Philadelphia local news, sports, jobs, cars, homes

Blog

  • Somalia welcomes its first bowling alley as the middle class and diaspora returnees grow

    Somalia welcomes its first bowling alley as the middle class and diaspora returnees grow

    MOGADISHU, Somalia — In a city long defined by conflict, Somalia‘s capital of Mogadishu now echoes with the crash of pins at the country’s first modern bowling alley.

    It’s the latest sign of revival in the once-thriving Indian Ocean port shaped by 35 years of civil war and militant bombings. Millions of people were forced to flee what became one of the world’s most dangerous cities. Those who remained avoided public spaces as the al-Qaeda-linked group al-Shabab waged an insurgency against the Somali state.

    In recent years, improved security measures against al-Shabab, an expanded government presence and growing private investment have allowed daily life to reemerge. Cafes line newly reopened streets, beaches draw evening crowds, and traffic congestion, once unimaginable, now clogs key intersections.

    The Feynuus Bowling Center opened last year and draws many locals and Somalis returning from the diaspora, who bring investment and business ideas after years of sending billions of dollars in remittances from abroad.

    On a recent evening, young Somalis gathered in groups, laughing and filming each other on their phones while music played. Many from the diaspora are visiting Mogadishu for the first time in years, or the first time ever.

    “I couldn’t believe Mogadishu has this place,” said Hudoon Abdi, a Somali-Canadian on holiday, as she prepared to take her turn to bowl.

    “I’m enjoying it. Mogadishu is actually safe,” she said, urging others to visit.

    Mogadishu remains vulnerable to militant attacks, however, with security measures like checkpoints and heavily guarded zones part of daily life. Non-Somalis remain largely confined to a compound at the international airport.

    But residents say the ability to gather for recreation signals an important psychological shift. Such venues provide a welcoming environment for a younger generation eager for safe spaces to socialize.

    Abukar Hajji returned from the United Kingdom on holiday after many years away and found the difference between what he imagined and what he experienced eye-opening.

    “When I was flying from the U.K., I believed it was a scary place, like a war-torn country,” he said. “Everyone told me, ‘Good luck,’ but when I came and saw it with my own eyes, I didn’t want to leave.”

    Sadaq Abdurahman, the manager of the bowling center, said the idea for the business emerged from a growing demand among young people for recreational facilities.

    “It has created employment opportunities for at least 40 youths,” he said.

    According to the Somali National Bureau of Statistics, Somalia’s unemployment rate stands at 21.4%.

    The bowling alley has private security guards, bag checks, and surveillance cameras, reflecting the precautions common at public venues in Mogadishu.

    Urban planners and economists say businesses like the bowling alley signal a broader shift in Mogadishu’s recovery, as private sector growth increasingly complements international aid and government-led rebuilding efforts.

    Ahmed Khadar Abdi Jama, a lecturer in economics at the University of Somalia, said innovative businesses are responding to the needs of diaspora returnees and the growing middle class, “which in turn adds to the expected increase in Somalia’s GDP.”

    Outside the bowling alley, traffic hummed and neon signs flickered, other reminders of Mogadishu’s fragile transformation.

  • Philly’s snowpack is making history, along with misery

    Philly’s snowpack is making history, along with misery

    That inert, frozen mass that has turned parking and walking and the routine business of life into punitive experiences around here is a certifiable Philadelphia rarity.

    It almost certainly will take a significant hit this week — temperature readings may reach the big 4-0 (hold the applause; a downside is possible) — but the snowpack already has earned historic status in Philly’s weather annals.

    The official snow depth at Philadelphia International Airport at 7 a.m. Monday was 5 inches, the 15th consecutive day that it has weighed in at 5 inches or more.

    That is tied for the fourth-longest streak in National Weather Service records dating to the late 19th century. But this one arguably is more impressive than its predecessors.

    The Philly snow cover’s staying power

    The staying power of the other snow-cover streaks at the top of the list were the results of heavy snow followed by additional snowfall of 10 inches or more that replenished the snow pack. That list includes the 44 inches that fell in a six-day period in February 2010.

    window.addEventListener(“message”,function(a){if(void 0!==a.data[“datawrapper-height”]){var e=document.querySelectorAll(“iframe”);for(var t in a.data[“datawrapper-height”])for(var r,i=0;r=e[i];i++)if(r.contentWindow===a.source){var d=a.data[“datawrapper-height”][t]+”px”;r.style.height=d}}});

    This time around, only 0.3 inches have been measured since the 9.3 inches of snow and white ice stopped falling on Jan. 25.

    The sleet that fell atop the several inches of snow added considerable durability to the pack, since ice melts more slowly than snow, and then it all was rock-frozen by a memorable arctic freeze, followed by reinforcements.

    Temperatures the last 15 days have averaged 10 to 15 degrees below normal, and Sunday’s low of 8 was the coldest of the season to date.

    It isn’t often that the Philadelphia region experiences such “magnitude … and persistence” of cold, said Kyle Imhoff, the Pennsylvania state climatologist. Plus, typically big snows are followed by a thawing period of few days later. What’s happened since Jan. 25, he said, “is a much rarer occurrence.”

    The cumulative effects have been evident along the Schuylkill, which is looking (deceptively) fit for skating, and the Delaware River navigation channel. The river and most of Delaware Bay are between 90% and 99% ice covered, the U.S. National Ice Center reported Monday.

    It hasn’t been just us. Data pulled by Samantha Borisoff, climatologist at the Northeast Regional Climate Center, showed impressive snow-cover endurance streaks in Wilmington, Atlantic City, Washington, and New York.

    Ice cover throughout the Mid-Atlantic region expanded Sunday, said ice center physical scientist Jonathan Edwards-Opperman. While Saturday was harsher with winds gusting past 50 mph and below-zero windchills from midmorning on in Philly, the “strong winds pushed a lot of the existing ice into the shore, which exposed open water,” he said.

