The vote to fire Philip Leddy, who had been principal of Lower Gwynedd Elementary, was unanimous.
Sue Kanopka, the former Lower Gwynedd principal who had been promoted to curriculum supervisor for the school system, will return as acting principal.
Dan Strauss, a board member who is Jewish, said at the special board meeting he was pleased with the board’s swift actions around Leddy.
“This incident was something that was extremely personal for me and my family, and I witnessed you acting swiftly and decisively, leaving no room for doubt that antisemitism has no place in our district,” said Strauss, a Democrat. “I’ve also personally had a chance to speak with the parent who received the voicemail, and they’ve shared with me that even though this has been a dark moment for their family, immediate and continued response from the district has been overwhelmingly supportive.”
Officials with the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia have said that in the recording, Leddy was heard saying something about “Jew money” and that “they [Jews] control the banks.”
Leddy was asked if the parent he was speaking to was a lawyer and then remarked, “the odds probably are good.”
District officials said Leddy, who could not be reached for comment, acknowledged that he made the call, thought it had disconnected, and continued speaking.
No actions were taken Tuesday against the other staff member who was present when Leddy made his comments, but who allegedly did not report them. That staffer has been placed on leave as the matter is investigated.
No members of the community spoke in support of Leddy.
One resident, Jesse Klein, called his swift firing “a public shaming and execution,” contrasting what he saw as a difference in Wissahickon’s responses to Leddy’s comments and its response to some Jewish parents’ concerns over the district’s handing of student discourse about the Israel-Hamas war and the pro-Palestinian movement.
Klein and Danielle Parmenter, a Wissahickon resident and a rabbi, said those concerns have been minimized.
“That inconsistency is deeply destabilizing, and it erodes trust,” Parmenter said.
Leddy’s firing “was necessary,” Parmenter said. “Antisemitism must never be tolerated, especially from those entrusted with the care of children.”
Carmina Taylor, another Wissahickon resident, said the Black community is “in support of the way you’ve handled the situation, and how you’re trying to have a meeting of healing for the Jewish community, but understand that the Black community is also hurting for the way we’ve been treated over the years. … We hope that you’re mindful of our concerns as well.”
Nineteen people remained hospitalized on Wednesday, one in critical condition, officials said. All residents and staff had been accounted for as of Wednesday.
Reports of a gas odor preceded the explosion at Bristol Health & Rehab Center in Bristol.
Gov. Josh Shapiro said a lot of “unanswered questions” remained during a news conference Tuesday night. The cause of the blast remains under investigation.
// Timestamp 12/24/25 4:58pm
NTSB investigators arrive at scene of explosion
The National Transportation Safety Board, which investigates pipeline accidents, said it responded Wednesday morning to the scene of the explosion at the Bristol Township nursing home.
Peco crews had responded to the nursing home earlier Tuesday to reports of a gas odor just before the explosion, and firefighters reported the heavy odor of gas before a second explosion.
“The team won’t be able to fully evaluate the natural gas service line, which extends below ground from the main near the road to the interior of the building, until a safe path is cleared, which could take several days,” said agency spokesperson Peter C. Knudson.
“Once it’s safe for investigators, they will continue documenting the accident scene and conducting further examinations of the pipeline and equipment involved,” Knudson said.
The NTSB investigation will cover three primary areas: human factors, the pipeline system, and the operating environment, Knudson said.
“Witnesses to the accident or those who may have surveillance video or other information that could be relevant to the investigation are asked to contact the NTSB at witness@ntsb.gov,” Knudson said.
Victim remembered as immigrant who wanted to work as nurse and ‘make a difference’
Rose Muema stands with family and friends of Muthoni Nduthu on Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025 in Bristol Township, Pa. Muthoni Nduthu was killed in the explosion at Bristol Health and Rehab Center on Tuesday.
The night before she died in the explosion, Muthoni Ndutu cooked spiced chicken for her husband and three adult sons to share on Christmas, her friend Rose Muema said Wednesday outside Ndutu’s one-story brick home in Bristol.
Ndutu, 52, was working a nursing shift Tuesday night when she was caught in the blast. Another woman also died.
An immigrant from Mombasa, Kenya, Ndutu earned her nursing degree from Jersey College, Muema said, and had worked at the home for more than a dozen years.
“She came here to work,” Muema said. “She came here to make a difference.”
Ndutu had three sons — Clinton, 30; Joseph, 24; and K.K., 18 — and a 4-year-old granddaughter.
Her family declined to speak Wednesday but stood beside Muema as she talked.
Muema, who also immigrated from Kenya, described her friend as bubbly, hardworking, and devoted to her family and community. She called Ndutu her sister. “That’s what we do in Kenya,” she said. “We call each other sisters, not friends.”
She said the two attended nursing school together. “We had plans,” Muema said — plans now cut short.
Ndutu was a devout Catholic and a longtime member of St. Ephrem Catholic Church in Bensalem. She was part of a close-knit Kenyan community in the area, Muema said, many of whom gathered around her family Wednesday to offer support.
Muthoni Nduthu 52, was working a nursing shift at at Bristol Health and Rehab Center and died in the blast Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. Another woman also died.
Natalie, 35, was almost finished with her Tuesday shift when the facility that she’d worked at for five years suddenly imploded.
The certified nursing assistant was among those pulled from the wreckage after an explosion and fire ripped through Bristol Health and Rehab Center Tuesday afternoon, said her mother, Andrea Taylor. Taylor asked that her daughter be identified only by her first name to protect her privacy.
Natalie, who has a 6-year-old daughter, remained hospitalized Wednesday with a punctured lung and bruising throughout her body, Taylor said. She can’t recall the explosion, where she was, or how she was found, her mother said, but she is expected to make a full recovery.
“She doesn’t remember anything,” Taylor said. “Maybe that’s a good thing.”
Taylor said she was laying down for a nap when she received a harrowing text from her daughter’s boyfriend: “Natalie’s building blew up.”
The rest of the night was a blur, she said, as the family tried to get information and updates on the nursing assistant’s condition. She was on her way to visit her daughter Wednesday morning.
Taylor said she and her family are grateful to first responders and are counting their blessings entering the Christmas holiday that Natalie is alive.
Peco gas technician was seriously injured by explosion, union rep says
A Peco gas technician who responded to reports of a gas leak at a Bristol nursing home on Tuesday was seriously injured in the blast and then attempted to rescue other people from the damaged building, according to the union president who represents Peco workers.
Larry Anastasi, president of IBEW Local 614, said the technician arrived at Bristol Health & Rehab Center on Tuesday afternoon to address a reported gas leak. The technician was working alone in the basement of the nursing home to assess the problem when he resurfaced to get more tools from his truck.
As he was walking back toward the nursing home, the building erupted.
“If he was in the building, he’d be dead,” Anastasi said.
The cause of the blast remains under investigation. Local 614 represents more than 1,500 electric linemen, gas technicians, and office support staff at Peco.
The technician, whose name has not been made public, was being treated at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital’s Burn Center. He suffered severe burns to his face and hands, as well as injuries caused by shrapnel. Anastasi said the technician was expected to be released Wednesday.
After suffering those injuries, the technician tried to help others escape from the blast area, Anastasi said.
“He was trying to go in and get more people,” his union rep said. “[First responders] had to grab him and said ’brother, you need to stop and go in the ambulance.’”
Anastasi said the near-death experience highlights the risks Peco technicians face when responding to gas leaks. They often work alone, sometimes in dangerous conditions, while dealing with leaks in enclosed spaces.
He said the situation at the nursing home also highlights why gas meters are now required to be located outside and aboveground.
A spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission on Tuesday declined to answer questions about the gas meter’s location in the building’s basement. The agency, which regulates utility operators like Peco across the commonwealth, ordered utility companies in 2011 to relocate all indoor gas meters outdoors, in an effort to bring safety standards up to date.
It remains unclear why that meter relocation never occurred at Bristol Health & Rehab Center, formerly known as Silver Lake.
“My [technicians] are putting themselves in a great deal of danger,” Anastasi said. “So we’re hoping that Peco does a very thorough investigation.”
