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  • NJ Transit riders from Philadelphia should expect service disruptions for the next four weeks

    NJ Transit riders from Philadelphia should expect service disruptions for the next four weeks

    Philadelphia-area commuters must prepare for a monthlong disruption on NJ Transit while an upgrade to a century-old bridge is completed.

    All NJ Transit lines, except the Atlantic City Rail Line, are operating on modified schedules with fewer trains running, starting Tuesday through March 15, to allow for crews to transfer, or “cut over,” rail service from the 116-year-old Portal Bridge onto the new Portal North Bridge over the Hackensack River.

    Tuesday morning’s “Portal Cutover” schedule led to major disruptions on NJ Transit, the New York Times reported, with crowded trains and buses, many running behind schedule.

    Commuting on NJ Transit

    NJ Transit advises all commuters to work from home if possible and to check the weekday and weekend Portal Cutover schedules at njtransit.com/portalcutover. The agency warns against relying solely on third-party apps, such as Google Maps, because it has received reports of incorrect schedules being shown.

    These modified schedules include some train consolidations or cancellations, and others with changed departure times or stopping patterns.

    Commuters should travel before 7 a.m. or after 9 a.m. on weekday mornings to avoid major disruptions, or before 4 p.m. or after 7 p.m. on weekday evenings, according to NJ Transit.

    Rail service is expected to return to normal on Sunday, March 15, pending a safety inspection.

    “We understand that this work will disrupt the way our customers travel during the cutover period, which is why every element of our service plan was designed to keep people moving as safely and efficiently as possible,” said NJ Transit president and CEO Kris Kolluri. “While the disruption is temporary, the benefits, including a far more reliable and resilient commute along the Northeast Corridor, will last for generations.”

    Why is NJ Transit upgrading the Portal Bridge?

    The 116-year-old steel Portal Bridge has been a source of unreliability for decades as the aging infrastructure requires constant maintenance, an NJ Transit spokesperson said.

    The new Portal North Bridge is also higher and will not have to open for marine traffic, providing more reliable service.

    Amtrak commuters are also encouraged to check times and possible service disruptions, since the bridge is also used by Amtrak.

    “The cutover of the Portal North Bridge represents more than just work to connect railroad infrastructure; it signifies a whole new level of reliability on the Northeast Corridor and New Jersey that has never previously existed,” said Amtrak president Roger Harris.

  • Northern Liberties now has TikTok-famous Dominican smashburgers topped with queso frito

    Northern Liberties now has TikTok-famous Dominican smashburgers topped with queso frito

    Philly’s burgeoning smashburger scene just got a little more crowded, thanks to a New York City-based Dominican restaurant with a huge social media following.

    El Sazón R.D. — home of lower Manhattan’s viral queso frito-topped smashburger — has opened a location in Northern Liberties at 1030 N. Second St. It replaced smoothie shop Essex Squeeze, another NYC import.

    Owned by cousins Edwin Collado and Ari Valerio and their friends Glenn Almanzar and Michael Tsang, El Sazón R.D. has created a takeout empire out of adding queso de freír — salty and melty white Dominican frying cheese — to a set of distinctly American comfort foods: smashburgers, crinkle-cut fries, and deli-style egg-and-cheese sandwiches.

    The first El Sazón R.D (which roughly translates to “the Dominican flavor”) opened in 2024 in New York’s Chinatown, where it built a following among the city’s content creators. Almost immediately, Almanzar said, videos of influencers taking exaggerated bites of towering double cheeseburgers racked up millions of views.

    @jnov__ El Sazón📍 83 Baxter St, New York, NY #smashburger #nyceats #dominican #nycfood #foodreview #dominicanfood #chinatown #manhattan #foodtok #cheapeats #foodreview ♬ original sound – Johnny Novo

    Within two years, El Sazón opened three more locations: one in Tribeca, a second location in Tribeca and another in the East Village, the latter of which is a full-service bodega that also serves cheesesteaks alongside platters of chicharrón and pernil with all the fixings. The shop’s Philly location, its first outside New York, soft-opened two days before February’s record-setting snowstorm and deep freeze. Neither, Almanzar said, slowed business.

    “We’ve been selling out of stuff. That’s how busy we’ve been,” he said.

    Valerio, who grew up in the Dominican Republic’s countryside, is the chef of group, whose menu is inspired by Valerio’s relationship with his 78-year-old uncle Bijo. When he was 13, Valerio said, his uncle allowed him to set up a grill in front of his corner store and sell sandwiches.

    “I was his first customer. I was the one who told him could make money doing this,” said Almanzar, who is from the Lower East Side and would visit the D.R. on family vacations.

    El Sazón R.D co-owners Ari Valerio (left) and Glenn Almanzar (right) pose inside the restaurant’s first Philly location. The other three are in New York City.

    To open El Sazón R.D, Valerio and Alamazar partnered with Collado and Tsang, who own SET, the thumping Asian-fusion bar known for bottomless margarita towers that started in NYC and expanded to Philly in 2020. As for uncle Bijo, everything on the menu had to get his stamp of approval.