    Ice levels along Midatlantic waterways on Monday, Feb. 9, 2026.

    When the gusts backed off Sunday, the ice went to town. “We saw rapid new growth,” he said.

    Said PhilaPort spokesperson Ryan Mulvey, “Talking with people around the port we haven’t seen ice like this in over 10 years.”

    That said, however, he added that the Coast Guard has kept the traffic moving and “we have not experienced any ice-related delays.”

    It is about to get better

    It did not get to freezing Monday afternoon, but it should make it to the upper 30s, or perhaps the low 40s by midweek, said Amanda Lee, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Mount Holly.

    And daytime highs should go above 32 at least through the workweek. That combined with the growing power of the February sun — its daily wattage will be about 10% higher on Tuesday than it was on Feb. 1, according to NASA — should lessen the snow and ice cover considerably.

    That thaw, however, could come with some bumps in the road.

    “I think it’s fair to expect potholes to grow or develop as the weather gets warmer,” said PennDot spokesperson Helen Reinbrecht. Patching crews will be out there, conditions, permitting, she said.

    Those conditions should persist at least until the weekend, when another storm could affect the region, said Lee.

    It’s only Monday, which means the computers still have several more days of disputation.

    In the meantime, you may not be seeing much in the way of bare ground, but expect an outbreak of puddles. It’s been a while.

  • Phillies ‘doing everything we can’ to part with Nick Castellanos before first full-squad workout

    Phillies ‘doing everything we can’ to part with Nick Castellanos before first full-squad workout

    Nick Castellanos’ future became evident in November when the Phillies’ highest-ranking baseball official said “change of sceneries can be beneficial.“

    Three months later, Castellanos is still on the roster.

    “We continue to talk to clubs about [a trade],” president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said Monday.

    60 Phillies thoughts for Super Bowl LX: Harper’s chip, Bichette the Met, Wheeler’s projection, and more

    And if the Phillies don’t find a taker for the disgruntled right fielder before the first full-squad workout Monday?

    “We’re doing everything we can to make a move by that time period,” Dombrowski said. “I’ll leave it at that right now.“

    If the Phillies don’t trade Castellanos, they’re expected to release him. Either way, they will pay all or most of his $20 million salary.

    No matter what, though, don’t expect him to walk through the doors of the spring-training complex.

    Castellanos’ relationship within the clubhouse soured last season when he clashed with manager Rob Thomson over playing time, including an incident in the dugout in Miami that led to a one-game benching. In December, the Phillies extended Thomson’s contract through 2027.

    Also in December, the Phillies signed free-agent outfielder Adolis García to a one-year, $10 million contract to take Castellanos’ spot in right field.

    Castellanos turns 34 in March and is coming off his worst season in which he fumbled his everyday role in August. He batted .250 with 17 homers and an 88 OPS-plus (12% below league average). He also was among the majors’ worst outfield defenders, with negative-11 defensive runs saved.

    Adolis García could be a steal, or just another Nick Castellanos. Here’s why the Phillies like the gamble.

    But in a depressed offensive environment across the sport, especially among righty-hitting outfielders, the Phillies hoped to peddle Castellanos to a team that was willing to pick up even a portion of his salary in the last year of his contract.

    The Pittsburgh Pirates appeared to be a potential partner after losing out in the bidding for several free agents, notably Kyle Schwarber. But Pittsburgh signed designated hitter Marcell Ozuna to a one-year, $12 million contract on Monday.

    A major league source said Monday the Phillies were still talking with “two or three teams” about Castellanos. The San Diego Padres might have a need after ranking 27th in the majors with a .630 OPS from the DH spot last season. The Colorado Rockies need a lot, including a DH (.613 OPS last season).

  • Phillies’ Zack Wheeler unlikely to be ready for opening day

    Phillies’ Zack Wheeler unlikely to be ready for opening day

    It’s unlikely that Zack Wheeler will be ready for opening day, but he won’t be “too far behind that,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said on Monday.

    It was never a given that Wheeler would be back in the rotation for the start of the 2026 Phillies season. After being diagnosed with a blood clot in his upper right arm, Wheeler underwent venous thoracic outlet decompression surgery on Sept. 23, and the general timeline for return is six to eight months.

    Wheeler, 35, has not yet thrown off a mound and has continued to throw at a distance of 90 feet. He last threw on Saturday, and Thomson said the reports were “very good.”

    Spring training preview: Outlook for Aidan Miller, level of concern for Bryce Harper, and more from Reddit AMA

    “We’re still plugging along,” Thomson said, “and it all depends on his strength and that type of thing, but all that being said, he’s doing well.”

    With Wheeler doubtful to be in the rotation to start the season, that leaves an opening for Andrew Painter. The 22-year-old prospect was expected to make his major league debut last year, but he struggled with commanding his pitches in his first season back from Tommy John surgery and the call-up never materialized. Painter finished 2025 with a 5.26 ERA in 118 innings across single-A Clearwater and triple-A Lehigh Valley.

    Dave Dombrowski said he saw Painter for the first time this year on Monday, and he looked “in really good shape.”

    “He had stuff last year. He still threw hard last year. I’m looking for him to command his pitches better,” said Dombrowski, the team’s president of baseball operations. “ … I’ve talked to our people that have been with him and had a chance to watch him. He’s gone back to long toss, which he hadn’t always done in the past. He’s got his arm angle up a tick more, which they think will help him back to where he was before.”

    Beyond Painter, the Phillies have thin rotation depth in the minor leagues, which could be an issue in the event of an injury to the staff. Three projected members of the rotation — Cristopher Sánchez (Dominican Republic), Aaron Nola (Italy), and Taijuan Walker (Mexico) — are also set to participate in the World Baseball Classic in March.

    Everything you need to know about Phillies spring training: Key dates, storylines to watch, and more

    Dombrowski said the Phillies front office will continue to look for starting pitching depth as the spring begins.

