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  • Philly connections to the Winter Olympics, from a young figure skater to Donovan McNabb’s niece

    Philly connections to the Winter Olympics, from a young figure skater to Donovan McNabb’s niece

    The Winter Olympics are underway — and the opening ceremony was Friday night. Team USA features 232 athletes — 117 men, 115 women, 98 returning Olympians, and 18 Olympic champions. And there are a few Philly-area natives competing in Milan and Cortina.

    Here’s look at some Olympians with ties to the region and how to watch them compete:

    Isabeau Levito, figure skating

    Isabeau Levito, who was born in Philadelphia and lives and trains in Mount Laurel, will make her Olympic debut in front of family in Milan, where her mother was born and some family still lives. The 18-year-old Levito, who has been skating since she was 3 years old, burst onto the scene with a third-place finish at the 2022 U.S. Figure Skating Championships and won the event the next year when she was 15. She also won a silver medal at worlds in 2024.

    How and when to watch? The women’s individual figure skating competition doesn’t take place until the second half of the Winter Games. The women’s singles short program is Feb. 17 (12:45 p.m. Philadelphia time), and will air on NBC (Part I) and USA Network (Part II). The women’s singles free skate is scheduled for Feb. 19 (1 p.m.), and will air on NBC. Both events will stream live on Peacock, NBCOlympics.com, NBC.com, the NBC Olympics app, and the NBC app. You can check out the full women’s singles figure skating TV schedule here.

    A beginner’s guide to watching figure skating at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics
    Taylor Anderson-Heide (center) grew up in Broomall and learned to curl with her identical twin sister.

    Taylor Anderson-Heide, curling

    Taylor Anderson-Heide, another Philadelphia-born Olympian, grew up in Broomall and graduated from Marple Newtown High School before attending the University of Minnesota. Anderson-Heide began curling with her identical twin sister, Sarah Anderson, at a young age and trained at the Philadelphia Curling Club in Paoli.

    Anderson-Heide is a five-time national champion, winning twice in mixed doubles (2015, 2018); three times in the women’s event, including twice alongside her sister (2019, 2021); and again in 2025. While Anderson-Heide has finished in the top three in women’s curling in two U.S. Olympic trials, the Milan Games will be her first Olympic events.

    How and when to watch? Mixed doubles curling is underway, but Anderson-Heide is competing in the women’s event, which doesn’t begin until Feb. 12. The U.S. women’s team has round-robin sessions every day between Feb. 12-19, and if it advances, the semifinals take place on Feb. 20. The women’s bronze medal match is on Feb. 21, and the women’s gold-medal match takes place on Feb. 22. You can check out the women’s curling TV schedule here, as the games will air at different times and on a trio of networks — CNBC, USA, and NBC — throughout the tournament.

    Curling is back at the Olympics. What are the rules? Why do people love it? And how can I watch it?

    Andrew Heo, speedskating

    Heo, the son of South Korean immigrants, grew up in Warrington. He followed his cousins and older brother into speedskating and made his first U.S. national team at just 17. Three years later, he made his Olympic debut at the 2022 Beijing Games, finishing seventh in the men’s 1,000-meter race, 28th in the 1,500, and eighth in the 2,000-meter mixed relay. Heo is a two-time world bronze medalist, and he won his first ISU Short Track World Tour race, the 500 meters, in 2025. Also helping Heo at this Olympics: His parents can attend, after COVID-19 restrictions forced them to watch from their home in Bucks County in 2022.

    How and when to watch? Men’s speedskating runs from Feb. 7-21, with events airing on NBC, USA Network and streaming live on Peacock. Heo will compete in the 1,500- and 500-meter races, and the 2,000-meter mixed relay. The mixed relay finals will be held on Feb. 10; the 1,500-meter finals will be held on Feb. 14; and the 500-meter finals will be on Feb. 18. For more time and channel information, click here.

    Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet is serving as an assistant coach for Team Canada.

    Flyers players and coaches

    While they weren’t born in Philly, there are four members of the Flyers in Italy for the Olympics.

    Rick Tocchet: Tocchet, who represented his native Canada in World Championships and Canada Cups as a player, will get his first Olympic experience in Milan as an assistant coach with the Canadians. The tournament will have added meaning for the Flyers’ bench boss, as both of his parents emigrated from Italy.

    Travis Sanheim: Sanheim’s rise from a small Manitoba town of 500 people to the pinnacle of the sport has been nothing short of remarkable to watch. After winning a 4 Nations Face-Off title last year with Canada, the Flyers defenseman will look to add an Olympic gold medal to his trophy case.

    Dan Vladař: The goaltender, who is in his first year with the Flyers and has been the team’s MVP through the Olympic break, will represent Czechia in Milan. Vladař has the best NHL numbers of the three Czech goalies and could push starter Lukáš Dostál for the net.

    Rasmus Ristolainen: A year after missing out on the 4 Nations Face-Off due to injury, Ristolainen will return to the Finnish setup for the first time in nine years. Pesky Finland always seems to be in contention for a medal, and Ristolainen will provide size and snarl to their blue line.

    *Rodrigo Ābols: The Flyers centerman was announced as one of Latvia’s initial six players, but will be unable to participate after suffering a nasty-looking ankle injury on Jan. 17.

    You can check out the full men’s hockey TV schedule here.

    Penn State’s Tessa Janecke is making her Olympic debut at the Milan Cortina Games.

    Athletes from Penn State

    In addition to Philly natives and pro athletes, there are also some Olympians from Penn State.

    Tessa Janecke, ice hockey: Janecke, 21, holds the title for most career goals, assists, and points in Penn State women’s hockey history. She was named to the U.S. women’s hockey team three years ago and scored the golden goal in the 2025 IIHF World Championships when the U.S. defeated Canada, 4-3. Janecke was raised in Warren, Ill., and started playing hockey at age 3.

    The U.S. women’s hockey team began its schedule with a 5-1 win over Czechia on Thursday, and Janecke recorded a pair of assists. The team’s three remaining preliminary games run through Feb. 10. The knockout rounds begin with the quarterfinals on Feb. 13, and the tournament wraps up with the gold and bronze medal games on Feb. 19. Women’s ice hockey will be live primarily on Peacock, which will stream every game. TV coverage is also available for select games on NBC, USA, and CNBC.

