Federal authorities have arrested a man in connection with the 2000 rape and killing of a 5-year-old Philadelphia girl, nearly two decades after the suspect was placed on the FBI’s most-wanted list.
FBI Director Kash Patel on Thursday confirmed the apprehension of Alexis Flores, whom authorities had long sought for his alleged involvement in Iriana DeJesus’ death. Iriana went missing in late July 2000 and was found dead days later.
“After more than 25 years on the run, this arrest proves time and distance do not shield violent offenders from justice,” Patel wrote on social media. “Thanks to our FBI teams and international partners, a fugitive accused of a horrific crime against a child is in custody and on a path back to the U.S. We will never stop pursuing those who harm our most vulnerable.”
An August 2000 edition of the Daily News featured a story on the search for the killer of Iriana DeJesus on its cover.
Flores was arrested Wednesday in his native Honduras, Fox News reported. He was wanted for crimes including unlawful flight to avoid prosecution, murder, kidnapping, and indecent assault in connection with the Iriana DeJesus case, according to the FBI. Additional information about his arrest was not immediately available.
Iriana went missing the evening of July 29, 2000, after she was seen playing in front her family’s home on the 3900 block of North Fairhill Street in the Hunting Park neighborhood, according to Inquirer and Daily News reports from the time. A family friend told police at the time that she had seen the girl walking with an unknown man around the time of her disappearance.
After the girl’s mother reported her missing, authorities launched searches and issued a reward for information leading to her whereabouts. But days later, on Aug. 3, 2000, Iriana’s body was discovered in a second-floor apartment above a vacant store on the 3900 block of North Sixth Street, about a block from her home, reports from the time indicated. She had been raped and strangled to death, her body covered by a green trash bag.
Police described a suspect in the crime as a “drifter” who went by the name Carlos, but few other details were immediately available. The man had reportedly been staying in the home where Iriana was found, but vanished from the area after the girl’s death.
The Daily News covers the announcement of Alexis Flores as the suspect in Iriana DeJesus’ murder in March 2007.
Authorities launched a national manhunt days after the killing, but Flores’ identity would not be publicly announced until March 2007, when federal officials issued a warrant for his arrest. He had been identified through a DNA database that allowed investigators to name him as a suspect years after a November 2004 arrest on a felony forgery charge in Phoenix.
Arizona requires felony suspects to provide a DNA sample, leading to Flores’ later identification, The Inquirer reported. Flores, authorities told the Daily News in 2007, arrived in Philadelphia in 2000, having come here accidentally after hopping a train he believed was destined for Chicago.
By the time he was identified, Flores had been deported to Honduras, and his whereabouts were unknown, complicating his apprehension. The FBI in June 2007 added him to its most-wanted list, but removed him from it last year after a review found he no longer fit its criteria, the bureau noted online. The bureau considers factors such as lengthy criminal records, the level of danger presented to the public, and whether nationwide publicity can assist in apprehension.
At the time Flores was identified as the suspect, Philadelphia homicide Detective Joseph Bamberski, who had been investigating the case from the start, expressed relief.
“It’s been a long time coming,” Bamberski told the Daily News in 2007. “This is the one case that always bothered me.”
As of midday Thursday, Flores’ page on the FBI website had been updated with one addition — a line reading “captured” over his mugshot.
Love is in the air, so this week’s newsletter is for the region’s friends and lovers.
If you’re still scrambling to lock down your Valentine’s Day plans, or looking for Galentine’s Day excursions for you and your friends, I have a gift for you to unwrap this weekend.
Irene Levy Baker and Chris Mullins Jr. lead a toast at McGillin’s on Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026 in Philadelphia. Attendees gathered for a book talk on “Cheers to McGillin’s: Philly’s Oldest Tavern” on Tuesday.
Forget the dating apps, people. Find love at this 166-year-old bar.
McGillin’s Olde Ale House, the 166-year-old pub in Center City long owned by the same family, has mastered the art of match making.
Along with serving draft beer, wings, cheesesteaks, and an especially good french onion soup, McGillin’s is the place for future couples to meet.
This month, the bar held a reunion for couples who struck romance at the long-beloved ale house.
They came together, like alumni of the same beloved college club, wearing red and white name tags with the year their McGillin’s romantic meeting took place. They drank from frosted glasses and sat under tinsel hearts, clapping especially hard for the long married couples seated among them.
🚂 All aboard the love train: Celebrate Valentine’s Day with a luxurious and romantic train ride through Bucks County’s picturesque foothills. The hourlong trip comes with savory crudités and charcuterie, plus a glass of bubbly champagne to wash it all down.
🖼️ In a Dreamworld: It’s the last weekend to catch “Dreamworld: Surrealism at 100” at the Phialdelphia Museum of Art. It’s a traveling exhibition that features 200 works that celebrate a century of the international surrealist movement.