    “I do think that this is going to be a spring where you continue to have more trade conversations than you normally do during spring training,” Dombrowski said. “Just because of the late developing signing of players, which puts a focus on movement for other players when somebody signs.

    “But when our scouts go out there, that’ll be one of our focuses. And we may develop that internally, too; there’s some guys that we do like. But that’ll be a focus of ours, is starting pitching depth.”

  • A Northeast Philly woman helped break down Bad Bunny’s halftime show stage in under seven minutes

    A Northeast Philly woman helped break down Bad Bunny’s halftime show stage in under seven minutes

    Delilah Dee was crying from the moment she woke up on Super Bowl Sunday.

    “I’m an emotional person. I just feel things heavily,” said the marketing professional from Mayfair. “And it was more because I knew the impact that this was going to have.”

    On Sunday night, Dee was one of hundreds of team members who worked behind the scenes of Bad Bunny’s halftime show at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif.

    In Philadelphia, Dee, 35, works in marketing and branding and runs Jefatona, a social community for Latina women, and La Cultura Flow, which organizes Latin American night parties as way of celebrating the community.

    “Everything I’ve been standing on is just really promoting the Latino experience in a positive light,” Dee said. “I build a community everywhere I go.”

    Northeast Philadelphia’s Delilah Dee walks through Bad Bunny’s halftime show stage at Santa Clara’s Levi’s Stadium, on Feb. 8 2026

    So what made her travel to the West Coast to work at the Super Bowl?

    “Benito!” she said. “I feel like I’ve shared a lot of milestones with Bad Bunny.”

    When he first played Wells Fargo Center, in March 2022, Dee was in charge of an art installation at the show.

    “He was the first reggaeton artist at the time to sell out the Wells Fargo, and I was there for that,” she said.

    When he was the first Spanish-language artist to headline Made in America, in September 2022, Dee was the promotions director at iHeartRadio and worked on the show.

    Delilah Dee, right, founder of Jefatona, dances and laughs while DJ Bria G, center, records DJ Flakka before they pose together for a photo on the rooftop of Liberty Point in Philadelphia on Thursday, April 18, 2024. Jefatona, Philly’s reggaeton and Caribbean party created to be a safe space for women, will have their own exclusive space at El Movimiento’s Cinco de Mayo Festivale on the waterfront.

    She had just launched La Cultura Front when Bad Bunny began his residency in Puerto Rico last July. So naturally, their first party was Bad Bunny-themed. When he announced his final concert would stream on Amazon, Dee threw a watch party in Northern Liberties’ Craft Hall.

    Last September, when Bad Bunny was announced as the Super Bowl halftime show performer, Dee’s friends texted her asking if she’d host a watch party again. She said no.

    Northeast Philadelphia’s Delilah Dee walks through Bad Bunny’s halftime show stage at Santa Clara’s Levi’s Stadium, on Feb. 8 2026

    “I said, ‘Guys, I know this sounds crazy, and it may be a little bit delusional, but I’m going to be at the Super Bowl.’”

    “But you know what’s so funny is that my community was so supportive of me. No one thought I was crazy. They were like, ‘You know what, Delilah? If anyone’s gonna make it to the Super Bowl, it’s gonna be you.”

    Thanks to her best friend who lives in Los Angeles and works in the event management industry, Dee applied for a job at the Super Bowl in November. On Dec. 31, she was accepted for a position with the field team.

    “I got the email while I was at the gym. I just started to break down. I couldn’t even finish my workout,” said Dee, who was a part of the team that helped dismantle Bad Bunny’s grass and casita-filled stage in less than seven minutes on Sunday night.

    For the last two weeks, she has been in Santa Clara, and staying up late for rehearsals and working her job during East Coast hours. Bad Bunny joined the rehearsals last week.

    Northeast Philadelphia’s Delilah Dee was a part of the field team that helped break down Bad Bunny’s halftime show stage at Santa Clara’s Levi’s Stadium, on Feb. 8 2026

    “We had a full dress rehearsal on the Thursday before Super Bowl, and he made sure to thank everyone. He stopped the rehearsal and he was like, ‘You know guys, this isn’t about me. This is about our culture, our community. All of you guys play a part in this.’”

    Having worked in the events space for a long time, Dee is not the one to fangirl over celebrities.

    But, she said, fighting back tears as she drove to the San Jose airport for her flight back home, “especially in this political climate we’re in and we feel like we’re constantly under attack for our Latin roots, we need a little bit of healing.”

    Bad Bunny and Lady Gaga perform during halftime of the NFL Super Bowl 60 football game between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026, in Santa Clara, Calif. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

    “We need to feel seen, to feel heard. To know that I am playing a part in that … I don’t take it lightly at all,” said Dee, who is of Puerto Rican and Peruvian descent.

    The Philadelphia born-and-bred in her was, however, disappointed by the absence of the Birds on the field.

    “I wanted it to be an Eagle and Benito Bowl, but I still made the best of it. Go Birds!”

  • A security fence has sparked dueling lawsuits between Gov. Josh Shapiro and his Abington neighbors

    A security fence has sparked dueling lawsuits between Gov. Josh Shapiro and his Abington neighbors

    Gov. Josh Shapiro’s Abington Township neighbors filed a federal lawsuit Monday against Pennsylvania’s first couple, in what is the latest clash over security upgrades to his personal home following an arson attack on the governor’s Harrisburg residence while Shapiro and his family slept inside.

    In the suit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the Shapiros’ neighbors in Abington Township, Jeremy and Simone Mock, accuse the governor and his wife, Lori Shapiro, of illegally occupying part of the Mocks’ yard to build an eight-foot security fence last summer in what they claim in the lawsuit is an “outrageous abuse of power.”

    In short, they asked a federal judge to order the Shapiros off their property.

    The Shapiros quickly filed a countersuit in Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas on Monday against the Mocks, asking a judge to declare that the disputed chunk of the property has been theirs for years.

