A suspect in a West Philadelphia carjacking briefly stole a Philadelphia police car in the city’s Frankford section Friday night before finally being arrested.
Around 6:30 p.m. at Race and Robinson Streets, a young man carjacked a Chevrolet SUV, said Inspector D.F. Pace.
Its OnStar system enabled police to track the vehicle, which the man abandoned at Frankford and Adams Avenues, Pace said.
As officers tried to apprehend him, the man stole a 25th District police vehicle and drove north to the area of Castor Avenue and Herbert Street, Pace said, where he then parked the vehicle in a driveway on the 900 block of Herbert Street.
The department’s helicopter unit tracked the stolen police car and officers were able to apprehend the man a short time later, Pace said.
No one was injured, Pace said. The SUV that was originally stolen sustained some damage.
EDMONTON, Alberta ― Garnet Hathaway may not want to use the word reset, but like a reset button on your iPhone or Android, he does want to restore his system to what made him a successful, everyday NHL player.
Hathaway has skated in 639 games since being signed by the Calgary Flames as an undrafted forward out of Brown University in April 2015. But lately, and for the first time in about six or seven seasons, Hathaway has been watching games from the press box as a healthy scratch.
The move came after he posted zero points and an uncharacteristic plus-minus of minus-8 over the Flyers’ first 33 games. But he has been putting in the work.
“That’s why I respect him. He didn’t waste his time being out. He really worked on his game,” said coach Rick Tocchet, referring to the 34-year-old veteran’s work with assistant coaches Jaroslav “Yogi” Svejkovský and Jay Varady during his six-game absence from the lineup.
Hathaway has also been watching and taking notes on what makes the Flyers successful and how lines build chemistry. And now he’ll get a chance to show the work he’s been doing against the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday afternoon (3:30 p.m., NBCSP) as he slots back in alongside Rodrigo Ābols and Carl Grundström.
“This league is addictive, and I think when you start focusing on the outcome rather than the process, you tend not to focus on the gratitude of the game. [And] not focus on the process of you getting to where you are,” Hathaway said as he reflected from the visitors’ locker room at Rogers Place on Friday.
“I thought about that a lot [over the years]. I wanted to play one game in this league, and then I wanted to play 10, and then I wanted to play 100, and I wanted to play 200, and I wanted to play every single game. And I wanted to be successful. I wanted to continue to grow my game. … I think that for me personally, I want to continue to learn how to be, to show gratitude for this game, for what I’m fortunate enough to do.”
There is no doubt that Hathaway has another gear. His legs have really been the problem this year as he is 12th in the NHL in hits — everyone above him has played more games — and has drawn 13 penalties.
Tocchet noted that the veteran is a true professional who has put in the work. He wants to see it now.
“Just confidence with the puck,” Tocchet said when asked what specifically he needs to see from Hathaway. “In all fairness to him — and I just don’t blame him — a lot of times he was leading the rush. He had the puck on his stick by himself a lot, and I think he’s one of those guys who is a support guy. He’s a really good forechecker.
“So those are the things I want to see him do, as the F1 be a disruptor, get on top of their defense. That’s when he’s on this game.”
While Hathaway is a grizzled veteran getting another chance, Emil Andrae is on the other end of the spectrum. At 23 years old, the defenseman is trying to solidify himself as an everyday NHLer and will re-enter the lineup after being a healthy scratch in the Flyers’ loss to Calgary on New Year’s Eve.
Flyers defenseman Emil Andrae, 23, has been one of the team’s biggest bright spots this season.
“He’s a young guy, and we’ve played a lot of consecutive games, and I think he was getting a little tired,” Tocchet said. “For him, it’s just like puck decisions, breakouts. When he’s on his game, he wheels the puck well, and that’s it. He’s given us a lot of good games, but this is just part of the process.”