🇺🇸 Presidents Day Weekend fun: At the Museum of the American Revolution, the extended weekend will be layered with special programing. There will be sea chest unpacking, Revolution Place playtime, and a deep dive into how Abraham Lincoln interpreted the founding document.
💞 A night for the girlies: Among all the Valentine’s Day events happening this weekend, there’s a little something for the girls, too. This Friday, Fishtown’s Evil Genius is hosting a Galentine’s Party featuring DJ Louie P, who will spin pop anthems as patrons enjoy pints of craft brew and V-Day themed cocktails.
📅 My calendar picks this week: Valentine’s Day at the Museum of Illusions, Valen-Tide’s at Adventure Aquarium, and Make Love Market at LOVE Park.
Universal Theme Parks makes world premiere at Franklin Institute
The Franklin Institute hosts a world premiere exhibit this weekend that turns movie magic into hands-on discovery.
The new theme park-inspired exhibit gives visitors a behind-the-scenes look at Universal’s biggest franchises. There will be immersive sets and interactive displays inspired by franchises such as Minions, The Secret Life of Pets and Sing, Super Nintendo World, Jurassic World, and more.
Tickets are now available for the world premiere on Saturday. The exhibition will be on display through Sept. 7.
Winter fun this week and beyond
🎪 The Greatest Show on Earth:The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey traveling circus will bring high-flying acrobatics and extreme cycling to Xfinity Mobile Arena starting Friday. The non-stop party in South Philly continues through Monday.
🍲 A Midtown Village eatery: The team behind Philly’s cheesesteak bar, Taste, opened a chic NYC and Miami-inspired eatery, Savú. The seasonal menu features items like Maryland crab-stuff egg rolls, jumbo crab cakes, caviar bumps, and other New American bites.
🎭 A Disney fairytale opening: The musical adaption of the Disney classic, Beauty and the Beast, brings this magical fairytale to the Academy of Music. The beloved story runs through Feb. 22.
🎸 Thursday: Local songwriter Josh Owens’ dreamy indie pop band Lazyacres is playing at the South Street nightclub Nikki Lopez with Attic Posture, Bowling Alley Oop, and Dante Robinson.
🎸 Friday:The Knee-Hi’s, self-described as a “female fronted garage glam rock band existing as a living love letter to rock and roll,” will takeover Ortlieb’s alongside Ione, Star Moles, and Thank You Thank You on Friday.
🎤 Saturday: A year after releasing his latest album, The Co-Star and a holiday collection, R&B heartthrob Eric Benet will grace the City Winery stage on Saturday.
🎤 Also on Saturday: Philly cumbia klezmer punk band Mariposas Galacticas join forces with Baltimore-based cumbia ska outfit Soroche and DJ Pdrto Criolla to celebrate “radical love in all its forms” at Johnny Brenda’s.
🎸 Sunday: Closing out Valentine’s Day weekend is folk-goth guitarist Marissa Nadler, who will bring her noir-ish soundscapes that have won over folkies and metal heads to Milkboy Philly on Sunday.
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.
Alright, lovers and Galentine’s Day diners, I hope this week’s newsletters was a proper gift to you.
Gov. Josh Shapiro unveiled a broad plan Thursday meant to grow and preserve Pennsylvania’s housing supply as the state faces a shortage of homes residents can afford.
The plan aims to expand residents’ access to homes, connect Pennsylvanians to resources to keep them housed, make homebuilding faster and less costly, and improve coordination of housing efforts across agencies and levels of government.
Recommendations and reforms in the state’s Housing Action Plan, which is meant to guide Pennsylvania into 2035, are embedded in the governor’s proposed budget, Shapiro said.
“And now, the ball is in the court of the legislature to carry this forward and to get it done,” he said at a news conference in Philadelphia.
The plan is the culmination of a process that started in September 2024, when Shapiro signed an executive order directing state officials to create it.
Inthe plan, Shapiro highlights that more than a million Pennsylvania households are spending more than 30% of their income on housing. These households are “cost burdened,” according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s definition. Building more can lower housing costs.
Shapiro called the plan a long-term housing strategy that “brings together all different groups who are doing this work, builds on their expertise, and tackles housing access and affordability from every single angle.”
Here are key takeaways from Shapiro’s proposed housing action plan, the first of its kind in Pennsylvania.
Enacting the plan
Much of the plan relies on action from lawmakers in the state’s split legislature and other stakeholders rather than Shapiro’s administration exclusively. It does not assign dollar amounts to proposals, but calls on local governments to allow more housing and housing types, on builders to build more, and on both to work together to remove barriers to housing construction.
Democrats (left) stand to applaud a tax cut proposal while Republicans (right) remain seated as Gov. Josh Shapiro delivers his third budget address to a joint session in the House chambers at the State Capitol Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025.
