Donovan Mitchell had 35 points and nine assists, Darius Garland scored 20 points before leaving with an injured foot and the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the 76ers 133-107 on Wednesday night.
Garland was ruled out for the game late in the third quarter when he hurt his right foot diving for a loose ball. Garland already had surgery in June on the injured left big toe that hampered him during Cleveland’s exit from the playoffs last season.
The All-Star guard averaged 17.9 points after a slow start this season as he recovered from surgery. Garland continued his recent hot streak and shot 8-for-13 against the Sixers.
Joel Embiid scored 20 points and hit a three-pointer that helped him reach 13,000 career points, the seventh player in team history to hit that mark.
Paul George had 17 points for the Sixers in the opener of a two-game series.
Sixers fans booed the team off the court in the third quarter headed into a timeout and trailing 75-53.
Sixers center Joel Embiid (center) scored his 13,000th point against the Cavaliers on Wednesday night.
Tyrese Maxey and Quintin Grimes hit a pair of threes during a 10-0 run and Embiid — who just earlier landed his 7-foot-2 frame on two rows of unsuspecting fans when he dove for a loose ball — buried a three of his own that made it 79-66.
The good times were short-lived, and fans headed for the exits as the Cavs stretched the lead to 22 midway through the fourth.
Sixers forward Dominick Barlow needed help up from the court and into the locker room after his legs gave out on him and he landed hard on his back and head on a driving layup attempt. He suffered a back contusion.
De’Andre Hunter hit early threes that stretched Cleveland’s lead to 30-14 and 60-47 headed into halftime. Hunter and Evan Mobley both scored 17 points. Mobley grabbed 13 rebounds.
The teams play again Friday at Xfinity Mobile Arena (7 p.m., ESPN).
Dominick Barlow had to be helped to the locker room after awkwardly falling when his shot was blocked by Cleveland Cavaliers power forward Evan Mobley, 1 minute, 11 seconds into the second half.
The 76ers’ forward was diagnosed with a back contusion and did not return.
He had two points on 1-for-3 shooting and two rebounds in 8:04 of playing time before suffering the injury. The team would suffer a major loss if he were forced to miss considerable time. He has been the Sixers’ glue guy in the starting lineup while grabbing rebounds and playing solid defense.
When the 76ers blew two late leads Sunday in their 116-115 overtime loss to the Toronto Raptors, they didn’t have to wait long to get revenge.
The teams met the next night, on the same floor, with the Sixers beating the Raptors, 115-102.
Then on Wednesday, the Sixers hosted the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first of a pair of home games at Xfinity Mobile Arena. They will square off again on Friday.
These quick two-game series are part of a scheduling change the NBA implemented several seasons ago that has teams periodically playing consecutive games against the same opponent in the same location to reduce travel.
“It kind of gives you a small preview of what the playoffs look like, having to beat a team and go out and do it again the next night or whenever you play,” Sixers power forward Dominick Barlow said Wednesday after shootaround.
Coach Nick Nurse added that it does keep you on the same team for a few days in a row.
“So it gives you a chance to maybe look at your team a little more in depth over those days,” he said, “because you’re not sprinting to the next prep session or whatever as much.”
Sixers forward Dominick Barlow is a fan of the two-game series.
Nurse is fine with this format. It’s something he experienced frequently while coaching in the NBA G League.
Barlow feels this forces players to be ready, physically and mentally.
“You play a team twice, they are going to know your tendencies a little bit better,” he said. “They have a scouting report. So I think it’s good.”
Home sweet home
The two games against Cleveland begin a six-game homestand for the Sixers. In all, they’ll play nine of their next 10 games at home.
They’ll have a back-to-back against the Indiana Pacers (Monday) and Phoenix Suns (Tuesday) before entertaining the Houston Rockets on Jan. 22 and the New York Knicks on Jan. 24. After traveling to Charlotte to face the Hornets on Jan. 26, the Sixers will entertain the Milwaukee Bucks the next night before closing out the month with home games against the Sacramento Kings on Jan. 29 and the New Orleans Pelicans on Jan. 31.
