With its screen blank, the sculptural art installation that usually connects people in different cities around the world was akin to a void Friday afternoon, idling in the City Hall courtyard as the magic of Center City’s Christmas Village swirled around it.
It’s unclear exactly how long the Portal has been out of commission; according to city spokesperson Leah Uko, a technical issue “has disrupted the live stream in recent weeks,” and Portal officials expect a fix next week. The operators of the Portal did not respond to requests for comment by publication time.
“Turn the Portal back on, we demand it,” one onlooker said.
Another scoffed, “It must be nighttime there.”
Pedestrians walk by “The Portal” art installation on Friday, Dec. 12, 2025, in the Philadelphia City Hall courtyard.
Yonas Legesse, 22, and Martina Gebrail, 24, trekked more than two hours from Secaucus, N.J., and Jersey City, respectively, in hopes of seeing the famous Portal.
“We were definitely gonna stop here, go wave at some people, and now it’s off,” Legesse said. “It kind of hurts.”
Gebrail was amazed by the technology she saw on TikTok: The 3.5-ton circular video screen beams real-time, 24-hour, unfiltered livestreams from and to places like Dublin, Ireland; Vilnius, Lithuania; and Lublin, Poland.
Despite their disappointment, Legesse and Gebrail said they would come back to see an operative Portal. It’s expected to stay in Philadelphia through the country’s Semiquincentennial celebration in 2026.
The odds are almost always stacked against a white Christmas around here, but it is looks like the region will experience a white Dec. 14.
The National Weather Service on Friday said Philadelphia was all but certain to get at least an inch of snow during the weekend, with a general 2 to 4 inches expected, said Joe DeSilva, a meteorologist in the Mount Holly office.
The weather service issued a winter-weather advisory for the entire region from 7 p.m. Saturday through 1 p.m. Sunday.
A storm forming along an Arctic front combined with a strung idsturbance in the upper atmosphere were forecast to begin shaking out snowflakes very late Saturday night or early Sunday. It’s possible that the snow may be mixed with rain, at least at the outset, especially south and east of the city.
And while this may be shocking, computer models continue to tweak outcomes, leaving “still a little bit of uncertainty how this low is going to track,” said DeSilva’s colleague Eric Hoeflich.
However, recent model runs overall have been a shade more bullish on snow amounts than they had been, and the U.S. model has bumped up amounts slightly, said DeSilva.
Timing and duration issues remained to be resolved, and snow could cause commuting issues in the morning. In addition to church-goers, tail-gaters will be commuting commuting to the Eagles game at Lincoln Financial Field in South Philly, and supermarkets typically experience brisk traffic in the run-up to Eagles’s games.
The snow, however, is forecast to end well before kickoff at the Linc, scheduled for 1:15 p.m., DeSilva said.
Some flakes were evident Thursday in the region, with Philadelphia International Airport, where winds gusted past 30 mph, reporting its third “trace” of the season.
The renegade flakes were flying from lake-effect snows, said Bill Deger, senior meteorologist with AccuWeather Inc.
The winds have shut off, and both Friday and Saturday were expected to be tranquil with daytime temperatures mostly in the 30s.
And this time, that holiday least-favorite, the “wintry mix,” wouldn’t be in the mix.
How much snow for Philly?
AccuWeather Inc. was calling for up to 3 inches.
If the storm is a quick mover, expect the inch, but if slows down and ripens a bit, it could be as much as 3, said AccuWeather senior meteorologist Bill Deger.
The weather service was pretty much on board with that estimate.
It painted 3 nches for Philly on its Friday morning snow map.
One near-certainty: This will change.
What time would the snow start?
It is likely to begin very late Saturday night or very early Sunday and continue until mid- or late morning, forecasters say.
Temperatures throughout the day are not expected to get past 30, with wind chills in the teens.
It might feel even colder if the Eagles lose to the lowly Las Vegas Raiders.
Regardless, everyone should be able to make it home.
“We’re not talking a major snowstorm,” Hoeflich said.
But this would be something a little bit different compared with recent local snow history.
Hoeflich noted that, as happened last winter, generous snow has fallen to the north, south, and west, leaving “a giant snow hole” over the Philadelphia area.