Andrae has played in 28 of the Flyers’ 39 games this season after originally starting the season with Lehigh Valley of the American Hockey League. He has one goal and 10 points and is tied with Travis Konecny for the second-best plus-minus on the team (plus-11). And since Nov. 22, when he began getting second-pair minutes alongside Jamie Drysdale, he has been averaging the fifth-most minutes on the Flyers (18 minutes, 49 seconds), tied with forward Trevor Zegras.
“I think overall, just get back to my swagger, get back to the confidence that I have, the play style I have to be [successful],” he said, noting he was disappointed that he had to sit but sees it as a learning experience.
“I have to be skating. And I think that’s one of the biggest things that I can improve, that I need to be on my toes and skating, and being aggressive. I think that’s when I play the best. So it’s been a little bit of that.”
The Swedish blueliner is self-aware that he is in the early stages of his NHL career, and that it has been an interesting year to do that.
Philly has been playing a bit of a condensed schedule with the upcoming Olympic break. Across the next 34 days, the Flyers will play 17 games.
“You need to go on your game every game, because if you’re not, you get kind of punished for it,” he said. “So yeah, it’s been tough, obviously, for a guy who’s not used to it, both mentally and physically. It’s tough, but you learn every day. And I think I’ve been getting better and better.”
Andrae has been a bright spot this season and continues to build and grow his game. Which is why he’ll be back in the lineup alongside Drysdale.
“He hasn’t been bad at all. I think for like, smaller guys, he’s a quick guy. When you can defend with your brain, and he’s a smart guy … [and] when he doesn’t get his body position, I think that’s when he gets pinned, and he’s been getting hit a little bit,” Tocchet said.
“So I think for him, on his toes, getting off the walls quicker, things like that, are beneficial to him. But he’s one of our best breakout guys, too, so when he’s on his game, it really helps our breakouts.”
Breakaways
Two Flyers prospects are on the move. Matthew Gard and Luke Vlooswyk, who were each taken in the 2025 NHL draft, have been traded by Red Deer of the Western Hockey League. Gard, a 6-foot-5, 194-pound center taken in the second round, is heading to Seattle. An alternate captain for the Rebels, he had six goals and 11 points in 23 games this season. Vlooswyk, a native of Calgary, was traded to Everett after putting up six assists in 32 games. Listed at 6-5, 201 pounds, the defenseman was selected in the fifth round by Philly.
Changing of the Gard. @NHLFlyers prospect Matthew Gard has been acquired by the @SeattleTbirds in exchange for 2008-born forward Cameron Kuzma and three #WHLDraft selections.
Former Phillies star Lenny Dykstra was arrested for possession of narcotics and narcotics paraphernalia during a traffic stop just after midnight on New Year’s Day in Northeastern Pennsylvania, the state police said.
Dykstra, 62, who lives in Scranton, was a passenger in a 2015 silver GMC Sierra truck in the area of Route 507 and Robinson Road in Greene Township, Pike County, when the vehicle was stopped by the Pennsylvania State Police for an alleged motor vehicle code violation, the state police said in a report.
“During this investigation, the passenger was found to be in possession of narcotics and narcotic related equipment/paraphernalia,” the state police report said. “Charges to be filed.”
Neither Dykstra nor the Pike County District Attorney’s Office could be reached for comment Friday night.
Dykstra played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball in center field, spending the first four with the Mets — including as part of the team that won the 1986 World Series — before being traded to the Phillies during the 1989 season. He retired with the Phillies in 1996.
Nicknamed the “Dude” and “Nails,” Dykstra was a celebrated member of the 1993 Phillies team that made it to the World Series, but lost to the Toronto Blue Jays.
After his baseball career, Dykstra ran afoul of the law multiple times. He spent time in prison after pleading guilty in federal court for bankruptcy fraud and pleading no contest to grand theft auto in California.
In February 2024, Dykstra suffered a stroke. In an interview later that year with the Times-Tribune in Scranton, he reflected on his health recovery and his legal and drug problems.
