DEAR ABBY: I work in a place where being friendly to customers is part of my job requirement, but I feel like many guys interpret this the wrong way. It seems I am a “jerk attractor,” and I don’t know how to make it stop. The worst of these jerks can’t take a hint that I’m not interested. One of them is a coworker who sexually harasses me all day. Please help me so I stop attracting these losers.
— FRIENDLY IN MASSACHUSETTS
DEAR FRIENDLY: While this is certainly not your fault in any way, many women in the hospitality industry wear a wedding ring to discourage the kind of unwelcome attention you have described. However, a coworker doing this is a different story. There are workplace rules to protect women and men, and they should be listed in your employee handbook.
Start documenting what this person has been doing and warn the other female employees. The next time it happens, inform him that the name for what he’s doing is harassment, it’s unwelcome and you will report it to your boss. If that doesn’t discourage him, follow through, because it could cost him his job.
** ** **
DEAR ABBY: I have a longtime friend with whom I had a wonderful relationship. Over the last couple of years, he has made some bad life decisions. He is now without a job, without a girlfriend and in an apartment that’s less than desirable. For a long time, I kept my opinions to myself. But, finally, I started offering advice with the hope he’d see that his decisions are causing him grief and hardship. I always do it with love, but he becomes very upset when I try to help him. Am I wrong for trying to guide a dear friend toward a better path?
— IN A DILEMMA IN NEW JERSEY
DEAR DILEMMA: Your friend may not be ready to listen to someone telling him he has chosen the wrong path. Because the guidance you have so generously offered has fallen on deaf ears, recognize you are wasting your time and turn off your fountain of wisdom.
** ** **
DEAR ABBY: My husband and I are seniors. We got married in 2020. When we were dating, things were fun and good. Now, however, I’m in a no-talk, no-response nightmare. After the first two years, he changed. He never starts conversations and never says “thank you” for anything. He simply doesn’t talk. If I ask questions, he won’t respond or acknowledge me in any way. If someone calls, he talks and talks with them. Does he hate me? I speak my mind and voice my disappointment. Should I still try to fix it or get out?
— STUCK IN SILENCE
DEAR STUCK: You can’t fix something that may not be your fault. However, before calling it quits, you can offer your husband the opportunity to get your marriage back on track with the help of a licensed marriage and family therapist. Schedule an appointment with one, and if your husband refuses to go with you, go alone.
ARIES (March 21-April 19). The thing you used to do for fun may seem to lack luster. Ask the silver spoon — exposure tarnishes shiny things. So you venture out, open to the gleam of new interests. Give this one a rest for now.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20). Step back from the things or people that consistently stress or destabilize you. It’s self-protection if it’s purposeful and reflective. In your heart, you know the difference between conserving energy and avoiding discomfort.
GEMINI (May 21-June 21). Be cautious of anyone who profits by convincing you that a complex human problem has a simple, purchasable fix. If the thing you’re struggling with could truly be solved by a product, the fix wouldn’t be secret. It would already be everywhere.
CANCER (June 22-July 22). Self-esteem isn’t inflated self-regard. It’s realistic self-regard plus self-acceptance. Today, your super talent is seeing yourself clearly, strengths and limits included, and staying on your own side anyway. Positive interactions help, but it’s how those interactions are interpreted that matters most.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). It feels like you’re too busy to ask a lot of questions of the moment. But it’s worth it to be a little curious today because one good question is the difference between routine and fun. Learning a bit more gives the task (and the people involved) texture. Life becomes vivid.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). The long story and the short story are essentially the same, except one is harder to follow as it meanders, repeats and requires a nearly saintly level of patience. Your way of asking for and delivering brevity is effective, respectful and attractive.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). You’re preparing for an event that will inevitably come, though perhaps you don’t yet know when. Time for another round of practice. Challenges are training moments. Experiments are thrilling gambles with knowledge as the prize.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). Moving takes effort, but some actions wake and energize you. Thinking takes effort, too, but exciting thoughts give back. The trick to staying light, bright and buoyant is to choose actions and thoughts that leave you with a surplus.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). Sometimes it takes crossing a line to realize where it is. It’s the inspiration for building better rules, methods, fences, checklists, schedules and maps. You will come up with new ways to keep yourself in line and act in your own best interest.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). Your work will be most effectively aimed at one person. After all, there is no such thing as mass appeal. The appeal is to one person, many times over. And what’s “for all” is more often “for none.”