“I like it,” Barlow said of this stretch of home games. Playing at Xfinity Mobile Arena “kind of reminds me of playing outside as a kid. … The crowd, they are just passionate, and they care. If you are not playing well, they’ll let you know. If you are playing well and doing what you are supposed to do, they love you. That’s what I grew up on. So I like it.”
He is also excited to be home after playing eight of the last 10 games on the road. It gives him a chance to go home after the game instead of traveling to a new city and checking into hotel rooms.
The Sixers headed into Wednesday’s game with a 22-16 record and in fifth place in the Eastern Conference standings. They were a half-game behind the fourth-place Raptors (24-17), 1½ games behind third-place Boston Celtics, and 2½ games behind the second-place New York Knicks. However, the Sixers were only 1½ games ahead of the seventh-place Cavs (22-19).
“I try to look at it just from a competitive standpoint,” Barlow said of keeping up with the standings. “But I try not to get too wrapped up in it, because we’ve got to control what we can control. When you look at that sometimes, you start to worry about when other teams are losing. We’ve got to worry about us winning.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office is seeking documents and information from those connected to the case of Ellen Greenberg, whose 2011 death remains shrouded by questions about whether it was properly investigated by authorities, according to sources.
The sources, who asked not to be identified, said federal prosecutorsrecently sent out subpoenas in the matter, and that the investigationdoes not appear to be focused on the manner of Greenberg’s 2011 death by 20 stab wounds — which was initially ruled homicide then switched to suicide. Instead, the sources said, the probe appears to be centered on questions about how a variety of agencies handled the case in the years after she died, and whether any of those missteps might amount to criminal corruption.
Still, the scope of the potential inquiry was not clear Wednesday.
Multiple city and state agencies have been involved in Greenberg’s case in the last 15 years, including the Philadelphia Police Department, the Philadelphia Medical Examiner’s Office, the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office, the Philadelphia Law Department, and the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office.
Spokespeople for all of those city offices would neither confirm nor deny they have received subpoenas.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office said they could “neither confirm nor deny the existence of an investigation.”
Joseph Podraza Jr., the attorney for Greenberg’s parents, said he and his clients are “ecstatic.”
“If that is in fact correct and accurate, that the federal government is going to investigate … this is exactly what we’ve wanted all along,” he said. “It’s unfortunate it’s taken more than seven years to get to this point but we are really grateful and thankful to the U.S. attorneys and, of course, are available to assist in any way we can in helping their investigation.”
From homicide to suicide
Ellen Greenberg and Samuel Goldberg in the kitchen of the Manayunk apartment they shared.
Greenberg, 27, was found by her fiancé, Samuel Goldberg, in the kitchen of their Manayunk apartment with a 10-inch knife lodged four inches into her chest on Jan. 26, 2011.
Investigators on the scene treated her death as a suicide because Goldberg told them the apartment door was locked from the inside and he had to break it down to get in. There were no signs of an intruder and Greenberg had no defensive wounds, police have said.
During an autopsy the next morning, then-assistant medical examiner Marlon Osbourne noted a total of 20 stab wounds to Greenberg’s body, including 10 to the back of her neck, along with 11 bruises in various stages of healing, and ruled her death a homicide.
By the time homicide investigators returned to the scene to conduct their investigation, the apartment was already professionally cleaned and electronic devices belonging to Greenberg had been removed by a member of Goldberg’s family.
Shortly after the homicide ruling, police publicly disputed the findings, citing “mental issues” Greenberg may have had. Osbourne later changed his ruling to suicide, with no explanation to Greenberg’s parents, Joshua and Sandra.
Greenbergwas dealing with anxiety, had met with a psychiatrist, and was prescribed anti-anxiety and sleep aid medications. Herpsychiatrist told police Greenbergfelt overwhelmed at work, but “there was never any feeling of suicidal thoughts,” and according to the medical examiner’s investigation report at the time, there was nothing indicative of suicide found on Greenberg’s computers.
Ellen Greenberg’s parents, Joshua and Sandra, hold a photo album of their daughter.
In their search for answers, the Greenbergs hired then-civil rights attorney Larry Krasner in 2012. He convened a meeting for the Greenbergs with police officials and the district attorney’s office in an effort to get the investigation reopened, but nothing happened, the Greenbergs said.