Aaron Goldblatt, 70, of Philadelphia, award-winning museum services partner emeritus at Metcalfe Architecture & Design, former vice president for exhibits at the Please Touch Museum, exhibit designer, sculptor, adventurer, and mentor, died Sunday, Dec. 7, of lung cancer at his home.
He joined business partner Alan Metcalfe in 2002 and specialized in constructing canopy walks, glass floors, elevated walkways, net bridges, abstract playgrounds, multimedia exhibits, and other unique designs in prominent locations. Visitors encounter their creations at the Museum of the American Revolution, the Independence Seaport Museum, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, the National Museum of Industrial History in Bethlehem, Pa., and the Whiting Forest at Dow Gardens in Michigan.
He and colleagues built the Lorax Loft on the Trail of the Lorax at the Philadelphia Zoo, the innovative garden and playground at Abington Friends School, and the lobby at Wissahickon Charter School. At Morris Arboretum, they built the celebrated Out on a Limb and Squirrel Scramble “treetop experiences” that Inquirer architecture critic Inga Saffron called “an irresistible allure, to young and old alike.”
He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in sculpture, hitchhiked from adventure to adventure around the country and South America after high school, and said in 2019 that “learning, laughter, and creating genuine connections between people, nature, and history … really inspire my design.”
Play, he said, is one of those genuine connections. “Wherever people are, as long as they are there long enough, play will happen,” he said in 2019. “It happens in schools, museums, and even prisons. Play is fundamental to being human.”
Together, Mr. Goldblatt, Metcalfe, and their colleagues earned design awards from the local chapter of the American Institute of Architects, the American Association of Museums, and other groups. In 2022, they earned the Wyck-Strickland Award from the historic Wyck house, garden, and farm for outstanding contributions to the cultural life of Philadelphia.
In a tribute, colleagues at Metcalfe said Mr. Goldblatt “transformed our studio into the place we are today.” They said: “His generosity, wisdom, and passion for play emanated throughout every conversation, punctuated only by his wit and sense of humor.”
This photo and story about Mr. Goldblatt appeared in the Daily News in 2013.
From 1990 to 2002, he designed and developed exhibits at the Please Touch Museum. Earlier, he was director of exhibits for the Academy of Natural Sciences, assistant director at the Wagner Free Institute of Science, and studio assistant to sculptor Alice Aycock and other artists.
He helped design the Rail Park and was a cofounder and longtime board member of Friends of the Rail Park. He served on boards at the Print Center, the Wagner Free Institute of Science, and other groups, and taught postgraduate museum studies at the University of the Arts for 20 years.
“He developed a love of the process and philosophy of building,” said his daughter, Lillian. His wife, Susan Hagen, said: “He was always engaged, always asking questions. He was curious, funny, and extremely smart.”
Friends called him “lovely, smart, and witty” and “warm, wise, and creative” in Facebook tributes. One friend said: “He always had a spark.”
Aaron Shlomo Goldblatt was born March 22, 1955, in Cleveland. His father was in the Army, and Mr. Goldblatt grew up on military bases across the country and in Germany.
Mr. Goldblatt and his wife, Susan Hagen, married in 2023.
He graduated from high school in Maryland and earned his bachelor’s degree at Philadelphia College of Art in 1982 and master’s degree at Rutgers University in 1990. Before settling in Philadelphia, he worked on farms, painted houses, and spent time as a carpenter, a welder, and a potter.
He married Diane Pontius, and they had a daughter, Lilly. After a divorce, he married Laura Foster. She died in 2019. He married fellow artist Susan Hagen in 2023, and they lived in Spring Garden.
An engaging storyteller and talented cook, Mr. Goldblatt enjoyed all kinds of art, music, and books. He watched foreign films, wrote letters to politicians and the editor of The Inquirer, and visited the Reading Terminal Market as often as possible. He and his wife started birding during the pandemic.
“Aaron led with his heart, engaging deeply with the people and ideas around him,” his daughter said. “He could burst into song at any moment.”
Mr. Goldblatt smiles with his daughter, Lilly.
His wife said: “He was a family person, and everyone talks about his love and kindness.”