    “He’s very old-fashioned,” said Valerio. “We’d do these early-morning tasting sessions and he’d get on me about making sure I was measuring all my ingredients exactly right.”

    Deep-fried cheese, please

    El Sazón’s Philly menu only has four distinct food items on it, but it pulses with tastes of the Dominican Republic.

    The restaurant’s smashburger starts with a Martin’s potato bun slathered with “chimi” sauce, a tangy mayo-ketchup mixture ubiquitous across Latin America. The condiment is a nod to the Chimi, a popular Dominican street food sandwich that involves spreading mayo-ketchup onto rolls of crisp pan de agua piled high with beef and a cabbage slaw.

    El Sazón R.D’s Dominican smashburger comes with American cheese, a slice of queso frito, pickles, and “chimi” sauce, also known as mayo-ketchup.

    “People always ask us why our mayo-ketchup tastes different than when they make at home,” bragged Almanzar. “There’s nothing special about it, but at the same time, you can’t recreate it by squirting mayo and ketchup packets together. It’s about balance.”

    Valerio smashes a Pat La Frieda beef patty onto a flat-top grill with a meat press, spreading out the edges so they become lacy with a slight crunch. The key to perfecting the queso frito, he said, is to deep-fry the slices for exactly 45 seconds at 350°F. A moment longer and the cheese turns rubbery, not unlike a Wawa mozzarella stick that’s sat on the hot tray for too long.

    The result is a $10 smashburger that is hefty and satisfying. The fried cheese adds dimension, its saltiness mixing with the acidity of the chimi sauce and pickle slices to dress up an otherwise plain burger patty. To Almanzar, that’s the point.

    El Sazón R.D. co-owner Ari Valerio squirts mayo-ketchup onto a burger bun. Valerio, who grew up in the Dominican Republic, first started cooking at his uncle’s bodega.

    “With a smashburger, it’s not about the burger itself but what you put on it — the fried cheese, the sauce,” he said.

    Popularized by chains like Shake Shack, the smashburger has overtaken the plump pub burger in the past decade on menus around the country. The slim and crispy patties are cheaper and quicker to make, and, since precise temperature isn’t a factor, easier to cook. This year, Philly is also poised to get a Harlem Shake and a 7th Street Burger, two other New York City-based smashburger chains. They’ll join a scene already saturated with local iterations with cheffy flourishes; think burgers topped with chili jam, Yemenite-spiced mayo, and pickled green tomatoes.

    El Sazon R.D’s loaded fries come topped with cubes of queso frito and fried salami.

    El Sazón also sells loaded crinkle-cut fries layered with two hefty squirts of mayo-ketchup, cubes of queso de frier, and fried salami chunks that pop in your mouth like blistered cocktail sausages. It’s yet another play on Latin American street food, said Valerio: Vendors selling salchipapas — French fries topped with hot dogs — are a staple across Peru and the Caribbean, he said.

    Also on the menu: Beef, chicken, vegetable, and salami and cheese empanadas made fresh daily by another one of Valerio’s cousins. The turnovers can be served as is or taco-style, wherein the empanada is sliced open and lined with pico de gallo, pickled onions, and drizzles of chipotle aioli.

    Eventually, Almanzar hopes to extend El Sazón’s Philly hours until midnight or later on weekends to capitalize on bar crowds seeking something filling, cheap, and a little comforting.

    “That’s our kind of food,” he said.

    The empanada taco at El Sazón R.D.

    El Sazón R.D., 1030 N. 2nd St. Ste. 201, elsazon-rd.com. Initial hours: noon to 9 p.m. daily.

  • One of Philly’s longest snow-cover streaks is over, at least officially

    One of Philly’s longest snow-cover streaks is over, at least officially

    Officially* one of Philadelphia’s region’s most impressive and enduring snow-cover streaks in the period of record ended peacefully at 7 a.m. Tuesday.

    After 23 consecutive days of at least an inch on the ground at Philadelphia International Airport, the National Weather Service observer reported a mere “trace” at 7 a.m. Tuesday, meaning that whatever was left was hardly worth a ruler’s time.

    “I can’t imagine too many people are sad about this,” said Mike Silva, meteorologist at the weather service office in Mount Holly.

    The news might have evoked vast choruses of “good riddance” were it not for the fact that mass quantities of the snow and ice remain throughout the region, enough to contribute to the formation of dense fog late Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, the weather service warned.

    And regarding that asterisk, observations at PHL have been known to differ from actual conditions elsewhere, if not common sense.

    Plus, computer models are seeing yet another weekend winter-storm threat.

    In the meantime, heaps of aging, graying plowed snow are ubiquitous around the great Philadelphia city-state. As for melting “those big mountains, that’s going to take forever,” Silva said.

    For 18 days after 9.3 inches of snow and sleet was measured at the airport, the official snowpack had been 3 inches or more, the longest such streak in 65 years.

    The 23-day run of an inch or more, which began on Jan. 25 when the snow started, was the longest since 2003.

    The endurance had to do with the melt-resistant icy sleet that fell atop several inches of snow and the Arctic freeze that followed. Temperatures remained significantly below normal for 17 consecutive days.