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). You say what you want to do, and then you do it. Sure, there are thoughts that drift through — fear and doubt, fantasies about the options not taken — all along for the ride as the tide of courage surges, and forward you go.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). Your mind is an ally. Helpful thoughts only. Good sleep and nutrition make it easier. And if, for some reason, your thoughts won’t behave, write out some good ones and feed them to yourself. It’s forced but effective.
TODAY’SBIRTHDAY (Feb. 16). It’s your Year of Spirited Adventures, when you feel guided by invisible forces to experience the improbable, exhilarating and transformative. Some of it takes money, which arrives in perfect timing, not as a gift but as an opportunity to gain knowledge and skill you can keep cashing in on. More highlights: A playful companion changes your life for the better. Fitness victories. A happy ending to a long story. Leo and Libra adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 19, 2, 33, 16 and 42.
A person infected with measles traveled through Philadelphia International Airport last week, city health officials are warning.
The infected person spent time in Terminal E of the airport between 1:35 and 4:30 p.m. Thursday.
Measles is highly contagious and spreads via airborne particles when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or talks. The virus can linger in the air for up to two hours after the infected person moves.
Palak Raval-Nelson, Philadelphia’s health commissioner, said he believed there was no threat to the general public, but encouraged those who are not protected against measles to take action.
Children under a year old, pregnant people without immunity, and those with a weakened immune system who were exposed and who develop symptoms through March 5 should call their doctor immediately. They’re also asked to call their local health department and Philadelphia’s Health Department if they live outside the city.
Symptoms of the disease are fever, runny nose, cough, and watery, red eyes — as well as a rash.
Those who have immunity do not need to do anything. Those with immunity include people born before 1957, those who have already had measles, and those who have received two doses of the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine.
Measles, in some cases, can lead to pneumonia, brain infection, and death, health officials say.
This year’s celebration of African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas’ founder, the Rev. Absalom Jones, was intrinsically political.
Parishioners on Sunday overwhelmed the pews at the Overbrook Farms church for the annual event honoring Jones, the first Black ordained Episcopal priest. But this year’s service took on new meaning after Jones’ legacy was stripped from the President’s House historical site on Independence Mall, the church’s rector said.
Last month, the National Park Service dismantled the exhibit memorializing the lives of nine people enslaved at the nation’s first presidential mansion. The illustrative displays chronicled the Atlantic slave trade and President George Washington’s dogged support for the institution. They also elevated early influential Black Philadelphians, like Jones and contemporary Richard Allen. The site was a casualty of President Donald Trump’s push to remove all content that “inappropriately disparages Americans past or living” from federal land — what many have called an attempt to sanitize history by omitting the brutality of slavery from the narrative.
But Curry’s prevailing message was clear: Fight through the vicissitudes. Curry, former presiding bishop and primate of the Episcopal Church, is the first African American presiding bishop in the country.
“If you want to taste freedom, if you want America to be just again,” Curry said, “if you want an America where every person is a child of God, where there is freedom and justice — not just for some — but for all … don’t you quit. Keep going, keep going.”
Curry later added: “If we love America, change America.”
The late afternoon service also featured young singers from Minnesota, faith leaders from other prominent Philadelphia institutions, and descents of the Rev. Allen.
The Rt. Rev. Michael B. Curry (center) walks into the African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas before providing the sermon in the celebration of the life and ministry of the Rev. Absalom Jones on Sunday.
Jones and Allen, former slaves who became lay preachers in the 18th century and together created the benevolent Free African Society, were forced out of St. George’s Methodist Church general congregation and forced to worship in segregated pews. Jones went on to form St. Thomas, while Allen built Mother Bethel A.M.E. Church.