Shapiro and Mayor Parker order flags half-staff in Bucks County and Philly
Today, I ordered Pennsylvania flags on all Commonwealth facilities, buildings, and grounds in Bucks County to be lowered to half-staff to honor the victims of the Silver Lake Nursing Home explosion.
To the Bristol community, we all stand with you — and we'll continue to provide…
Gov. Josh Shapiro ordered all Pennsylvania flags on state buildings and property within Bucks County to fly at half-staff in honor of the victims of the explosion at Bristol Health & Rehab Center.
“To the Bristol community, we all stand with you — and we’ll continue to provide the support your community needs as you begin to rebuild and recover,” Shapiro said in a post to X.
Mayor Cherelle L. Parker also ordered flags to be flown half-staff in Philadelphia across city buildings in solidarity.
“This solemn gesture of remembrance and support for the victims and their families will be observed until Tuesday, December 30,” the city said in a statement on X Wednesday.
.@PhillyMayor Cherelle L. Parker has issued an immediate order to lower the flags on City buildings to half-staff as a tribute to the victims of the explosion and fire that tragically occurred at Silver Lake Nursing Home in Bristol Township, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday, December 23. pic.twitter.com/e9YH3X2nJx
Nursing assistant identified as one of two nursing home explosion victims
Muthoni Nduthu, a 52-year-old woman, is one of the two people who died in the nursing home explosion, according to the Bucks County Coroner’s Office.
Nduthu was a nursing assistant at the Bristol Health and Rehab Center, the office said.
The other victim was transported to Jefferson Torresdale Hospital in Northeast Philadelphia and is not in the care of the Bucks office, Chief Deputy Coroner Scott Croop said Wednesday afternoon.
Family member of nursing home resident describes waiting for news
Elizabeth Lind, 67, describes hearing a loud explosion near her home on Winder Drive after a gas explosion at a nursing home in Bristol Township, Pa., left two people dead and several others injured and reported missing.
Elizabeth Lind lives on Winder Street, her backyard divided from the nursing home by a chain-link fence.
On Tuesday afternoon, the 67-year-old was watching television when a sudden boom shook her house. The blast, she said, seemed to vibrate through her body. From her window, she saw black smoke rising from the facility where her older brother, Walter Ferris, has lived for years.
More than two hours passed, she said, before she learned he was safe. A nursing home employee brought the news Tuesday night. Until then, she said, “I just pictured him inside there. I was praying he wasn’t one of the casualties.”
Ferris has Parkinson’s disease and is in his early seventies, she said.
Bucks County’s Area Agency on Aging working to assist residents
Staff members for Bucks County’s Ombudsman program, which advocates for residents in long-term care facilities and nursing homes, will be meeting individually with residents displaced by the explosion at Bristol Health & Rehab Center, county spokesperson Jim O’Malley said. O’Malley spoke on behalf of the county’s Area Agency on Aging.
It’s unclear when and what the timeline of those meetings will be, but staff members will look to assess residents’ needs, such as their missing personal belongings, O’Malley said. County staff may also be coordinating with the state on those meetings.
Rep. Fitzpatrick promises ‘thorough examination’ of building collapse
In a post to X Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick expressed thanks for the first responders “who ran into danger again and again, risking their own lives to save others.”
The Republican congressman promised that the events of the building collapse would be “thoroughly examined” and that the facts would be made public.
The one thing that is clear, he said, is that emergency responders were swift to respond and saved lives.
“So tonight, as homes and churches across our region are lit for Christmas, we ask for prayers—for those grieving, for those recovering, and for the brave men and women who stood watch when it mattered most,” Fitzpatrick said.
‘Send everybody’: Law enforcement recalls scene of explosion
Bristol Township law enforcement officials Wednesday recalled the harrowing scene first responders encountered as they arrived at Bristol Health and Rehab Center one day earlier.
A thick smell of gas hung in the air. Flames were spreading. Inside, dozens of residents and employees needed help escaping.
“Send everybody,” one of the first responding officers radioed.
“We were overwhelmed,” Bristol Township Police Chief CJ Winik said during a news conference Wednesday.
First responders, he said, ran toward danger.
From 50 feet away, Winik said, he could still smell gas and the walls appeared close to collapsing. Yet officers and firefighters continued rushing inside to rescue those trapped.
“I’ve never seen such heroism,” he said.
The facility, formerly known as Silver Lake, housed 120 people, Winik said, including some who couldn’t walk and used a wheelchair. Officers and responding firefighters carried them from the burning building.
Two women, one employee and one resident, died. Nineteen remained hospitalized on Wednesday morning. One person is in critical condition.
19 remain hospitalized, one in critical condition, 2 dead following nursing home explosion
Nineteen people remained hospitalized Wednesday morning, one in critical condition, after an explosion Tuesday afternoon at the Bristol Health and Rehab Center.
Two women — an employee and a resident of the nursing facility, formerly known as Silver Lake — were killed, Bristol Township Police Chief CJ Winik said.
All employees and residents were accounted for as of Wednesday, Winik said.
The cause of the explosion remained under investigation, said Bristol Fire Chief Kevin Dippolito.
“Until we excavate the area and remove the walls and roofs that collapsed, we won’t have any idea what may have occurred in there,” Dippolito said during a news conference on Wednesday.
Former nursing home employee said fire alarms routinely went off, describes state of disrepair
Late Wednesday morning, cranes began to hoist debris from a crumpled tangle of drywall, windows, and a white picket fence.
Donna Straiton watched from behind a line of yellow caution tape a block away from the rubble. It’s what remained, she said, of the nursing home’s kitchen, which sat above its basement.
Straiton, 67, worked in the nursing home’s dementia unit for 20 years before retiring in February 2024. In her final years working at the home, fire alarms routinely went off, she said. She estimated the facility locked down no less than twice a month as the smell of gas wafted in the air.
Most often, she said, the alarm system indicated the fire was in the basement. But no flames were ever seen, she said.
“The fire department would come and we’d get an all clear, and then it would be back to business as usual,” she said.
At a news conference, Bristol Fire Chief Kevin Dippolito said he couldn’t recall how many times his department had been called to the facility in the last several years.
“But I don’t think we’ve been here for the last several weeks,” he said.
Still, Straiton described the facility as being in a constant state of disrepair when she worked there.
When it rained heavily, she said, water would flood the basement and run into the elevator shaft. The elevators were often broken, she said.
The facility “needed a lot of maintenance it was never going to get,” she said.“It was almost like we were just waiting for something like this to happen,” she added.
Aerial footage of Bucks County nursing home explosion
CBS Philadelphia’s chopper is flying over Bucks County this morning, providing a look at the damage from overhead.
— CBS Philadelphia
// Timestamp 12/24/25 9:52am
County officials send condolences, praise first responders in statements
Bucks County Commissioners Vice Chair Diane Ellis-Marseglia said the response to Tuesday’s explosion at the Bristol Health & Rehab Center was proof that the county can unify in the face of tragedy.
“[There is] a lot of division in this country, but we show up when we need to,” said Ellis-Marseglia, a Democrat, about the efforts of first responders.
She said she was sending “warm thoughts” to families impacted by the incident and experiencing the “terrible shock and sadness.”
“And for the people who were injured as well as those who passed, I mean, they got up yesterday like it was any other day and had no idea what would befall them,” Ellis-Marseglia said. “And I’m holding them all close.”
The vice chair’s sentiments echo a statement released by Bucks County on Wednesday morning, expressing officials’ “sincerest condolences to the many victims and families this Christmas Eve who are feeling the devastating impacts of yesterday’s explosion.”
Commissioners’ Chair Bob Harvie was at a news conference outside the center with Gov. Josh Shapiro on Tuesday. The county’s statement commended first responders, nursing home staff, and emergency personnel services that came into Bristol from across Bucks, Philadelphia, and New Jersey.
Peco on Wednesday morning changed its explanation of what happened leading up to Tuesday afternoon’s massive explosion at a Bucks County nursing home that killed at least two people.