    Penn State’s Tessa Janecke will fulfill ‘my dream’ in Milan with Team USA women’s ice hockey

    Dan Barefoot, skeleton: Another Nittany Lion, the 35-year-old Johnstown, Pa., native didn’t take up skeleton until his mid-20s. Barefoot was inspired to start training after looking up online which Olympic sports a novice could learn later in life with little to no experience. When the skeleton was the search result, he got to work. Since then, Barefoot, who graduated from Penn State with a degree in landscape architecture, has competed in three world championships for the U.S. and finished 11th at the 2025 IBSF World Championships in Lake Placid, N.Y. The 2026 Games will be his Olympic debut.

    Skeleton events can be watched live on Peacock, NBC, and USA Network from Feb. 12-15.

    Chloe Kim won gold in the women’s halfpipe at each of the last two Winter Olympics.

    More local connections

    There are more athletes just a bit farther outside the Philadelphia area, as well as one with a familial connection to the city. You can check out the times and TV information for their events here.

    Summer Britcher, luge: Britcher was raised in Glen Rock, Pa., in York County and is no stranger to the Olympic stage. She is a veteran of four Olympic Games, and was the youngest member of the U.S. luge team at the 2014 Sochi Games when she was just 19. Britcher has five career World Cup victories, making her the all-time singles leader in U.S. luge history.

    Kelly Kurtis, skeleton: Kurtis first made history at the 2022 Beijing Games when she became the first Black athlete to compete for Team USA in skeleton. She was raised in Princeton, N.J., and grew up hating the cold. She first took up bobsled in 2013 before transitioning to skeleton a year later after watching the event during the 2014 Olympic Games. In the 2022 Olympic Games, Curtis finished 21st overall.

    Brianna Schnorrbusch, snowboarding: Schnorrbusch grew up in Monroe Township, N.J., and was just 17 when she was named to the U.S. snowboardcross Pro Team. Her specialty is women’s snowboardcross, while her sister, Ty Schnorrbusch, competes in slopestyle snowboarding. Now, at just 20 years old, Schnorrbusch will make her Olympic debut.

    Chloe Kim, snowboarding: A household name for Team USA, Kim made her Olympic debut in the 2018 Pyeongchang games where she won gold in the women’s halfpipe at 17 years old, making her the youngest woman to win an Olympic snowboarding gold medal. She defended her title in the 2022 Beijing Games. Kim, who attended Princeton, is also the first athlete to win titles at all four major snowboarding events — the Olympics, Youth Winter Olympics, X Games, and FIS World Championships. At age 25, the Torrance, Calif., native is already tied with Shaun White for the most halfpipe wins in X Games history (8).

    Sarah Nurse, ice hockey: Nurse isn’t from the area — and doesn’t even play for Team USA — but she’s one of the stars of women’s hockey and is an Olympic veteran. So why should Philadelphians care? She’s also Donovan McNabb’s niece. But the family’s athletic bloodlines extend beyond the former Eagles quarterback. Nurse’s cousins, Darnell and Kia Nurse, play in the NHL and WNBA, respectively. And their father, Nurse’s other uncle, played in the CFL. Nurse has helped Canada, the favorite again this year, to a pair of Olympic medals — gold in 2022 and silver in 2018 — and three World Championships titles.

  • The Eagles didn’t return to the Super Bowl. But Sam Howell will be there to support his best friend, Drake Maye.

    The Eagles didn’t return to the Super Bowl. But Sam Howell will be there to support his best friend, Drake Maye.

    Long before Sam Howell became best friends with Drake Maye, he was aware of him. Maye’s parents were standout high school athletes, and his father, Mark, played quarterback at the University of North Carolina. His brothers, Luke and Beau, played basketball there (Luke hit a last-second shot that sent the Tar Heels to the Final Four in 2017, en route to an NCAA championship).

    A third brother, Cole, also won a national title in 2017, but at a different school (Florida) and in a different sport (baseball). Former UNC offensive coordinator Phil Longo called the family “the Mannings of North Carolina.”

    Drake was the youngest, and went down the football path. He and Howell, both quarterbacks, became acquainted through seven-on-seven leagues in the Charlotte area.

    Ex-Eagle Josh Jobe won Seahawks’ respect through battles with Jaxon Smith-Njigba: ‘This guy’s pretty dang good’

    In 2019, when Howell was a freshman quarterback at UNC, he attended one of his future protégé’s high school playoff games. Howell was impressed. But it wasn’t until 2021, Maye’s first season with the Tar Heels, that Howell realized how much they had in common.

    Howell was the entrenched starter, and Maye was the backup — a situation that doesn’t always lend itself to friendship. But these two were the exception. They became “attached at the hip,” in the words of former coach Mack Brown, and not just on the field.

    The quarterbacks were fiercely competitive, and would battle each other on the golf course, at the ping-pong table, and more.

    “Drake was so competitive, if I said, ‘Hey, I’m going to get to the doorknob before you do, he would jump over a table to get there,’” Longo said. “That’s just kind of how he was. [Sam was] that way, too.”

    The two quarterbacks have stayed close, FaceTiming on a near-daily basis since Howell was drafted by Washington in 2022 and Maye was drafted by New England in 2024.

    Their careers have taken different trajectories. Howell, 25, has bounced around the league, from the Commanders to the Seattle Seahawks to the Minnesota Vikings to the Eagles, where he served as a third-string quarterback this past season.

    Maye, 23, will start in Super Bowl LX for the New England Patriots on Sunday, in just his second season in the NFL.

    Howell feels no ill will. He has attended every New England playoff game since the Eagles were eliminated, and will be in the Bay Area this weekend to support his friend.

    “[I’m] extremely proud of him,” Howell said. “He’s worked his whole life to be where he is and he’s getting what he deserves. He was made for the big moments and I have no doubt he’ll be ready to go.”

    Sam Howell (as a member of the Vikings in 2024) and Drake Maye have remained tight even as their football journeys have diverged.

    Football junkies

    Longo described Howell as a “football junkie.” He’d pore over film and challenge his coaches with tough questions. Before he’d even signed with North Carolina, in late 2018, the quarterback started asking Longo for offensive information.

    The coordinator didn’t hand it over until everything was official. But once he did, Howell began studying. Longo would send him formations, and Howell would teach them back to his coach a few hours later.

    This went on throughout Christmas break, until the start of classes.

    “By the time he showed up in mid-January, from a mental standpoint, he actually already knew the entire offense,” Longo said. “Which is rare and pretty impressive.”