The men’s names and history were invoked throughout the President’s House Site. A panel titled “How Did Enslaved People Become Free?” discussed Jones’ and Allen’s experience at St. George’s, their respective parishes, and how they organized against slavery.
The erasure of the site — which captured the somber paradox of a young America that exalted freedom for some but deprived others — comes ahead of the country’s Semiquincentennial celebrations putting Philadelphia in the national spotlight.
“It brings a totally different emphasis and focus on the celebration this year at the church,” the Rev. Martini Shaw, St. Thomas’ rector, told Episcopal News Service. “But while some want to erase history, we in the church are prepared to celebrate history.”
When The Simpsons writer Christine Nangle got a chance to pen the Philadelphia episode that airs Sunday night, the comedian from Oxford Circle knew it was high stakes — and local audiences would be watching closely.
“It was a lot of pressure. I was joking like, ‘If they hate it, they’re gonna burn my parents’ house down, and if they love it, they’re gonna burn my parents’ house down,’” Nangle said with a laugh.
The idea originally came from Simpsons producer Mike Price, who grew up in South Plainfield, N.J., and suggested a visit to Philadelphia as a plot premise to Nangle, knowing she was a native.
Co-executive producer and writer Christine Nangle at “The Simpsons” 800th episode party in Los Angeles.
Last summer, Nangle and Price brainstormed what could bring their beloved cartoon family to the city and they landed on a nod to the National Dog Show. It was partially inspired by Nangle’s own 11-year-old rescue pit bull, Philby, who had just died. (Nangle got a shoutout in the episode with a competition sponsored by “Philby’s Poop Bags.”)
Titled “Irrational Treasure,” the episode is a spoof of the 2004 film National Treasure. A group of historians believe that the Simpsons’ family dog, Santa’s Little Helper, is a descendant of Benjamin Franklin’s greyhounds, and holds the key to finding the inventor’s long-lost treasure somewhere in the city.
Before getting to Philly, Santa’s Little Helper gains weight as Homer (Dan Castellaneta) overfeeds and spoils him. When the dog eats Marge’s (Julie Kavner) ambrosia salad full of toxic grapes, they rush to the emergency veterinarian, voiced byThe Pitt star Noah Wyle.
Marge consults with Adrienne (Brunson), a canine nutritionist and trainer who gets the dog working out to “Far From Over,” the ‘80s track by Frank Stallone (Sylvester’s brother). The pair enroll Santa’s Little Helper in competitions to help build agility, and he soon becomes a winner who can qualify for the big dog show in Philadelphia.
Adrienne (Quinta Brunson) and Santa’s Little Helper in ‘The Simpsons’ episode “Irrational Treasure.”
“I basically wrote this [Adrienne] role for Quinta, and she said yes, which is awesome,” said Nangle, who’s a big fan of Brunson’s Philly-set sitcom, Abbott Elementary. “When we recorded it, I said to her, ‘Thank you for saying yes, because I didn’t have a second choice, and I don’t know what I would have done.’”
Though the whole family wants to go to the show, Marge insists that only she and Santa’s Little Helper attend. But Homer has other plans and he manages to stow away in the trunk for the 18-hour drive.
Actor Kevin Bacon with “The Simpsons” co-executive producer and writer Christine Nangle and executive producer Mike Price.
“Philadelphia, my kind of town,” Homer says with reverence. “Throwing ice balls at Santa Claus, climbing greasy street lamps. The city Lenny Dykstra learned to be crazy, where every steak is cheesed and every tush is pushed. Even though I’ve never been, I feel like I was born there and I never left.”
When they arrive — passing a welcome sign calling the city “The Big Scrapple” — a hotel concierge (Bacon) greets them: “Yo! Welcome to the Hotel Philadelphia. We offer 24-hour room service from our full Boyz to Menu. If you need a wooder or any other jawn just ring the Patti LaBelle and we’ll send a jabroni right up.” (Boyz II Men also contributed their own version of The Simpsons theme song for the episode.)
The “Fresh Prince suite” in ‘The Simpsons’ Philadelphia episode.