In addition to his wife and daughter, Mr. Goldblatt is survived by a grandson, a sister, a brother, his former wife, and other relatives.
A nightmarish five-turnover game from Jalen Hurts in the Eagles’ Week 14 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Chargers led some to wonder aloud if it would be beneficial to bench the quarterback for the team’s Week 15 game against the Raiders.
Nick Sirianni called the idea of benching Hurts “ridiculous” Wednesday morning during an interview with 94 WIP, but the coach’s comments did not stop the wave of opinions about Hurts.
“You know what’s really, truly, magnificently ridiculous to think? That any quarterback could play as poorly as Hurts has played in back-to-back losses to the Bears and the Chargers without prompting some level of discussion about whether or not he should continue to start,” Inquirer columnist David Murphy wrote Friday. “As good as Hurts has played in his two Super Bowl appearances, that’s how bad he has played over the last couple of weeks.”
Meanwhile, fellow columnist Marcus Hayes also believes the conversation needs to at least happen, whether the Eagles ultimately go through with it or not — adding that one more bad game and the Birds might really need to consider sitting Hurts. And Eagles writer Jeff McLane opened the week by suggesting there’s “merit” to the idea of starting Tanner McKee against the Raiders, but that “opening that can of worms may cause more harm than good — especially in the long term.”
Needless to say, the national media has had plenty to say about the idea of benching Hurts. Here’s a look a what they’re saying ahead of Sunday’s game in Vegas …
‘We all know Tanner McKee ain’t playing’
Stephen A. Smith addressed the idea of benching Hurts in favor of backup Tanner McKee on Thursday morning’s episode of ESPN’s First Take. Smith dismissed the idea, largely on the basis that it would be irresponsible to give McKee, a 2023 sixth-round pick out of Stanford, his second career start in a pivotal game.
“Jalen Hurts ain’t going to be benched,” Smith said. “The backup quarterback’s name is Tanner McKee, right? We all know Tanner McKee ain’t playing. We just know this, OK? Down the line, in the future, sure, but this year, Tanner McKee is not going to replace the reigning defending Super Bowl champion and Super Bowl MVP.”
Smith said calls for Hurts benching is a way for Philly fans to “light a fire” under the team after a three-game losing streak.
“They’re saying, ‘What do we do? What do we have to do to light a fire under these dudes? Because, [expletive], what’s going on isn’t working, because Sirianni ain’t doing anything about it. [Offensive coordinator Kevin] Patullo ain’t doing anything about it. We got a problem.’ That’s the Philadelphia fan base,” Smith said. “There’s nobody with sense that would think for one second that Jalen Hurts is going to find himself on the bench in favor of Tanner McKee.”
Eagles backup quarterback Tanner McKee’s last start came in the 2024 regular season finale.
‘Do you know how stupid of a question that is?’
Former NFL quarterback — and one-time Hurts critic — Dan Orlovsky agreed with his ESPNcolleague on Thursday’s First Take, calling the talk of benching Hurts “the dumbest conversation of the NFL season.”
“I was probably the most critical person of Jalen Hurts early in his career,” Orlovsky said. “He has gone to the playoffs four times. He’s gone to the Super Bowl twice. He’s won the Super Bowl once, and he was the MVP of the Super Bowl. And 10 months later — 10 months later from doing that — we’re going, ‘Do you think we should bench the quarterback?’ … Do you know how stupid of a question that is?”
.@danorlovsky7 believes Jalen Hurts is being OVERLY criticized right now 👀
"It's still crazy to have the quarterback in the NFL right now, who's fourth in touchdowns, have his job security in question." pic.twitter.com/qLl17wFmif
Orlovsky pointed out the absurdity of Hurts, whose 27 combined rushing and passing touchdowns are the fourth-most in the NFL, having his job security in question. Orlovsky, who has been critical of the Eagles’ struggling offense this season, said the team’s problems are too interconnected to blame on Hurts alone.
“Saquon Barkley is one of two running backs that have over 50 carries this year that have gone for either no yards or negative yards,” Orlovsky said. “Is that because Saquon can’t play anymore? Or is it all connected?”