    The great melt is picking up steam in the Philly region

    However, the melting process is at long last accelerating. Bare ground is appearing around tree roots, and evidence of vegetative life has been poking through the snow cover.

    Temperatures above freezing and the February sun have been making hay, but so has the return of invisible atmospheric moisture, even as precipitation remains far below normal.

    When warm, moist air comes in contact with snow, it condenses and yields latent heat that accelerates melting. That is evident in the swelling ranks of rivulets on driveways and in the streets.

    The combination of the moisture, the cold snow and ice pack, and generally calm winds will result in fog that could reduce visibilities to a quarter mile at times. The weather service issued a dense fog advisory, in effect from 10 p.m. Tuesday until 10 a.m. Wednesday.

    Melting conditions should be excellent the rest of the workweek, with highs in the 40s and light rain possible Wednesday night, and likely on Friday.

    Temperatures are due to remain above freezing into the weekend, but “then we’ll have to see what happens Sunday,” Silva said.

    Another storm is due to develop in the Southeast, and expect another week of computer-model vacillation on whether it will produce rain, snow, or partly cloudy skies.

    “We have some models that say snowstorm, and others that say nothing,” Silva said.

    It’s been a while since computer model forecasts have been this conflicted about a weekend storm — about a week.

  • Where to break your Ramadan fast around Philadelphia

    Where to break your Ramadan fast around Philadelphia

    Ramadan marks a time of spiritual renewal for Muslims, a time to practice patience, gratitude, charity, and abstinence. This year, the observance began Feb. 17 and ends March 19, following the lunar calendar. Muslims observing Ramadan fast from sunrise to sunset, refraining from food and drink (even water). They often gather for suhoor, the predawn meal, and iftar, the meal at dusk that breaks the fast.

    Suhoor, can range from hearty traditional stews to a quick bowl of cereal. At sunset, iftar is traditionally observed with dates, fresh juices, fried snacks, and other festive favorites. While meals can be enjoyed at home, many Muslims plan gatherings to start and end the fast together.

    If you’re looking to dine out this Ramadan, here’s a list of Philadelphia-area restaurants open during early suhoor hours and offering iftar specials. While most of these establishments serve halal meat, check our guide to halal hot chicken and other eats for more options.

    This list will be updated. Offering suhoor or iftar? Email us.

    Lagman soup with chewy, housemade noodles is one of the standout Uzbek specialties at Plov House in Northeast Philadelphia.

    24-hour restaurants with suhoor favorites

    Plov House

    This Northeast restaurant is open 24 hours a day in a city where all-night restaurants have become endangered, according to Inquirer restaurant critic Craig LaBan. Expect halal Uzbeki homestyle dishes, including beef or lamb puff pastries, pilaf piled high with stewed meats and carrots, fried meaty turnovers, and crepes filled with cottage cheese and strawberry jam for your early morning feasting.

    9969 Bustleton Ave., 267-571-1111, instagram.com/plov_house_philadelphia, open 24 hours, seven days a week

    Liberty Bell Diner

    While traditional dishes are enjoyed during suhoor, classic American breakfast foods are a favorite, too. At Liberty Bell Diner, one of Philly’s few remaining 24-hour diners, you’ll find pancakes, omelets, and waffles around the clock.

    8445 Frankford Ave., 215-331-4344, thelibertybelldiner.com, open 24 hours, seven days a week

    Four Seasons Diner

    This cozy 24-hour diner on Cottman Avenue offers cinnamon French toast, eggs any way, golden brown pancakes, and omelets. You could even end the predawn meal with a slice of strawberry cheesecake or chocolate fudge cake.

    2811 Cottman Ave., 215-331-0797, fsdiner.com, open 24 hours, seven days a week

    Makkah Market

    In West Philly, this 24-hour market and kitchen offers a 25-seat dining area for sit-down suhoors and iftars. Since 1996, Makkah Market has been a staple in the neighborhood with Egyptian and Moroccan chefs cooking up meals to fill takeout boxes.

    4249 Walnut St., 215-382-1821, makkahmarketpa.com, open 24 hours, seven days a week

    At left is the haneeth and mandi duo, (lamb, chicken, and rice) beside the mixed grill, (lamb, chicken, beef, and fries) at Malooga, Chestnut Street in Old City, Philadelphia. A second location is in Narberth.

    Where to find iftar menus in the Philly area

    Yes Yasmine Kitchen

    Every Thursdays during Ramadan, this pop-up offers take-home meals featuring djedj zitoune chicken (or cauliflower), black seed and black salt focaccia, Moroccan carrots, and an assortment of stuffed and chocolate-dunked dates. Weekly rotating meals are halal, with vegan options available for preorder on Tuesdays for pick-up on Thursdays from 4 to 6 p.m. Orders ($65 per person) can be placed online.

    instagram.com/yesyasminekitchen

    Malooga

    Old City’s Yemeni restaurant offers a $9.99 iftar special, which includes soup, two samosas, and three dates with any main dish. The special can be added to any dine-in order, from 5 p.m. until closing.