Dykstra told the Times-Tribune he did some drinking while playing for the Mets, but his drug use intensified when he played for the Phillies.
“It was a pharmacy,” he said.
Dykstra said he liked using drugs and alcohol, but did not consider himself an addict, the Times-Tribune reported.
“There were a lot of other players that were worse than me,” he said.
Villanova football announced its 2026 schedule on Friday, ahead of its first season as a member of the Patriot League.
Villanova is coming off its final season in the Coastal Athletic Conference. The Wildcats finished 12-3 with a FCS playoff run that ended in the semifinals with a 30-14 loss to Illinois State on Dec. 20.
Villanova will open the season on Aug. 29 against another team joining the conference this offseason, William & Mary. The Wildcats look to start a new home winning streak after their 23-game run was snapped to end last season. Villanova defeated William & Mary, 31-24, in nonconference play last season, but the Tribe leads the all-time series, 20-17-1.
Then the Wildcats will play three straight road games, which includes their annual FBS game, this season against Louisville, on Sept. 11.
Villanova also will face conference foe Bucknell on Sept. 5.
Besides Louisville, the Wildcats will play just two nonconference games during the 2026 season, facing Long Island on Sept. 19 in New York and Morgan State on Oct. 3 at Villanova Stadium.
Colgate returns to Villanova Stadium for the second straight season on Sept. 26. Villanova has faced Colgate in nonconference play the last three seasons, winning each matchup.
The Wildcats will close out the regular season with six conference matchups, alternating between home and away games. It will begin on the road vs. Fordham on Oct. 17.
A highly anticipated rematch with Lehigh is Oct. 24 on the Main Line. No. 12 Villanova narrowly upset No. 5 Lehigh, 14-7, in the second round of the FCS playoffs last season, ending the Mountain Hawks’ undefeated season.
Villanova then will travel to Easton, Pa., to face Lafayette on Oct. 31. The final three opponents of the regular season include Richmond (Nov. 7), at Holy Cross (Nov. 14), and Georgetown (Nov. 21).
Kickoff times and television information will be announced at a later date. The Patriot League is partnered with ESPN+, which streams most of its football games.
“That’s what they call it?” Cooper asked with a smile Thursday, four months after he dazzled as an undrafted Eagles free agent during practices and preseason games.
The wide receiver out of FCS Tarleton State benefited from a few injuries during camp, but he forced his way onto the 53-man roster with his work ethic and all-around game. A converted high school quarterback, Cooper was second in all of Division I (FBS included) last season in receiving yards with 1,450 on a school-record 76 catches. He also holds Tarleton State’s career receiving yards record.
He was, in simplest terms, the man. But life in the NFL, on a team with one of the best wide receiver tandems in the sport, sometimes means taking a back seat.
“I kind of think about it like my transition from high school to college,” Cooper said. “The first couple of years, I was a big special teams guy. Then, boom, you get your opportunity. It’s kind of the same mindset. I’ve been here before.”
Darius Cooper is brought down by Chargers safety Tony Jefferson during the fourth quarter of the Eagles’ Monday night loss on Dec. 8.
Cooper has played 158 offensive snaps so far during his rookie season, and 138 of those were after Week 7. His role has increased as the season has progressed, but he has been targeted just six times and has six catches for 59 yards.
Life behind A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, and Jahan Dotson means a lesser role than Cooper has been used to in his team’s offensive game planning. Cooper’s best play this season isn’t a catch, it is a block from Week 14. The Eagles lined up in the Tush Push formation and instead ran a toss to Saquon Barkley to the left side of the alignment. Cooper worked his way into the second level and got a body on Los Angeles Chargers safety R.J. Mickens. The broadcast camera picked up the sound of the hit.
“That was a big one,” Cooper said. “I think that was the most I got excited on the field for sure.”