    The attempt to build the new fence is part of a larger security upgrade for Shapiro and his family, following the April firebombing of the state-owned governor’s residence in Harrisburg, when a man broke in to the mansion and set off Molotov cocktails that quickly engulfed part of the home. Cody Balmer, 38, pleaded guilty in October to attempted murder and was sentenced to 25 to 50 years in prison.

    The arson at Gov. Josh Shapiro’s mansion erupted within minutes. The impact lingers.

    The Mocks, whose property is adjacent to the Shapiros’ Montgomery County property, say the planned location of the fence is on their property unlawfully and violates their rights, according to the lawsuit.

    The couple is represented by Wally Zimolong, a Delaware County attorney who is described as “the ‘go-to’ lawyer in Pennsylvania for conservative causes and candidates” on his firm’s website. He previously represented the political campaigns of President Donald Trump and U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick (R., Pa.), according to his website.

    “The Governor looks forward to a swift resolution and will not be bullied by anyone trying to score cheap political points, especially at the expense of his family’s safety and wellbeing,” Will Simons, a spokesperson for Shapiro, a Democrat running for reelection, said in a statement.

    According to the Mocks’ lawsuit, the Shapiros approached their neighbors in July to discuss the construction of a security fence near where their yards meet. The Shapiros were interested in purchasing a portion of the Mocks’ property for the fence, and also discussed a lease option. But the couples couldn’t agree on the price, according to the suit.

    Things took a turn in late August, when, according to the lawsuit, the Shapiros’ attorney told the Mocks they would obtain the chunk of land through “alternative actions.”

    “What followed was an outrageous abuse of power by the sitting Governor of Pennsylvania and its former Attorney General,” the complaint says. (Shapiro served as Pennsylvania’s attorney general before he was elected governor in 2022.)

    The Shapiros told the Mock family, according to the neighbors’ lawsuit, that they owned the land through adverse possession, a legal mechanism through which a person can gain ownership of a property they’ve actively used for at least 21 years. The Shapiros have lived in their Montgomery County home for 23 years.

    The governor and first lady then began planting arborvitae-type trees and other plants on the Mocks’ property, flying drones over it, threatening to remove healthy trees, and “chasing away” contractors who came to work in the Mocks’ yard, the lawsuit claims.

    The complaint also accuses Shapiro of directing state police to patrol the property. Troopers instructed the Mocks to leave the area of the yard multiple times, calling it a “disputed” area or “security zone,” the suit says.

    The Mocks purchased the house in 2017, according to property records, and their lawsuit says they have paid taxes on the property over the time period. The offer to purchase the land shows the Shapiros knew it wasn’t theirs, according to the complaint.

    “The Shapiros continue to occupy the Mock Property without permission or any legal justification whatsoever,” the lawsuit says.

    The security fencing for the Shapiros’ home was purchased but ultimately never installed, and is being repurposed at the Pennsylvania State Police training academy, Spotlight PA previously reported.

    Zimolong declined to comment on the lawsuit Monday.

    The Shapiro’s countersuit

    The Shapiros’ lawsuit doesn’t dispute many elements of the Mocks’ suit, but casts them in a different light.

    As the Shapiros tell it, a land surveyor discovered in summer 2025 that the Mocks actually owned about 2,900 square feet of land that the Shapiros had believed was a part of their property since they bought the home in 2003. That time period, 22 years, satisfies Pennsylvania’s adverse possession law.

    The Mocks didn’t consider that part of the property to be theirs, according to the complaint, until the Shapiros told them.

    But after negotiations fell apart when the Shapiros attempted to purchase the land, the Mocks sought a permit to erect their own fence and include the disputed area on their property, the suit says.

    Shapiro’s security detail denied a tree-removal contractor access to the area, according to the complaint, because the first couple believe they possessed the land.

    And the state police troopers the Mocks saw were part of Shapiro’s security detail, which after the April attack have conducted review of his Abington home.

    The governor and his wife are asking a judge to find that they are the “legal and equitable owners” of the area in dispute.

    This image provided by Commonwealth Media Services shows damage after a fire on April 13, 2025, at the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion while Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro and his family slept inside.

    Scrutiny over security

    Shapiro has faced scrutiny for using taxpayer dollars with little transparency to upgrade the security of his personal home, which is the primary residence for two of his four children, who are school-aged. State Police spent at least $1 million to upgrade security on his Abington Township property, in addition to more than $32 million in upgrades and repairs to the Harrisburg governor’s mansion.

    The GOP-controlled Senate Intergovernmental Operations Committee in December took the rare step of subpoenaing Shapiro for access to records about how taxpayer dollars were spent to upgrade the Shapiro property and home, including a new security system and landscaping work previously reported by Spotlight PA. Sen. Jarrett Coleman (R., Lehigh), who chairs the committee, argued the subpoenas were necessary because the Shapiro administration did not turn over the requested documents, or turned over incomplete records.

    As the Democratic governor of the nation’s fifth most-populous state, Shapiro continues to face threats to his safety. Police arrested a Carlisle man last week for allegedly sending messages to the governor’s office, that said “I do plan on stalking and hurting your family, before adding “metaphorically speaking of course.” The man, George R. Brown Jr., later told police they were “fake threats” and he was trying to get help with an eye injury he suffered while at Cumberland County Prison, PennLive reported.

  • Vance is in Armenia, a country no sitting U.S. president or vice president has visited before

    Vance is in Armenia, a country no sitting U.S. president or vice president has visited before

    YEREVAN, Armenia — Vice President JD Vance landed in Armenia on Monday — a country that no sitting U.S. vice president or president has visited before — as the Trump administration offered economic opportunities while it works to advance a U.S.-brokered deal aimed at ending a decades-long conflict with Azerbaijan.

    Vance and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signed an agreement to push forward negotiations on a civil nuclear energy deal, and Vance said the U.S. was ready to export advanced computer chips and surveillance drones to Armenia, and invest in the country’s infrastructure.