    Howell would constantly bring up new routes and concepts to the coaching staff. Instead of waiting to be told what they’d run on Monday, he’d be a part of designing plays on Sunday night.

    To Longo, quizzing Howell in the quarterbacks room became an exercise in futility. The quarterback always seemed to have the right answer, not because he was winging it, but because he’d reviewed virtually everything.

    It set an example for the future Patriots QB.

    “Drake may not admit this, or remember it, but it got to a point where any time I asked an open question and didn’t direct it at one individual quarterback, Sam would always answer first,” Longo recalled. “And obviously he was correct. But Drake was competitive, and [he would] try to answer the question first, and beat Sam out.

    “My analyst and I both noticed that, and we loved it. Because it was Drake just wanting to get better.”

    Howell had been the starting quarterback since his freshman year, and Maye knew that wasn’t going to change. But neither player was threatened by the other. They started throwing after practice, bringing along wide receivers to work on routes, drop backs, and trigger times.

    They’d often give each other feedback, both good and bad. Brown said that Maye would be waiting for Howell to come off the field after every game.

    “To talk to him about what he saw,” Brown said. “So, you had two great minds that were talking about every play. And one of them, out of the action, standing over there watching, could say, ‘Here’s what I saw. Look for this.’”

    He added: “It’s very unusual to have two people competing for the same [role] that care about each other so much, respect each other so much. And that’s the reason it worked. For me, as a head coach, it was like a marriage made in heaven.”

    They had their stylistic differences. Maye’s biggest strength was his ability to make accurate throws while off-platform and off-balance, a feat Longo credited to his footwork, honed by years of youth and high school basketball.

    Howell’s was physical strength that allowed him to break tackles by running downhill.

    Their communication styles were different, too. Maye was more of a vocal leader, and Howell tended to pull guys off to the side. But the two quarterbacks complemented each other.

    “When he was backing me up at Carolina, he was really good at making me feel very confident going into games,” Howell said. “And just trying to give me that last sense of peace.

    “Before every game in college he’d tell me I was the best player on the field. Little things like that. He’s a great leader, great motivator.”

    The Eagles cut Christian Elliss as the 2023 season unraveled. His new life with the Patriots has him back in the Super Bowl.

    It didn’t take long for the quarterbacks — and their coaches — to realize they shared a relentless competitive spark. Longo remembered a recruiting event when Howell and Maye played ping-pong until the lights shut off.

    In training camp, they’d have ping-pong “battles,” tacking on rounds until each side was ready to acquiesce. In 2021, Maye introduced Howell to golf, shifting their off-field rivalry to a new sport.

    It was not a relaxing endeavor.

    “I would see them afterward,” Brown said. “They’d say, ‘Oh man, he got me by four strokes.’ It was like the U.S. Open or something. It wasn’t like two quarterbacks going out to play.

    “And the other one would say, ‘Yeah, but I just missed a putt or I would have beaten him.’ It was like two little kids going at each other’s throats.”

    @drakemaye10

    3 wood 👑 #golftok

    ♬ original sound – Drake Maye

    Added Howell: “Sometimes people invite us out to play, and they’re surprised with how the round is going. There’ll be times in the round where we’re not talking to each other and stuff like that. It’s a lot of fun.”

    After Howell graduated, he stayed in touch with his mentee. In September 2022, months after the Commanders drafted him in the fifth round, Howell attended a UNC road game against Appalachian State.

    It ended up being the highest-scoring game (including combined points) in school history. Maye had five touchdowns (four passing, one rushing) and 428 total yards in a 63-61 UNC win.

    In the third quarter, Maye scored on a 12-yard run for his fourth touchdown of the day. Howell, by coincidence, was standing just past the end zone, as if he was waiting for his best friend.

    He gave the quarterback a high five and a hug.

    “I told him, after I ran it in, I should have gotten on a knee and held the ball up to him,” Maye told local reporters. “Because what he did here [at UNC] is pretty incredible.”

    Then a member of the Commanders, Sam Howell returned to UNC to watch a vintage Drake Maye performance against Appalachian State on Sept. 3, 2022.

    An NFL friendship

    Just before Maye’s final season at UNC, he and Howell became roommates for a few months. It was Howell’s NFL offseason — January to April in 2023 — and they lived together in an apartment in Chapel Hill.

    When they weren’t working out, or at the golf course, they were playing the board game Catan and EA Sports’ PGA Tour at home.

    Maye was drafted with the third overall pick a year later. Howell, a 17-game starter with the Commanders in 2023, was traded to Seattle a month before the 2024 draft, and was subsequently dealt to the Vikings and then the Eagles in 2025.

    As Maye and Howell navigated the ups and downs of the NFL, they continued to talk every day. Howell said they’d go over defenses they were seeing that week.

    Sometimes, Maye would hype his friend up, the same way he did before Carolina games.

    “Even when I was playing in the NFL and we weren’t winning a lot, he would always still call me to instill confidence in me,” Howell said. “He’s great about that.”

    Since the Eagles lost to the San Francisco 49ers in the wild-card round on Jan. 11, Howell has attended every one of Maye’s games. He’ll be at the Super Bowl on Sunday, brimming with pride for his golf buddy.

    But before it starts, there’s one thing he’ll make sure to do.

    “I’ll definitely talk to him before the game,” Howell said. “Let him know that he was born for these moments, and he’s going to light it up.”

    Philly’s Don Bitterlich scored the first points in Seahawks history. But he made his name playing the accordion.
  • The Big Picture: Fun with the Flyers, Unrivaled comes to town, and our best Philly sports photos of the week.

    The Big Picture: Fun with the Flyers, Unrivaled comes to town, and our best Philly sports photos of the week.

    Each Friday, Inquirer photo editors pick the best Philly sports images from the last seven days. This week, we’re reaching all the way to last Friday night, when Unrivaled took over South Philly and brought a record crowd to Xfinity Mobile Arena. But that’s not all the basketball — we’ve also got the Sixers, some local college action, and a high school hoops showdown between two defending state champs, Father Judge (Class 6A) and Neumann Goretti (5A).