On Tuesday evening, the gas and electric company had said that its crews responded to the Bristol Health & Rehab Center — formerly known as Silver Lake Healthcare Center and Silver Lake Nursing Home — “shortly after 2 p.m.” and that while they were on site, the explosion occurred. The blast was reported just before 2:20 p.m. Tuesday, according to Bristol Fire Chief Kevin Dippolito.
But on Wednesday morning, the energy company backtracked, releasing a statement indicating that its crews had actually been on scene hours earlier — although it did not say precisely when they arrived.
“Peco crews responded to reports of a gas odor on Dec. 23 at the Silver Lake Nursing Home at 905 Tower Road in Bristol Township, Bucks County. A few hours later, an explosion occurred at the facility,” company spokesperson Greg Smore said in a statement.
“Peco crews shut off natural gas and electric service to the facility to ensure the safety of first responders and local residents. The cause of this incident is under investigation,” he said. “It is not known at this time if Peco’s equipment, or natural gas, was involved in this incident.”
The company is now directing all questions to the National Transportation Safety Board, which it said was leading the investigation.
“Our hearts go out to the families and community affected by this tragic event,” Smore said.
Video: Fatal explosion and fire at nursing home in Bucks County
// Timestamp 12/24/25 7:20am
2 dead, 20 injured in explosion at Bucks nursing home
First responders at the scene of an explosion at the Bristol Health & Rehab Center in Bucks County Tuesday.
Two people were killed and at least 20 were injured after a possible gas explosion rocked a Bucks County nursing home Tuesday, triggering a widespread emergency response and dramatic rescues and causing destruction that Gov. Josh Shapiro described as “quite catastrophic.”
Just before 2:20 p.m., an explosion and fire were reported at the Bristol Health & Rehab Center — formerly known as Silver Lake Healthcare Center and Silver Lake Nursing Home — at 905 Tower Rd. in Bristol Township, Bristol Fire Chief Kevin Dippolito said at a news conference with Shapiro and other officials Tuesday night.
Emergency responders found a major structural collapse, with parts of the first floor falling into the basement and people trapped, Dippolito said. Firefighters immediately went into rescue mode.
“They pulled many residents out of the building via windows, doors, stuck in stairwells, stuck in elevator shafts,” Dippolito said.
The people rescued from the building were handed off to police officers who “came from every direction, and I believe every municipality around here,” Dippolito said.
“There was one police officer who literally threw two people over his shoulders and ran with people to help,” the fire chief said.
Many people were injured, but the number was unknown early Tuesday night, Dippolito said. Two people were rescued from the collapsed area in the basement.
At one point, Dippolito said, there was a heavy odor of gas and the firefighters evacuated the building. Within 15 to 30 seconds, there was another explosion and fire, he said.
First responders work the scene of an explosion and fire at Bristol Health & Rehab Center in Briston, Pa. Tuesday.
On Tuesday evening, the smell of smoke and the sound of sirens from ambulances and fire trucks pierced the blocks surrounding the facility hours after the explosion led to a mass evacuation of nursing home patients.
Kim Wilford, 60, was visiting family for the holidays roughly two blocks from the facility when she felt the house shake, as though something had fallen on the roof.
When Wilford and relatives realized the explosion came from the nursing home, where her 87-year-old mother lives, they rushed to the campus and were met with chaos.
“It was something out of a Die Hard movie,” said Deanna Rice-Bass, 59, one of Wilford’s relatives, who recognized local nurses, not affiliated with the nursing home, evacuating people.
Patients were being wheeled out of the facility, but in some cases they were simply placed on mats outside, Wilford said.
First responders were instructing the able-bodied to take those with non-life-threatening injuries to nearby Lower Bucks Hospital.
Wilford panicked as she saw the outside of her mother’s room.
“Her window was blown out,” she said. “Naturally I freaked out.”
Wilford would later find her mother among the crowd of evacuees cleared to go to Lower Bucks Hospital.
“She said she and her roommate were lifted from their beds and back down,” said Wilford, adding she had never had issues with the nursing home before.
A reunification center was established at Truman High School, officials said.
Langhorne Police Chief Kevin Burns said about 35 families came in and filled out forms with their loved ones identifying information along with details such as their room number.
Shapiro: ‘There are still a lot of unanswered questions’
Gov. Josh Shapiro delivers remarks on the explosion at Bristol Health & Rehab Center, at Lower Bucks Hospital Tuesday.
During a news conference Tuesday night, Gov. Josh Shapiro said investigators were still working to determine what caused the explosion and to locate anyone who may be missing, urging the public to remain patient as crews work to identify victims.
The total number of injured residents remains unclear because victims were transported to multiple hospitals. Bucks County officials said up to five people were unaccounted for, though Shapiro cautioned that the figures are preliminary and could change as the investigation continues overnight.
“There are still a lot of unanswered questions,” Shapiro said at a news conference Tuesday night. “You’ll have to bear with us as we work to confirm who was injured and who may be missing.”
Map: Location of nursing home explosion in Bristol
The explosion occurred Tuesday afternoon at the Bristol Health & Rehab Center — formerly known as Silver Lake Healthcare Center and Silver Lake Nursing Home — at 905 Tower Rd. in Bristol Township.
State officials repeatedly cited Bristol nursing home over fire safety deficiencies
First responders work following an explosion at Bristol Health & Rehab Center in Bucks County Tuesday.
The Bristol nursing home destroyed by an explosion and fire on Tuesday had been repeatedly cited for unsafe living conditions, including the absence of a fire safety plan and adequate extinguishers, according to state inspection records.
During an Oct. 29 site visit, Pennsylvania Department of Health inspectors flagged Silver Lake Healthcare Center — now operating as Bristol Health & Rehab Center — for failing to provide a floor map showing fire exits, fire barriers, and smoke barriers.
Officials also found the facility “failed to maintain portable fire extinguishers” on all floors. The state ordered corrections by Nov. 30.
It remained unclear Tuesday whether those fixes were made before the blast, or whether the deficiencies affected residents’ ability to escape after an explosion leveled much of the building at 2:19 p.m. this afternoon.
British Township Fire Marshall Kevin Dippolito said Tuesday that a second explosion — and subsequent fire — erupted at the nursing home while firefighters attempted to rescue people.
Other fire safety deficiencies have been documented for years. A 2024 inspection report found the nursing home hallways were not equipped to handle heavy smoke.
“The facility failed to ensure corridor doors were maintained to resist the passage of smoke, affecting two of four smoke compartments,” inspectors wrote.
State and federal officials have also repeatedly cited the facility for substandard medical care.
Ownership of the nursing home has shifted among for-profit operators in recent years. CommuniCare, an Ohio-based company, acquired Silver Lake in 2021. Earlier this month, Saber Healthcare Group took over and rebranded the facility as Bristol Health & Rehab Center.
Saber manages 140 assisted living facilities across six states. At a Tuesday night news conference, Gov. Josh Shapiro said the health department visited the facility again on Dec. 10. New owners agreed to make more fixes, though the governor did not provide details.
“There was a plan in place in order for these new facility owners to upgrade the standards,” Shapiro said. “That work will obviously continue.”
NEWARK, N.J. — More than an hour before the game, Kevin Willard was on and around the basketball court at the Prudential Center, the place he called home for 12 seasons as Seton Hall’s head coach.
The first-year Villanova coach, like most head coaches, normally is tucked away going over final game preparations while assistants get his players loose. But Willard was home. It was an emotional couple of days since the Wildcats arrived here Monday evening.
“This place helped raise my family in a very special way,” Willard said. The family saw the same security guards who used to carry his children — one now a college freshman, the other a high school senior — around after games.
Before tipoff, Willard embraced Seton Hall coach Shaheen Holloway, who coached under Willard for 11 seasons at Iona and Seton Hall. A video that played before the national anthem showed highlights of Willard’s tenure at Seton Hall, and the sellout crowd of 11,153 mostly responded with a nice ovation for the coach who left in 2022 for Maryland and returned Tuesday for his first game against his old program with one of its bitter Big East rivals.