    The visit comes after Pashinyan joined a deal at the White House in August with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev where the leaders signed agreements reaffirming their commitment to signing a peace treaty. The text of the treaty was initialed by foreign ministers, which indicates preliminary approval. But the leaders have yet to sign the treaty and parliaments have yet to ratify it.

    “Peace is not made by cautious people,” said Vance, who planned to travel to Azerbaijan on Tuesday. “Peace is not made by people who are too focused on the past. Peace is made by people who are focused on the future.”

    The August deal between the two former Soviet republics calls for the creation of a major transit corridor dubbed the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity. It is expected to connect Azerbaijan and its autonomous Nakhchivan exclave, which are separated by a 20-mile-wide patch of Armenian territory.

    The land bridge had been a sticking point in resolving a conflict that lasted for nearly four decades over control of the Karabakh region, known internationally as Nagorno-Karabakh. The region had been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since 1994. A six-week war in 2020 resulted in Azerbaijan regaining control of parts of the region and the surrounding areas. In September 2023, Azerbaijan launched a blitz that forced the separatist authorities to capitulate. After Azerbaijan regained full control of Karabakh, most of its 120,000 Armenian residents fled to Armenia.

    Vance said that the Armenian prime minister had his endorsement in upcoming elections and he emphasized that the country was among the oldest to have identified as Christian.

    Pashinyan expressed his gratitude toward President Donald Trump and Vance, noting that he had accepted an invitation to participate in the first meeting of Trump’s Board of Peace on Feb. 19 in Washington. The group, founded by Trump, is overseeing the ceasefire plan in Gaza.

    He said Vance’s visit was “of truly historic and symbolic importance” and it “reflects the depth of the strong and strategic partnership forged between the Republic of Armenia and the United States of America.”

    The vice president and his wife, Usha, arrived in Yerevan after spending four days in Milan at the Winter Olympics with their family. They were greeted with a red carpet, an honor guard, and a delegation of officials. Armenian and American flags hung from poles from as the delegation drove to the vice president’s meeting, with some demonstrators on the side of the road, including one with a sign that said, “Does Trump support Devils?”

  • For Gopuff, Super Monday is the national holiday

    For Gopuff, Super Monday is the national holiday

    Sunday’s Super Bowl LX, featuring some 66 ads costing corporate brands an average $8 million for half a minute, shone a light on America’s snacking trends, tracked closely by Gopuff, the Philadelphia-based national delivery service.

    The game between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots, also featuring Bad Bunny’s Spanish-language halftime spectacular, was watched by nearly 40% of Americans. Their delivery orders gave marketers a broad, almost instant view of what Americans were consuming and how their ads were working — or not, said Michael Peroutka, GoPuff’s head of ads, in his Super Bowl postmortem report Monday.

    The product with the most spectacular Super Bowl increase didn’t advertise.

    Philadelphia-based Gopuff reported sharp increases in advertised snacks, but also in basic party ingredients such as limes and red party cups, during Super Bowl LX.

    Orders for limes during the game jumped over 600% over previous Sundays in 2026. Limes are, after all, a key ingredient in popular plates like guacamole and pico de gallo, served with Mexican beers and margaritas, and “easily forgotten at the store,” making them a natural for last-minute delivery, said Gopuff spokeswoman Brigid Gorham.

    Though lime consumption has been growing rapidly, the increase was more than four times last year’s Game Day spike, and no one could say exactly why.

    Lime sales exploded even more than Gopuff’s Basically-brand red party cups, a three-year-old in-house brand, which was up 381% on Super Bowl Sunday above recent Sunday sales.

    Overall, alcohol sales nearly doubled from recent Sundays. Soda sales were up more than one-third and salty snacks by about one-quarter. Compared to last year, when the Eagles were in the Super Bowl, the number of Philadelphia orders were up 7%.

    Other Super Bowl Sunday growth-leaders included PepsiCo’s Tostitos Hint of Lime chips, which were up 398%.

    But the top gains were two candies made by Italy-based candy maker Ferrero. Gopuff orders for Kinder Bueno, chocolates marketed heavily in Latin America and U.S. Hispanic neighborhoods, were up 444% vs. recent Sundays, and Ferrero’s Nerd Gummy Clusters, were up 418%.

    Kinder Bueno and Nerd Gummy Clusters saw sales roughly double in the hour after their Super Bowl ads ran. Liquid Death and Dunkin also saw orders rise at least 50% after ads.

    Day off?

    Gopuff also noticed well before the game that a record 13 million American workers planned to schedule Monday off; 10 million planned to call out sick, go in late, or not show up, and millions more were thinking about it, according to a Harris Poll survey funded by work software maker UKG.

    Founders and CEO of Gopuff Yakir Gola (left) and Rafael Ilishayev speak to a room full of staff and team members of Gopuff at a recently opened center in Philadelphia in 2022.

    Cofounder Yair Gola and his colleagues saw those numbers and thought, “This ought to be a holiday.” Last fall, it set up a 501(c)4 lobbying group, the Super Monday Off Coalition, pledging at least $250,000 to get the effort rolling.

    They hired retired Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and comedian Druski to promote the cause.

    Druski (left) and former NFL quarterback Tom Brady in an ad for Philadelphia-based Gopuff promoting its campaign to designate “Super Monday” as a national holiday, since millions already take the day off.

    The company’s contribution to the lobbying would be funded by 1% of Gopuff’s profits from sales of certain boxes of beer, sugary drinks, hot dogs, and other products from Thanksgiving to game day.

    Heavy users who placed at least four $30 orders in that period would also get $20 “Gocash” discounts and receive a chance at a Birkin handbag, a Rolex watch, and other prizes.