    St. Joe’s forward Anthony Finkley (left) reacts after teammate Jaiden Glover-Toscano hits a three during the second half against George Washington. The Hawks’ 76-73 win was their fourth straight.
    Philly native Ronald Moore (center) was once an NCAA Tournament hero at Siena and now serves as an assistant coach for the Penn Quakers.
    Neumann Goretti’s Marquis Newson gets up a shot against Father Judge in the first quarter of the Saints’ 71-66 win over the Crusaders in South Philadelphia on Sunday.
    Neumann Goretti’s Kody Colson passes the ball past Father Judge’s Khory Copeland (4) and Rezon Harris.
    Unrivaled set a record for attendance at a regular season women’s basketball game during the three-on-three league’s stop in Philly on Friday night.
    Cameron Brink of the Breeze leaps past Broomall native Natasha Cloud of the Phantoms. Cloud celebrated her professional hoops homecoming on Friday.
    Friday’s Unrivaled doubleheader drew more than 21,000 fans and was sold out well in advance.
    Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey (right) said he was surprised to hear that teammate Jared McCain was traded this week. Before the deadline, center Joel Embiid (left) said he had hoped the team would stay intact.
    Sixers forward Dominick Barlow drives past New Orleans Pelicans center Yves Missi.
    Flyers forward Owen Tippett beats Capitals goalie Clay Stevenson to give the Flyers a 1-0 lead in the first period of Tuesday’s win over Washington.
    Flyers goalkeeper Samuel Ersson (left) talks with Samuel Hancock, who plays goalie for his youth league team, at the Flyers Charities Carnival on Sunday.
    Shawn Paul, 3, receives a little help from his dad, Zach, as they try one of the games at the Flyers Charities Carnival.
    The Flyers Charities Carnival featured a Ferris wheel, a merry-go-round, and other carnival favorites. Fans could also interact with players, coaches, and alumni.
    The Phillie Phanatic helps load cases of supplies onto the team truck before it leaves for spring training in Clearwater, Fla. Yes, he packed his hot dog launcher.
    Sunday’s boys’ basketball game between Neumann Goretti and Father Judge was sold out.
  • Unmasking ICE in Philly could test the limits of local power over federal agents

    Unmasking ICE in Philly could test the limits of local power over federal agents

    One of the lasting images of President Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign will be the masks worn by federal immigration agents.

    The widespread use of facial coverings by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers is among the suite of tactics — agents dressed in plainclothes, wearing little identification, jumping out of unmarked cars to grab people off the street — that have fueled immigration advocates’ use of terms like “kidnappings” and “abductions.”

    Now Philadelphia lawmakers appear poised to pass legislation that would ban all officers operating in the city — including local police — from concealing their identities by wearing masks or conducting enforcement from unmarked cars.

    The question is whether the city can make that rule stick.

    Legal hurdles loom for municipalities and states attempting to regulate federal law enforcement. Local jurisdictions are generally prohibited from interfering with basic federal functions, and Trump administration officials say state- and city-level bans violate the constitutional provision that says federal law reigns supreme.

    Experts are split on whether the bill proposed by Philadelphia City Council members last week would survive a lawsuit.

    There are also practical concerns about enforcement. Violating the mask ban would be a civil infraction, meaning local police would be tasked with citing other law enforcement officers for covering their faces.

    “No doubt this will be challenged,” said Stanley Brand, a distinguished fellow at Penn State Dickinson Law. “This ordinance will be a protracted and complicated legal slog.”

    Philly City Council members will soon consider seven ‘ICE Out’ bills. Here’s what the proposals would do.
    Councilmember Kendra Brooks speaks during a news conference at City Hall to announce a package of bills aimed at pushing back against ICE enforcement on Jan. 27.

    Advocates for immigrants say that unmasking ICE agents is a safety issue, and that officers rarely identify themselves when asked, despite being required to carry badges.

    Mask use can also spur impersonators, they say. At least four people in Philadelphia have been arrested for impersonating ICE officers in the last year.

    “You see these people in your community with guns and vests and masks,” said Desi Bernette, a leader of MILPA, the Movement of Immigrant Leaders in Pennsylvania. “It’s very scary, and it’s not normal.”

    Philly lawmakers want to restrict cooperation with ICE and ban agents from wearing masks

    Democrats in jurisdictions across America, including Congress and the Pennsylvania General Assembly, have introduced legislation to ban ICE agents from concealing their faces. California is the furthest along in implementing a mask prohibition, and a judge is currently weighing a challenge filed by the Trump administration.

    Senate Democrats negotiating a budget deal in Washington have asked for a nationwide ban on ICE agents wearing masks in exchange for their votes to fund the Department of Homeland Security.

    And polling shows getting rid of masks is popular. A recent Pew Research Center survey found that 61% of Americans believe federal agents should not wear face coverings to conceal their identities while on duty.

    ICE agents who wear masks are driven by the threat of doxxing, Fetterman says

    ICE officials say agents should have the freedom to conceal their faces while operating in a hyperpartisan political environment.

    Last year, ICE head Todd Lyons told CBS News that he was not a proponent of agents wearing masks, though he would allow it. Some officers, he said, have had private information published online, leading to death threats against them and their families.

    On Sunday, U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, a Pennsylvania Democrat, defended ICE officers who wear masks and said doxing is a “serious concern.”

    “They could target [agents’] families,” Fetterman said in an interview on Fox News, “and they are organizing these people to put their names out there.”

    Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., participates in a debate on June 2, 2025, in Boston.

    The Council authors of the Philadelphia bills say they are responding to constituents who are intimidated by ICE’s tactics, and they believe their legislation can withstand a legal challenge.

    “Our goal is to make sure that our folks feel safe here in the city,” said City Councilmember Kendra Brooks. “We are here to protect Philadelphians, and if that means we eventually need to go to court, that’s what would need to happen.”

    The constitutional limits on unmasking ICE

    The bill introduced last week by Brooks and Councilmember Rue Landau is part of a package of seven pieces of legislation aimed at limiting how ICE operates in Philadelphia. The proposals would bar Philadelphia employees from sharing information with ICE and ban the agency from using city property to stage raids.

    Fifteen of Council’s 17 members signed on to the package of legislation, meaning a version of it is likely to become law. Passing a bill in City Council requires nine votes, and overriding a mayoral veto takes 12. Mayor Cherelle L. Parker has said her team is reviewing the legislation, which can still be amended before it becomes law.

    A veto-proof majority of Philadelphia City Council members have signed onto the ‘ICE Out’ proposal
    Anti-ICE activists demonstrate outside U.S. Sen. John Fetterman’s Philadelphia office, Jan. 27, calling for an end to federal immigration enforcement policies.