Sunday offers an opportunity for Cooper to get excited about plays on which the ball is in his hands. It certainly will come his way more than it has in a game this season. He may match or exceed his season-long targets in Sunday’s game alone. The Eagles are resting regulars for their season finale vs. Washington, and Cooper likely will start on the other side of Dotson with Tanner McKee doing the quarterbacking.
Cooper’s rookie season has been a whirlwind. The 24-year-old found out he made the team on cutdown day in a meeting with Nick Sirianni and Howie Roseman. He left that meeting and called his wife, Kennady, a relationship that began when they attended Missouri’s Hazelwood West High School. Their professional lives would start in a big NFL market, thanks to his performance at camp.
Cooper changed his number from No. 41 to No. 80, a more reasonable number for a receiver, not one handed to a player near the bottom of the 90-man camp roster. Then he got to work on his development. He learned tips and tricks from Brown, Smith, and Dotson, “so many small things you don’t even think about that I never got taught,” Cooper said.
Eagles quarterback Tanner McKee celebrates a touchdown pass with wide receiver Darius Cooper late during a preseason game on Aug. 7.
“He’s another guy that works really hard, and I think that’s a product of the guys that he’s around,” Sirianni said. “He works hard because he has that in him, and that’s the standard of our guys. He continues to get better because you got no choice when you work that way, when you love football, when you’re tough, like all of those things that Darius is.”
Cooper is like most backups in that he tries to prepare every week like he’s going to have a big role because anything can happen. This week, then, was about sticking to that process, even though he knew his role was going to be bigger from the outset of the practice week.
“If you change your mindset and change your preparation, you’re making it bigger than what it is,” Cooper said. “At that point, I feel like you’re not just out there free and playing. You’re kind of overthinking it. You don’t ever want to overthink, especially in this game. You just want to fly around and have fun and make plays.”
But Cooper is cognizant of the fact that he’s still a rookie making first impressions and trying to put good film out there. He won training camp in 2025, but 2026 is another year.
“When your number is called, you got to step up to the plate,” Cooper said. “This week is a very big week, but you can’t overthink it. You just got to have fun. It’s still a game, at the end of the day.”
Injury report
The Eagles ruled out Jalen Carter (hip), Nakobe Dean (hamstring), Marcus Epps (concussion), Dallas Goedert (knee), Lane Johnson (foot), and Jaelan Phillips (ankle) for Sunday’s game vs. Washington. Most of them were not expected to play anyway.
Carter’s hip injury is new this week. He said it happened during the game vs. the Buffalo Bills, but it’s not something to worry about keeping him out of next week’s playoff opener.
Washington will start Josh Johnson at quarterback after ruling out Marcus Mariota (hand/quad). Star left tackle Laremy Tunsil (oblique) is out, too.
Police in Burlington County have arrested a California man in the hit-and-run death of a man who was riding an e-bike on Route 73 in Mount Laurel earlier this week.
Thair Maroki, 40, of El Cajon, Calif., has been charged with second-degree vehicular homicide and leaving the scene of a fatal accident, the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office said.
Maroki’s arrest comes days after the death of Anthony Caprio III, who was killed Monday. Mount Laurel Township police were dispatched to the 1100 block of Route 73 southbound just after 12:15 a.m. Monday to respond to a crash involving an e-bike and an unknown vehicle, and pronounced Caprio, 49, of Magnolia, dead at the scene.
Michele Caprio, 71, Anthony’s mother, told The Inquirer that her son had taken his e-bike to a Wawa on Sunday night from her house in Mount Laurel. Around 3 a.m. Monday, police arrived at her home to inform her of the crash and Caprio’s death, she said.
Sgt. Kyle Gardner said the e-bike was equipped with lights, which were on at the time of the crash. The vehicle driver dragged Caprio at least a quarter-mile and then continued south on Route 73 into Evesham Township, Gardner said.
Investigators used surveillance footage from businesses in the area, as well as the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, to identify the vehicle that allegedly struck Caprio as a white 2022 Jeep Cherokee with California plates. Following a law enforcement alert for the vehicle, officers in the Lyndhurst Police Department in Bergen County located it Thursday and took Maroki into custody, authorities said.