When Krasner became district attorney in 2018, the Greenbergs reached out to see if he’d reopen the investigation. Krasner referred the matter to the state Attorney General’s Office, then helmed by now Gov. Josh Shapiro, to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest.
Shapiro’s office had the case for more than a year. It was only when The Inquirer pressed the office for answers that Shapiro’s spokesperson at the time, Joe Grace (now spokesperson for Mayor Cherelle L. Parker), said in a 2019 statement that they had conducted a “thorough investigation,” the “evidence supports ‘Suicide’ as the manner of death,” and that the office had closed the investigation.
Grace pointed to search history on Greenberg’s computer that included the search terms “suicide methods,” “quick suicide,” and “painless suicide.”
When asked why the medical examiner’s 2011 report said nothing indicative of suicide was found on Greenberg’s computer, Grace said his office didn’t find the analysis in the file, so “we cannot say if anyone, police or prosecutor, ever looked at it.”
The lawsuits
Following the Attorney General Office’s review, the Greenbergs filed a lawsuit against the Medical Examiner’s Office and Osbourne in 2019 seeking to have the manner of their daughter’s death changed back to homicide or undetermined.
The city law department fought to have the case dismissed and a lengthy appeals process followed. In the Commonwealth Court’s 2-1 decision in 2024, judges wrote they had “no choice under the law” but to grant the city’s appeal but added that “… this court is acutely aware of the deeply flawed investigation of the victim’s death by the City of Philadelphia Police Department (PPD) detectives, the City of Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office (DAO), and the MEO [Medical Examiner’s Office].”
Ellen Greenberg
While that case was ongoing, the Greenbergs filed a second suit in 2022, based on additional details about the case that came to light through the first suit, including new information about the process around how Greenberg’s death was classified.
In the new suit, Podraza alleged the investigation into Greenberg’s death was “embarrassingly botched” and resulted in a “cover-up” by Philadelphia authorities. It sought monetary damages for intentional infliction of emotional distress.
The city law department fought both suits until February, when Osbourne — the pathologist who initially ruled Greenberg’s death a homicide then switched it to suicide — signed a sworn statement saying he now believes her death should be categorized as something other than suicide.
Within days, and shortly before the second case was to go to trial, the city offered to settle with the Greenbergs. The settlement included $650,000, which was paid, and an agreement that the Medical Examiner’s Office conduct an “expeditious” review of the manner of Greenberg’s 2011 death.
Sandra and Joshua Greenberg
As part of the settlement, the Greenbergs agreed to withdraw both of their lawsuits against the city. The first suit had been slated for a hearing before the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania last year.
In October, Philadelphia Chief Medical Examiner Lindsay Simon delivered her review of the case, in which she said she discovered 20 additional bruises and three additional “perforations in the skin” never before documented on Greenberg’s body, raising the total number of bruises to 31 and stab wounds to 23, up from 20.
Simon concluded that Greenberg “would be capable of inflicting these injuries herself,” and that her death “is best classified as ‘Suicide.’”
BUFFALO ― Jamie Drysdale is back. But Rasmus Ristolainen is out.
Drysdale was activated off injured reserve after morning skate Wednesday and is back in the lineup. He suffered an upper-body injury in the Flyers’ win on Jan. 6 against his former team, the Anaheim Ducks, after absorbing a high hit well away from the puck by forward Ross Johnston.
Without him in the lineup, the Flyers lost three straight, including two in a row to the Tampa Bay Lightning, in which they were outscored by 12-3. Getting the fleet-of-foot defenseman, who is having a breakout year on the defensive side of the puck, back in the lineup is a big lift.
“Oh, man, he has such an impact on our back end. He plays with speed. He helps our offense, so it’ll be good to have him back,” said forward Travis Konecny, who added he is good to go after dealing with his own ailments, including an upper-body injury, a lower-body injury, and a good slash to the leg on Monday.
But now they have to get back on track without Ristolainen, who was not on the ice for warmups before the Flyers faced the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center. The team announced he is day-to-day with an upper-body injury. He was a full participant at morning skate and was on the point for one of the power-play units.