That legendary Philly accent was essential to his character, and Nangle knew Bacon could do it well. “From [hearing] the first ‘Yo,’ I felt homesick, like, immediately,” she said.
They stay in the graffiti-covered Fresh Prince suite and Marge soon finds Homer’s list of “Awesome things for me to do in Philadelphia,” from head-butting a local, to a Mare of Easttown tour, to ripping off a piece of Jason Kelce’s beard.
“How is a dirtbag tour of the city supporting the dog?” Marge asks, exasperated.
The answer? Distraction tactic. The group of historians, who call themselves H.O.A.G.I.E. Men (Historians of America’s Great Inventors and Enlightened Men), ask Homer to take them to Santa’s Little Helper and he lies, telling them his wife and dog are on a tour of the city.
Cue tourist montage: Homer eats cheesesteaks at Dalessandro’s, Pat’s, and Geno’s, pizza at Down North, Tastykakes at the Navy Yard factory, and cherry water ice on the Schuylkill in front of Boathouse Row. He takes selfies at the Mütter Museum and the Rocky statue, which appears alongside multiple other bronzes memorializing characters from the boxing franchise like Apollo Creed, Ivan Drago, Mickey, and “Hanging Side of Beef.” Of course they stop at Wawa, too — Nangle always makes sure she stops for a soft pretzel when she visits home.
Homer (Dan Castellaneta) eats a cheesesteak in South Philly in an upcoming episode of ‘The Simpsons.’
They head to a Phillies game where the Phanatic gives Homer a noogie, and then to a Flyers game where Gritty beats him up on the ice. The mascots then join the group to drink beers and watch The Roots in concert.
“I didn’t want it to just be tourist spots, I wanted to make it places where actual Philadelphians would go,” said Nangle about selecting which locations to spotlight. “It really feels like a balance, because the show is watched worldwide — I want people to get it, but I also want people who are from the area to appreciate it. And not be mad at me.”
Homer, Marge, Adrienne, and the dog all reunite at a fictional Colonial Firefighting Museum, where Nangle cameos as a security guard (“Get outta here, ya dirts!” she yells.) Turns out the H.O.A.G.I.E. Men weren’t the only ones looking for the special dog — Adrienne reveals that she, too, seeks Franklin’s treasure and she takes Santa’s Little Helper with her to Betsy Ross’ house to unlock the vault.
Questlove voices a Segway tour guide in ‘The Simpsons’ episode “Irrational Treasure.”
Marge finally makes the Rocky reference and shouts “Adrienne!” after the dog chooses the trainer over her. She and Homer chase after them, getting interrupted by a Mummers Parade and Segway tour (led by Questlove) that stops to watch a reenactment of “the Battle of Broad Street, also known as the Super Bowl 52 Riot.”
In the end, Marge and Homer save Santa’s Little Helper from Adrienne, who winds up jumping after Franklin’s key into a crumbling pit while shouting “Go, Birds!” on the way down.
Nangle had hoped the episode would’ve aired after a second Super Bowl win for the Eagles this year; instead, she was just happy that the Patriots lost. Out of the dozens of Philly references packed into the episode, her favorite joke is the shot of a beautiful dog park called “Michael Vick Reparation Park.” (The former Eagles quarterback was convicted of dogfighting.)
“I cannot believe we were allowed to do it,” she said. “Of course, as someone who had a rescue pit bull, it’s an issue that I care a lot about, but it was just so fun.”
A shot from ‘The Simpsons’ 800th episode showing Gritty, Homer Simpson (Dan Castellaneta), and the Phanatic at a Roots concert. Late Philadelphia journalist Dan McQuade is pictured on the top right.
Out of all the ways to make the episode authentically Philly, there was one more thing that Nangle and The Simpsons team wanted to do: Give beloved Philly journalist Dan McQuade, who died last month, a spotlight.
Nangle and McQuade met back in high school and he was a big fan of the show and planned to write about the Philly episode.
“It’s just so sad that he’s not gonna be able to see this episode,” said Nangle.
Though it was too late to make it into the broadcast version of the episode, the Disney+ version will show an animated McQuade standing behind the Phanatic in the scene at The Roots concert.