The show at that point was over. “Walking out, once I got out, we got to win a game,” Willard said.
It was a sloppy-at-times Big East fight during the first half, but Villanova used an emphatic 16-0 run early in the second half and pulled away from Seton Hall in a 64-56 victory that wasn’t as close as the final score suggested. Villanova led by as many as 20 midway through the second half.
Kevin Willard spent 12 seasons from 2010 to 2022 with Seton Hall before taking a job at Maryland.
The Big East opener was a matchup of teams off to hot starts. Willard’s Wildcats improved to 10-2 and handed Seton Hall (11-2) its second loss of the season.
The Wildcats entered Tuesday ranked 30th in the NCAA’s NET rankings, and they shot up to 20th on Wednesday morning after winning their first Quad 1 game of the season. By 10 p.m. Tuesday, the metrics site KenPom had Villanova ranked 24th. Seton Hall was just outside the Associated Press Top 25 this week. The Pirates were 27th, based on ballot points. Surely, Villanova will be in the conversation to be ranked for the first time since November 2023 next week.
The Wildcats’ two losses are to then-No. 8 BYU and No. 2 Michigan. They hit the holiday break with a home victory over Pittsburgh and road wins at Wisconsin and Seton Hall.
“We’re trending in the right direction,” Willard said. “I like the fact that no one’s really talking about us.”
They are now. It was a light day on the college basketball calendar, and, given Seton Hall’s surprising start to the season and Willard making his return to Newark, there were plenty of eyeballs watching Villanova pass the eye test.
Freshman point guard Acaden Lewis “controlled the game,” Holloway said, after he led all scorers with 16 points on 6-for-11 shooting to go with five rebounds, two assists, and three steals (to cancel out three turnovers) in a season-high 37 minutes. Redshirt freshman Matt Hodge added 12 points and six rebounds, and redshirt sophomore Bryce Lindsay scored 15 points on nine shots.
The night was far from perfect for Villanova. The Wildcats turned the ball over 18 times and had trouble with Seton Hall’s press after the lead ballooned late in the game. They allowed 16 offensive rebounds and had just eight of their own.
Villanova freshman guard Acaden Lewis played a season-high 37 minutes in a 64-56 win over Seton Hall on Tuesday night.
But Villanova had an answer every time Seton Hall pushed back in the second half. Devin Askew hit a three-pointer to push the lead back to 17 (50-33). Hodge put back a Lewis miss with just over eight minutes to play that stopped a 6-0 Seton Hall run and bumped the lead back to 16. The Pirates then cut their deficit to 13 before Lindsay made a three-pointer. He made 3 of 7 attempts on the night.
“We’re battle-tested,” Willard said. “We played BYU on the road, Michigan on the road, Wisconsin on the road, three Big 5 games … so I have a lot of confidence in the fact that our guys have played against a lot of good teams.”
Villanova overcame its struggles because of its defense. Willard said the game plan was to make dynamic Seton Hall point guard Adam “Budd” Clark, a West Catholic graduate, be a scorer and not a “sprayer.” The Wildcats, who utilized a zone defense, forced him into tough spots and limited his driving opportunities. He also was limited to just five minutes in the first half because of foul trouble, and Seton Hall’s offense was disjointed without him. Clark finished 1-for-11 from the floor, and Seton Hall converted just 33.3% of its shot attempts.
The Pirates were 15-for-30 on what were considered layups by the official stats, but the majority of their shots were well-contested. The 16-0 run happened mostly because of Villanova’s active hands, which forced steals and easy transition buckets.
Earlier in the season, defense was one of Willard’s major concerns. It recently has become a strength. Why? Lewis said physical practices where fouls aren’t called have translated into higher-intensity stretches of defense during games.
Villanova returns home on New Year’s Eve for a game vs. DePaul (8-5). But first, a few days off to celebrate the holiday, a break that got a little merrier with Tuesday’s win.
“We’re trending up,” Lewis said. “Since that Michigan game, we really locked in and built with each other. [Michigan] showed us there’s levels, and we’re building up to that level to see them again when March comes around and we want a different look when that happens.”
After Tuesday, playing meaningful basketball in March seems like a real possibility.
For a long time when it came to sports, Buffalo was Diet Philadelphia. Similar, but with a little less. A smaller city, yes. Half as many major pro franchises, yes. But those teams — the Bills in the NFL, the Sabres in the NHL — have always occupied an outsized importance within the culture of the region. They mattered to the people of Buffalo as much or more than the Eagles, the Phillies, the Sixers, and the Flyers mattered to the people of Philadelphia.
Oh, and there was one other common thread for decades: None of those teams ever won a championship.
Not ever ever, but close enough. The Bills won back-to-back titles in the American Football League in 1964 and ’65, and Philadelphia had that wonderful 10-year stretch, from 1973-83, when the Flyers won two Stanley Cups, the Phillies won a World Series, the Eagles reached a Super Bowl, and the Sixers won an NBA championship. But for 25 years — until the Phillies won the 2008 World Series — then another nine-plus, the towns could bond through being blue-collar bridesmaids.
Eagles fans cheer after the win against the hapless Raiders at Lincoln Financial Field on Dec. 14.
Recently, though, the Eagles have altered that dynamic. They won a Super Bowl in 2018, then another earlier this year, and as they prepare to face the Bills this Sunday at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y., they have quelled much of the anger and anxiety that once characterized Philadelphia sports fandom. It might not seem that way, with the attention paid to Jalen Hurts’ play and the worry over the Eagles’ chance to repeat as league champs, but it’s true. The atmosphere was much worse during the Buddy Ryan and Andy Reid eras.
For Buffalo, though, there has been no great expulsion of joy and relief. In their 55 years of existence, the Sabres have never won a Stanley Cup and have reached the Final just twice, losing to the Flyers in 1975 and to the Dallas Stars (on Brett Hull’s disputed triple-overtime goal) in 1999. What’s arguably worse, for a city that loves hockey as much or more than any in the United States, is that the Sabres haven’t even qualified for the playoffs since 2011 and haven’t won a postseason series since 2007, when one of their best players was Danny Brière, now the Flyers’ general manager.
Steve Watson, a friend and former classmate of mine, has lived in the Buffalo region for most of his life. His son, Eli, is 12. Eli has never seen a Sabres playoff game.
“It’s sad,” Watson, 50, who has been a reporter for the Buffalo News since 2001, said by phone Tuesday. “When the Sabres are good, and they have been good for a lot of their history, you see the little flags people put on their cars. We embrace the team, but they’re losing this current fan generation. They took a great hockey town and tarnished it.”
The situation with the Bills has, if possible, been even more painful, for all their near misses. Even a casual football fan is familiar with the Bills’ four consecutive Super Bowl losses from 1991 to 1994 and all the tragic heroes from that period — Jim Kelly, Thurman Thomas, Andre Reed, Bruce Smith, Frank Reich — and the comeback from 35-3 against the Houston Oilers, Scott Norwood and wide right against the New York Giants. But the aftermath has been just as rough.
A Bills fan sits among snow-covered seats before the start a wild-card playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Jan. 15, 2024.
The Bills went 17 years, from 2000 through 2016, without making the playoffs. Now they have Josh Allen, who was the NFL’s Most Valuable Player last season, who is regarded as the second- or third-best quarterback in the league at worst, and who has led the Bills to the postseason for seven straight seasons … and to no Super Bowls. Either Patrick Mahomes or Joe Burrow has been in their way, or they’ve had a bad day at the worst time and squandered home-field advantage, or they’ve stood under a ladder staring at a broken mirror while a clowder of black cats strutted past them. They’re 11-4 this season, and Allen has again been outstanding, but now their intradivisional nemeses, the New England Patriots, are back atop the AFC East after a few years of mediocrity. The cycle seems without end.
This excruciating history wouldn’t generate much sympathy from anyone, let alone from Philly’s famously competitive and insecure sports fans (“Oh, you think you’ve had it rough? Lemme tell ya about the night Joe Carter …”), if we were talking about an area of the country whose lifers didn’t care so much. But that ain’t Buffalo. The people there bleed for their teams just like everyone down here does. After all, sports is their only salvation from spending three-quarters of the year with snowshoes strapped to their feet.