It’s another unfortunate setback for the 31-year-old blueliner. He returned to the Flyers lineup on Dec. 16 in Montreal after missing the start of the season and the end of last season after undergoing surgery on a right triceps tendon rupture in late March. It followed a pair of procedures in 2024, which also repaired a ruptured triceps tendon. Flyers general manager Danny Brière said last April that the injury was similar, although he wouldn’t confirm whether he suffered a torn tendon again.
In 13 games this season, Ristolainen has three assists and a plus-minus of minus-3 while averaging 20 minutes, 59 seconds a game.
Before the announcement, Rick Tocchet was planning on shaking up his defensive pairings because, “I think during the season maybe things get stale [so] you want to move it around stuff,“ he said.
Ristolainen would have been paired alongside Travis Sanheim and Drysdale with his good buddy Cam York. The other pairing would have been Nick Seeler and Emil Andrae. Instead, York and Sanheim remain together, Drysdale is back with Andrae, and Seeler will skate with Noah Juulsen.
Jamie Drysdale (left) and Cam York are close friends and will get a chance Wednesday to be paired together.
Although Bobby Brink was not on the ice for morning skate and is expected to miss his fourth straight game with an upper-body injury, Denver Barkey will be a healthy scratch on Wednesday.
“He just played junior last year, so I think it’s important that he gets a little bit of a break,” Tocchet said. “I told him work out this morning, and go watch the game up top [in the press box]. I think that’s important for young guys to go watch, it slows the game down up top.”
“I think it’s important that even the young guys go up there and just take a look at it. Well, it looks easy up top. It looks a lot slower,” Tocchet said.
“Obviously, on the ice, it’s different. But you can learn from up top. I think it’s important that he does that. I’ll go the next day [and say], ‘What did you see?’ It’s almost like a homework assignment. … He’s a pretty smart kid. … That’s why he was drafted, for his hockey IQ.”
Rick Tocchet thinks rookie Denver Barkey can benefit from a break and watching the game from up in the press box.
Barkey has one goal and three points across 11 games since being called up and recording two assists in his NHL debut on Dec. 20. He has struggled the last two games and had the puck stolen by Brayden Point ahead of Nikita Kucherov’s first goal on Saturday and Nick Paul’s goal later in the game.
Breakaways
Dan Vladař (16-7-4, 907 save percentage) will start in goal. He is 2-1-1 with a .902 save percentage in four career games against Buffalo.
Several Philadelphia-connected entertainers have been nominated for the 57th NAACP Image Awards.
The nominees, announced Monday, include Philly-based filmmaker Chisom Chieke and WURD Radio.
Chieke, whose projects explore romance and identity across Black diasporic communities, earned a nomination for outstanding short form (live action) for her film,Food for the Soul.
“Receiving this nomination is indescribable,” Chieke said. “I’m so grateful to BlackStar for giving me the opportunity and trusting the vision. They really are the foundation of the project. I’m doubly grateful for my crew, the support I got from Philly, and just being able to grow my network of collaborators.”
“Food for the Soul” by Chisom Chieke, who is based in Philly, is up for an NAACP Image Award. The film won the award for favorite short narrative at the 2025 BlackStar Film Festival.
“We’re in a category that has some real heavy hitters, but we’re telling the story of everyday Philadelphians who have overcome extraordinary barriers and obstacles, and still are,” WURD president and CEO Sara Lomax said.
The podcast series, hosted by author, consultant, and educator James Peterson, highlights the experiences of wrongfully incarcerated people and the support they draw from their own communities.
The series also spotlights the work of the Pennsylvania Innocence Project, which has secured the release of more than 30 people and provides reentry support and advocacy.
Peterson said the nomination is a credit to Lomax and others’ hard work, but also to the Philadelphians who have supported the station over the years.
“It’s validation for the people who listen to WURD when they wake up in the morning and until they go to sleep at night,” he said. “And there’s a level of dedication from some of our listeners that sets the bar for what we’ve done throughout the years. It’s a team win and team effort, but it’s really a community win.”
WURD’s podcast series, “Exonerated: The Cost of Wrongful Conviction,” is nominated for a 2026 NAACP Image Award.