    134 Chestnut St., 267-822-2327, maloogacatering.com, Monday to Thursday 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday to Sunday 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. (The kitchen closes 30 minutes before closing time.)

    Wah Gi Wah

    This Pakistani restaurant in West Philly is offering Ramadan iftar boxes with appetizers, entrées, and naan. Items include chicken biryani, kabobs, or tandoori, along with salad, rice, and chana. Packages range from $9.99 to $19.99, depending on your options. Catering packages are available for $9.99 to $14.99.

    4447 Chestnut St., 215-921-5597, wahgiwah.com, Sunday to Thursday noon to 10 p.m., Friday to Saturday noon to 11 p.m.

    Alamodak Restaurant & Hookah Bar

    Every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, Alamodak Restaurant in North Philly hosts a Ramadan iftar buffet. The buffet items rotate, but customers can expect chicken mandi, maqluba, appetizers, soup, and sweets. There are also vegan and vegetarian options. Adults pay $26.99 on Friday and Sunday, and $30.99 on Saturday. Kids under 10 years pay $10. On Feb. 28, there will be a Ramadan tent set up with music and seating from 10 p.m. to midnight.

    161 Cecil B. Moore Ave., 267-641-5926, alamodakrestauranthookahbar.com, Thursday to Sunday 4 p.m. to midnight

  • Jesse Jackson’s death during Black History Month only magnifies an already immense loss

    Jesse Jackson’s death during Black History Month only magnifies an already immense loss

    Pick any of the seminal moments from Black history over the last six decades — from the assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968 to Barack Obama’s first speech as president-elect 40 years later — and the chances are that the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. was there, front and center.

    Jackson had spoken to King only moments before the civil rights leader was fatally shot while standing on a balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis on April 4, 1968. Even though he was only 26 years old, Jackson went on to position himself to take up the mantle of leading the civil rights movement.

    Years later, Jackson explained to an interviewer, “What I was clear on was that we could not let one bullet kill the whole movement.” He used the analogy of an athletic event during which the best player gets hurt. The answer, he said, isn’t to forfeit the game: “You can’t run away. You’ve got to keep fighting.”

    The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. (second from right) stands with Hosea Williams (left), Jesse Jackson (second from left), and Ralph Abernathy (right) on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis on April 3, 1968, a day before he was assassinated while standing in approximately the same spot.

    And that’s what he did for the rest of his life, advocating tirelessly for an end to racial injustice as well as for economic opportunities for poor people of all racial backgrounds through his iconic Rainbow coalition and during his two historic runs for the presidency.

    Back when most Americans couldn’t conceive of a Black man becoming president of the United States, he could and tried to get the rest of us to believe in it, too. Jackson launched his first bid for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and again in 1988.

    Jackson rarely gets the credit, but his run for the White House helped lay the groundwork for the election of Obama, who fulfilled Jackson’s vision.

    And, yes, when Obama gave his victory speech in Chicago’s Grant Park on election night 2008, Jackson was there, too. While Obama spoke, Jackson could be seen holding a miniature American flag with tears streaming down his cheeks.

    “I wish for a moment that Dr. King or Medgar Evers” — the civil rights leader who was assassinated in Mississippi in 1963 — “could’ve just been there for 30 seconds to see the fruits of their labor,” Jackson later told the Associated Press about his emotions that night. “I became overwhelmed. It was the joy and the journey.”

    Jackson’s death on Tuesday at the age of 84 came after years of illnesses, including a rare neurological disorder. Even in his later years, however, he stayed in the game — to continue his football metaphor — making an appearance onstage to thunderous applause during the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in 2024.

    Inquirer columnist Jenice Armstrong interviews Jesse Jackson during the 50th anniversary commemoration of the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4, 2018.

    News he had died hit me as hard as if I’d lost a dear relative. I didn’t know Jackson personally, but had the privilege of interviewing him multiple times during my career.

    In fact, the first time I met him was as a student journalist on the campus of Howard University. The last time I’d actually gotten a chance to interview him was in 2018 during the 50th anniversary commemoration of King’s assassination in Memphis outside what had been the Lorraine Motel, which is now part of the National Civil Rights Museum. I wish I’d kept the recording of what he said.

    Jesse Jackson set the stage for modern-day American politics | Jenice Armstrong

    As I processed the news of his death, I made a point of posting on Abby Phillip’s Instagram page a brief note of thanks for her work chronicling Jackson’s life and legacy in her book, A Dream Deferred: Jesse Jackson and the Fight for Black Political Power. Phillip told me last year that she knew she was working against time and Jackson’s frail health to finish the project before his death.

    Her goal, she said, “was to make sure that this chapter didn’t get lost to history.”

    I was a kid in the 1970s during the Black Power era who repeated his chants, “I am somebody!”

    Back then, it was affirming to see Jackson on TV with his then-signature Afro, or later delivering electrifying speeches during his groundbreaking runs for the presidency. We used to chant, “Run Jesse Run!”

    One of the first articles I wrote for my student newspaper was about Jackson’s Operation PUSH, or People United to Save Humanity.