    One of the two members who did not cosponsor the package was Councilmember Mike Driscoll, a Democrat who represents parts of Lower Northeast Philadelphia. He indicated that he had concerns about whether the “ICE Out” legislation would hold up in court.

    Brooks said Council members worked with attorneys to ensure the legislation is “within our scope as legislators for this city to make sure that we protect our folks against these federal attacks.”

    Brand, of Dickinson Law, said the legislation is a classic example of a conflict between two constitutional pillars: the clause that says federal law is supreme, and the 10th Amendment, which gives states powers that are not delegated to the federal government.

    He said there is precedent that the states — or, in this case, cities — cannot interfere with laws enacted by Congress, such as immigration matters.

    “If I were betting, I would bet on the federal government,” Brand said.

    But there is a gray area, he said, and that includes the fact that no law — or even regulation — says federal law enforcement agents must wear masks.

    Kermit Roosevelt, a law professor at the University of Pennsylvania who is an expert on the Constitution and conflict of laws, said if there is no agency policy, that is “free space” for states and cities to regulate.

    Roosevelt said Brooks’ legislation steers clear of other constitutional concerns because it applies to all police officers, not just federal agents.

    “If they were trying to regulate only federal agents, the question would be, ‘Why aren’t you doing that to your own police officers?’” he said. “If you single out the federal government, it looks more like you’re trying to interfere with what the federal government is doing.”

    Applying the law to local police

    Experts say part of the backlash to ICE agents covering their faces is because Americans are not used to it. Local police, sheriff’s deputies, and state troopers all work largely without hiding their faces.

    “Seeing law enforcement actions happening with federal agents in masks, that’s extremely jarring,” said Cris Ramon, an immigration consultant based in Washington. “Why are you operating outside of the boundaries of what every other law enforcement agency is doing?”

    Protesters march up Eighth Street, toward the immigration offices, during the Philly stands with Minneapolis Ice Out For Good protest at Philadelphia City Hall on Jan. 23.

    The Council legislation includes exceptions for officers wearing medical-grade masks, using protective equipment, or working undercover. It also allows facial coverings for religious purposes.

    However, the federal government could still raise First Amendment concerns, said Shaakirrah R. Sanders, an associate dean at Penn State Dickinson Law.

    The administration, she said, could argue that the city is only trying to regulate law enforcement officers and claim that would be discriminatory.

    Sanders said defending the legislation could be “very costly” and the city should consider alternatives that fall more squarely within its authority. She pointed to efforts like New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s announcement that the state would create a database for residents to upload videos of ICE interacting with the public.

    “It looks like the city wants to wield big legislative power,” Sanders said. “My alternative is more in the grassroots work, where you are the first ear for your citizens, not the regulator of the federal government.”

  • Trump helps Putin wage an ‘energy war’ to freeze Ukrainian civilians into surrender

    Trump helps Putin wage an ‘energy war’ to freeze Ukrainian civilians into surrender

    When Philadelphia temperatures dipped to near zero last week, the frigid weather was so unbearable that most of us retreated indoors. Of course, our homes were warm and well-lit, although the threat of losing power was unnerving.

    For my friend Maisie, whose family lives in the Philly area but who is doing research in Kyiv, Ukraine, on blast injuries and coordinating international programs to help amputees, there is no escape from subzero weather.

    When I spoke to her on the weekend, she was huddled in two down parkas, under a mountain of blankets, and hugging her dog, Olly, for warmth, having had no heat for three weeks.

    Thanks to Vladimir Putin, Kyiv and other major Ukrainian cities have been under massive missile and drone attacks deliberately aimed at civilian heating and power infrastructure. All in an effort to freeze Ukrainians into submission.

    Such attacks on civilians are a war crime.

    Donald Trump is helping Putin weaponize winter. The president echoes Russian propaganda, claiming Putin agreed to a weeklong pause in bombing energy infrastructure — even as Putin was raining down record numbers of missiles on apartment buildings, a maternity hospital, and power grids. Kyiv is only expected to receive four to six hours of power daily for the rest of February.

    To make his pro-Russian stance clear, Trump had a framed photo of himself and the Kremlin leader, taken at the failed Alaska summit last August, put up in the White House Palm Room, above one of him and a grandchild. Only Trump could consider it appropriate to hang a photo of a modern-day Adolf Hitler in the White House visitors’ area.

    Moscow, of course, loves it. To quote the X post of Putin’s special envoy, Kirill Dmitriev (who has brainwashed his White House counterpart, Steve Witkoff, into adopting Moscow’s positions): “A picture is worth a thousand words.” Indeed.

    Other pictures to consider are those of mothers and children clinging to each other in underground subway stations — reminiscent of the London Blitz — because they fear repeated Russian drone attacks on apartment blocks, or because they simply have no heat.

    “Even if you can get food, you don’t need a refrigerator,” Maisie, whose last name I’m not using from safety concerns, told me via WhatsApp. “Any food you have freezes.” Her electricity is sporadic, she told me, barely giving time to charge power banks, a small heater, her laptop, and her phone.

    “It got so bad these past weeks that I remember a moment when I realized I hadn’t felt my toes in so long, I took off layers of socks to realize they had blistered so much from the cold that they were bleeding.

    “A lot of grocery stores were closed, and it was a mad rush when they were open. Sheets of ice are coating every street, which makes it particularly difficult for the elderly.

    “Despite all this, Ukrainians are still holding on, adapting, supporting one another and enduring conditions that should never be normal in the civilized world,” she said.

    What infuriated Ukrainians this week was Trump’s repeated claims that his deal-making skills had persuaded Putin to stop bombing energy infrastructure for a week, until the trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Putin “kept his word,” Trump told White House reporters on Tuesday.

    No, Putin did not keep his word.

    Drones and missiles on power distribution sites halted for barely two and a half days, during which Russia kept hitting residential buildings — along with workers repairing damaged energy infrastructure. Then, with the missiles saved up from the two-day “energy ceasefire,” Russia launched a massive strike against energy targets even as Trump was touting that he had talked Putin down.

    Any president with minimal smarts would have grasped by now that the Russians are trolling him.

    Trump has been pushing since the Alaska summit for a direct meeting between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and the Kremlin recently offered one — if it took place in Moscow. The slimy Russian foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, said his country would guarantee Zelensky’s safety.