    By Monday, Gopuff hadn’t announced its planned donation, but the campaign was declared “a winner” by Charles R. Taylor, a Villanova University marketing professor who tracks Super Bowl ads. He spotlights not just successful marketing but also ineffective efforts like Nationwide’s painful 2015 “Boy” campaign and GM’s 2021 “No Way Norway” misfire.

    Partnering with high-profile Brady and Druski gives “instant visibility and credibility” with fans and wider audiences, Taylor said. Even if the campaign costs more than Gopuff actually donates to the cause, a national holiday is “a clever hook” watchers will remember, Taylor said.

    Going public?

    Gopuff raised over $5 billion from Saudi, Japanese, and U.S. private investors during the digital-delivery investment boom that lasted into the COVID years. These big investors hoped Gopuff (officially Gobrands) founders and early investors would win them big profits by selling shares in a high-priced stock market initial public offering or selling to DoorDash, Uber, or other delivery giants.

    But app use and delivery growth slowed in the COVID recovery. Gopuff’s perceived valuation tumbled as its publicly traded rivals’ share prices fell. The company, which had expanded to hundreds of city neighborhoods and college towns, shut marginal centers and laid off staff at its Spring Garden Street headquarters to reduce losses and save investors’ capital for better times.

    Now Gopuff is showcasing efforts to win new investor attention.

    In the past year the company announced an on-screen snacks-order app targeting Disney+, ESPN, and Hulu views; a cash-with-your-order partnership with online-broker Robinhood; hot warehouse-brewed Starbucks coffees from stores in Philadelphia and some other areas; and a partnership with Amazon to speed grocery delivery in Britain, where Gopuff remained after ending its European programs.

    Gopuff has added a warehouse camera feed and local product-sales stats for fans who want to know what neighbors are buying, app-based order updates, and user product recommendations. It added over-the-counter pharmacy items and new lines of vegan organic GOAT Gummies (which Brady is also promoting).

    The company also began accepting SNAP EBT electronic food-stamp accounts and donated $5 million for SNAP when the federal shutdown threatened low-income families dependent on the program.

    New hires include economist Matt McBrady — a veteran private-equity investor, former adviser to President Bill Clinton, and sometimes Wharton instructor — as Gopuff’s new chief financial officer, noting his experience taking companies through public stock offerings.

    Last fall Gopuff raised $250 million, its first investment since a 2021 convertible-bond financing that had valued the company at a stock-market-bubble-inflated $40 billion.

    This time, the largest investors included previous Gopuff backers Eldridge Industries and Valor Equity Partners, along with Robinhood, Israeli billionaire Yakir Gabay, the cofounders, and other earlier investors. Eldridge chairman Todd L. Boehly in a statement called Gopuff “resilient.”

    Valor partner Jon Shulkin cited the company’s “focus, innovation, and substantial gains in profitability.”

    This latest capital-raise implied a valuation of $8.5 billion — a fraction of what Gopuff was worth on paper during the digital-delivery bubble, but enough for the venture capitalists to hope they may yet get their money back with at least a modest profit.

  • Joe Frazier statue could move to base of Art Museum steps, taking Rocky’s place

    Joe Frazier statue could move to base of Art Museum steps, taking Rocky’s place

    History may not repeat itself, but at least in Philadelphia, it sure does rhyme.

    Twenty years ago, our famed Rocky statue made the move from its former perch at the stadium complex in South Philly to the base of the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, where it has stood since.

    Now, the city’s statue of former world heavyweight champion “Smokin’” Joe Frazier could soon do the same.

    Creative Philadelphia, the city’s office for the creative sector, is slated to present a proposal at a Wednesday Art Commission meeting that would have the Frazier statue take over the Rocky statue’s current home at the base of the Art Museum’s steps. Last month, the commission approved the Rocky statue’s coming move back to the top of the steps, where it supposedly will permanently stay starting in the fall and following its first-time display inside the museum.

    “Relocating the Joe Frazier statue to this prominent civic and cultural space would … create a respectful dialogue between two complementary representations of Philadelphia’s spirit,” chief cultural officer Valerie V. Gay and public art director Marguerite Anglin wrote in a letter to the Art Commission. “Rocky Balboa as a symbol of hard work and aspiration, and Joe Frazier as the embodiment of those values lived out in real life.”

    Created by sculptor Stephen Layne in 2014, the Frazier statue has stood in the sports complex outside what is now Stateside Live! for about a decade, and has been a part of the city’s public art collection since its inception. In an effort led by Joe Hand, the owner of Feasterville’s Joe Hand Boxing Gym and a longtime friend of Frazier’s, the statue’s commission was funded by the boxer’s family and supporters before its donation to the city.

    The statue, standing at about 12 feet tall, depicts Frazier just moments after besting Muhammad Ali in the so-called “Fight of the Century” — the March 1971 bout in which Ali suffered his first professional loss after 15 grueling rounds.

    Frazier, who died in 2011, was a well-accomplished boxer before that matchup, having won an Olympic gold medal in 1964 in Tokyo. He held the heavyweight championship title from 1970 to 1973, when he lost the belt to fellow legend George Foreman following a bout in Kingston, Jamaica, in a matchup referred to as “The Sunshine Showdown.” He retired in 1976, the year following a vicious loss to Ali in the famed “Thrilla in Manila” fight. After returning for a 1981 match against “Jumbo” Floyd Cummings that resulted in a draw, Frazier left the sport for good.

    Relocating the Frazier statue to the Art Museum is expected to cost roughly $150,000 in city funds, and has support from leaders including Mayor Cherelle L. Parker, City Councilmember Katherine Gilmore Richardson, State Sen. Sharif Street, and State Sen. Anthony Hardy Williams, according to Creative Philadelphia’s Art Commission proposal.

    “Placing the Joe Frazier statue at the Art Museum affirms Philadelphia’s commitment to honoring real-life achievement alongside cultural mythology,” Parker wrote in a letter supporting the move. “Together, these figures reflect the city’s spirit, where determination, resilience, and opportunity meet.”