    Jackson spent his adult life at the forefront of the pursuit of equality for African Americans, and for that, we should always be grateful.

    To me, losing this great leader in February during Black History Month — at a time when our people’s contributions to the nation’s history are being threatened with erasure — only magnifies the sense of loss. It should also remind those of us who care about civil and human rights that it’s our turn to take up the struggle — and keep fighting.

  • N.J. attorney general is dropping racketeering charges against George Norcross following court ruling

    N.J. attorney general is dropping racketeering charges against George Norcross following court ruling

    New Jersey prosecutors are dropping racketeering charges against Democratic power broker George E. Norcross III, ending a high-profile case that law enforcement officials had framed as a reckoning on the state’s culture of corruption.

    Acting Attorney General Jennifer Davenport, an appointee of Democratic Gov. Mikie Sherrill, will not appeal a January appellate court ruling that upheld a judge’s decision to dismiss charges against Norcross and five codefendants, the attorney general’s office said Tuesday.

    Davenport could have asked the state Supreme Court to review the Appellate Division’s decision, but prosecutors concluded that their resources “would be best spent on other matters,” Sharon Lauchaire, a spokesperson for the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office, said in a statement.

    A three-judge panel said in a Jan. 30 decision that several of the racketeering conspiracy and extortion charges were time-barred under the statute of limitations. Other counts failed to state a crime, were untimely, or both, the panel said.

    Norcross, 69, is a former longtime member of the Democratic National Committee, founder of insurance brokerage Conner Strong & Buckelew, and chair of Cooper University Health Care. He was accused of using threats of economic and reputational harm — and his purported control of Camden’s government — to obtain valuable property on Camden’s waterfront from a developer and a nonprofit.

    His spokesperson on Tuesday portrayed the case against Norcross — announced in June 2024 by then-Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin — as a politicized abuse of the law similar to the Trump Justice Department’s targeting of perceived enemies.

    “We always knew that Matt Platkin brought this case for reasons other than its legal merits — and now multiple judges and Platkin’s successor as AG agree the allegations simply weren’t true,” Norcross spokesperson Dan Fee said in a statement.

    “The question now is whether Platkin’s supporters who cheered him on will take a serious look at what he did and whether other authorities will do the same,” he said. “We will certainly be making the case that he and anyone else who used lawfare against George should be held to account, no differently than Pam Bondi and her DOJ should.”

    Platkin, who was appointed to the post by Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, has denied pursuing the case for political reasons. He noted on Tuesday that the case “was presented to a grand jury by career prosecutors over several months.”

    “Out of respect for the men and women who do brave work holding corruption to account, I won’t comment further — other than to say I remain proud to have supported their efforts at a time when trust in government is at an all-time low and I will never apologize for believing that everyone should be held to the same standards, no matter how powerful they may be,” Platkin said in a statement.

    Notwithstanding the decision to drop charges, Lauchaire said the attorney general’s office “remains committed to prioritizing public corruption prosecutions in this time of deepening mistrust in government.”

    “Wrongdoing by public officials undermines faith in our institutions, and the public rightfully demands and deserves that officials perform their duties with integrity and in accordance with the law,” she said. “We will never shy away from holding public officials accountable when they betray the public’s trust and behave unlawfully.”

    The prosecution faced an earlier setback last February, when a Superior Court judge found that the charges were not timely and said that even if the allegations in the indictment were proven true, they amounted to hard bargaining in real estate deals and did not cross the line into unlawful threats.

    Prosecutors appealed that ruling, arguing that the judge should review evidence presented to the grand jury before deciding whether the indictment was valid.

    The appeals court affirmed the trial judge’s order, though the panel focused on the statute of limitations violations and largely sidestepped the question of whether the threats underpinning the indictment met the legal requirements for alleging conspiracy to commit extortion.

    In addition to Norcross, prosecutors are dropping charges against his brother Philip Norcross, CEO of the law firm Parker McCay; attorney William Tambussi; former Camden Mayor Dana L. Redd; Sidney R. Brown, CEO of logistics firm NFI; and John J. O’Donnell, an executive at residential developer the Michaels Organization.

    “We are pleased and gratified that this misguided, baseless prosecution has been finally laid to rest,” said Kevin H. Marino, a lawyer for Philip Norcross.

    Henry Klingeman, an attorney for Redd, said his client “is relieved that this unjust and unnecessary ordeal is over.” The former mayor has “continued her unswerving commitment to bettering Camden,” Klingeman said.

    Brown said he was “innocent of these baseless charges” and added that Tuesday’s decision showed “justice was carried out based on the facts.”

    “Since its inception, this case was unfounded and attacked those of us who believed in the future of a thriving Camden,” the NFI CEO said in a statement.

    Tambussi’s lawyers, Jeff Chiesa and Lee Vartan, said their client “engaged in the routine practice of law.” They said Platkin’s attempted prosecution “did damage to the profession” and “was rightly rejected by both courts.”