“It’s up there with chicken wings,” Watson said. “It’s up there with our lovely weather. It’s our identity. We are blue collar. We are the city of good neighbors. And we’re a big sports town. I used to write more obituaries for the News, and it was always painful for me to write, ‘Lifelong Bills fan … Lifelong Sabres fan.’ They never got that payoff for their years of suffering.”
Look, if you’re an Eagles fan, you don’t have to root for the Bills — certainly not on Sunday, certainly not if the two teams end up facing each other at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Feb. 8. In many regards, though, you and those fans near Niagara Falls were kindred spirits for years. So if and when the Eagles do bow out of the playoffs, and if Buffalo’s hopes for a Super Bowl victory are still alive, send some good thoughts toward western New York. They’re still waiting for their moment in the warm sun up there, and Lord knows they’ve already suffered enough.
Armed and unarmed guards who weren’t paid for some of their hours patrolling Philadelphia public housing developments and other buildings have filed class-action complaints against their former employer, Sovereign Security LLC, owner Richard D. Cottom, and manager Maurice Dupree.
The guards are seeking back pay for unpaid work, sick and vacation days, overtime violations, damages under state law, and the return of uniform deposits.
The guards, led by plaintiff Shirell Williams, say Sovereign violated the state Minimum Wage Act and Wage Payment Collection Law and breached employment contracts over four years, starting in late 2021. Williams worked for Sovereign at PHA and at the city-owned Philadelphia Gas Works, the Navy Yard business center, the Philadelphia Department of Human Services, and the former Delaware County Memorial Hospital.
Through their attorney, Center City labor lawyer Josh Dubinsky, the guards seek unpaid wages, damages, interest, and attorneys’ fees stemming from “systemic wage abuse” while working at Sovereign. They seek certification as a class including more than 100 current and former Sovereign staff.
Cottom, a former Drexel University security executive who founded Sovereign in 2004, and other Sovereign officials didn’t return calls seeking comment.
The lawsuit also named a Sovereign manager, Maurice Dupree, as codefendant. Guards have described Dupree as their off-site supervisor, who managed assignments, hired and fired, and scheduled their work, and who they turned to for help when paychecks were late or bounced.
Pennsylvania’s wage and hour law requires companies to set regular paydays and meet them. Sovereign’s contract with PHA required it to comply with city rules and applicable laws.
PHA renewed Sovereign’s contract last spring even after The Inquirer reported on late and bounced Sovereign paychecks.
The housing authority canceled Sovereign’s contract on July 9, giving owner Cottom two days to stop work and file final reports.
The official cancellation letter stated only that PHA and its property management unit had determined “that it is in the best interest” of the agencies to terminate Sovereign.
Correspondence collected under an Inquirer Right to Know request also shows PHA had warned Cottom that “it has come to the attention” of PHA that Sovereign “may be delinquent in paying its employees in a timely manner,” that late payment was “a breach of the contract,” and that it is “imperative” to ensure guards are paid and show up.
That letter was dated Jan. 27, 12 days after The Inquirer first reported on the late payments.
Sovereign had held the largest of at least three outside security guard contracts at PHA, which also has its own police department and a staff security force. PHA has paid Sovereign more than $7 million since 2021.
Tahazha Woodard, a guard at a jointly operated PHA and School District site in North Philadelphia, was the first in a stream of Sovereign Security LLC employees who tried to cash delayed Sovereign paychecks on Jan. 10. United was one of the few Philadelphia institutions willing to cash Sovereign checks at that time, after incidents when the company left its accounts underfunded and paychecks bounced, according to guards.
PGW ended its agreement with Sovereign in 2023. As of last summer, Sovereign no longer worked at the Navy Yard either.
The guards in the suit say a trial would show whether Sovereign had a “pattern or practice” of shorting their pay, failing to pay overtime, and not refunding uniform deposits. Other issues are whether Sovereign violated state wage laws and failed to keep required time and pay records, and the damages they are owed.
Williams, the lead plaintiff, was paid $14.40 an hour when she started in 2022.
Besides back pay,the suit also seeks to collect $500 or 25% of wages due for each violation, plus attorneys’ fees, under provisions of state law.
Many know the late Harry Kalas for his broadcasting career as the play-by-play announcer for the Phillies, but in 2002, a producer at KYW-TV, asked Kalas about doing a recitation of ’Twas the Night Before Christmas.
He wasn’t the only broadcaster asked to recite the poem. Kalas was featured alongside Marc Zumoff and Tom McGinnis of the 76ers, Merrill Reese of the Eagles, and Jim Jackson of the Flyers.
It aired on Dec. 24, 2002, and a few years later, the producer, Andy Wheeler, found the unedited Kalas video. Suddenly, an idea struck him: Why not use the Kalas version in its entirety?
A tradition was born.
Barring breaking news — and Eagles games — the station, now known as CBS 3 Philadelphia, has aired Kalas’ reading of the poem every Dec. 24 since 2005.
After Kalas died of heart disease in April 2009, the station considered ending the tradition but eventually decided that “this is a way of keeping him close.”
Years later, Kalas’ rendition still has that effect. From start to finish, it captures his sense of humor, and his humanity. You can hear the richness in his voice.
It’s like he plays “the role of Santa Claus” for families across the Philadelphia airwaves. The Inquirer’s Alex Coffey dives into the origin story of how the annual tradition came to be.
We at Sports Daily wish you a merry Christmas and happy holidays. The newsletter will be taking Thursday and Friday off. Sports Daily will return to your inbox on Monday.
Eagles linebacker Nakobe Dean is “iffy” this week after suffering a hamstring injury, Vic Fangio said.
Nakobe Dean has helped give the Eagles defense, which looked a bit unsteady in the early portion of the season, some life. He especially has impacted the run defense while also being an effective blitzer. However, the Eagles may be without the fourth-year linebacker on Sunday after Dean suffered a hamstring injury against the Commanders.
“The good news is I don’t think it’s too serious,” Vic Fangio said. The Eagles defensive coordinator also said that without Dean, they’ll turn to rookie Jihaad Campbell.
The Eagles are hopeful that Jalen Carter will be available Sunday vs. the Bills. The 24-year-old defensive tackle practiced Tuesday after a three-week hiatus while recovering from a pair of shoulder procedures. The last game he played was against the Bears on Black Friday.
Flyers right wing Garnet Hathaway hasn’t recorded a point in 33 games this year.
Garnet Hathaway is facing a new battle. He’s been a healthy scratch for the last two games. Before this spell, the last time Hathaway watched from the press box when healthy was Feb. 23, 2023. To say it’s been a difficult season for Hathaway would be an understatement. He hasn’t recorded a point and is minus-8 in 33 games.
But the 34-year-old knows his game isn’t judged by how many goals or points he has. What he brings is an unwavering commitment to the team — whether it’s throwing his body in front of high-velocity slap shots or being a leader in the locker room — and he looks to get himself back to that.
The Flyers opened their five-game road trip with a 3-1 win over the Chicago Blackhawks. But the win came at a cost as Denver Barkey and Travis Sanheim each left the game early with injuries.
Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper competed for the United States in several international tournaments as a teenager.
Bryce Harper aspires to play in the Olympics. First, he’ll suit up for the World Baseball Classic. The Phillies first baseman announced his plans on Instagram, and he’ll join a loaded roster that includes Aaron Judge, Cal Raleigh, Bobby Witt Jr., teammate Kyle Schwarber, and ace pitchers Paul Skenes and Tarik Skubal.
Baseball will be reinstated as an Olympic sport in 2028 in Los Angeles. The MLB is considering extending the All-Star break in 2028 to enable major leaguers to compete in the Olympics. So maybe the WBC could serve as a warm-up act.
Sports snapshot
Nets forward Michael Porter Jr. (center) is defended by Paul George during Tuesday night’s game.
Winless trio: Despite having Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and Paul George in the lineup, the Sixers lost to the Nets and remain winless when all three play.