His criticism of the Eagles quarterback runs deeper than a game or the remaining weeks of the season. Cowherd said on Wednesday’s episode of Fox Sports 1’s The Herd that Hurts’ size may be enough of a reason for the franchise to move on from the quarterback. Cowherd pointed out that many of the league’s best quarterbacks, including Justin Herbert and Josh Allen are 6-foot-3 and above.
“I’m 6-2,” Cowherd said. “I can’t be taller than your franchise quarterback.”
"The truth is: The more Jalen Hurts throws, the worse Philadelphia is. Those are the facts."@colincowherd wonders if the Eagles need to consider a change at quarterback pic.twitter.com/gF2vDqaFZ9
At 6-foot-1, Hurts is the same size as Brock Purdy, Tua Tagovailoa, and Baker Mayfield. Cowherd wondered if the league’s 17-game season is wearing on its smaller quarterbacks.
“[Hurts is] smart, he’s athletic, he’s tough,” Cowherd said. “He’s tiny. It’s not just the size and the length of the quarterback, it’s the length of the season. It’s now 17 games. NFL defensive players are now bigger, stronger, faster. The hits hurt more, they’re more punitive.”
However, Hurts did not shrink — nor did the NFL schedule grow — over the offseason, and neither seemed to be an issue during last year’s Super Bowl run.
This season, Hurts has not missed time due to injury, but he is on pace to finish with his fewest rushing carries since his rookie year. Hurts has carried the ball just 88 times this season.
The Eagles’ move away from running Hurts may protect his long-term health, but the team has struggled with Hurts throwing the ball more frequently. The Birds are 1-5 in games where Hurts throws more than 30 passes.
“The truth is, the more Jalen Hurts throws, the worse Philadelphia is,” Cowherd said. “Those are the facts.”
On Thursday, a three-coin set of the final pennies minted for circulation sold at auction for $800,000. Another of the sets sold for $180,000.
In all, the final pennies sold for a combined nearly $17 million.
Sold by Stack’s Bowers Galleries, the sets represented the 232 years since the penny was first minted in Philadelphia in 1793. Each included some of the last pennies struck for circulation at the U.S. Mint’s facilities in Philadelphia and Denver, plus a 24-karat gold penny minted in Philadelphia. Each coin bears a unique omega symbol (Ω), marking the end of the penny.
The Philadelphia U.S. Mint struck the final circulating one-cent coins in November after President Donald Trump ordered the Mint to stop producing new pennies earlier this year. The last small-change coin the government canceled was the half-cent in 1857.
Costly to produce and displaced by digital payment, the penny had grown almost as irrelevant as the half-cent. Still, pennies aren’t disappearing soon. Americans have hoarded 300 billion pennies, which remain legal tender, officials say. Killing penny production is estimated to save around $56 million a year, experts believe.
Thursday’s auction had been closely watched by collectors and numismatics, who had expected bidding to be high. None more than for the final lot, which eventually topped out at $800,000. The special lot came with the three origin dies used to strike the coins.
“This set represents the VERY LAST cents struck in the classic circulating finishing, the true Omega,” read for the listing for the final pennies. “It is impossible to overstate the historic nature of these three pieces, which are likely the most significant coins to emerge from the United States Mint this century.”
But bills proposed in the House by U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R., Tenn.) and in the Senate by U.S. Sen. John Kennedy (R., La.) appear to still fall woefully short of what is needed, a coastal advocacy group says. U.S. House Rep. Jeff Van Drew, however, believes there will be adequate funding.
Dan Ginolfi, executive director of the American Coastal Coalition, an advocacy group for coastal communities and beaches, said the current best case would be the Senate bill, which proposes to spend $62.2 million. The House bill proposes $23 million.
However, both proposals fall short of the approximately $200 million needed to fund approved projects in various states that received no money last year, he said.
Any approvedmoney would go to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which would choose which beach erosion projects to manage.
In New Jersey, projects set for Cape May, Stone Harbor, Avalon, Sea Isle, Strathmere, Ocean City, and Long Beach Island have been stalled because of the lack of funding. So, too, have projects in Maryland, Delaware, Georgia, and Florida.