When Shapiro was asked how he intends to make sure the housing plan is implemented, he said he can take some actions through executive orders but “a lot does require the legislature to act and to work in concert with local government.”
“I hear in rural, urban, suburban communities, districts led by Democrats and Republicans, the need for more housing,” Shapiro said. “… And I would say to any lawmaker that doesn’t like my idea, ‘What’s yours?’ Because we can no longer wait. We have got to get this done. We’ve got to build more housing.”
$1 billion fund
In his budget address last week, Shapiro previewed his housing priorities, calling for a $1 billion fund, supported by the issuing of bonds, to pay for infrastructure projects that include housing.
Shapiro’s budget proposal includes no requirements on the proportion of funding that goes to each infrastructure need, leaving the possibility that the majority of funds could be spent on projects other than housing.
While Shapiro said Thursday that divvying up the $1 billion will be subject to negotiation with lawmakers, he said he hoped “the lion’s share of it would go to housing.”
Pennsylvania needs more housing
If Pennsylvania takes no action to build and preserve more housing, it will be short about 185,000 homes by 2035, according to the plan. To keep up with anticipated demand, the state needs to add 450,000 homes to its supply by then.
The housing plan has a stated goal of turning Pennsylvania into a leader in home construction.
Construction work on a home at Bancroft and Reed Streets in South Philadelphia, Pa. on Friday, May 1, 2020.
As it stands now, Pennsylvania is one of the states that have allowed the least new housing. It ranked 44th for the share of homes approved to be built from 2017 to 2023, the Pew Charitable Trusts said in a report released last year. Pew said Pennsylvania’s lack of housing supply is hiking prices for homeowners and renters.
Shapiro’s housing plan recommends that Pennsylvania:
Expand programs to repair and preserve existing homes.
Create a tax credit to incentivize home building in underinvested areas.
Invest in small residential developers who can help boost housing production.
Eliminate outdated or unnecessarystate development regulations.
Direct funding to help homebuilders pay land development costs, developers convert former commercial buildings into homes, and property owners create mixed-use developments that include housing.
Appoint a deputy secretary of housing and create a “housing one-stop shop” to help residents and builders access the state’s existing housing resources.
Protection for renters
The housing plan calls for Pennsylvania to bolster protections for households that either rent their homes or rent the land their homes sit on, including protections Shapiro called for in his budget address.
Suggestions include:
More eviction protections.
Restrictions on how much landlords can collect as a security deposit.
Explicitly banning landlords from denying housing to people because they use public assistance or any other lawful source of income. (New Jersey enacted a law last month that does this.)
Security for manufactured-home owners
Manufactured homes are single-family dwellings often built off-site and placed on a lot. These households own their homes, but many of them rent the land.
Manufactured homes represent one of the most affordable forms of homeownership. But homeowners are often left vulnerable because they have no other option than to pay increased rent costs if they want to keep the homes they own. Manufactured-home communities are increasingly being bought by private equity companies and other institutional investors, and rent hikes tend to follow.
The housing plan says Pennsylvania should:
Limit the rent increases that landowners can charge.
Make financing easier for buyers of manufactured homes.
Giveresidents of manufactured-home communities the right of first refusal when a landowner decides to sell.
Recent laws in New Jersey limit annual rent increases for manufactured-home lots and make it easier for residents to buy their communities.
Across Pennsylvania, 56,000 households live in manufactured-home communities, Shapiro said in his budget address last week.
Homebuyer help
The plan calls for Pennsylvania to pursue new ways to help residents become homeowners, including creating programs to reduce home-buying costs and allowing local governments to exempt first-time homebuyers from local realty transfer taxes.
It also calls for the state to impose a transfer tax when corporate investors buy single-family and certain other types of homes to help households compete for properties.
Untangling titles
To protect Pennsylvanians’ generational wealth, the plan calls for the state to allow transfer-on-death deeds to provide a streamlined process for passing down homes. This would help prevent cases of tangled title — or unclear legal ownership of property. This mostly occurs when a homeowner dies and the deed is not transferred to a new owner.
Tangled titles keep people from qualifying for help to repair their homes and can prevent them from being able to sell properties.
The plan also calls for funding for legal services to help low-income Pennsylvanians resolve tangled titles. In 2022, Philadelphia officials pledged to give $7.6 million over four years to legal-aid groups that are tackling this problem.
Rachel Gallegos, a divisional supervising attorney for the homeownership and consumer rights unit at Community Legal Services of Philadelphia, called Shapiro’s plan “ambitious.”
“And I like that,” she said. “I think it has to be in order to keep progress moving forward.”
The legal-aid nonprofit routinely helps low-income clients with tangled titles, and Gallegos said she was glad to see the plan call for additional support for the work.
“We want to preserve homeownership for our clients,” she said.
CLEARWATER, Fla. — The Phillies released Nick Castellanos, the team announced on Thursday.