A hearty breed in Orchard Park, N.Y.: Buffalo Bills fans during a divisional playoff game against the Baltimore Ravens on Jan. 19.
For a long time when it came to sports, Buffalo was Diet Philadelphia. Similar, but with a little less. There was one other common thread, however, for decades: None of those teams ever won a championship. Recently, though, the Eagles have altered that dynamic.
Buffalo has yet to have that great expulsion of joy and relief. The city’s excruciating sports history wouldn’t generate much sympathy from anyone, let alone from Philly. But if and when the Eagles do bow out of the playoffs, and if Buffalo’s hopes for a Super Bowl victory are still alive, send some good thoughts toward Western New York, because you were just like the fans there once, writes columnist Mike Sielski.
🧠 Trivia time answer
Which Oakland Raider deflected the pass that Pittsburgh’s Franco Harris hauled in for the Immaculate Reception on Dec. 23, 1972?
A) Jack Tatum — Miles P. was first with the correct answer.
What you’re saying about Hurts and Allen
Jalen Hurts hugs Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen after the Eagles’ overtime win on Nov. 26, 2023.
We asked: Who’s a better QB? Josh Allen or Super Bowl winner Jalen Hurts? Among your responses:
No doubt Allen. He can literally carry the team unlike Hurts who needs a little help. — Bob M.
In terms of skill and overall talent, it’s Allen. As to who’s right for this team it’s clearly Hurts. He brings passion and unquantifiable, yet obvious skills to his position. He is Philly through and through. He’s right for the team and they trust him to deliver. — Gary G.
Depends on what you use to compare the two. Allen in my opinion right now is the better raw passer and runner. Winning percentages are close 68.5% for Allen and 64.6% for Hurts. But, Hurts has played very well in the most important games (NFC Championship and Super Bowl). He won a Super Bowl and played extremely well in the one they lost. Allen has never gotten over that last hurdle. Both of these guys are great QBS but I think Hurts’ play in the big games gives him the edge.— Bill H.
The competition is not even close. Allen is the far superior quarterback. Hurts is a competent actor who occasionally demonstrates above average attributes while Josh Allen is a future hall of fame superstar.— David M.
Great question. Josh Allen is a big physical QB who puts up big numbers and regular season wins. Jalen Hurts has efficient numbers, but wins in the biggest games. Ask Buffalo fans if they would trade gaudy QB stats for Super Bowl wins. Ask Eagles fans if they would love Josh Allen in Kelly green? I would opt for Jalen and his two Super Bowl appearances. — Bob C.
Interesting and tough question. Josh has long been my favorite non Eagle QB. Guy is really tough and very talented. Not his fault that the Bills have not won a SB during his time. Overall at this point in time I give the nod to Josh, but if Jalen is behind it is not by much. On the plus side Hurts has been to two Super Bowls and is the reigning SB MVP. Love Josh but of course will be loudly routing for Jalen and the Eagles. — Everett S.
Josh Allen. He can do it all and more consistently.— Tom G.
We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Alex Coffey, Olivia Reiner, Jeff Neiburg, Jeff McLane, Mike Sielski, Jackie Spiegel, Gustav Elvin, Keith Pompey, Amy S. Rosenberg, Scott Lauber, Devin Jackson, and Dylan Johnson.
By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirer’s Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10.
As always, thanks for reading. Wishing you and your family a very merry Christmas and happy holidays. We’ll be back in your inbox on Monday. — Bella
The Price Point compares homes listed for similar sale prices across the region to help readers set expectations about house hunting.
Looking for a new home for the new year? You’ve got options if you have the region’s typical homebuying budget.
Across the Philadelphia metropolitan area, homes sold for a median of $390,000 last month, according to the multiple listing service Bright MLS. That typical sale price is up more than 3% from last year.
Here’s what a home shopper could get with a budget like this in three different neighborhoods in the region.
Lower Merion condo in star location
Wolverton & Co., a Montgomery County-based real estate company, sells and manages a lot of condos in the area of West Montgomery Avenue in the Haverford section of Lower Merion Township.
“I call that stretch the golden mile of Haverford as it relates to condominiums,” said Will Wolverton, owner and broker of record at Wolverton & Co. “It’s a very desirable area.”
There are restaurants and national and local stores, including at the nearby Haverford Square and Suburban Square shopping centers. Condo residents can walk to SEPTA’s Haverford station to catch Regional Rail trains. The Merion Cricket Club offers sports facilities and hosts dinners and galas.
One condo currently for sale in the area is a two-bedroom, two-bathroom unit at Haverford Hunt Club, a building with 16 units on four floors. Condos there include both one-bedroom and two-bedroom units.
The building is about 45 years old but has been “thoughtfully updated” in both looks and critical infrastructure, such as the elevator and the roof, Wolverton said.
The condo for sale gets a lot of natural light, he said. And it’s on the top floor, so buyers won’t have upstairs neighbors. It also has a private balcony and a reserved space in the property’s parking lot.
The last several serious buyers have been most interested in the neighborhood, Wolverton said.
“It’s a very good property,” he said, “and a great location.”
This home in the Mayfair neighborhood of Northeast Philadelphia stands out in a few ways, said listing agent Xiao Zhen Zhao, who works throughout this section of the city, as well as Fishtown and Northern Liberties.
The open kitchen is “very unique” for the area and includes bar seating, said Zhao, an agent with Legacy Landmark Realty.
The primary bedroom has a private bathroom, which isn’t common in older homes in Northeast Philadelphia, she said. A lot of houses have only one full bathroom, she said. One of the bathrooms features a skylight and pink tiles on the walls.
And the home is “a bigger twin,” she said. It spans 1,868 square feet.
The home has a backyard and a walk-out finished basement, which has a half bathroom. It also has a garage and driveway.
The twin is in an area of the city where houses are more affordable and parking is easy. It’s within walking distance of schools. It’s minutes from stores and restaurants along Cottman Avenue, and it’s right off Pennypack Park.
Potential buyers have liked the layout of the home and also the look of it, Zhao said.
Potential buyers touring this Colonial in Camden County have fallen for its charm, said real estate agent Evangeline Gambardella. “Because it is a very charming space.”
The living room features a brick fireplace and a large window that lets in natural light and frames views of the front yard.
The layout is more open than in a traditional Colonial, especially in this area of Gloucester Township, said Gambardella, a real estate agent with the Mike McCann Team, which is an affiliate of Keller Williams.
The owners have recently updated the property. The home has new landscaping, a roof that is about 4 years old, a new fence, and a new heating, cooling, and ventilation system.
“It presents a really lovely value for its price point,” she said.
The home’s kitchen includes an island with seating. And a door in the formal dining room opens to the deck, which has a retractable awning.
Home shoppers who have visited the property like its spacious backyard and its location. It is minutes from the Gloucester Premium Outlets and the Deptford Mall, has easy access to major highways, and is close to parks and restaurants.
The home’s unfinished basement also is a “huge selling point for a lot of people” who want to decide what to do with the space, Gambardella said.
Enormous effort is being exerted at Almanac, the dark cocktail bar tucked above Ogawa Sushi and Kappo in Old City. The diminutive bar’s shelves are lined with local amari and nocini, made of foraged botanicals steeping in alcohol.
They‘re fermenting their own chrysanthemum kombucha and riffs on amazake, a spirit made from fermenting rice with koji, or Aspergillus oryzae, Japan’s most famous mold, but which Almanac’s bartenders has applied to other ingredients like ube, sweet potatoes, and corn. It’s a great example of why Almanac is one of the bars pushing Philly’s cocktail scene to new heights.
Zero-waste cocktails are trending, whether that means bartenders are utilizing whole ingredients or “waste” generated by the kitchens their bars are attached to. Bartenders across the country are, like Almanac’s Rob Scott and Beau Quick, rethinking what has long been considered waste. Pickle brine, wagyu fat, and citrus rinds are being given chances to shine as cocktail ingredients in the nearby District of Columbia. And it’s likely only a matter of time, during Philadelphia’s cocktail renaissance, that more bartenders think of what other ingredients they can rescue and transform.