Other Philly-connected nominees include Temple University graduate Jalen Blot, whose film, Before You Let Go, was also nominated for outstanding short form (live action). Also competing in the same category is Ella, starring Jill Scott, who’s affectionately called “Jilly from Philly.”
The Kevin Hart-produced Kingsland was nominated in the outstanding podcast category. Also, Hart, who grew up in North Philadelphia, stars in the animated sitcom Lil Kev, which was nominated for outstanding animated series.
Philly native Kevin Hart, seen here in 2017, has two NAACP Image Award nominations, for outstanding podcast (“Kingsland”) and outstanding animated series (“Lil Kev”).
Other Philly-linked nominees include Colman Domingo for outstanding directing in a comedy series for Netflix’s The Four Seasons. And Boyz II Men’s Shawn Stockman, whose podcast Shawn Stockman’s on That Note, was nominated in the outstanding podcast — arts, sports, and entertainment category.
Philly’s own Dawn Staley received a nod for outstanding literary work — biography/autobiography for her memoir, Uncommon Favor: Basketball, North Philly, My Mother, and the Life Lessons I Learned From All Three.
The winners will be announced Feb. 28. Public voting is available through early February.
The 57th NAACP Image Awards will be telecast live on BET and CBS on Feb. 28.
As President Donald Trump threatens to acquire Greenland, Sen. Chris Coons is boarding a plane to Denmark to push back.
Coons (D., Del.), who opposes the president’s takeover proposal, is bringing a bipartisan group of House and Senate members on a mission to highlight the longstanding relationship between the U.S. and Denmark, which has control over defense and foreign policy in the semi-autonomous territory,located northeast of Canada.
Coons said in an interview Wednesday that the delegation will meet with Danish and Greenlandic government and business leaders to discuss issues including Arctic security and strengthening trade relations.
“Denmark has been a strong close and trusted ally for decades and this is a chance for a bipartisan and bicameral delegation from Congress to go and communicate our respect and appreciation for their close partnership,” he said.
He said he hopes the visit clarifies “there are folks in Congress who do not support an aggressive engagement.”
Coons noted Danish soldiers fought alongside Americans in Iraq and Afghanistan and suffered some of the highest casualties per capita. The delegation will lay a wreath to commemorate that sacrifice on their trip.
Joining Coons will be Democratic U.S. Reps. Sarah McBride of Delaware, Madeleine Dean of Pennsylvania, Gregory Meeks of New York, and Republican Sen. Thom Tillis from North Carolina. The delegation will be in Copenhagen Friday and Saturday. Some members of the delegation will continue on to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Coons called that rationale “puzzling,” given leaders of Greenland and Denmark have assured him on previous visits that they are happy to collaborate with the U.S. to amp up American military presence in the country and work together on arctic security issues or to explore investments in mineral resources.
“I asked are you aware of any foreign threats, cyber, or other incursions?” Coons said of a previous conversation with Denmark Minister of Foreign Affairs Lars Løkke Rasmussen. “Nope, none.”
Leaders in Greenland this week said they wanted the territory to remain part of the kingdom of Denmark.
“Greenland does not want to be owned by the USA,” Greenland’s Premier Jens-Frederik Nielsen said at a news conference Tuesday in Copenhagen. “Greenland does not want to be governed by the USA. Greenland will not be part of the USA. We choose the Greenland we know today, which is part of the Kingdom of Denmark.”
Denmark officials have warned an attack on Greenland, which is part of Denmark and thus under the protection of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, would destroy the alliance, which has been a pillar of U.S.-European relations since 1949.
Trump has been seemingly undeterred by foreign protestations. He said on social media Wednesday that “anything less” than U.S. control of Greenland is “unacceptable,” arguing the United States needs the territory for national security purposes, which could in turn strengthen NATO.
“NATO becomes far more formidable and effective with Greenland in the hands of the UNITED STATES,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. “Anything less than that is unacceptable.”
Dean, who also went on a trip to Denmark in April, said in an interview she hopes to convey “the president’s notion is wrongheaded, dangerous, inane and not something we support.”
Dean said if the president wants to boost security in Denmark he might consider increasing the number of U.S. military bases there, which has precipitously declined, rather than trying to take control of the country.