The“Irrational Treaure” episode of “The Simpsons” airs Sunday, Feb. 15 at 8 p.m. ET on FOX.
Coach Adam Fisher’s anger was palpable when he stormed into the Al Shrier Media Room on Sunday afternoon. The reason was simple: Temple had blown a 12-point lead, resulting in a 65-62 loss to North Texas at the Liacouras Center.
The Owls (15-10, 7-5 American) had just come off a loss to Tulane on Wednesday, prompting Fisher and the team to go back to the drawing board. They prepped for a Mean Green (15-11, 6-7) defense that allowed a conference-best 66.3 points per game.
Instead, Temple played into its opponent’s strengths. It turned the ball over a season-high 16 times and missed eight free throws.
“Not the response we wanted,” Fisher said. “I thought, last game on the road, we had a heart-to-heart. Long couple practices. We didn’t play Temple basketball at Tulane the right way, and we got back to some basics. Our mental approach wasn’t there for whatever reason at Tulane.
“Today I thought we responded by playing hard, but we had a few lapses in the second half … We’ve got to be better at home. I appreciate the crowd coming out. I’m [ticked] that we have this many people and we play like this.”
Temple head coach Adam Fisher talks with his players during a timeout in the second half against North Texas Mean Green.
Temple opened up the game slowly, before its offense eventually got going against a pesky Mean Green defense. North Texas forced two early turnovers but guard Derrian Ford, who finished with 20 points, drilled a three-pointer.
The Owls used ball movement to get the best of the visitors zone defense and got open looks. It took awhile to find a rhythm but eventually guard Masiah Gilyard hit back-to-back threes, which ended a near eight-minute drought without a triple.
That effort became all for naught, as the Owls’ 40-28 lead six minutes into the second half eventually evaporated.
Temple guard Jordan Mason looks to the official for a call against North Texas.
“It’s what we expected. It’s what we spent time on pulleys versus their pressure,” Fisher said. “They’ve heard that since the second we got off the plane at Tulane.”
With six games left in the season before the American Conference tournament, the past week looks like a missed opportunity to gain traction in terms of seeding. The Owls entered the matchup tied with Charlotte for second place in the American.
The 49ers dropped their game against Texas-San Antonio on Sunday, paving a way for Temple to get sole possession of the second seed of the conference tournament. South Florida, which leads the American, nearly lost its game against Florida Atlantic, which could have put the Owls within striking distance of the top spot.
Now, the Owls are in a fight with Charlotte and Memphis in a tie for fourth place. Tiebreakers have Temple in the fourth spot, which gives it a bye to the quarterfinals, but two wins this week thrust it to a tie with USF and they wouldn’t play until the semifinals under the new format.
But Fisher and the rest of the Owls aren’t worried about those results, opting to keep their focus inward.
Temple guard Aiden Tobiason (left) battles for the ball against North Texas Mean Green forward Buddy Hammer Jr.
“We focus on us,” Fisher said. “I think when you start watching standings, look, we want to play meaningful games in February and into March. And right now we are and that’s got to be our focus.”
“We’ve got to learn and keep getting better,” Fisher later said. “Got another great opportunity at home against a really good team and we got to make sure we bring the same fight, but do it for 40 minutes.”
Up next
Temple will host Alabama-Birmingham (16-10, 7-6) on Wednesday (ESPNU, 7 p.m.)
Lizasuain DeJesus, 65, had received many calls from Philadelphia homicide Detective Joseph Bamberski since her daughter Iriana disappeared in 2000. But Thursday’s call was different: He was calling to tell her that the police had made an arrest in Iriana’s case.
DeJesus called her daughter Iyanna Vazques, 34, to deliver the news. “It was like a weight lifted off my shoulders,” Vazques said. She was 8 years old when her little sister disappeared, the week of her birthday.
“I lost my best friend and I remember it like it was yesterday,” Vazques said. She could recall what her sister was wearing and how her hair was done the day she disappeared. An arrest in the case felt “like a dream,” she added.