    Friends of Frazier also expressed support in letters included as part of Creative Philadelphia’s proposal — in part, at least, because the Art Museum has higher foot traffic than where the statue currently stands.

    The move “will give the Frazier statue many more eyes on it than at the Xfinity area,” wrote Nicholas L. Depace, the boxer’s friend and former physician.

    Frazier served as a major inspiration for the Rocky Balboa character, with the man and the character sharing several key elements, according to Creative Philadelphia. Like Rocky, Frazier trained for boxing matches by hitting frozen raw meat, ran the Art Museum steps, and faced opponents that closely mirrored those actor Sylvester Stallone’s character faced in the franchise.

    “Stallone made 5 Rocky movies mostly based on the real life humble champion Smokin’ Joe Frazier from Philadelphia,” wrote Smokin’ Frazier Championship Foundation Inc. CEO Pete Lyde in a letter of support for the move. “Joe Frazier’s statue at the Philadelphia Art Museum Steps symbolizes and celebrates the real life human heart and potential within us all worldwide.”

    The Rocky statue, meanwhile, is cleared for installation atop the Art Museum steps following its exhibition in “Rising Up: Rocky and the Making of Monuments,” an Art Museum program slated to run from April to August. After that, the statue now displayed at the top of steps — which Stallone lent to the city for the inaugural RockyFest in December 2024 — will head back to the actor’s collection, and the original, screen-used statue will take its place.

    It was not immediately clear when the Frazier statue could head to the Art Museum. Creative Philadelphia did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    “Placing the Smokin’ Joe Frazier statue at the Art Museum steps would not only correct a historical imbalance but also serve as an inspirational symbol for residents and visitors alike,” wrote Councilmember at-large Jim Harrity in a letter of support. “It would elevate a true Philadelphia champion whose impact reached far beyond the boxing ring and whose contributions to sports, labor history, and community service continue to resonate today.”

  • Trump leaves Republicans guessing on midterms plans as outlook darkens

    Trump leaves Republicans guessing on midterms plans as outlook darkens

    Republicans looking to the White House to lead in the face of the party’s dimming prospects for November’s midterms are facing a crucial hang-up: the president.

    The party’s flagship campaign committee and super PACs have no indication of how President Donald Trump will deploy his $300 million-plus war chest because he has not approved a spending plan. Republican donors are funding expensive Senate primaries in Texas and Georgia because Trump has not cleared the field with his endorsement, or, in the case of Louisiana, endorsed a challenger to the incumbent Republican.

    People who have spoken with Trump about these obstacles said he at times can sound detached and noncommittal about his plans for spending and endorsements. One person close to the White House said some days the president seems not to care. Having already been impeached twice and indicted four times, Trump is less afraid of being impeached again than he is determined not to let a Democratic-controlled House halt his policy agenda, a White House official said. The official and others spoke to the Washington Post on the condition of anonymity to detail private conversations.

    But a White House official said Trump is excited to get more engaged in midterm strategy and looking forward to increasing his travel this month, including a campaign-style event outside of Washington this week. An Oval Office meeting to go over a handful of House endorsements Wednesday night turned into a five-hour gabfest on the midterms, according to two people present. Trump said he wants to defy the tendency of the president’s party losing seats in Congress in the midterms, one of the people said.

    “We’ll spend whatever it takes,” the person recalled Trump saying. “Go get it done.”

    The president’s political team, led by White House adviser James Blair, campaign strategist Chris LaCivita, and pollster Tony Fabrizio, met in Palm Beach, Fla., on Friday to review research from every competitive race in both chambers and develop estimates for what Republicans will have to spend to win. The team also briefed a retreat of the Senate Republicans’ campaign arm on Saturday.

    For much of last year, the White House was an island of optimism. Trump’s team would argue that Republicans were better positioned than at the same point in his first term, based on data such as the president’s approval rating, the generic ballot, and voter registration.

    Democrats, however, don’t need a 2018-size blue wave to win the House, where Republicans hold the narrowest possible majority and are defending 14 seats rated as toss-ups by the Cook Political Report. Democrats are defending four toss-up seats, and Cook shifted 18 seats in their favor in January.

    Republicans are anxiously awaiting a clear picture of the Trump team’s plans as the president’s sagging approval ratings and Democratic overperformances in special elections have darkened the GOP’s outlook for the midterms. Most Republicans are not ready to criticize Trump in public. But privately, there is rising frustration with an apparent lack of urgency from Trump and his staff, according to people who spoke to the Post.

    “Every time I talk to him on the phone, he says, ‘How’s the race going?’ and then he cites polls back to me so I know he’s following it closely,” Sen. John Cornyn (R., Texas) said, noting that Fabrizio is also his pollster and that LaCivita is a consultant to the super PAC supporting his reelection.

    Still, Trump’s endorsement has eluded Cornyn. “There’s only one person in the world who’s going to make that decision, and we can’t wait,” the senator said.

    Cornyn’s primary in Texas next month is dominating Republican anxieties on the Senate side since national strategists see his toughest challenger, state Attorney General Ken Paxton, as weaker in the general election, according to a memo from the National Republican Campaign Committee obtained by the Post. Holding the Senate seat for the GOP with Paxton as the nominee would cost an additional $100 million in a state where effective advertising costs $8 million a week, according to people involved in the race.

    “Texas cannot be taken for granted,” the memo said, presenting internal polling that puts Cornyn ahead of the Democratic candidates and Paxton behind them. Either Republican would face a competitive general election, the survey showed, with Texas state Rep. James Talarico running stronger than U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett on the Democratic side.

    An online survey released Monday that was conducted between Jan. 20 and 31 by the Hobby School of Public Affairs at the University of Houston found Paxton leading Cornyn 38% to 31%, with Rep. Wesley Hunt at 17%. On the Democratic side, Crockett led Talarico 47% to 39%.