Dean also encouraged her Republican colleagues to speak out against the president’s comments.
“If somehow this president unleashes military action against Greenland, against the kingdom of Denmark — it will destroy 80 years of a NATO partnership that has kept the world in a more peaceful place,” she said. “It’s just a sick irony that this is the same president who so wishes he could win the Nobel Peace Prize.”
Coons and Dean’s trip comes as tensions have risen internationally.
The government of Greenland and Denmark’s Ministry of Defense said there would be an increased military presence in the territory starting Wednesday due to “security tensions,” CNN reported.
Elsewhere, European leaders continue to reject Trump’s calls to control the semi-autonomous territory. French President Emmanuel Macron warned Wednesday that the consequences of the US trying to seize Greenland from Denmark would be “unprecedented.”
AI has already replaced some workers at Philly-area firms, a new report says. But the bulk of the AI-related job loss is yet to come, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia CEO and president Anna Paulson said.
Paulson, speaking Wednesday at the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia’s State of the Economy event, said AI could further reduce demand for workers in the years ahead.
Also Wednesday, the Fed released its annual report, which surveyed 54 Chamber businesses on the past year and what lies ahead. They found that the biggest concern area businesses faced in 2025 were uncertainty about regulations and government policies, and that nearly 39% of respondents expected better business conditions overall in this coming year.
Amid a slow labor market, a central topic of Wednesday’s event was jobs.
Job growth slowed, but healthcare helped Philadelphia
Last year, the majority of private-sector jobs created were in healthcare and social assistance, Paulson noted. Philadelphia has a larger-than-average share of workers in this sector, which means the region has “been somewhat insulated from the national slowdown in job creation,” she said.
But in other sectors, AI and immigration trends have contributed to a hiring slowdown.
“On the supply side, the sharp drop in immigration has slowed the growth of labor supply,” said Paulson. “On the demand side, firms — both nationally and here in Philadelphia — tell us that uncertainty is holding back hiring as they consider a range of factors: trade policy and the potential for artificial intelligence to transform the need for workers.”
AI is just starting to replace jobs, and isn’t creating many
AI has been widely adopted by companies in the region, the Chamber’s survey found. Nearly 76% of respondents said they used AI for their work.
That’s changing what kinds of human work firms need.
Among those surveyed, 9.5% said generative AI had decreased the need for workers at their firm, while 23.8% said it changed the kinds of workers they needed but not the number.
Only 4.8% reported needing more workers because of generative AI.
The AI boom has brought plans for more data center development in the region. But those kinds of facilities don’t require a lot of workers, says Paulson.
“Going forward, we can see a period of strong growth where relatively few jobs are created as AI becomes fully embedded,” she said.
Amazon data centers loom over houses at the edge of the Loudoun Meadows neighborhood in Aldie, Va., in 2023.
Some Philadelphians are spending money cautiously
As uncertainty slows hiring on the business side, it seems to be influencing consumer trends as well.
Paulson noted that low-income households are struggling due to high prices and worries around job security.
Individuals with discretionary income are being careful of how they spend their money, noted Paulson. “A retailer who is active in the Philadelphia area told us they are seeing a lot of headwinds for the consumer, especially for lower-income individuals,” she said.
While people in Philadelphia continue to eat at restaurants, “contacts tell us that less expensive options on the menu are becoming more popular,” she said. Upscale restaurants are an exception, she noted, adding that “high-income households, bolstered by a strong stock market, appear to be driving elevated consumption growth.”
People shop on Black Friday at Cherry Hill Mall on Nov. 28, 2025. Philadelphia Fed CEO Paulson said people are being more careful with their discretionary income amid economic uncertainty.
Some employers want better applicants. Working people want better jobs.
When they are hiring, companies are often challenged to find the right candidates. About 30% of employers surveyed struggled to hire last year because they lacked applicants, or lacked qualified applicants, the Chamber’s report said.
Comcast executive Bret Perkins, who leads the company’s external and government affairs, noted at Wednesday’s event that the Philadelphia area is “just not creating enough opportunity jobs,” that lend workers upward mobility. He pointed to Philadelphia ranking 50th among 50 metro areas for upward economic mobility recently.