Iriana DeJesus was playing outside her home on the 3900 block of North Fairhill Street on July 29, 2000, when she went missing. She was 5 years old.
A family friend told police at the time she saw Iriana walking with a stranger.
The Daily News covers the announcement of Alexis Flores as the suspect in Iriana DeJesus’ murder in March 2007.
On Aug. 3, 2000, her body was found covered by a green trash bag. Iriana had been raped and strangled to death about a block from her home, in a second-floor apartment above a vacant store on the 3900 block of North Sixth Street.
At the time, police described the perpetrator as a “drifter,” but not much else was known about him.
Authorities launched a national manhunt. But it was not until March 2007 that federal officials issued a warrant for the arrest of Alexis Flores. He had been identified through a DNA database that allowed investigators to name him as a suspect years after a November 2004 arrest on a felony forgery charge in Phoenix.
On Thursday, FBI Director Kash Patel announced Flores had been apprehended.
“After more than 25 years on the run, this arrest proves time and distance do not shield violent offenders from justice,” Patel wrote on social media.
Flores was detained on Wednesday in Honduras, Fox News reported. He was wanted for crimes including unlawful flight to avoid prosecution, murder, kidnapping, and indecent assault in connection with the Iriana DeJesus case, according to the FBI.
Vazques said she is choosing to focus on the love their community has provided over the long years of not knowing what happened.
“We are always going to be from this block,” DeJesus said. “These people are the reason I’m still strong, because a lot of them never gave up on us, on my baby.”
DeJesus said she still sees Iriana in many corners of her block, in the faces of little girls with pigtails playing outside, and it gives her hope. “Iriana, I love you and I will never stop loving you; you will always be in my heart.”
Lizasuain DeJesus (right) is with her daughter Iyanna Vazques, surrounded by friends and family, following a balloon release in memory of her daughter Iriana.
Zoraida Reyes, 65, still remembers the frenzy her Hunting Park neighborhood lived through when Iriana disappeared.
“She was a beautiful girl, happy, calm; we went mad looking for her,” Reyes said. Since then, the neighborhood has changed, she said. But people still support one another, and Iriana was never forgotten.
On Sunday, as about 100 neighbors gathered at Sixth and Pike Streets for a balloon release in Iriana’s memory, Vazques and DeJesus felt grateful. “There is nothing that will beat this feeling,” DeJesus said, as neighbors lined up to hug her. A picture of Iriana in her pigtails, with a bright smile was handed to attendees with a message: “Justice, finally.”
Vasques, wearing a matching Eagles shirt and hat, held on to a necklace with a now-faded picture of Iriana that her mom gave her in the ninth grade.
“I don’t take it off, it’s my everything,” Vazques said. “It reminds me of how much of a sweet soul she was.”
Iyanna Vazques wears a locket with a faded photo of her sister Iriana DeJesus during a balloon release in her memory Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. Five-year-old Iriana was kidnapped and killed in 2000. A man has been arrested in the case after two decades on the FBI’s most-wanted list.
Staff writer Nick Vadala contributed to this article.
CLEARWATER, Fla. — A clean-shaven Nick Castellanos, dressed in a brown Padres hoodie, made his first public comments Sunday after signing a one-year deal with San Diego.
The former Phillies outfielder, who was released by the organization on Thursday, met with the media at the Padres’ spring training complex in Peoria, Ariz. He also spent time taking reps at first base. He is expected to see time there as the Padres already have an All-Star rightfielder in Fernando Tatis Jr.
Castellanos told reporters Sunday he “had a good idea” he would not be back with the Phillies following their exit in the National League Division Series. This winter, the Phillies repeatedly expressed interest in finding a change of scenery for Castellanos after he developed friction with manager Rob Thomson.
Castellanos expressed his excitement about playing for rookie Padres manager Craig Stammen, mentioning Stammen’s 13-year MLB career as a pitcher. Thomson never played in the major leagues.
“He’s a player. He’s done it,” Castellanos said of Stammen. “He’s put on spikes. He’s grinded. He’s felt the feeling of success, and he’s also felt the feeling of when the game doesn’t go your way. There’s a lot of respect in that. I’m excited to do whatever he needs me to do.”