    In a presentation to the Republican Senate caucus on Tuesday, National Republican Senatorial Committee Chair Tim Scott of South Carolina said a recent Fox News poll giving Democrats a six-point advantage in House races would put all nine Senate battlegrounds up for grabs, according to two people present. He also noted that Democratic candidates are raising more money for competitive races such as those in Georgia, North Carolina, and Ohio.

    Senate Republicans were heartened Feb. 1 when Trump endorsed John E. Sununu in the Republican primary for Senate in New Hampshire, after extensive lobbying by Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R., S.D.). Sununu has criticized Trump in the past but was leading in polls, and national Republicans saw him as the strongest candidate to flip the seat being vacated by a retiring Democrat, Jeanne Shaheen.

    But lobbying for Trump to endorse Cornyn has stalled as the incumbent has not established a clear polling lead — even after allies have poured $50 million into ads supporting Cornyn. Trump treasures his endorsement as definitive in primaries — and it often is, in part because he resists backing underdogs.

    Early voting opens Feb. 17 for the March 3 primary. If no one wins a majority, the top two candidates will compete in a runoff on May 26.

    Trump renewed hopes that he would wade into the race by telling reporters Feb. 1, “I’m giving it a very serious look.” The day before, a Democrat won a special election in a state Senate district that Trump won by 17 points in 2024.

    “I’ve had many conversations about why I think that makes the most sense to get behind John Cornyn,” Thune told reporters last week. “I don’t have any inside knowledge of when or what that might look like or when it might happen.”

    Trump might clear the field with an endorsement in Georgia to challenge Democrat Jon Ossoff, the person close to the White House said. The Republican primary includes Reps. Buddy Carter and Mike Collins, as well as former football coach Derek Dooley, who is backed by Gov, Brian Kemp. That race, though, is not considered as much a priority for Senate leaders as Texas is.

    Senate Republicans, including Thune, have been frustrated by Trump’s treatment of Senate incumbents, according to two people familiar with the tensions. Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina declined to run for reelection in the battleground state after feuding with Trump over Medicaid cuts in the president’s 2025 tax cuts and spending package. Last month, Trump recruited and endorsed a challenger to Sen. Bill Cassidy in Louisiana — which the White House official said was the result of Cassidy’s vote five years ago to convict Trump in the Senate impeachment trial of inciting the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol.

    “I do think it’s a real problem when Senate Leadership Fund is on record supporting Cornyn and Cassidy, and President Trump is either silent or in opposition,” Tillis said, referring to the main super PAC supporting Senate Republicans. “We’re literally going to have Republican-on-Republican money being spent, and that makes no sense leading up to a general [election] where we’re going to have headwinds.”

    On the House side, the White House’s push to protect the House majority using redrawn congressional maps in Texas, North Carolina, and Missouri appears poised to net zero seats because of Democratic counteractions in California, Maryland, and Virginia. The latter two still face legislative or judicial hurdles.

    The White House still expects to pick up Republican seats from a new map in Florida, after Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) last month announced a state legislative special session in April. DeSantis said he wanted to wait until then in the hopes of a new Supreme Court ruling that could reshape as many as 19 House districts across the South by further weakening the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

    Trump has noted that the stakes of the midterms include, for him personally, the likelihood of being investigated or even impeached by a Democratic-controlled House. His first administration uniformly disregarded oversight requests and litigated subpoenas until after his term. Now some advisers expect that the administration can stonewall congressional oversight and that Democratic focus on investigating Trump could backfire on them leading up to the 2028 presidential election.

    Republicans still hold an overall advantage in fundraising. The House GOP campaign arm, which historically struggles to attract donors in uphill midterms, outraised its Democratic counterpart in 2025. The Democratic National Committee has more debt than cash, while the Republican National Committee has $95 million in the bank.

    Trump’s main super PAC, MAGA Inc., finished 2025 with a $304 million stockpile. But the PAC, led by LaCivita and Fabrizio, has been mum with allies about its spending plans. The person close to the White House said the president is likely to approve spending in multiple waves, and may reserve funds to maintain his political kingmaker role in future elections and for legal fees.

    “Thanks to President Trump’s leadership, MAGA Inc. will have the resources to help candidates who support President Trump’s America First agenda of securing our border, keeping our streets safe, supercharging our economy, and making life more affordable for all Americans,” PAC spokesperson Alex Pfeiffer said.

    While lawmakers await details on what assistance they can expect from the super PAC, Trump’s team noted it was the largest outside spender in the Dec. 2 special election to retain a House seat in Tennessee.

    “President Trump and his team were all in for me. I wouldn’t have won without them,” said Rep. Matt Van Epps, who won by 8.8 points in a district Trump carried by 22 points in 2024. “I know they’ll do the same for the entire America First team in this year’s midterm.”

    The White House said it is actively scheduling multiple trips for the president in battleground states and districts in the coming weeks and months that will include local lawmakers. The White House has also encouraged cabinet secretaries to minimize foreign trips and focus solely on domestic travel this year, encouraging officials to seek guidance on prioritizing battleground districts. White House officials are also helping to book cabinet members on local media in target areas.

    Since Thanksgiving, Trump has visited the battleground districts of Reps. Rob Bresnahan (R., Pa.) and Don Davis (R., N.C.), as well as Detroit (home to a Senate and governor’s race) and Iowa (home to a Senate race and two target House races). Vice President JD Vance visited battleground House districts held by Ryan Mackenzie (R., Pa.) and Marcy Kaptur (D., Ohio). Medicare administrator Mehmet Oz visited the districts of Rep. Michael Lawler (R., N.Y.) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R., Pa.).

    The White House provided statements from Lawler, North Carolina U.S. Senate candidate Michael Whatley, Sen. Jon Husted of Ohio, Sen. Dan Sullivan of Alaska, and RNC adviser Danielle Alvarez praising Trump and his staff for their support.

    “It is only February, and there is time for more, but I’m glad to have very strong support from the President and his administration,” Husted said.