The Philadelphia Fed recently partnered on a survey of Philadelphians in the city’s lower-income zip codes, in which roughly one-third said “a better-paying job is the single thing that would be most helpful to them,” said Paulson.
But getting that job is a challenge, Paulson said. Health, caretaking responsibilities, and reliable transportation are among the barriers these Philadelphians are facing, the survey found.
The show’s theme, “Rooted: Origins of American Gardening,” honors the people, places, and traditions that have shaped gardening — and invites visitors to consider where their own gardening stories began.
A rendering of the 2026 Philadelphia Flower show is on display during a press conference at Union Trust on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. The theme of this year’s flower show is called ‘Rooted: Origins of American Gardening’.
“Gardening knowledge does not appear out of nowhere,” said Matt Rader, president of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, which hosts the show annually at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. “It’s shared, adapted, and passed forward. It reflects our culture, memory, ourselves, our experiences.”
On Wednesday, planners revealed first-look renderings of this year’s iteration of the Flower Show, the nation’s largest, and the world’s longest-running horticultural event, which runs Feb. 28 to March 8. At the event held at the historic Union Trust Building in Market East, built on the site of the inaugural Flower Show in 1829, officials honored the city’s role as the birthplace of democracy and America’s first Flower Show. The Horticultural Society will mark its 200th anniversary in 2027.
“It is fitting that we gather here as we prepare for an extraordinary moment in our history in 2026,” said Mayor Cherelle L. Parker. “The Flower Show offers a first impression of our city. It’s creative, it’s inspiring, and it’s deeply rooted in who we are as a people and a place.”
Mayor Cherelle L. Parker speaks at a press conference during an unveiling of the first look at the 2026 Philadelphia Flower Show, ‘Rooted: Origins of American Gardening’ at Union Trust on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026.
This year’s show represents the third in a series of themes exploring gardening over time. Earlier shows celebrated present-day gardening communities and envisioned bolder ones for the future.
“This theme is very much an opportunity to reflect on the origins of American gardening,” said Rader. “‘What is the story that we tell through gardening,’ and ‘how do we want to use it to shape Philadelphia, the country, and the world moving forward?”
The show will debut a reimagined Marketplace shopping destination, located in a new street-level space below the main exhibit halls. It will also feature an expanded Artisan Row, where guests can work alongside nearly 40 vendors and craftspeople to create everything from fresh floral crowns to dried bouquets and terrariums.
Popular attractions and events, like early morning tours, Bloom Bar, and “Fido Fridays,” where four-legged friends find time among the flowers, all return. The Flowers After Hours dance party, scheduled for Saturday, March 7, transforms the show into an enchanted, fairytale forest setting, with guests encouraged to wear “fantasy-inspired attire,” planners said.
With America’s 250th anniversary fast-approaching, planners felt it was the moment to “pause and acknowledge” the roots, traditions, and resilience of American gardening, said Seth Pearsoll, vice president and creative director of the Philadelphia Flower Show.
Those roots shape the show’s entrance garden, a sprawling, misty forest floor creation drawing on the diverse inspirations of American gardens, and featuring mossy stonework, Zen-like sculptural plantings, water displays, and crowned with a towering, twisting root structure.
“That garden sets the tone dramatically,” Pearsoll said. “We wanted it to feel timeless, grounded. We wanted to create a place to allow guests to slow down before moving forward.”
A participant creates pressed flower art following a press conference for the unveiling of a first look at the 2026 Philadelphia Flower Show, ‘Rooted: Origins of American Gardening’ at Union Trust on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026.
This year’s special exhibition, “The American Landscape Showcase,” celebrates the national milestone, also known as the Semiquincentennial, with four gardens highlighting how gardening has shaped communities and evolved over 250 years.
“It reflects the influence of shared knowledge, cultural traditions, and regional practices that continue to shape how we garden today,” he said.
Other gardens will feature exhibits from acclaimed international florists. Each year, thousands of exhibitors compete in more than 900 classes or categories, ranging from horticulture and arrangement to design and photography.
“Whether you come for the artistry, the education, the family experiences, or simply to be surrounded by some of the most gorgeous beauty in the middle of the winter, there’s a place for you here,” Pearsoll said.