That means “the level of risk in New Jersey right now is unacceptable,” Ginolfi said.
He noted that it’s not only beaches at risk, but homes, businesses, public property, and infrastructure.
“It really is imperative that the federal and state government work together to achieve a solution,” he said.
Ginolfi noted that coastal communities in the U.S. generate $36 billion in federal and state tax revenue. So he sees $200 million as a good return on investment.
He said his numbers for potential beach replenishment projects in the bills were confirmed with appropriations committees in both the House and Senate.
However, the office of Van Drew, a Republican who represents many New Jersey beach communities, said the coalition’s numbers “misrepresent the true amount of funding available.”
Paxton Antonucci, a spokesperson for Van Drew, said there is actually $166 million available in the House bill “for costs associated with shore protection like beach replenishment, which is the typical amount.”
He said that number will come close to $200 million “after we compromise with the Senate.”
In reality, Van Drew said, most beach replenishment funding comes from outside the regular budget process. He has actively sought such money.
In October, Van Drew wrote to the Army Corps, requesting that it “activate disaster recovery authorities … to repair shore protection projects at the Jersey Shore, in response to damages caused by Hurricane Erin and by the recent nor’easter over the weekend of Oct. 10-12.”
And he wrote to Gov. Phil Murphy and Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill this week urging that New Jersey declare a state of emergency to secure federal money “for the severe coastal erosion and storm damage affecting the Jersey Shore.”
Van Drew said the Shore has been battered since July by “intense wind, wave, and water impacts from storm events including Hurricane Erin, Hurricane Imelda, offshore Hurricane Humberto, and a succession of destructive nor’easters.”
He said the result has been “significant dune loss, beach profile collapse, and damage to public infrastructure in multiple municipalities.”
The American Coastal Coalition has faulted Murphy’s office for failing to request disaster repair projects from the Army Corps in the wake of the storms.
However, Murphy’s office said the storms this year did not meet financial thresholds needed to qualify for major federal disaster declarations.
In addition, the office said that, even if they did, replenishment projects at Army Corps-engineered beaches are not routinely eligible for Federal Emergency Management Agency reimbursement.
Rather, the office blamed Congress for putting forth a budget that cut beach replenishment projects, and said that blue states are a target of the Trump administration.
Throughout the season, coach Mark Ferrante has aimed for Villanova to play “complementary football.”
He saw that concept come to fruition in the final three minutes of Villanova’s 14-7 victory over host Lehigh last Saturday in the second round of the FCS playoffs.
It started with Lehigh going three-and-out late in the fourth quarter. On the next drive, Villanova freshman wide receiver Braden Reed scored a 28-yard touchdown. The energy transferred back to Villanova’s defense, as graduate defensive lineman Obinna Nwobodo forced a fumble in the red zone during Lehigh’s final possession.
“[Lehigh] shut us down for a good portion of the game, but our defense showed up,” said graduate quarterback Pat McQuaide. “Our defense picked us up when we were down and gave us short fields. We were fortunate that both our touchdowns came off of huge stops and turnovers. Those guys have been incredible all year.”
When graduate linebacker Shane Hartzell recovered the fumble, the Wildcats’ sideline erupted. It was ultimately the game-winning moment for Villanova as it escaped Lehigh.
“It’s not just the defense getting excited, the whole sideline is getting excited,” Ferrante said. “I think the team is doing a great job of playing together, playing for each other, and playing complementary football. That’s what needs to continue.”
No. 12 seed Villanova (11-2) looks to carry its momentum of a 10-game winning streak into its Football Championship Subdivision quarterfinal against fourth-seeded Tarleton State in Stephenville, Texas, on Saturday (noon, ESPN).
‘Let’s do this together’
Graduate players like Nwobodo and Hartzell form the backbone of Villanova’s defense, guiding the team through one of its most successful seasons in recent history.
Ferrante credited the team’s level-headed leadership with generating a thrilling finish against Lehigh.
“When we went into the locker room at halftime in past years, sometimes the defensive guys would complain about how we haven’t scored. But there was none of that,” Ferrante said. “There was no blame. There was no finger-pointing. It was all, ‘Let’s do this together and play a better second half collectively.’ Fortunately, we were able to do that.”