The drawn-out saga reached its conclusion three days before position players were set to report to the Phillies facilities for spring training. This winter, the Phillies had repeatedly indicated their interest in finding a change of scenery for the outfielder, who will be 34 next month.
In December, they signed free-agent outfielder Adolis García to a one-year, $10 million contract to take Castellanos’ position in right field. The Phillies sought to find a trade partner to offset at least some of the $20 million that Castellanos is owed for the 2026 season in the final year of his contract, but ultimately released him.
“We’ve spent a long time trying to make a trade,” president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said Thursday. “And when I say that, trying to move his contract for a minimum return from a dollar perspective and player perspective, but just hasn’t worked out. …
“We have felt that we need to get a change of scenery for Nick and wish him nothing but the best.”
Dombrowski was general manager of the Detroit Tigers in 2010 when they drafted Castellanos out of high school. He said there were clubs that showed interest in trading for Castellanos starting in November, but nothing materialized.
Castellanos had a .260 batting average and .732 OPS over his four years with the Phillies. His minus-12 outs above average in right field in 2025 positioned him as one of the major leagues’ worst outfielders by StatCast metrics.
That, combined with a drop-off in offensive production, led to him losing his everyday job in the second half of the season.
“A lot of times when a good player has their role change with the club, it can cause some friction,” Dombrowski said. “And his role changed last year from where it was. I mean, he played every single day for a lot of years in a row, and so sometimes that can contribute to it.”
“[Thomson has] done a very good job of communicating with me,” Dombrowski said. “And I think overall, I can’t tell you that every situation is always handled perfectly by any of us, but I think he’s a very good communicator.”
Castellanos posted a letter Thursday on Instagram, thanking principal owner John Middleton, Dombrowski, the Phillies staff, outfield coach Paco Figueroa, his teammates, and the city of Philadelphia.
Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski talks to the media on Thursday after releasing Nick Castellanos.
He also addressed what he called the “Miami Incident,” in which Castellanos was benched for one game during a road series in his hometown in June, ending what had been a 236-game iron man streak.
The right fielder had been taken out for a defensive substitution in the eighth inning of a close game the night before and made what Thomson described at the time as an “inappropriate comment” out of frustration, leading to his benching.
In his letter, Castellanos said he had taken a can of Presidente beer into the dugout after being lifted from the game.
“I then sat next to Rob and let him know that too much slack in some areas and to [sic] tight of restrictions in others are not condusive [sic] to us winning,” Castellanos wrote.
He added that the beer was taken out of his hands before he could take a sip and that he had a conversation with Dombrowski and Thomson afterward and apologized.
Dombrowski said Thursday that the events in Miami were not directly correlated to the Phillies’ decision to release Castellanos.
“That contributed, by all means, to why he was benched for the game,” Dombrowski said. “That wasn’t the final or determining factor [for being released] because if that was, we would have done that at that particular time.”
Jill Bodensteiner is stepping down from her post as St. Joseph’s athletic director, according to an announcement from the university on Thursday.
Bodensteiner is set to become the next commissioner of the Horizon League. Her last day at St. Joe’s will be April 15.
Eric Laudano, St. Joe’s executive senior associate athletics director, will serve as interim athletic director while a search is conducted, the school said in a release.
An Indiana native, Bodensteiner will take over a league headquartered in Indianapolis. She has been the AD on Hawk Hill since June 2018.
St. Joe's athletic director Jill Bodensteiner is leaving the school for another opportunity, according to a source.
“Jill is a national leader in intercollegiate athletics,” St. Joe’s president Cheryl A. McConnell said in a statement. “We are profoundly grateful for her vision, dedication and service to the Hawks. She leaves our athletics program strong and well-positioned for continued success. We wish her the best on her return home to Indiana and her role with the Horizon League.”
Bodensteiner’s tenure at St. Joe’s started with a bang. She fired longtime men’s basketball coach Phil Martelli less than a year after taking over as athletic director. She replaced Martelli with Billy Lange, whose six-year run ended in the fall when he abruptly left the program for an assistant’s role with the New York Knicks. Lange posted an 81-104 record with the Hawks.
Though the men’s program has failed to get back to prominence in the new era of college basketball, St. Joe’s has had successful runs in non-revenue sports like field hockey, which played in the national championship game in 2024; men’s and women’s lacrosse, which made inaugural NCAA Tournament appearances; and baseball, which won the Atlantic 10 regular-season title in 2023.
Throughout basketball history, few players have been as transformative a talent and cultural figure as NBA Hall of Famer Julius Erving.
Footage of the former Philadelphia 76er’s thunderous dunks, stylish finger rolls, and suave demeanor off the court still draw applause from basketball fans, decades after his 1987 retirement. The iconic forward is still championed by Sixers fans for bringing the city an NBA title in 1983.