Maroki was slated to appear in court Friday in Mount Holly. No attorney information for him was immediately available.
The Eagles will host the Washington Commanders to close out the regular season on Sunday. The last time the teams met was Dec. 20, when the Eagles clinched the division with a 29-18 victory and became the first team to win back-to-back NFC East titles since 2004.
Now, the Eagles enter as 3.5-point favorites. Will quarterback Tanner McKee lead the Eagles (11-5) to victory? Or will the 4-12 Commanders come out on top at Lincoln Financial Field?
Here’s what the Commanders are saying about the Eagles:
‘I expect another hard battle Sunday’
Although the Eagles plan on sitting most of their starters, including Super Bowl MVP Jalen Hurts, Commanders coach Dan Quinn is treating Sunday’s game like any other. When asked if the Birds’ decision to rest their starters changed anything, Quinn responded: “Not for us.”
“By no means are we at full strength, nor are most teams in the NFL during Week 18,” Quinn told reporters. “But what I do love is the number of guys that are really hungry for this opportunity and chance to compete together. We had so many players miss time, they want a chance to express themselves and to prove it.
“So when you miss games and stretches of games, you’re hungry for that competition and you’re hungry for that space. In our league, we practice way more than we play. So they want to be able to go play, and I love that about our guys. We had a hard battle with them two weeks ago, and I expect another hard battle Sunday.”
The Eagles trailed, 10-7, at halftime in their Week 16 matchup at Northwest Stadium before taking over in the final 30 minutes. One of the biggest storylines coming out of the game was Nick Sirianni’s decision to go for two late in the game to give the Eagles a 19-point lead. After the two-point conversion, a fight broke out between the teams, resulting in three ejections.
Commanders quarterback Josh Johnson is looking forward to playing in one of the tougher fan environments in the NFL on Sunday.
“It’s awesome,” Johnson told reporters. “We get to go into the lion’s den. I love it. I wouldn’t change it. It’s great to be able to have a game of this caliber vs. this type of team to finish the season. So I’m looking forward to it. I’m excited. Football is going to have to be played at the highest level. In order to beat this team, we got to play at a very high level, and I’m looking forward to us going out there and playing at a high level.”
Third-string quarterback Josh Johnson will start for the Commanders on Sunday.
Johnson understands the challenge he will face on Sunday.
“We got to do what we do well,” Johnson said. “Execute. Stay on task. Keep the chains moving, and then score touchdowns. They got a lot of great players, but we got great players too. We have to trust our techniques; we got to trust our fundamentals.
“The good thing about going against great players in this league is that it holds you to a standard of doing the little things right over and over. And I think that’s a great challenge for us to go out there and finish on a strong note by going out there and doing the little things right over and over again and coming away with a victory.”
Although the Commanders aren’t going to the playoffs, they’re still entering Sunday’s game with one goal on their mind: winning.
“There’s a million ways to look at this game,” Commanders center Nick Allegretti told reporters. “Obviously, this is the last game of the season for us. But everyone in this locker room in their life has dreamed of being in this situation. If you told me when I was 10 that I would get a chance to play in a Week 18 game, I think it would be the coolest thing in the world. … We get a chance to play against another NFL team. Go try to win that game. Who cares about what happened the week before or the week after?”
Legendary singer Jill Scott is kicking off 2026 with a special announcement: Her sixth studio album, called To Whom This May Concern, will come out on Feb. 13.
The release marks Scott’s first new album in more than a decade, following 2015’s Woman.
Coinciding with the Friday announcement, Scott also dropped her new single, “Beautiful People,” in which she croons about the power of love: “Our love is the art of war / Conquering all algorithms / And wicked, wicked systems of things.”
“THANK YOU for your patience and your listening ears,” Scott wrote on Instagram, signing off her caption with her beloved nickname, Jilly from Philly.