Villanova and Lehigh faced off in the second round of the FCS playoffs on Dec. 6.
Villanova’s defense relied on its veteran players early in the season, but the secondary is made up of primarily underclassmen. Heading deeper into the playoffs, Ferrante no longer sees the youth of the unit as a potential weakness.
“[The secondary] is where we’ve made some of the biggest growth this year, because that was what everyone was worried about,” Ferrante said. “They don’t lack confidence; they just lacked experience.”
Some of the graduate players spearheading the offense are newcomers this season.
McQuaide took over the starting position as a transfer from Nicholls State, and wide receiver Luke Colella, a Princeton transfer, is averaging a team-high 72.5 receiving yards a game.
“We have a good nucleus of guys who have been here for five or six years,” Ferrante said. “But [McQuaide and Colella] just add a different level of maturity. Even though they’re first-year guys with our program, they bring different perspectives because they’ve been somewhere else.”
Underdog mentality
The Wildcats enter their third game of the playoffs as the underdog.
In the first round, Villanova trounced Harvard, 52-7, despite some predictions saying the Crimson would win. The victory over Lehigh in Bethlehem, Pa., gave Villanova a further confidence boost.
“We’ve been an underdog every week so far,” McQuaide said. “So we kind of embrace it. It doesn’t really matter. Once the ball is kicked off on Saturday, it’s a four-quarter fight, and we’ll be ready to go.”
Villanova quarterback Pat McQuaide (7) celebrates with wide receiver Luke Colella (1) after scoring a touchdown against Albany on Oct. 25.
Villanova is up against its toughest challenge yet in Tarleton State (12-1), which has the most productive scoring offense in the nation, averaging 44.1 points per game.
“I don’t really see too many weaknesses in [Tarleton],” Ferrante said. “They score a lot of points, they play great defense, and they’re very opportunistic. They create a lot of turnovers.
“So I think what the keys to the game comes down to is who’s going to make the fewest mistakes, who’s going to hang on to the football, and not give the other team extra possessions.”
Taylor Swift is someone who can chill but will never be a chill person. Also, “All to Well,” the 10-minute version, tops the list of her favorite songs from her catalog.
These were among the many other revelations that Swift dropped during her first interview on Stephen Colbert’s The Late Show, Wednesday night.
Philadelphia fans will most appreciate the 2001 flashback photograph of a tween Taylor singing the national anthem at a Sixers game in her very patriotic outfit: a red duster, an American flag top, and white pants.
On “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” Taylor Swift talks about her national anthem outfit: a red duster, white pants, and sparkly shirt for a performance of the national anthem at a Sixers game in 2001.
“You know when you are like 11 and you have that one outfit that you just know … goes so hard … when you just put this on and it’s like I’m sorry. I’m unstoppable today,” the Berks County native said on the talk show. She was dressed in a precariously fitting burgundy velvet mini with an off-the-shoulder Bardot neckline with winged sleeves giving early-Christmas-present energy to her fans.
Today, that unstoppable outfit for her is a sparkling Versace bodysuit, one of her many outfit changes on “The Eras Tour.”
“Anytime I put it on … I could be like coughing from a horrible virus. I could be aching,” Swift said. “When I put that on, I’m like, ‘This is popping.’ I’m doing it.”
The interview was light-hearted, fun, and thorough. Swift talked about her friendship with Stevie Nicks — we are jealous! — the excitement of her engagement to Kansas City Chiefs’ Travis Kelce, and the thrill of getting the master recordings of her first six albums back in May.
She had no idea of the impact of her tour on her fans until she learned they were passing out from joy.
Literally, passing out from joy.
“When I read articles that medical professionals are diagnosing fans who came to the Eras tour with post concert amnesia and joy blackouts, I was like, ‘Oh man, this is different,’” Swift said “The fans … People connecting to what we created made the Eras Tour what it was.”
For that, the Southwest Philadelphia woman was sentenced Friday to 10 to 20 years in state prison.
“I am not God. I can’t decide who lives and who dies,” Williams, 31, told Judge Kevin F. Kelly. “This is the biggest mistake of my life, and I hate myself for it.”