    Needless to say, Zelensky — whom the Russians have tried to assassinate many times — declined the honor. One doesn’t have to be a fortune teller to imagine poisoned soup (a tactic used by Russia against a previous Ukrainian president) or a sudden fall from a window. Yet, no doubt, Trump will soon be criticizing Zelensky for refusing this golden opportunity.

    Similarly, the U.S.-Ukraine peace talks pushed by Trump — along with this week’s trilateral meeting of U.S., Ukrainian, and Russian officials — are a farce. That’s because Trump refuses to press Putin to make any concessions, and the Russian leader has yet to veer from his position that Ukraine slash its army, change its president, give up unconquered territory, and refuse any strong Western guarantees.

    In fact, chief White House negotiator Witkoff, an ill-informed real estate mogul who seems to be Trump’s main emissary to everywhere — from Israel to Iran to Russia — insists Kyiv cave to Putin’s key position: give up a belt of Donetsk that Ukraine still holds, which is the main fortified barrier that prevents Russian troops from moving into central Ukraine.

    Witkoff, who, like Trump, thinks only of land deals, might as well be calling on Ukraine to commit suicide. He has actually proposed that this armed Ukrainian territory could become a “free trade zone.” As with the “energy ceasefire,” Putin would respect that zone for about five minutes before sending his troops in.

    Yet, through sheer grit, Ukrainians are enduring and preventing serious Russian gains on the front, as the Kremlin’s war economy sags and Russia suffers staggering numbers of military casualties. I believe if Ukraine can get through this winter, with European help, Russia will be unable to continue the war at this level.

    So now would be the perfect time for Trump to push back strongly against Putin’s “energy war” on civilians. Having basically halted military aid to Ukraine, the president could still help Kyiv by selling Europe desperately needed air defense weapons that it would then pass on to Ukraine. The president could also finally stop blocking a vote on bipartisan congressional legislation to impose more sanctions on Russian oil sales.

    By turning up the heat on Putin, Trump could help turn the heat back on for Ukraine. But don’t hold your breath.

    The only slight opening I can imagine is if the president finally grasps how weak and foolish his bow to Putin makes him look on the world stage, and how dangerous his links to Putin are to his own legacy.

    Rather than be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, Trump looks more likely to be tarred by his subservience to the greatest war criminal of the 21st century, who played him like a military drum.

  • Letters to the Editor | Feb. 6, 2026

    Letters to the Editor | Feb. 6, 2026

    Recognizing the past

    Why does it matter so much to the Trump administration that an exhibit about nine enslaved Africans at the President’s House be removed? Yes, we know this display does not allow Americans to skip past the horrors of enslavement and the daily violence that people of African descent faced. Yes, we know the display counters the majestic view of the Founding Fathers as saintly people who fought for the equal rights of all. Yes, we know this memorial ingrains in the American consciousness that Black people were thingified and their free labor built this country.

    Simply put, the dismantling of this exhibit is an attempt to erase our collective consciousness so that Black children and white children grow up without a clear reference point of what this nation was. Without understanding what America was, we are bound to make the same oppressive mistakes. And what will efforts like this mean for the future of the curricula in our schools?

    The removal of the exhibits was an assault on our spiritual eyes — the eyes we use to invoke our collective memory. My spiritual eyes watched a video of the dismantling and saw my ancestors being brutalized by the crack of the whip again. My spiritual eyes saw my ancestors labor to build a nation and fight for a country that does not see them as fully human.

    The Sankofa proverb teaches us that progress occurs when we must recognize our past. Our past is not perfect; it is complex and filled with moments of dehumanization that make us all cringe and feel saddened. But examining and reflecting on the past allows us to build a better, more beautiful society together. Let’s take that path forward as a nation.

    Nosakhere Griffin-EL, Pittsburgh

    A disappointing nomination

    I know that I am not alone in expressing my deep disappointment in the confirmation by the Pennsylvania Senate of the Shapiro administration’s nomination of Dr. John S. O’ Brien II to the state’s Board of Pardons.

    Dr. O’Brien will now help make the ultimate decision on both commutation and pardon applications from deserving people who seek to shorten their prison sentence.

    My experience with the Board of Pardons is deeply personal. My father was the victim of a kidnap carjack robbery in 1980 and died as a result of the crime. The two accomplices to the carjacking, who did not intend to kill my father and did not kill him, were still convicted of second-degree felony murder, and they were sentenced to the mandatory sentence in Pennsylvania: life in prison without parole. They were 18 and 19 respectively.

    They were incarcerated for 40 years. They more than paid for their participation. I felt so strongly about this that I was a key advocate for their release through the commutation process.

    Dr. O’Brien is known for being a paid expert witness in criminal cases, almost always for the prosecution, often involving children. He has argued that accused children cannot be rehabilitated and should be charged as adults. This biased point of view goes against science and documented research.

    People who committed or were participants in severe crimes when they were teenagers are often incarcerated for years and pay dearly for their crimes. These people deserve consideration (but not automatic release) when applying for commutation. To think otherwise is simply not true.

    It is just wrong to deny people who have paid their debt to society a voice as they are fighting to prove they are not the same person they were at such a young age.

    Nancy Leichter, Philadelphia

    Join the conversation: Send letters to letters@inquirer.com. Limit length to 150 words and include home address and day and evening phone number. Letters run in The Inquirer six days a week on the editorial pages and online.

  • Joel Embiid keeps his reaction to Sixers’ trade deadline politically correct: ‘I believe in myself’

    Joel Embiid keeps his reaction to Sixers’ trade deadline politically correct: ‘I believe in myself’

    LOS ANGELES — When asked to assess the 76ers’ approach and execution at the trade deadline, Joel Embiid kept his words politically correct.

    But his multiple pauses to look to his right at a team public relations staffer observing his postgame media session — not out of nervousness, but as if this was the way he could make his desired point — spoke volumes.

    “The only thing I’ll say, I believe in myself,” Embiid said late Thursday, after the Sixers dealt guards Jared McCain and Eric Gordon and did not add any players. “I believe in Tyrese [Maxey]. I believe in everybody in this locker room. But the main thing is I believe in myself.

    “So no matter what, we’re going to go out there and compete and still try to win it.”

    Sixers takeaways: Second half turnovers, Joel Embiid’s scoring and more in loss to Lakers

    Those comments came exactly one week after Embiid said publicly that he hoped the Sixers (29-22) would not make moves purely to duck the luxury tax and would instead try to bolster a roster that, after Thursday’s 119-115 loss at the Los Angeles Lakers, sat in sixth place in a crowded Eastern Conference.