On To Whom This May Concern, the Philly native collaborates with fellow Philadelphian musicians including rapper Tierra Whack and music producer Adam Blackstone. Other collaborators include rappers Ab-Soul, J.I.D., and Too Short along with producers DJ Premier, Om’Mas Keith, Camper, and Andre Harris, according to Variety.
Jill Scott with Tierra Whack on the Fairmount Park Stage of The Roots Picnic at the Mann Center in June 2024.
During that show, Scott brought out Whack to debut their soon-to-be-released song, “Norf Philly.”
The To Whom This May Concern album cover features a painting by Chicago artist Marcellous Lovelace and depicts a nude Black woman with large yellow earrings and a matching collar necklace that repeats the message, “We fight.” The design includes affirmations like, “We can save ourselves,” “You cannot touch me,” and “One day we will destroy all of those who wish to harm us.”
“It’s a lot of living in this album,” Scott said about the album in a recent interview. “It’s a lot of revelation. Musically, it’s a full spectrum. Had some wonderful musicians come in. I feel touched all over, literally … The musicianship on this project and the people that gravitated towards it, I couldn’t be happier. I couldn’t have ever even imagined who is on this album.”
On weekdays from 9 a.m. until 2:30 p.m., buses will serve Fox Chase, Ryers, Cheltenham, Lawndale, and Olney stations. Trains will run to and from Center City between Wayne Junction Station and 30th Street Station.
Passengers headed inbound should plan on an additional 30 to 35 minutes of travel time.
An outbound trip toward Fox Chase Station will take an extra 35 to 40 minutes during the midday hours, SEPTA advises. The connecting shuttle bus is scheduled to depart Wayne Junction Station five minutes after a train arrives.
A fully occupied shopping center near downtown Phoenixville recently sold for nearly $7.4 million.
Chester County property records show that the 33,000-square-foot complex was sold in late November by one private investor based in Malvern to another based in Glen Mills, with both registered as limited liability companies. The sale was first reported Thursday by the Philadelphia Business Journal.
Located at 785 Starr St., the center is about a mile down the road from Phoenixville’s main drag. It is shadow-anchored by a corporately owned Acme, according to Marcus & Millichap, the firm that represented the seller. The Acme is connected to the rest of the shopping center — and drives traffic to other stores — but was not included in the sale.
The center’s other tenants include Benchmark Federal Credit Union, Habitat for Humanity ReStore thrift store, Fresenius Kidney Care, Labcorp, NovaCare Rehabilitation, and State Farm. It also has a martial arts gym, a dry cleaner, and several quick-service restaurants.
“This closing highlights the strength of essential-service tenants, 100% occupancy, and strong tenant performance,” Scott Woodard, senior director of investments for Marcus & Millichap, said in a statement. “Phoenixville’s expected population growth and proximity to major anchors, such as Acme, made this center a standout asset with long-term stability.”
People walk along Bridge Street by the historic Colonial Theatre in Phoenixville in this June 2021 file photo.
Woodard represented the seller alongside Derrick Dougherty, senior managing director of investments.
The shopping center sits on 3.7 acres, near the corner of Nutt Road and Starr Street, and was built in 2007. According to Chester County property records, it previously sold for $6.35 million in 2018.
Prior to that, the property had last changed hands in 2006, when the land was purchased for $325,000, according to the records.
Its restaurant and bar scene has flourished, and Bridge Street is bustling, especially on the weekends. Luxury apartment complexes have attracted both millennials and empty nesters to the quaint 3.8-square-mile borough.
Since the pandemic, Phoenixville has continued to grow: Its population increased 9% between 2020 and 2024, according to census data.
In 2010, it was home to roughly 16,000 people. Today, that number is estimated to be more than 20,000.
The Acme shopping center sits just inside the bounds of Phoenixville, near its border with Schuylkill Township and not far from Valley Forge National Historic Park.