  • The University of Pennsylvania soon may be off-limits to Army officers seeking tuition aid for graduate programs

    The University of Pennsylvania soon may be off-limits to Army officers seeking tuition aid for graduate programs

    The University of Pennsylvania soon may be off-limits to Army officers and other military service members who are seeking tuition aid to further their educations.

    The Ivy League university in West Philadelphia is among 34 schools the Army says are at risk of being banned from military funding for service members to pay for their graduate programs and other education, according to a CNN report. The messaging has caused confusion among military officers seeking advanced degrees in law, medicine, and nuclear engineering, the report states.

    The G.I. Bill and similar programs to pay for college have long been a major draw for people who join the military. But last week, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the DOD “will discontinue graduate-level professional military education, fellowships and certificate programs” at Harvard.

    “Too many faculty members openly loathe our military,” said Hegseth, who obtained a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard in 2013. “They cast our armed forces in a negative light and squelch anyone who challenges their leftist political leanings, all while charging enormous tuition.”

    Hegseth, a former Army National Guard officer who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, said the department, which he calls the Department of War, is evaluating its relationships with other schools as well.

    “[We] will evaluate all existing graduate programs for active-duty service members at all Ivy League universities and other civilian universities,” he said. “The goal is to determine whether or not they actually deliver cost-effective strategic education for future senior leaders when compared to, say, public universities and our military graduate programs.”

    CNN obtained a “preliminary list of at-risk schools compiled by the Army,” which includes the University of Pennsylvania, as well as nearby Princeton University and Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. Officials at Princeton and Penn did not immediately respond to requests for comment Sunday.

    “We are aware of reports indicating that Carnegie Mellon is among several universities whose eligibility to support graduate training for military officers may be under review. At this time, we have received no formal notification confirming that any such review is underway,” a spokesperson for Carnegie Mellon said in a statement. “As always, CMU stands ready to engage constructively with the Department on ways to strengthen and advance military education.”

    Numerous schools on the list are the alma maters of Trump administration officials. In addition to attending Harvard, Hegseth obtained a bachelor’s degree in politics from Princeton. President Donald Trump holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Vice President JD Vance holds a law degree from Yale University.

    Here is the preliminary list of “at-risk” schools:

    1. American University
    2. Boston College
    3. Boston University
    4. Brown University
    5. Carnegie Mellon
    6. Case Western University
    7. Columbia University
    8. College of William and Mary
    9. Cornell University
    10. Duke
    11. Emory
    12. Florida Institute of Technology
    13. Fordham
    14. Georgetown
    15. George Washington University
    16. Harvard
    17. Hawaii Pacific University
    18. Johns Hopkins University
    19. London School of Economics and Political Science
    20. MIT [Massachusetts Institute of Technology]
    21. Northeastern University
    22. Northwestern University
    23. New York University
    24. Pepperdine
    25. Princeton
    26. Stanford
    27. Tufts
    28. University of Miami
    29. University of Pennsylvania
    30. University of Southern California
    31. Vanderbilt
    32. Wake Forest
    33. Washington University in St Louis
    34. Yale

    Update: This article has been updated to include comment from Carnegie Mellon University.

  • Breaking down Isabeau Levito’s figure skating costumes over the years

    Breaking down Isabeau Levito’s figure skating costumes over the years

    Breaking down Isabeau Levito’s figure skating costumes over the years

    Since 2022, South Jersey’s Isabeau Levito has been one of figure skating’s biggest stars. Ahead of her Olympic debut Thursday in the women’s short program, we took a look back at her costumes since she burst onto the scene at 14 years old.

    Isabeau Levito competes during the women’s free skating competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

    A star is born

    Isabeau Levito, of Mount Holly, competes in the short program at the 2022 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Nashville. Levito went on to win the bronze medal, but at 14, she is too young to make the Winter Olympics team.

    Levito made her senior debut during the 2021-22 season at age 14. She skated her short program to “The Swan,” by Camille Saint-Saëns, performed by Joshua Bell.

    Isabeau Levito was too young for the Olympics in 2022, but she won the bronze medal at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in this dress, made in Russia. She was also named to the World Junior Championships, where she skated to the “Russian Dance” from Swan Lake by Tchaikovsky, and won.

    Isabeau Levito competes in the women’s free skate program during the U.S. Figure Skating Championships Friday, Jan. 7, 2022, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Zaleski)

    Isabeau Levito wore a Spanish-inspired dress for her short program in the 2022-23 season. She skated to “Una noche más” by Yasmin Levy.

    Isabeau Levito performs during the women’s short program at the U.S. figure skating championships in San Jose, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023. (AP Photo/Josie Lepe)

    National champion

    Isabeau Levito reacts after her performance during the women’s free skate at the U.S. figure skating championships in San Jose, Calif., Friday, Jan. 27, 2023. (AP Photo/Josie Lepe)

    In January 2023, Levito won the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in San Jose, Calif. She went on to place fourth at the World Figure Skating Championships in Saitama, Japan.