On the Padres, Castellanos is reuniting with childhood friend Manny Machado, a former teammate on the U.S. 18-and-under team.
After his release, Castellanos posted a letter on Instagram thanking members of the organization and explaining the “Miami Incident.” During the eighth inning of a June 16 game in Miami, Castellanos said he brought a beer into the dugout after Thomson replaced him for defensive purposes. He was benched for the following game as punishment.
In his letter, Castellanos wrote that he “will learn from” the incident.
“I think [what] I said I will learn from this is I guess just letting my emotions get the best of me in a moment,” he said Sunday. “Possibly if I see things that frustrate me or I don’t believe are conducive to winning, to speak up instead of letting things just pile up over time and pile up over time and finally when I address it, it’s less emotional.”
Castellanos, who will turn 34 on March 4, batted .250 with 17 homers and 72 RBIs last season. He grades out poorly according to defensive metrics. He posted -12 outs above average and -11 defensive runs saved in 2025, both ranking as the worst among major league right fielders.
A.J. Preller, the Padres’ president of baseball operations, said Sunday that San Diego had done a lot of homework on Castellanos. He is signed to a league minimum contract ($780,000), with the Phillies responsible for the remainder of his $20 million deal.
Nick Castellanos batted .250 with 17 homers and 72 RBIs for the Phillies last season.
“He was just super-forthright about the last year in Philly, the incident that was written about,” Preller said. “We talk about it all the time, I make many mistakes in this job. But ultimately, when people own up to those mistakes — and he did that in our call. It’s about giving guys another opportunity. He gets a fresh start here and a fresh opportunity.”
When Castellanos was asked if he wished anything would have ended differently in Philadelphia, he said he wished the Phillies would have won a World Series.
“Winning solves everything,” he said. “The one thing that I wish would’ve ended up different is that we would’ve won.”
Extra bases
The Phillies’ first full-squad workout is scheduled for Monday. … A nonroster invitee, shortstop José Rodriguez, is starting spring a bit behind after suffering a shoulder injury in winter ball. Thomson said that Rodriguez is still able to hit.
After 15 years in its West Philadelphia location, Manakeesh Cafe Bakery & Grill has built a loyal customer base, general manager Adam Chatila said.
But when the Lebanese restaurant announced it was closing its location at Walnut and 45th Streets, Chatila did not anticipate the outpouring of support on social media.
Longtime customers asked what they could do to support the business.
“You have been such a pillar of our community and neighborhood,” one typical commenter wrote on Instagram. “Is there anything we can do to help? We love you guys.”
“I was really touched by that,” Chatila said.
While the location is closing, the business isn’t. Manakeesh will continue online with a smaller menu, as the owners scout out a new location.
Chatila said the closing was not by choice – the business was leasing its space, and the rent had become too high.
While Manakeesh wasn’t the first restaurant offering this cuisine in the area — Saad’s Halal Restaurant is across the street — it introduced the community to a wider range of options for breakfast and lunch, with its namesake manakeesh flatbreads being a customer favorite.
“It’s a social hub, you know, they would come and have their meetings and dates and … to come hang out,” Chatila said. “Manakeesh is kind of like a Lebanese Panera.”
He said that while it’s had its ups and downs, business has largely been consistent in recent years. Customers kept coming back for staples, like hummus and baklava, as well as specialties like chicken tawook kabob, which is grilled in front of patrons.
“We really put our heart into our dishes; we’re not just, you know, taking something that someone else prepared for the most part and just like repackaging it and selling it. We make our dough from scratch. We get a lot of our Lebanese ingredients imported from Lebanon, like the za’atar,” he said.
Chatila said the business is looking for a space in the same neighborhood, though it may not be as elegant as the former bank building that has been its home since his father, owner Wissam Chatila, opened the restaurant in January 2011. Adam Chatila described what they’re hoping for:
“Something similar, maybe a slightly smaller scale operation but it gives off the same effect of, you walk in and you feel like you’re in a different country, in the Lebanese country,” he said.