It was in Philly where Erving embraced one of the world’s most impassioned fan bases and learned of the phrase, “You owe us one,” after falling short in the NBA finals three times between 1977 and 1982.
“I was like, ‘What the hell does that mean?’” he said to The Inquirer. “I was getting pissed. I was not happy with the situation.”
Julius Erving speaks during the “Soul Power: The Legend Of The American Basketball Association” world premiere at Regal Cinemas Union Square on February 10, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images for Prime Video)
The fans were reminding Erving that he owed the city a championship. It was only after he and fellow Hall of Famer Moses Malone swept the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1983 finals that he paid his debt to the City of Brotherly Love. Fans shouted out the words that have stuck with him all these years on: “Paid in full.”
Erving, affectionately and fittingly known as “Dr. J,” surgically dissected opposing defenses. He and fellow NBA star David Thompson went on to inspire talents like Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.
But veteran sports fans know Erving’s legacy was cemented years before he took his first steps on the floors of South Philly’s Spectrum. One of his early visits to Philadelphia was in April 1971, when he signed to the American Basketball Association to play for the Virginia Squires.
An image of Julius “Dr. J” Erving from the Prime Video docuseries, “Soul Power: The Legend of the American Basketball Association.”
Erving went on to win two ABA championships and three MVP awards in five seasons. He joined ABA greats Rick Barry, Artis Gilmore, Connie Hawkins, and Spencer Haywood as the faces of a league that would soon merge with the NBA in 1976.
The merger brought a new brand of fast-paced, high-flying action to the NBA, and elements like the three-point line, dunk contest, underclassmen signees, and other additions that continue today.
“It just sets the stage for the memories that I have, the friendships that were developed, and the history that was established with the ABA,” Erving said.
Image of ABA coaches and crowds from the Prime Video docuseries, “Soul Power: The Legend of the American Basketball Association.”
The four-part series, streaming on Amazon Prime Video to commemorate 50 years of the ABA-NBA merger, chronicles the ABA’s formation, triumphs, and challenges during the late 1960s and ’70s.
Emmy-winning director Kenan K. Holley said he wanted the series to be a “player-driven” story that addressed the league’s on-court innovations and debunked the idea that the ABA was an inferior semipro league.
“Amazon executives saw the vision. They saw the ABA story was worth telling, and told us to lean into the characters,” he said. “That gave my team the North Star creatively. We knew we had the goods because of all the guys in the league, from Rick Barry to George ‘the Iceman’ Gervin, Dr. J, and others. That was the key.”
(L-R) Tony Curotto, Todd Lieberman, Derrick Mayes, Kenan Kamwana Holley, Julius Erving, Bob Costas, Hannah Storm, Brett Goldberg, Artis Gilmore, George Karl and Brian Taylor attend the “Soul Power: The Legend Of The American Basketball Association” world premiere at Regal Cinemas Union Square on February 10, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images for Prime Video)
The series highlights the hotly-contested rivalry between ABA and NBA players, the personal, financial, and legal battles ABA stars faced, and the early advancements in women’s team ownership.
There are even brief flashes of downtown Philadelphia and City Hall, depicting the moments leading up to Erving’s ABA signing.
Soul Power shows how players like Erving were trying to save a league that made such an imprint on sports, but it was faltering due to disinvestment.
“It wasn’t a fun position to be put in, especially if you know you’re trying to fight for rights of players who gave a commitment to the league and made the sacrifices to keep it afloat for the years that it was around,” Erving said.
(L-R) Kenan Kamwana Holley and Julius Erving speak during the “Soul Power: The Legend Of The American Basketball Association” world premiere at Regal Cinemas Union Square on February 10, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images for Prime Video)
Holley also wanted Soul Power to right the wrongs of past depictions of the ABA. To do that, he needed to earn the trust of figures like George Karl, Barry, Ralph Simpson, and Erving.
“They have a chip on their shoulder because the way the league’s been handled in the past with certain documentaries,” Holley said. “There was a serious trust-building period where we had to let them know look, ‘If I tell your story, it will be a player-driven story.’”
Erving was approached about the project five years ago. The first year was largely information gathering, Erving said, but Holley soon stepped in to tie all the narrative threads together.
Julius “Dr. J” Erving pictured during the filming of the Prime Video docuseries, “Soul Power: The Legend of the American Basketball Association.”
To be among the leading voices in the series, which earned him an executive production credit, Erving said, was a “gift.” And at the core of the project, he’s proud to see the series reflective of the brotherhood shared between him and the other pioneers who contributed to the series and ABA history.
“It was a one for all, all for one approach we shared,” he said. “There was no hating. It was a genuine feeling of relief like, ‘Wow, they’re recognizing my guy or us,’ and it was shared.”
Holley said he’s excited for younger sports fans to see how influential the ABA was, not just in basketball, but the sports world at large.