Matt Rader, President of the Philadelphia Horticultural Society, speaks at a press conference during an unveiling of the first look at the 2026 Philadelphia Flower Show, ‘Rooted: Origins of American Gardening’ at Union Trust on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026.
With more than 200,000 guests expected at this year’s milestone show, the event represents the Horticultural Society’s biggest fundraiser, supporting its greening efforts across the city, said Rader.
“This is the home of American horticulture,” he said. “The Flower Show is our invitation to the world to join us here.”
Haverford Township officials voted this week to bar the township’s police department from cooperating with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the agency’s civil deportation efforts.
Township commissioners overwhelmingly approved the resolution, which says Haverford police officers and resources will not be made available for ICE’s 287(g) program. The nationwide initiative allows local police departments to perform certain federal immigration duties, should they choose to enter an agreement with the agency.
The Monday evening vote came after a weekend of anti-ICE protests in cities across the country spurred by the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Renee Good by an immigration agent during an enforcement operation in Minneapolis.
“The last thing I want to see happen is that our relationship with our police department be hurt by the reckless and criminal activity of ICE,” Haverford Commissioner Larry Holmes said before the vote. “We have the power to prevent that.”
Local law enforcement agencies that enter a 287(g) agreement with ICE are offered a variety of responsibilities and trainings, such as access to federal immigration databases, the ability to question detainees about their immigration status, and authority to issue detainers and initiate removal proceedings.
The program is voluntary and partnerships are initiated by local departments themselves, though some Republican-led states are urging agencies to enter them. The Department of Homeland Security recently touted that it has more than 1,000 such partnerships nationwide, as the Trump administration continues to make a sweeping deportation effort the focus of its domestic policy.
Critics such as the American Civil Liberties Union say the program turns local departments into an “ICE force multiplier” and that the agreements, which require officers to shift from local to federal duties, are a drain on time and resources.
Haverford Township’s police department has not made any request to initiate such an agreement with ICE, according to commissioners, who called the resolution a preemptive measure. While ICE has ramped up enforcement in Philadelphia and in surrounding communities like Norristown, there have not been sizable operations in Delaware County.
Judy Trombetta, the president of the township’s board of commissioners, said the resolution was about protecting the civil liberties of those living in Haverford, as well as the township’s public safety.
In Trombetta’s view, a 287(g) agreement could mean those without legal immigration status could be deterred from reporting crimes to Haverford police or showing up to court hearings, while leaving officers confused about their own responsibilities.
And as a township, she said, it is “not our role” to act as federal immigration agents.
“It’s our job as a township to keep people safe, [to] uphold the Constitution,” Trombetta said.
Commissioners voted 7-2 to approve the resolution.
The motion still requires Haverford police to cooperate with federal immigration agencies in criminal investigations. But because many cases involving those living in the country illegally are civil offenses, much of ICE’s activities are exempt.
Commissioner Kevin McCloskey, voicing his support for the resolution, said the week after Good’s killing had been “incredibly taxing on the American people,” and in his view, it was important to adopt the resolution even if ICE wasn’t active in the community.
But for Commissioner Brian Godek, one of the lone holdout votes, that reality made the resolution nothing more than “political theater.”
Tensions over Good’s killing were on full display during the meeting, as both the resolution’s supporters and detractors filled the seats of Haverford’s municipal services building.
“I do not want my tax dollars or Haverford’s resources to be used to support a poorly trained, unprofessional, and cruel secret police force that is our current federal U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency,” said resident Deborah Derrickson Kossmann.
Brian Vance, a resident and a lawyer who opposed the resolution, said he was approaching the matter like an attorney. He questioned whether noncompliance with a federal department would open up the possibility of lawsuits, or the federal government withholding funds for the township.
“It’s legal, it’s proper, whether we agree with it or not,” Vance said of ICE’s authority.
After the vote, McCloskey, the commissioner, made a plea for unity to those divided over the issue.
That included residents who said the resolution’s supporters had gotten caught up in the “emotion” of the Minneapolis shooting.
“I just ask that you take a step back,” McCloskey said. “On some level, we should all be able to appreciate that none of us wanted to see a 37-year-old mother in a car get shot.”