    “Hopefully, we keep the same team,” Embiid said then. “ … We’ve got a good group of guys in this locker room and the vibes are great. … Hopefully, we think about improving, because we have a chance.”

    When those previous comments were referenced to Embiid following Thursday’s game, the standout center coyly quipped, “I don’t remember what I said.”

    Sixers center Joel Embiid defends Los Angeles’ LeBron James’ (right) layup during their matchup on Thursday.

    Like several teammates on Thursday, Embiid complimented McCain’s impact and wished him well with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

    “I felt like [McCain] was starting to find himself there [after knee and thumb surgeries],” Embiid said from his locker inside Crypto.com Arena, “especially considering what he was doing last year. OKC got a great one.”

    The departures of McCain and Gordon, who was dealt to the Memphis Grizzlies, are at least a temporary blow to the Sixers’ guard depth before the buyout market opens. Those losses are particularly crucial while starting wing Paul George serves a 25-game suspension for violating the NBA’s anti-drug policy. The Sixers surrendered a 14-point second-half lead against the Lakers, and four starters played more than 37 minutes in the team’s third game in four nights.

    Yet there is reason for Embiid, the 2023 NBA Most Valuable Player, to have re-instilled self-belief after struggling with knee issues the previous two seasons.

    The Sixers got under the tax and took a small step back at the NBA trade deadline

    He put together another monster stat line against the Lakers, totaling 35 points on 13-of-19 shooting, seven rebounds, seven assists, and two blocked shots. In his last 11 games played, he is averaging 31.4 points on 53.2% shooting, 8.1 rebounds, and 5.1 assists to put himself in All-Star contention. And though Embiid has not been cleared to play in back-to-backs, he has logged 34.9 minutes in that timeframe and is moving and elevating better.

    “I’ve made a lot of progress, and I think this is only the beginning,” Embiid said. “I think, from now on, every single day … keep stacking them up, it’s only going to get better. With the hope that, whether it’s by the playoffs or next year, I’m really, really back to being myself. I’m on my way there.”

  • Sixers takeaways: Second half turnovers, Joel Embiid’s scoring and more in loss to Lakers

    Sixers takeaways: Second half turnovers, Joel Embiid’s scoring and more in loss to Lakers

    The 76ers were handling business at the conclusion of an emotional two days, until they began turning the ball over when things got chippy in the second half.

    They were also doomed by the Lakers’ bench points.

    But if there’s a positive for the Sixers, Joel Embiid was back to doing a little bit of everything against Los Angeles.

    And coach Nick Nurse will tell you that the biggest strides that VJ Edgecombe have made are with his consistency.

    Austin Reaves scores 35 to help Lakers snap the Sixers’ five-game winning streak

    Those things stood out in Thursday’s 119-115 loss to the Lakers at the Crypto.com Arena.

    The setback dropped the Sixers to 29-22 and snapped their five-game winning streak. They also fell one spot into sixth place in the Eastern Conference standings.

    Unable to handle business

    The good news is the Sixers didn’t initially look like a team that was emotional due to losing teammates Jared McCain and Eric Gordon before the 3 p.m. NBA trade deadline.

    The bad news is that the team continued its trend of falling apart after the intermission.

    At one point, it looked like the Sixers would coast to an easy victory. However, they began to struggle as the Lakers (31-19) increased their physicality. That led to costly turnovers by the Sixers.

    Sixers guard Quentin Grimes (center) reaches for a loose ball with Los Angeles Lakers forward Jake LaRavia on Thursday.

    Los Angeles opened the fourth quarter on a 21-6 run.

    The Sixers committed 15 turnovers, with 11 coming in the second half. To their credit, they battled back after trailing by 16 points with 4 minutes, 4 seconds left to play. Tyrese Maxey’s floater pulled the Sixers within two points with 27 seconds left.

    But they just couldn’t overcome costly turnovers at inopportune times, combined with Los Angeles’ chippy play.

    “It’s just the physicality at one end was a big thing,” Nurse told the media. “I think it was we had [been] playing pretty good and rolling along pretty well, winning. It just seemed like it was physical at one end and not at the other.”

    Sixers convert Dominick Barlow’s two-way contract to a standard NBA deal

    This loss could be considered a major disappointment, given that the Sixers’ stars shone.

    Embiid finished with 35 points on 13-for-19 shooting along with seven rebounds, seven assists, one steal, and two blocks. Maxey added 26 points, 13 assists, and four steals for his sixth double-double this season. Edgecombe finished with 19 points, 10 rebounds, two assists, and four steals for his third double-double. And Dominick Barlow had 13 points, two steals, and a block hours after having his two-way contract converted to a standard deal.

    But the last couple of days for the Sixers were intense mentally.

    First, the uncertainty surrounding the trade deadline was emotionally taxing. They knew that several teammates could be moved before Thursday’s deadline. Then there was some added emotion seeing the well-liked McCain get traded on Wednesday. And even though he rarely played, the emotion resurfaced when Gordon, a team mentor, was moved on Thursday.

    The Sixers got under the tax and took a small step back at the NBA trade deadline

    “I think it is emotional for everybody,” Nurse told reporters before the game. “Just watching it all unfold over the last three days, it seems like every half hour there’s some news around the league. I think that pours into the emotion for everybody that there’s a lot going on, seeing the wildness of all of it going so fast.”

    The Sixers knew the trade deadline was coming down to the wire when they arrived at Thursday’s shootaround. And it was a bit of a distraction for them.

    “But everybody is going through it,” Nurse said. “So you can’t sit here and say it’s a factor in anything. And you have to get through this game. And we’ll see what kind of emotions it had for us when we go out there and play tonight.”

    And they came to play, with all five starters scoring in the first five minutes to set the tone early.

    Bench-point disparity

    The Sixers could have used McCain’s scoring production off the bench against the Lakers. That’s because Los Angeles had a 61-14 advantage in bench points. Austin Reaves, a regular starter, is coming off the bench for the Lakers because of a minutes restriction. The guard finished with a team-high 35 points and made 5 of 8 three-pointers while playing just 25:03.

    Rui Hachimura added 14 points in a reserve role.

    He and Reaves took up the slack for Luka Dončić, who exited the game in the first half with left leg soreness.

    Sixers’ Joel Embiid (left) made 13 of 19 shots against the Lakers on Thursday.

    Embiid’s night

    It didn’t take long to realize Embiid would have a solid night.