Williams pleaded guilty in August to third-degree murder and third-degree murder of an unborn child for fatally shooting Latoya Davis in the parking lot of a Wawa store in Collingdale last year.
At the time, Davis, 32, was six months pregnant, something Williams said she did not know when she pulled the trigger of her Ruger .380 handgun on that night in October 2024.
“Not a day goes by where I don’t cry my eyes out,” Williams said. “I am sorry for the Davis family for the pain I have caused. I took something so precious, and I’m embarrassed, ashamed, remorseful, shattered.”
Davis, who left behind two young daughters, was shot once in the back during the dispute, which prosecutors said began inside the Wawa and continued in the store’s parking lot, where the two women had parked next to each other.
Latoya Davis, a mother of two, was killed outside of a Wawa in Glenolden. Davis was six months pregnant at the time.
As Williams went to drive away, Davis continued to argue with her and, at one point, threw a beverage at her. In response, Williams shot her with the gun she was licensed to carry.
Williams’ attorney, Anna Hinchman, said a lifetime of trauma, including sexual abuse as a teen and violent domestic assaults by her ex-husband, left Williams with a severe case of PTSD that was triggered when Davis confronted her.
Assistant District Attorney Dan Kerley called the shooting a “senseless act of violence” and said that, despite Williams’ perception that she was defending herself, her actions forever ruined two families.
“It’s undisputed that Ms. Williams had a license to carry her gun, but that did not give her a license to kill,” he said. “It does not give you the ability to shoot someone during an argument.”
Still, Kerley credited Williams for remaining at the scene, performing CPR on the grievously wounded Davis, and cooperating with police.
Gabou Jean Pierre Toure, Davis’ longtime boyfriend and the father of her unborn son, said no amount of remorse or accountability can heal the pain he feels.
“I want to forgive you so bad. I’m trying to forgive you,” he said. “But I still feel this is a nightmare that I want to wake up from.”
Toure said he and Davis were soulmates, and were both eagerly awaiting the birth of their son after struggling with fertility issues. The two shared a birthday and celebrated together every year.
This year, he said, all he could do on that day was weep for his lost love.
“You are a mom. You can imagine how it feels to lose your child,” he said to Williams. “I hope you regret what you’ve done.”
Rick Tocchet’s news conference after the Flyers’ 3-2 overtime loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday wasn’t short like his predecessor was known for — in fact, he told the team’s media relations staff he was OK to keep answering questions — but for the first time since becoming the Flyers’ head coach, he sounded very frustrated.
“I can name 10 guys that didn’t do anything,” he said during one of his answers. “You guys can write whatever story.”
Tocchet tried to remain positive as his squad hung with a perennial Stanley Cup contender at Xfinity Mobile Arena. But 29 games in, it’s clear the coach wants to see improvements and implementation of his systems.
Two reasons Tocchet wasn’t frustrated
Five-on-five
Tocchet did say he thought that Flyers played played a good game and executed the game plan at five-on-five — and they did.
According to Natural Stat Trick, the Flyers had 54.84% of the chances in the first period and 51.85% in the third period. Vegas had the advantage in the middle frame, but also by a slim margin of 52.17%.
The Flyers outshot the Golden Knights by one, and while they did allow two more high-danger chances to the opposition, the Flyers outscored Vegas 2-1.
The Flyers had a pretty even match-up with the highly-skilled and heavy Vegas Golden Knights as teams traded chances.
Four players he liked
For defenseman Noah Juulsen, the season started a little iffy, and there were questions about whether he was ready to play steady minutes after missing a considerable amount of time following sports hernia surgery in February.
But the rust has worn off, and he has become the perfect seventh defenseman — someone who can be inserted into the lineup and play well when there are injuries, as there has been since the start of the season with Rasmus Ristolainen, who is inching his way back from his own surgery.
On Thursday night, Juulsen was rewarded with his first goal in Philly, a tally that Tocchet, who coached him in Vancouver, too, called “a great shot.”
“I think when someone puts in the perfect spot, like [Christian Dvorak] did, and you pound it, it comes off pretty hot usually for most guys in the league,” Juulsen said of his one-timer from the left face-off circle.