    Reputation era

    21 September 2023, Bavaria, Oberstdorf: Figure Skating: Challenger Series – Nebelhorn Trophy, Individual, Ladies, Short Program. Isabeau Levito from the USA on the ice. Photo by: Angelika Warmuth/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images

    Early in the 2023-24 season, Levito wore a dress with a snake wrapped around her neck and the head on her arm. Ice dancers Madison Chock and Evan Bates had a snake program a few years before, and Chock advised Levito on this program.

    Switching gears

    COLUMBUS, OHIO – JANUARY 25: Isabeau Levito skates in the Women’s Short Program Dance during the U.S. Figure Skating Championships at Nationwide Arena on January 25, 2024 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

    Levito changed her short program midseason in 2023-24. Because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Levito stopped getting dresses made in Russia. This one was made by Josiane Lamond in Canada.

    Levito wore this layered black, white, and gray dress the first part of the 2023-24 season for her long program, skating to “The White Crow,” by Lisa Batiashvili. After placing third in the short program at Skate America that season, she finished second in the free skate to end in second overall.

    Isabeau Levito, of the United States, competes in the women’s free skate program during the Grand Prix Skate America Series in Allen, Texas, Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Roger Steinman)

    Silver star

    Isabeau Levito, of the United States, poses with her silver medal at the world figure skating championships Friday, March 22, 2024, in Montreal. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP)

    Levito won the silver medal at the 2024 world championships in Montreal with this dress by Canada’s Lamond.

    Road to Milan

    Isabeau Levito of the United States skates in the Women’s Short Program in the 2025 Skate Canada International event in Saskatoon, on Friday, October 31, 2025. (Matt Smith/The Canadian Press via AP)

    Levito is wearing this red dress by Lisa McKinnon for her short program this Olympic season. She is skating to a compilation of sassy songs from Sophia Loren movies. At Skate Canada, a Grand Prix event, she placed second with this routine.

    Ticket punched

    Isabeau Levito performs during the women’s free skating competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in St. Louis. She won the bronze medal.

    Levito is wearing this blue dress by McKinnon for her free skate (or long program) this season, and skates to “Cinema Paradiso” by Ennio Morricone. She won bronze at January’s U.S. Figure Skating Championships to earn the trip to Milan.

    A throwback

    South Jersey figure skater Isabeau Levito was announced as an Olympian on Sunday. She skated during the “Making Team USA” performance following the announcement.

    Levito was injured for a chunk of 2024-25 season, so she did not compete at the U.S. championships, but came back to place fourth at worlds. She wore this dress from that year’s program for the exhibition after making the Olympic team.

    Flying high

    Red Bull commissioned this dress for Isabeau Levito from dressmaker Lisa McKinnon, who made costumes for all three American women in 2026, as well as many of the international competitors. It was featured in an amusing campaign on social media.

    Red Bull commissioned this dress for Levito from McKinnon, who made costumes for all three American women in 2026, as well as many of the international competitors. It was featured in an amusing campaign on social media.

    dunkel_ellen

    This is the moment 18-year-old South Jersey figure skater Isabeau Levito has been waiting for

    Isabeau Levito is heading to the Olympics: ‘I feel like I really achieved my dream life’

  • Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Land of Hope and Dreams’ tour is coming to Philly

    Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Land of Hope and Dreams’ tour is coming to Philly

    The Boss is coming back.

    Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band is headed out on the road this spring on its first U.S. tour dates in two years. These will be the band’s first performances since Springsteen made news last month with his anti-ICE protest song, “Streets of Minneapolis.”

    Appropriately enough, the “Land of Hope and Dreams American Tour” begins in Minneapolis on March 31 before making its way to the Xfinity Mobile Arena in South Philly on May 8.

    The itinerary includes east coast dates in Newark, N.J.; Long Island; Manhattan; and Brooklyn. There are 19 indoor arena shows in all, plus a closing night baseball stadium show in Washington on May 27.

    In a statement accompanying the tour announcement, Springsteen said: “We are living through dark, disturbing and dangerous times, but do not despair — the cavalry is coming! Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band will be taking the stage this spring from Minneapolis to California to Texas to Washington, D.C., for the Land of Hope And Dreams American Tour.”

    Springsteen and the E Street Band last played Philadelphia with two shows at Citizens Bank Park in August 2024, and in October of that year he performed solo at the Liacouras Center in at Temple University in support of Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign.

    Tickets for the Philadelphia show go on sale Saturday, Feb. 21, at 10 a.m. via Ticketmaster.

    Bruce Springsteen releases ICE protest song, ‘Streets of Minneapolis’

    “We will be rocking your town in celebration and in defense of America — American democracy, American freedom, our American Constitution and our sacred American dream — all of which are under attack by our wannabe king and his rogue government in Washington, D.C.,” Springsteen said in the statement.

    Last year, the Boss made headlines while on tour in Europe for his pointed comments about the Trump administration, which he called “corrupt, incompetent, and treasonous” before performing his patriotic song “Land of Hope and Dreams.”

    Trump responded on Truth Social by calling Springsteen “highly overrated” as well as a “dried out prune of a rocker” and “not a talented guy — Just a pushy, obnoxious JERK.”

    Last month, Springsteen wrote “Street of Minneapolis” on the day that Alex Pretti was fatally shot by federal immigration enforcement agents in Minneapolis and released it three days later.