“It does my heart good, and I feel grateful to have played any part in helping bring these guys the validation that they deserve,” Holley said.
“Soul Power” is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.
It came in second in the site’s Pennsylvania rankings after the Nemacolin in Farmington, about 70 minutes outside Pittsburgh. The wooded 2,200-acre golf resort ranked No. 28 on U.S. News’ national list.
Weddings at The Reeds at Shelter Haven, ranked New Jersey’s seventh best hotel by U.S. News, can take place on the hotel’s bayside lawn.
Hotels were ranked based on their past awards and recognitions, including star ratings, as well as guest reviews, according to the U.S. News website.
“U.S. News predominantly ranks luxury lodgings, as these are the type of accommodations travelers seek when researching the best hotels and resorts in a given destination,” company analysts write, noting that luxury options typically receive 4- and 5-star ratings from multiple expert sources.
The Philly-area hotels on the 2026 lists were no exception.
The Four Seasons Philadelphia recently unveiled an ultraluxe floor that includes a 4,000-square-foot penthouse suite costing around $25,000 a night. Other rooms at the hotel start at more than $1,200 a night.
Gov. Josh Shapiro said Thursday that he will not attend any White House event that excludes another governor ahead of next week’s gathering of the nation’s governors in Washington.
The Pennsylvania Democrat’s comments come after President Donald Trump said he would exclude the Democratic governors of Colorado and Maryland from a White House dinner with members of the National Governors Association during its annual conference in Washington, which will take place from Feb. 19 to 21.
“I want to be very clear: I’m not attending any meeting or any dinner where any governor has been disinvited, where any governor is being excluded,” Shapiro said Thursday. “It’s my hope that all governors will be included and that we can continue the tradition of working together across our state lines to be able to do important work for the people that we represent.”
Trump had initially excluded Democrats from a business meeting at the White House, but as of Thursday all governors were invited to the meeting with the president and other officials, the Washington Post reported.
But the dinner remains a thorny issue. Shapiro and other Democratic governors signed a statement Tuesday promising to boycott the event if all governors were not included.
In a social media post Wednesday, Trump attacked Oklahoma Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt, who chairs the bipartisan NGA, and the two Democrats he is planning to exclude from the dinner, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and Colorado Gov. Jared Polis.
“The invitations were sent to ALL Governors, other than two, who I feel are not worthy of being there,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
Trump criticized Moore over crime in Baltimore and accused him of “doing a terrible job on the rebuilding of the Francis Scott Key Bridge” following its collapse in 2024.
Shapiro referred to Moore on Thursday as a “dear friend.”
The Pennsylvania governor said the NGA’s meetings at the White House are typically productive, as are the governors’ other meetings throughout the conference.
“Governors work really well together across party lines,” he said.
New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill, a Democrat who took office last month, said Monday on CNN that “worse decisions” would be made if some governors were excluded from the week’s events.
“For the president to pick and choose who he is going to have to sort of undermine the very focus of this of coming together to get stuff done for the country just seeds more … chaos,” she said.
For nearly 14 years, the speakeasy-style Chinatown cocktail bar has operated under the authority of its enigmatic owner, who goes by Lê, and his house rules, which are as well known as the drinks: No photos. No cellphones. No flip-flops, sandals, or shorts. Cash only. Entry begins at the metal gate on Race Street, where aspiring customers hand over their photo IDs, which are scanned before they are allowed inside.
Those on Lê’s banned list — the 6,600 people he’s barred for breaking rules or tipping poorly — are turned away.
The payoff for entry is a table in Hop Sing’s Old World library setting, where one can order cocktails made with fresh mixers and high-end liquor.
Hop Sing Laundromat, which opened in 2011 at 1029 Race St.
As Hop Sing expands its Friday and Saturday schedule to include Thursdays, Lê wants to begin moving his inventory of high-end spirits — particularly tequilas and American and Japanese whiskies — at below-market prices.
Regulars know about this list, which includes about 30 whiskies and 20 tequilas, typically offered neat or on the rocks in 2-ounce pours.
They also know that Lê is a bit of a hoarder.
One example: Old Overholt 11-year-old rye, a limited-release bottle that Bourbon Culture gave an 8.5/10 (“a flavorful sipper that is all about balance”).
A bottle of Old Overholt 11-year-old rye, one of the cache of 835 bottles that Hop Sing Laundromat purchased through the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board in 2022.
You cannot get it anywhere else in Pennsylvania because Lê effectively bought out the state’s remaining supply of the whiskey several years ago — all 835 bottles at $75 each.
Michael Betman, a sales manager for Suntory Global Spirits, said Lê first bought 10 cases and then asked how much was left. “Once he realized how limited it was, he said, ‘I want all of it,’” Betman said.
Betman called the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board to request the bottles. “They were stunned,” Betman said. “But they made it happen.”