Speaking of Dvorak, when asked about his response after his turnover led to the opening goal by Zach Whitecloud, Tocchet liked how he battled back.
“He was disappointed in that. We talked about that,” Tocchet said with a frustrating pause and sigh about the turnover just inside the Vegas blue line, “this morning. When there’s no speed, you’ve got to get it deep. … That’s responsible all year, something bad happens, and we come back.”
Carl Grundström, in his third game with the Flyers, was moved up in the lineup. By the third period, he was solidly on a line with Noah Cates and Bobby Brink.
“I liked his game,” Tocchet said of the Swede, who finished with a season high 12:41 and got an assist on Juulsen’s goal. “I thought he’d be better on that kind of matchup” against the Jack Eichel line or Mitch Marner, who Brink and Cates were assigned to for most of the night.
It says a lot when a kid playing in his second NHL game has his name brought up unprompted by the head coach. Tocchet said of Ty Murchison “for a young kid again, he looked poised out there.” And he did. Skating 13:41, he was on the ice for Zegras’ backdoor goal to tie the game at 1, and just 1:43 into the game, he laid a monster hit on Kaedan Korczak to set the tone.
“It’s a little disappointing how it ended, sour taste,” he said of the overtime winner by Mark Stone after Travis Konecny fanned on the puck and Eichel was able to maintain possession and find Stone backdoor.
But Tocchet wasn’t happy with the overtime session as a whole. Despite having time in the offensive zone, the Flyers did not register a single shot across the extra session that lasted almost three minutes. Vegas had one blocked shot and two shots on goal.
“[Travis Sanheim] right in the middle of the ice and we pass it like, those are the things you just can’t do,” Tocchet said. “You’ve got to take the shot. It’s right there. He’s got a hell of a shot. We’re looking maybe too cute, I don’t know, but we’ve got to put our finger on it.”
The Flyers are 2-4 in overtime while knowing that, if the game gets there, a perfect 5-0 is on the horizon in the shootout. Asked if the Flyers weren’t playing aggressively enough because they know that if they get it to a shootout, there’s a good chance they win: “I don’t know, maybe in the subconscious of their mind, but not for us,” he said of the coaches.
Travis Sanheim had a lane and a screen on the goal, but opted to pass the puck to Christian Dvorak by the net. It looks like a good play when paused, but in reality, Dvorak was gliding back and did not get the puck until he was almost up against the boards leaving no angle to shoot.
The power play
“Did you see the first two power plays?” Tocchet retorted when asked about the change in the units in the third period that saw Cates and Brink on the top unit with Zegras, Konecny, and Jamie Drysdale, who made a return to the power play in the game.
Earlier in the night, that unit was Owen Tippett, Drysdale, Zegras, Konecny, and Michkov. Emil Andrae and Sanheim also saw power play time on the point with them across the night.
“What would you have done?” Tocchet added with a shrug and a “There you go.”
Tocchet did continue saying that he didn’t want to get negative because they had a good game, but it sure feels like the former NHLer hit a rite of passage as a Flyers coach.
As he said, “I know the coaches are a little frustrated because [we sound] like a broken record.”
So, is everyone else starting to have flashbacks, too?
The power play is 23rd in the NHL (17.9%). Through 29 games and 81 power-play opportunities, the Flyers have 14 goals. It’s not the fewest in the NHL — it’s the third fewest. (One positive is they are tied with the Carolina Hurricanes, whom they play in a home-and-home this weekend.)
The Flyers had three power plays on Thursday, but could muster only one shot on goal, three shots that missed the net, and two that were blocked. That’s six shot attempts across six minutes of action — or a lack of action.
Tocchet said the flanks, which are the players in the circles, aside from Zegras, struggled, and they weren’t getting shots from the middle of the ice. The coach is obviously frustrated that “we’ve practiced it, but for some reason when under pressure we kind of lose our bearings.”
And it has to be even more frustrating for the bench boss to watch Vegas score like that on one of their two power plays. After getting a shot from the middle of the ice by Pavel Dorofeyev, who put the puck on goal from just above the slot, Stone had two chances atop the crease, with the second going in for his first goal of the night.