Almanac’s Ride on Shooting Star ($21), conceived by Quick, seems deceptively simple and far more straightforward than, say, the Sadotini, a cocktail that requires whisking ceremonial-grade matcha to order. The drink is listed on the menu as: reposado tequila, mugi shochu (distilled from barley), amontillado, corn cob, hojicha milk tea, spice tincture, and corn husk ash.
It’s a cocktail that I found utterly mesmerizing and unlike anything I’ve had before. It’s hauntingly lovely with a light sweetness evocative of peak summer corn. Its effervescence lingers with big, juicy bubbles. It’s also a tiny bit smoky, with a hit of corn curd ash. When diving into how Almanac renders it into existence, I was shocked to find it’s as smart as it is nuanced, perhaps a harbinger of a wider trend toward zero-waste cocktailing coming to Philly.
Bar manager Rob Scott making a Sadōtini at the Bar Almanac at Ogawa, 310 Market St., Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024.
What’s not immediately visible from the list of its ingredients is that Ride on Shooting Star is an ode to corn, with elements coming from every part of a corn cob except its kernels. The kernels are used by Scott for one of his amazakes. Left with the cobs, Scott and Quick make a corn cob stock, turn it into a cordial with some sugar and “acidulation, which just means adding some citric and malic acids to it,” said Scott. To the cordial they add Arette Reposado tequila, Barbadillo Amontillado sherry, Watanabe Mannen Boshi Genshu mugi shochu, and then “make it into a milk punch. But the acid from the cordial can cause the milk to curdle.”
Bar manager Rob Scott making a Sadōtini at the Bar Almanac at Ogawa, 310 Market St., Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024.
The process uses hojicha tea powder, ground as fine as matcha, and milk powder. “We combine the two ingredients, then rehydrate them to create a hojicha milk tea,” said Scott.
The mixture sits for a day to let its flavors develop while the milk tea powder causes it to curdle, then it is strained.
“We take the milk tea curds and dehydrate them. Once dry, we blend them with corn husk ash and salt and sprinkle it on top of the corn air as both those components are in the air to further reinforce that flavor and aromatic component,” said Scott.
Before service, “the corn cob cordial we make for the drink has corn husk ash, salt, methylcellulose, and xanthan gum added,” said Scott. “And then we use a fish tank aerator in the cordial, which then bubbles up like cool air.”
The result is a clear, gently yellow-hued cocktail, served in a Collins glass, with large bubbles that linger for an improbably long time and are dusted with corn curd ash, like furikake sitting upon rice kernels.
The cocktail uses several layers of ingredients that could have, at any point, been discarded. The primary ingredient, after all, is corn, whose first use was amazake. But its cob is given a second use. The curds rendered from the milk punch are given a third life.
The Eagles travel to Western New York to face the Buffalo Bills in one of the marquee matchups of the Week 17 NFL slate.
A Super Bowl preview? That seemed far-fetched a few weeks ago, but both teams are playing better football. The Bills (11-4) have won four consecutive games, and the Eagles (10-5) snapped a three-game skid with consecutive wins over the Raiders and Commanders.
A big step up in competition awaits the Birds at Highmark Stadium.
Here’s a look at some numbers and trends that could factor into the result on Sunday (4:25 p.m., Fox 29).
63
Jordan Mailata described Saquon Barkley’s 12-yard touchdown Saturday as an “angry run.” It was one of Barkley’s highlights from a 2025 season that has not been easy. But Barkley broke out Saturday for 132 yards on 21 rushing attempts.
Barkley broke six tackles and accumulated 63 yards after missed tackles, a season high, according to the NFL’s Next Gen Stats. Barkley was at his best running to the left side with Mailata leading the way. According to Next Gen, Barkley picked up a season-high 101 yards (7.8 yards per carry) and a touchdown on 13 carries to the left side of the formation.
That makes sense. The left side of the offensive line features Mailata and Landon Dickerson, while the right side features backup tackle Fred Johnson and Tyler Steen, who has not had a great run-blocking season. Lane Johnson, however, could make his return at right tackle this week.
Eagles running back Saquon Barkley runs for a touchdown past Commanders linebacker Frankie Luvu on Saturday.
Barkley’s breakout game and his breaking free of tacklers came at a great time, because the Bills allow an NFL-high 4.1 yards after contact per carry. The next-closest team, Atlanta, is at 3.7.
Buffalo is on the lower end of the scale at a 20.7% usage rate of stacked boxes. Expect the Bills to raise that rate on Sunday in an effort to stop the Eagles’ running game.
For as much criticism as the Eagles’ offensive line has gotten for not making enough holes for Barkley, the unit has protected Jalen Hurts pretty well, especially in recent weeks.
On Saturday, Hurts was pressured on just four of his 37 drop backs, according to Next Gen, and the 10.8% pressure rate represented the lowest of Hurts’ career. The consistently clean pocket probably made it even more frustrating for the Eagles that they didn’t pull away on the scoreboard until late in the game.
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts passes during the first quarter Saturday in Landover, Md.
The Bills have a dangerous set of pass rushers, headlined by Greg Rousseau, who leads Buffalo with 48 pressures and 6½ sacks. He dominated during Buffalo’s win over Cleveland to the tune of nine pressures and 2½ sacks on 28 pass rushes. But a lot of his success came against Cam Robinson, who is a weaker left tackle.
Mailata has a tough matchup, but it’s winnable.
The Bills aren’t world-beaters getting after quarterbacks. They’re 12th in the NFL with a pressure rate of 35.3%.
45.25
Before Marcus Mariota left the game with an injury, the Eagles, who entered Week 16 allowing the second-highest rushing yards per game to opposing quarterbacks, did a wonderful job containing him. The Commanders’ backup quarterback rushed just one time for a loss of 1 yard before exiting the game after Washington’s first drive of the second half.
Josh Allen, however, will provide another test to see if the Eagles have solved their issues with opposing quarterbacks hurting them on the ground with scrambles and designed runs.
The Eagles will have their hands full with the rushing prowess of Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen.
The Eagles have advantages with their defensive backs vs. Buffalo’s receivers. They have winnable matchups along the defensive front. But Allen’s ability to freelance and use his legs to extend plays is an unpredictable part of Sunday’s game.
During Buffalo’s four-game winning streak, Allen is averaging 45.25 rushing yards and has two rushing scores. The Eagles will need to plan accordingly.
Here comes the NFL’s leading rusher, James Cook, who has run for 1,532 yards through 15 games this season, the only player in the NFL averaging more than 100 yards per contest.
Getting to Cook early has to be a key for the Eagles. Entering last week, Cook had generated the fourth-best yards before contact on a per-carry basis in the NFL, according to Next Gen, and ranked 13th in yards per carry after contact.
Buffalo running back James Cook leads the NFL in rushing yards heading into Week 17.
The Eagles have been up and down against the run, but if Jalen Carter returns, they should have the power in the interior to slow Cook down.
The Bills love running him on the inside, and do so at a rate of 58.2%. It will be extra important for the Eagles’ outside linebackers and rushers to set the edge and not let Cook get loose, too.
11.1%
The Eagles’ chances of getting the No. 2 seed in the NFC — according to the thousands of simulations FTN Fantasy runs — actually increased overnight. That’s probably because of San Francisco’s convincing win and the likelihood that the 49ers beat the Bears has increased.
The Eagles are now at 11.1% to get the No. 2 seed in the NFC. The simplest path to a guaranteed second home game in the playoffs would be for the Eagles to win out and the Bears to lose out. After the 49ers, Chicago plays Detroit.
The word was out among Chester County teens: West Grove Smoke Shop wasn’t checking IDs.
“Many students frequented it,” a student told a Pennsylvania State Police officer investigating how scores of local high schoolers were getting their hands on an array of marijuana products. “So many, in fact, that there were long lines at the smoke shop after school.”