High-end spirits fill the shelves behind the bar at Hop Sing Laundromat at 1029 Race St.
The PLCB gathered bottles from stores all across Pennsylvania and delivered them to Hop Sing. “At first people thought Lê might be joking,” Betman said. “But he was completely serious.”
Hop Sing is going through its supply. Lê declined to specify how much he had left, but given the bar’s limited hours, it’s likely a lot.
Bottle math
At Hop Sing, Lê charges $18 for 2 ouncesof the Old Overholt. Although $18 sounds expensive, it’s modest by industry standards.
A 750-milliliter bottle yields about 12 pours. Multiply $18 times 12, and each $75 bottle grosses about $216 — a 188% markup before accounting for labor, breakage, overhead, overpours, and comps. Many bars aim for 200% to 300% markups, often while pouring 1½ ounces instead of 2.
Bottles of high-end Japanese whiskies line the top shelf at Hop Sing Laundromat at 1029 Race St.
Lê said he was happy with this math, which extends to his cocktail list. (An old fashioned made with 2 ounces of Booker’s straight bourbon, for example, is priced at $20 — a relative bargain for a bottle that retails for $100.)
This approach comes from a bar owner who no longer drinks. Lê said he tastes cocktails during development but hasn’t had a full one in 15 years.
“This isn’t about me drinking it,” he said. “It’s about letting people experience it.”
That philosophy shows up across the pour list. Among the tequilas, there’s a 2014 Herradura Reposado Scotch Cask at $35 and Casa Dragones at $45. On the whiskey side, Yamazaki 12-year is $35. Knob Creek 18 is $35. Elijah Craig 18 is $42. Hibiki 21 and Yamazaki 18 — which have become scarce amid the Japanese whiskey boom — are $100 per pour. While $100 may seem way out of kilter, consider that the Hibiki and Yamazaki bottles retail for $750 — and Hop Sing has rows of them on its top shelf.
Many of these bottles now circulate almost entirely through secondary markets, where prices can climb multiple times above retail.
Lê said the goal is to pour whiskies that people read about but rarely see, without turning curiosity into a financial stunt.
“I’ve been collecting these bottles for years,” Lê said. “At some point, it’s time to let them go.”
Hop Sing Laundromat, 1029 Race St. Hours: 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday. Thursday hours, also 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. No reservations, cash only.
Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro is racking up contributions from out-of-state billionaires as well as thousands of individual donors across the country.
His likely Republican challenger, State Treasurer Stacy Garrity, meanwhile, is capturing small-donor donations from Pennsylvanians.
That’s according to an analysis of the latest campaign finance filings in the Pennsylvania governor’s contest, as a clearer picture of the race emerges nine months out from Election Day. Shapiro entered 2026 with $30 million on hand — money raised over several years as he has built a national profile — while Garrity raised $1.5 million in her first five months on the campaign trail as she tries to unseat the popular Democratic incumbent. Last year, Shapiro brought in $23.3 million.
Here are three takeaways from the first campaign finance filings in the race, tracking fundraising heading into 2026.
Almost all of Stacy Garrity’s contributors are from Pennsylvania, while 62% of Shapiro’s are in state
Nearly all of Garrity’s individual 1,155 contributors — more than 97% — live in Pennsylvania, and on average gave $889 each.
Shapiro — who has amassed a national following and is a rumored 2028 Democratic presidential contender — had a much further reach and attracted many more donors from around the country. He received contributions from 4,981 individual donors, 62% of whom are from Pennsylvania. The average individual donor to Shapiro contributed $3,461, a number buoyed by multiple six- and seven-figure contributions.
Shapiro received most of his remaining individual donations from California (7.1%), New York (6.3%), New Jersey (2.5%), Florida (2.5%), and Massachusetts (2.4%), according to an Inquirer analysis.
(The analysis includes only donors who contributed more than $50 in 2025. Campaigns are required to list only individual donors who contribute above that threshold.)
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Shapiro’s broad donor base is a result of his status as a popular incumbent governor who is liked among people of both political parties, saidRobin Kolodny, a Temple University political science professor who focuses on campaign finance.
“These amounts that you’re seeing is a very strong signal that ‘This is our guy,’” Kolodny said. “That underscores he is a popular incumbent.”
Kolodny also noted that Shapiro’s state-level fundraising cannot be transferred to a federal political action committee should he decide to run in 2028.But his war chest shows his ability to raise money nationally and his popularity as the leader of the state, she added.
Governor Josh Shapiro during a reelection announcement event at the Alan Horwitz “Sixth Man” Center in Philadelphia on Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026.
Only a small percentage of the population contributes to political campaigns, Kolodny said. And sometimes, it’s the smallest contributions that pay off the most, she said. Small-dollar donations suggest grassroots support that can translate into a person assisting the campaign in additional ways to get out the vote, she said.