While Manakeesh will become a “cloud kitchen” in the short term, Chatila said, it will continue to deliver out of a physical location — the family’s other restaurant, Toomi’s Shawarma, a fast-food-style place in Upper Darby. It won’t have the entire menu, Chatila said, but it will have many of the most popular dishes.
Chatila said the restaurant has relied on many of its staff members for years, including one since the day it opened.
“We treat them like a family, so we’re going to do our best to try to retain the workforce,” he said. “We’re going to see how things go the first month, and try to accommodate for them, and hopefully we’ll be able to make it work.”
Chatila said he teared up at the decision to close the location.
“And then to notice (on social media) that they also had that feeling: It makes us feel like we were not just a restaurant. We are community members.”
The closing on Sunday, marked by a party, comes just ahead of Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting and prayer, and a special time of year for Manakeesh, which would open at sunset to serve many customers when they break their fast with special Ramadan dishes.
“I want to sell the most Girl Scout cookies,” Pim told her dad, Luke Anorak-Neill early in the cookie-selling season.
Pim, a firecracker in blue glasses, likes a challenge, and her dad was game to help her try. So he took her to knock on doors in their Pittsburgh neighborhood. They handed out fliers and made phone calls. They asked around at church and at local businesses they frequent.
“If people are going to buy cookies, we want them to know that Pimmy’s selling them,” Anorak-Neill said.
By dint of hard work, Pim hit 5,000 boxes a few weeks ago. Anorak-Neill asked her what her ultimate goal was: she said 10,000.
Anorak-Neill shot a quick video of his daughter talking about her goal and uploaded it to TikTok. Social media could only help the cause, he figured.
“Hi, my name is Pim. Do you want to buy some Girl Scout cookies?” the pint-size entrepreneur said.
The video went viral — it’s been viewed more than 5 million times. And Pim’s sales soared.
First, she crushed the single-season sales record. Her new aim is to overtake the lifetime record – 180,000 boxes. (She’s got about a month left.)
On Sunday, moments after she passed the 100,000 boxes mark, Pim was nonchalant.
Why does she like selling cookies?
“It makes people happy,” said Pim.
A record breaker from way back
Pim “has always been a record breaker,” said Anorak-Neill.
She was a Top 10 reader at age 4, and loved selling popcorn for her school last year and collecting gifts for a local toy drive.
Girl Scout cookies seemed like a natural fit, though Pim and her dads had a bit of a rough start. The first troop Anorak-Neill approached for Pim rejected her because of her disabilities, Anorak-Neill said.
“They said, ‘We don’t want that in our troop,’” said Anorak-Neill. “They said, ‘Go find a playgroup for disabled kids.’”
Pim didn’t realize what happened, but Anorak-Neill was disheartened. But he forged on, and found a brand-new troop of Daisy Scouts — the youngest Girl Scouts — that welcomed Pim.
Her cookie-selling prowess has changed the game for the troop, whose initial goal was maybe being able to go on some camping trips. (Individual sales count, but Pim’s sales help her troop, too.) A trip to Niagara Falls — a prize for serious cookie sellers — went from being a lofty goal to being a lock.
At a recent troop meeting, the grown-ups noted that Pim and the other girls never needed to sell another box if they wanted to stop.
“But everybody wants to still do cookie booths and fundraise,” said Anorak-Neill. “This is fun for everybody. It’s a win for Girl Scouts.”
Unstoppable Pim
The online love for Pim has buoyed the family: Pim, Anorak-Neill, and his partner, Don Neill. Neill has had serious health challenges and is awaiting a double lung transplant, Anorak-Neill said.
Pim’s fans adore her.
“SHE IS 6 and 86 AT THE SAME TIME. OH MY GOD I LOVE HER SO MUCH,” someone commented on TikTok.
“Pim gonna sell the most cookies in the history of the Girl Scouts,” another person wrote.
“pim girl don’t worry I just brought 6 boxes,” said another.
Anorak-Neill described the global love for Pim — and appreciation for her sales savvy — as “life changing.”
But while the scope of Pim’s reach has been a surprise, her appeal is not, her dad said.