The tip — revealed in a grand jury report released in October — launched one of the largest stings of smoke shops in Pennsylvania this year. While those shops are allowed to sell hemp-based THC products that fall below a certain potency threshold, undercover detectives found widespread deception. After investigators made purchases from 19 stores in Chester, Delaware, and Lancaster Counties, lab tests determined all but one were selling unregulated marijuana falsely labeled as hemp.
It was a striking, if rare, example of local law enforcement cracking down on smoke shops selling hemp-based THC products, which an Inquirer investigation this year found are often just black market weed, sometimes contaminated with harmful toxins and chemicals. Several teens in Chester County told police they got sick from such products, with one landing in the hospital.
A view looking into the front window of the former West Grove Smoke Shop in West Grove, on Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025.
Confusion over federal hemp law, and the inability of lawmakers in Harrisburg to pass regulations in a state lacking a recreational cannabis program, has led to smoke shops popping up all over Pennsylvania. But the emerging effort to police these shops has so far been inconsistent and haphazard.
Philadelphia City Councilmember Katherine Gilmore Richardson has advanced a series of bills designed to crack down on scofflaw operators, who typically pull fraudulent grocery store licenses to open up shop. An Inquirer analysis found that the city has taken a stricter approach to smoke shops that operate under grocery store permits while peddling drug products and paraphernalia — with investigators doubling violations for improper licensing over the last two years.
“[It] marks important progress in the city’s efforts to better enforce against illegal smoke shops and nuisance businesses devastating our neighborhoods,” Gilmore Richardson said.
But block after city block, smoke shops remain open and continue to operate with relative impunity — sometimes within view of a similar shop that authorities have closed down.
Many use thinly veiled references in their names, such as “High Time Convenience” or “Hi Baby,” the latter featuring a logo meant to resemble the popular RAW rolling paper brand. Since 2022, nearly 100 zoning permits filed by the Frankford-based permit expediter Tina Accounting & Tax Services on behalf of would-be grocery store proprietors were later cited by inspectors as invalid, an Inquirer analysis found. (“There is no assumption that they are aware that these businesses may later become nuisance businesses,” a city official said.)
With the city short of investigators, many shops simply reopen even after they are shut down. Philadelphia has cited at least 42 stores, many of them smoke shops, for resuming operations after receiving an official shutdown order from inspectors over the last two years. One store, Market Mini Mart, located in the shadow of the 52nd Street El station, was cited 10 times for illegally reopening, records show.
City officials said the lack of a specific “smoke shop” permit makes it difficult to track the scope of the problem. Yet an Inquirer analysis of the city’s list of top 35 “nuisances businesses” found more than a third either had “smoke shop” in their names or advertised drug paraphernalia.
Going after technical violations remains one of the few tools available to local authorities, short of conducting raids and lab tests to determine if the over-the-counter products comply with federal law.
The supply line for smoke shops, however, could dry up next year. A provision in a federal spending bill would ban intoxicating THC products derived from hemp nationally, potentially closing a loophole that has created a glut of these quasi-legal products across the country.
The grand jury investigation acknowledged that the growing number of smoke shops presents a daunting challenge. The lead investigator in the Chester County case “quickly realized the sheer number was overwhelming, and many stores were interconnected, operating across multiple counties,” according to the grand jury report.
That investigation resulted in the September arrest of Satish Parsa, 33, the owner of three establishments, including the West Grove Smoke Shop, a redbrick storefront that now sits empty. Parsa faces more than 60 counts of drug trafficking and related charges, according to court records.
His attorney, Elliot Marc Cohen, said Parsa, who has pleaded not guilty, intends to “vigorously” fight the prosecution.
Ellie Siegel, CEO of Longview Strategic, a Philadelphia-area cannabis consultancy firm, argued that selective enforcement is ineffective.
When the federal ban goes into effect late next year, she reasoned, many smoke shops will shut down as the supply line dries up, while others will attempt to pivot toward the regulated marijuana market.
“The manufacturers won’t have a way to manufacture the intoxicating hemp products they’re making now,” she said. “It’s the closing of a loophole.”
A sample of hemp-based THC flower that was purchased by The Inquirer and sent for lab testing this summer.
The rise and fall of the Philly smoke shop
In interviews with about a half dozen Philly-area smoke shop owners over the last month, several told The Inquirer that they are bracing for closure, saying survival is nearly impossible in an already saturated market.
Others said they are confident they can endure.
On South Street, more than a dozen smoke shops crowd the mile-long stretch east of Broad Street. The longtime operator of Munchies Reloaded recalled thriving years when bongs and pipes brought in roughly $600,000 annually, before he expanded into hemp.
Now, he said, business has plunged nearly 80%. City inspectors have increasingly fined and shuttered stores for selling glassware used for smoking. Those items are easier to classify as “drug paraphernalia” prohibited by city codes, rather than quasi-legal hemp, which is superseded by federal laws.
“There used to be good money in it,” said the store owner, who declined to give his name. “Now there is no money.”
Smoke shops proliferated during the pandemic, often launched by marijuana enthusiasts, immigrant entrepreneurs, or small grocers looking to replace revenue lost to increasingly strict tobacco sale regulations.
Pedestrians walk along South Street by Two J’s Pushin’ Weight shop in Philadelphia, on Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025.
Some shop owners have migrated to Philadelphia from the New York City area, lured by lower rents and higher demand in a state without legal recreational cannabis. A business permit for Green Broad Smokeshop on Broad Street, for instance, lists an owner based in Queens.
At the peak, a single shop could net between $250,000 and $1 million annually, depending on foot traffic and product line, according to two owners who spoke with The Inquirer on the condition they not be named so they could speak frankly about their businesses. Low overhead and high demand made for a tempting copycat model — a cheap pound of hemp might cost $600 in bulk but retail for more than $5,500.
On the same block as Munchies Reloaded, Abtein Jaeger and his brother in January opened Two J’s Pushin’ Weight. Jaeger said he sources high-grade hemp from West Coast farmers, positioning his store as a premium dispensary amid competitors selling a lower-quality product.
He said he is upbeat about surviving a potential crackdown on stores like his next year.
“It’s not the worst thing in the world,” Jaeger, 34, said.
He added that he would comply with any testing requirements and try to apply for a license, and that he already enforces a 21-plus age limit.
Reforming the Wild West of weed
Unlike in state-run cannabis programs, which mandate costly contaminant testing, hemp products need only carry a certificate of authenticity showing the flower tested under 0.3% Delta-9 THC at harvest.
The Inquirer, in its investigation earlier this year, commissioned a lab to test 10 products. Nine of them exceeded that limit, and most were tainted with banned pesticides, harmful mold, or heavy metals. Manufacturers had also used forged certificates to make their products appear safe and legitimate, The Inquirer found.
But the complexity of federal drug law makes it difficult to prove products are illegal, as many hemp-based products use THC variants like Delta-8 or Delta-10 that are not specifically banned.
For now, most shop owners say, local police leave them alone. Undercover stings, like those led in the suburbs, remain rare because they demand expensive lab testing and significant resources.
One South Street establishment has a singular strategy for surviving a potential crackdown.
South Street Cannabis Museum, whose logo includes a Liberty Bell festooned with marijuana leaves, exhibits a small collection of Reefer Madness-era newsprint, historical pamphlets, and other weed-themed memorabilia.
Exterior view of South Street Cannabis Museum in Philadelphia, on Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025.
“We are a museum, first and foremost, where we can engage with the public about the history, science, culture, and art of cannabis,” said owner Kristopher Wesolowski, 42, a former neuroscience lab manager and event planner, who pivoted into hemp sales after the pandemic.
The back half of the museum is a gift shop where visitors can buy hemp-derived THC flower under glass display cases.
“It’s almost like a simulated dispensary,” Wesolowski said. “But it’s not like some spot where people can just go and get high. … You can get historically stoned at our museum, in a sense.”
Like other proprietors, Wesolowski said the hemp industry has been “screaming for regulation,” as “bad actors” gave well-intentioned store owners a bad name.
But he also cautioned that overregulation would only create new problems, like increasing demand for unpredictable designer drugs on the black market.
“When you close one door, another will open,” he said. “And that one might be a little bit more dangerous.”
