Alex Coffey, Scott Lauber, David Murphy, Olivia Reiner, Jeff Neiburg, Jeff McLane, Ariel Simpson, Jackie Spiegel, Mike Sielski, and Keith Pompey.
By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirer’s Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10.
Greetings from Siberia, also known as the Philadelphia suburbs. Do your best to stay warm. Bella will bring you Sports Daily on Wednesday. — Jim
With the holidays right around the corner, Eagles star Saquon Barkley continues to give back to the community — while playing a little Madden NFL 26 in the process.
Dozens of children gathered around one of the pods at the Chickie’s & Pete’s on Packer Avenue, as the running back joined in on a video game session. In between plays, as he signed autographs, his mother, Tonya Johnson, watched on with a bright smile.
“When you think of Christmas, you think of a time of joy, the time of putting smiles on people’s faces, and unfortunately that’s not the truth for everybody,” Barkley said. “That’s the God’s honest truth. So, we just want to make sure that we’re using our platform to try to make a change. We’re super excited for the event tonight. For everyone that donated toys, hopefully, we’re able to put smiles on kids’ faces.”
Children watched from the first floor with their cameras out and bright smiles on their faces as part of the Michael Ann & Saquon Barkley Hope Foundation toy drive, which aims to help underserved families from the Greater Philadelphia and Delaware Valley areas before the holidays.
The foundation partnered with City Council President Kenyatta Johnson’s office to host an unwrapped toy drive at Chickie’s & Pete’s during this year’s Jingle Ball pre-party. Pre-party guests donated toys that ranged from LEGO sets and Fisher-Price items to remote control cars and Lite-Brites. The table was flooded with gifts by the end of the night.
Saquon Barkley takes photo with Emmanuel Nyanue, left, holding 3-month-old Salim Davis at Barkley’s toy drive at Chickie’s & Pete’s in South Philadelphia on Monday.
“[My mother] always had dreams of me [giving back],” Barkley said. “I have a lot of siblings. So, I don’t want to sit here and make it seem like I’m the special one. But my mom always had dreams of stuff like this happening. I feel like everything happens for a reason. [My parents] instilled in me so much confidence that I can accomplish anything I want to. So, I told them since I was a little kid, this is what I wanted to do and now we’re just living the dream.”
“We all have a special place in our heart for kids,” Barkley said. “So, any time you can have an event and just try to give back and put smiles on kids’ faces, it makes it 10 times better to be completely honest. That’s what we focus on. We want to try to make an impact on our community but directly focused on children, especially the underprivileged children, underserved children, and try to make a change in their lives.”
DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. is pivoting away from its once-ambitious electric vehicle plans amid financial losses and waning consumer demand for the vehicles in lieu of investment in more efficient gasoline-engines and hybrid EVs, the company said Monday.
The Detroit automaker, which has poured billions of dollars into electrification along with most of its industry peers, said it will no longer make the F-150 Lightning electric pickup truck, instead opting for an extended range version of the vehicle.
Ford will also introduce some manufacturing changes; its Tennessee Electric Vehicle Center — part of the BlueOval City campus and once the future of Ford’s EVs and batteries — is being renamed the Tennessee Truck Plant and will produce new affordable gas-powered trucks instead. Ford’s Ohio Assembly Plant will produce a new gas and hybrid van.
The company has lost $13 billion on EVs since 2023 and said it expects to take a $19.5 billion hit largely in the fourth quarter due to the EV business.
“This is a customer-driven shift to create a stronger, more resilient and more profitable Ford,” CEO Jim Farley said in a statement. “The operating reality has changed, and we are redeploying capital into higher-return growth opportunities: Ford Pro, our market-leading trucks and vans, hybrids and high-margin opportunities like our new battery energy storage business.”
Ford said it now expects half of its global volume will be hybrids, extended-range EVs — which also incorporate a gasoline-powered engine — and full EVs by 2030, up from 17% this year.
“Ford’s elimination of the electric F-150 Lightning is not much of a surprise after the truck failed to come close to filling the plant’s capacity. Ford’s choice to convert an existing gas-powered truck to accept the electric drivetrain helped reduce their upfront costs which, in hindsight, was the right move,” Sam Fiorani, vice president at AutoForecast Solutions in Chester Springs, told the Associated Press.
“For months, the future of Blue Oval City has been in question and this announcement locks in the direction of this large plant,” Fiorani added. ”Adding an affordable vehicle to the Ford lineup fills a glaring gap in the market.”
Several other automakers have made changes to their electrified product plans in recent years as consumer demand for EVs in the U.S. hasn’t quite met expectations.
EVs accounted for about 8% of new vehicles sales in the U.S. last year, but factors such as cost and charging infrastructure remain concerns for mainstream buyers.
The average transaction price for a new EV last month was $58,638, compared with $49,814 for a new vehicle overall, according to auto buying resource Kelley Blue Book.
Meanwhile, while public charging availability has improved, the industry has relied on home charging as a selling point for prospective buyers, and not everyone has access to charging at home.
Since taking office for a second time, President Donald Trump has drastically shifted U.S. policy away from EVs, calling EV-friendly policy set under former President Joe Biden a “mandate.”
Though Biden-era policies — including generous tax incentives for consumers, and tailpipe and fuel economy rules for automakers — encouraged EV adoption, no policies required the industry to sell or Americans to buy EVs. Biden targeted half of new vehicle sales in the U.S. to be electric by 2030.
The Trump administration has since slashed that target, eliminated EV tax credits, and proposed weakening the emissions and gas mileage rules.
“The one-two punch of the public’s slow EV adoption and the Trump administration’s softer stance on fuel economy and emissions has encouraged every automaker to rethink their current direction,” Fiorani added. “Electric vehicles are still the future, but the transition to EVs was always going to take longer than automakers have been promising the public.”