    Calling out “King Trump’s private army from the DHS,” Springsteen memorializes “two dead, left to die on snow-filled streets, Alex Pretti and Renee Good.”

    Springsteen performed the song as a guest of former E Street Band member Tom Morello at a benefit in Minneapolis in January. This month, he granted permission to filmmaker Robert Greenwald to use his often-misunderstood 1984 song “Born in the U.S.A.” in a short film of that name. The film tells stories of American citizens that have been targeted by ICE.

    “Everyone, regardless of where you stand or what you believe in, is welcome — so come on out and join the United Free Republic of E Street Nation for an American spring of Rock ‘n’ Rebellion! I’ll see you there!,” Springsteen said in the statement.

    Tickets for the Philadelphia stop of Bruce Springsteen’s “Land of Hope and Dreams” tour go on sale Feb. 21, 10 a.m. via Ticketmaster. The full tour itinerary is at BruceSpringsteen.net.

  • Union to open season Wednesday in Trinidad against Defense Force FC: ‘I think we’re always ready’

    Union to open season Wednesday in Trinidad against Defense Force FC: ‘I think we’re always ready’

    After 37 days of preseason, three centerback signings, three striker signings, and negotiations for a left back that aren’t done yet, the Union will play their first game of 2026 on Wednesday.

    Bradley Carnell’s squad should be favored in its visit to Defence Force FC of Trinidad & Tobago in the Concacaf Champions Cup (6 p.m., FS2). But this group of Union players hasn’t played an official game together, and, as the manager said in the preseason, you don’t know until you know.

    Now, it’s time to find out.

    “I think we’re always ready,” Carnell said in a news conference from Trinidad on Tuesday morning. “We know it’s early in our in our season, and we know that there’s a schedule coming up that’s really tough. And so we’ve been working hard over the last couple of weeks to get everybody integrated as best as we could.”

    Carnell had to contend with a series of absences during camp. Indiana Vassilev and Milan Iloski suffered injuries that they’ve recovered from, Bruno Damiani and Cavan Sullivan started the year with knocks, and Damiani was away for a few days this month to finish getting his U.S. green card.

    Jovan Lukić also was a late addition to the list, as Carnell revealed Tuesday that the midfielder took a hit to the ribs in a recent practice.

    An analysis of the Union’s roster at the start of the season, with new players in the mix

    “It’s preseason — there’s always a couple of things here and there,” he said. “But we’ve got a good competitive group here, ready to go.”

    Of Lukić’s status, he said, “we’re still assessing that, and we’ll see if that makes sense or not” for him to play Wednesday.

    Bruno Damiani (left) recently got his U.S. green card.

    The Union have never played Defence Force, partially because no team from Trinidad has reached the Champions Cup since the 2016-17 edition. Defence Force hasn’t qualified since 2002, though it has a notable history as winners in 1978 and 1985.

    The present-day squad is led by a familiar name, winger Kevin Molino. He played for Orlando, Minnesota, and Columbus from 2011 to 2023, then joined Defence Force in late 2024.

    “This is the challenge and the joy of the Champions Cup,” Carnell said.

    Andre Blake begins his 13th season with the Union, still waiting for fate to finally smile on him

    Carnival in Trinidad

    As if hosting a U.S. team in the region’s top soccer tournament wasn’t a big enough deal, Wednesday’s game will come right after Trinidad held its annual two-day Carnival around Mardi Gras.

    That should add even more buzz to the atmosphere at Hasely Crawford Stadium, one of Concacaf’s most historic venues. It’s the home of Trinidad and Tobago’s national soccer teams and the site of one of the U.S. men’s team’s all-time wins: the 1989 triumph to earn qualification for the 1990 World Cup, ending a 40-year tournament drought.

    Andre Blake is the only current Union player who has played a senior-level game in the venue, a World Cup qualifier last November that ended in a 1-1 tie. That might surprise some fans, but it’s true. Danley Jean Jacques hasn’t yet with Haiti, and Alejandro Bedoya never did with the United States.

    Union defender Nathan Harriel said that while “there’s temptation — it’s really easy to go out and want to be a part of something,” the team is making sure this stays a business trip.

    “There’s a lot of people here. It’s loud, noisy,” he said. “At the same time, we’re focused on the one thing at hand, and that’s getting a result on Wednesday. There’s distractions in any city you go to. … Just being able to manage that in the best way possible and just stay focused on the mission at hand is the most important.”

    Everything you need to know about the Union ahead of the 2026 season

    And for those players who’ve played in Concacaf tournaments before, especially the Champions Cup, they know to always expect the unexpected.

    “I remember a few years ago in El Salvador, a dog ran on the field and grabbed the ball,” Harriel said, recalling the Union’s 2023 visit to Alianza. “So at the same time, you have to enjoy it, because you never know when you’ll be back. And you have to respect every opponent in this tournament — everybody is qualified to be in it, and we understand that.”

    The historic Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port of Spain, Trinidad, where the Union will play Defence Force FC in the Concacaf Champions Cup on Wednesday.