    The 2023 MVP and seven-time All-Star scored 12 of the Sixers’ 27 first-quarter points. Embiid was averaging 30.2 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 5.0 assists in 12 career games against the Lakers before Thursday’s game.

    Sixers trading Eric Gordon to Memphis in exchange for a second-round pick swap

    But Embiid had struggled through 4-for-21 shooting — including missing all six of his three-pointers — while scoring 16 points in the Sixers’ 112-108 loss to the Lakers on Dec. 7 at Xfinity Mobile Arena.

    Thursday, however, marked the seventh time that he scored at least 30 points against Los Angeles.

    Edgecombe’s consistency

    As a 20-year-old rookie, Edgecombe has experienced peaks and valleys in his play.

    “But not many,” Nurse said. “Not … too high or too low. And I think that’s an accomplishment or development, or a stride that rookies are usually pretty up and down. But he kind of came in doing a lot of stuff, and he continues to do a lot of stuff. That’s all I keep saying, he’s so versatile. He does a little bit of everything. And again, he has great maturity and composure for his age as well.”

    Sixers rookie guard VJ Edgecombe (right) finished with a double-double (19 points, 10 rebounds) against the Lakers.

    The Sixers are trying to get Edgecombe to become more aggressive. Nurse has seen increased aggressiveness from him lately.

    “But I don’t want to say we’re there yet, either,” the coach said.

  • Austin Reaves scores 35 to help Lakers snap the Sixers’ five-game winning streak

    Austin Reaves scores 35 to help Lakers snap the Sixers’ five-game winning streak

    LOS ANGELES — Austin Reaves scored 35 points in just 25 minutes, and the Los Angeles Lakers overcame Luka Doncic’s departure with a left leg injury for a 119-115 victory over the 76ers on Thursday night.

    LeBron James had 17 points and 10 assists for the Lakers, who snapped Philadelphia’s five-game winning streak with a big second-half rally in their first game back from an eight-game road trip.

    Joel Embiid had 35 points and Tyrese Maxey added 26 points and 13 assists for the Sixers, who blew a 14-point lead and nearly came back from a 16-point deficit in the second half of their first loss since Jan. 26.

    The Sixers got under the tax and took a small step back at the NBA trade deadline

    The Lakers led 110-94 with four minutes left, but the Sixers closed the gap to 116-113 when rookie VJ Edgecombe stole James’ inbounds pass and hit a three-pointer with 36 seconds to play. James had eight turnovers.

    But Maxi Kleber fed Rui Hachimura for a dunk with 12 seconds left, and the Lakers hung on.

    With 12-of-17 shooting and five three-pointers while coming off the bench, Reaves was phenomenal despite playing on a minutes restriction in his second game back from a 5½-week absence with a calf injury.

    But just when the Lakers’ core was finally healthy again, Doncic went down during their fifth win in seven games.

    Lakers guard Luka Doncic (right) left their game against the Sixers with a leg injury.

    The NBA’s leading scorer limped to the locker room with 3 minutes, 3 seconds left in the first half after apparently hurting his leg on the far end of the court moments earlier. He didn’t return for the second half due to what the Lakers called left leg soreness.

    Reaves, Doncic and James were playing in only their 10th game together during a season in which all three have struggled with significant injuries.

    The Lakers took their first lead with Reaves’ back-to-back three-pointers to open the fourth on a 21-6 run.

    The Sixers continue their west coast roadtrip by facing the Phoenix Suns on Saturday (9 p.m., NBCSP).

  • Horoscopes: Friday, Feb. 6, 2026

    ARIES (March 21-April 19). You’re trying to be realistic about a relationship, but the fact is that you don’t have enough data to make a prediction. Risk a little more of your time, energy, ego and heart, and what you learn will be a lot.

    TAURUS (April 20-May 20). Playmates are not just for children. It’s OK to admit you long for the playfulness born of good chemistry and well-matched intelligence. It’s a surge to your vitality, a boon to your health and worth making a priority.

    GEMINI (May 21-June 21). Success creates expectations, constraints and ongoing responsibilities without necessarily giving you more options or freedoms. So before you embark on the journey, make sure the goal is really worth it. Make sure you really like the kind of success it is.

    CANCER (June 22-July 22). Those who only hear what they want to hear communicate in a small bubble of their own delusion, cannot learn and will not know the world. The truth is only available to those open to hearing what they don’t want to hear.

    LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). Your relationship with yourself is the longest, most consistent and rock-solid one you have. Many people never achieve that, even with partners, families and social abundance. It’s the reason you can be so honest now and make changes.

    VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). In our solar system, one star holds 99% of the mass. Alpha Centauri, our closest stellar neighbor, has three stars, and it spins perfectly. Today reminds you there’s more than one way to run things. Yours works, and theirs does too.

    LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). Truly mutual, awake, bonded relationships are rare — not mythically rare, but statistically rare. But this is what you’re looking for. You’ll find it. It’s not a fantasy. It’s out there for you and you won’t confuse substitutes for the real thing.

    SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). No need to rush to resolution. Let silence work for you. Let distance reorganize perception. The mind keeps answering after you stop pushing. Once that happens, the next step becomes obvious on its own.

    SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). There’s something you’re disgruntled about. You’re not bargaining with the universe or shaking your fist at it. You’re describing a problem as you’ve observed it, over time. You’ve approached with discernment, pattern recognition and honesty. All will be addressed.

    CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). Given the size of your interior world, the breadth of your talent and the range of your appetite for beauty, it would be a shame to waste all that potential on tedious maintenance. Cut the boring tasks short. Go do something generative.

    AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). Your boundaries are like a skilled conductor’s baton. They set tempo and rhythm. Interactions will unfold within your parameters. People work together in harmony, and powerful chords accompany your experience.

    PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). Everyone needs a little change-up now and then. You feel driven to break up the monotony, but only to a certain degree. Too much novelty is destabilizing. So change one variable at a time and see how it feels.

    TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (Feb. 6). Welcome to your Year of Magical Guidance, when illumination is whimsical in tone, but dependable, consistently arriving whenever you ask. Matters of love and timing are sorted out on demand, which makes you relax and enjoy your relationships. More highlights: Because you read situations accurately and act with grace, you’ll often be hired and invited. Wise choices compound over time. Memorable, festive hosting and visiting. Cancer and Scorpio adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 17, 13, 1, 40 and 5.