Both Shapiro and Garrity have received a significant number of small-dollar donations that illustrate some level of excitement in the race — though Shapiro’s more than 3,000 in-state donors outnumber Garrity’s total by nearly 3-1.
“Think of fundraising as not just a money grab, but also as a campaign strategy,” Kolodny said.
Since announcing his reelection campaign in January, Shapiro has run targeted social media ads and sent fundraising texts, asking for supporters to “chip in” $1 or $5. The strategy worked, bringing in $400,000 in the first two days after his announcement, with an average contribution of $41, according to Shapiro’s campaign. This funding is not reflected in his 2025 campaign finance report.
Most of Shapiro’s money came from out-of-state donors, including billionaire Mike Bloomberg and a George Soros PAC
While Shapiro garnered thousands of individual contributions from Pennsylvania in all 67 counties, according to his campaign, the latest filings show it was the big-money checks from out-of-state billionaires that ran up his total.
Approximately 64% of the $23.3 million Shapiro raised last year came from out-of-state donors.
And more than half — 57% — of Shapiro’s total raised came from six- or seven-figure contributions by powerful PACs or billionaire donors.
By contrast, only 31% of Garrity’s total fundraising came from six-figure contributions.
The biggest single contribution in the governor’s race came from billionaire and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who gave Shapiro $2.5 million last year.
Shapiro also received $1 million from a political action committee led by billionaire Democratic supporter George Soros; and $500,000 from Kathryn and James Murdoch, from the powerful family of media mogul Rupert Murdoch.
Kolodny noted that big contributions from people like Bloomberg are a drop in the bucket of his total political or philanthropic spending.
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“This is not something extraordinary,” Kolodny said. “He’s got nothing but money.”
In Pennsylvania, Shapiro received notably high contributions from Philadelphia Phillies owner John Middleton, who gave $125,000, and Nemacolin Resort owner MaggieHardy, who gave $250,000, among others. He also received a number of five-figure contributions from private equity officials, venture capitalists, and industry executives in life sciences, construction, and more.
Garrity’ssingle biggest donation was $250,000 from University City Housing Co., a real estate firm providing housing near Drexel University and the University of Pennsylvania. Her largest contributions from individuals included $50,000 from her finance chair, Bob Asher of Asher Chocolates, and another $50,000 from Alfred Barbour, a retired executive from Concast Metal Products.
Garrity has served as Pennsylvania’s state treasurer since 2020 and has led the low-profile statewide office with little controversy. She did not join the race for governor until August and raised only a fraction of the funds Shapiro did in that same time. Meanwhile, Shapiro spent 2025 at the political forefront as a moderate Democrat trying to challenge President Donald Trump in a state that helped elect him. Shapiro also benefited from his national name recognition after he was considered for Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate in 2024.
Shapiro has so far outraised Garrity 30-1, and top Pennsylvania Republicans have said they want to see Garrity fundraising more aggressively nationally.
Kolodny said Garrity’s low fundraising is a reflection of the state of the race: Republicans put up a weak candidate in 2022 against Shapiro during his first run for governor, and now many powerful donors want to keep the relationship they have formed with Shapiro over the last three years.
“That will reflect as a lack of enthusiasm for her,” Kolodny said. “Now she could turn that around, but from what I see, I don’t see her that much, only recently. She had the last six months; she could have done a lot more.”
Controversy over donations tied to associates of Jeffrey Epstein
Shapiro’s top contributions from individual donors also included a $500,000 check from Reid Hoffman, the Silicon Valley-based billionaire cofounder of LinkedIn. His name showed up thousands of times in the trove of documents recently released by the U.S. Department of Justice related to the investigation into financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Garrity has highlighted the donations Shapiro received from Hoffman, and has publicly called on Shapiro to return the tech billionaire’s campaign contributions from last year and prior years, totaling more than $2 million since 2021.
Hoffman has claimed he had only a fundraising relationship with Epstein, but publiclyadmitted he had visited his island. He has not been charged with wrongdoing.
A spokesperson for Shapiro said Garrity should “stop playing politics with the Epstein files.”
“Donald Trump is mentioned in the files over 5,000 times. Is she going to ask him to rescind his endorsement?” asked Manuel Bonder, Shapiro’s spokesperson.
Garrity has previously downplayed Trump’s appearance in the Epstein files, and argued that Democrats would have released them much sooner if there was clear evidence of Trump partaking in any inappropriate behavior.
GOP candidate for Pennsylania Governor, Stacy Garrity and Jason Richey hold up their arms in Harrisburg, Pa., Saturday, February 7, 2026. The PA State Republican Committee endorsed the two in their quest for the governor’s mansion. (For the Inquirer/Kalim A. Bhatti)
If Shapiro were to return the funds from Hoffman, it would be bad for Garrity, Kolodny said, because she has made very few other political attacks against him.
