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  • Dear Abby | Treatment of elderly mother raises couple’s hackles

    DEAR ABBY: I have been happily married for 30 years. Unfortunately, my wife’s family (two older sisters and her mother, who is 97) have rejected not only me, but now my wife. While our relationship with my mother-in-law is cordial, our relationship with her sisters is poor.

    Recently, her sisters put their mother into an elder care facility without informing us, much less inviting us to tour the facility. By the time we found out, the paperwork had already been signed. The facility is two hours away from where she had been living (closer to the oldest sister), meaning my MIL will be forced to give up her social life and her doctors of 30-plus years. (She lived in a big city, so finding a facility near her apartment would have been easy.)

    Starting anew is hard at any age. My mother-in-law says she’s depressed about this. It is unclear whether she was competent to make this decision, but litigation seems futile and out of our budget. Ranting at my wife’s sisters would be a waste of time, but sitting here in silent anger is untenable as well. I guess we are looking for validation that it is reasonable to be angry, even if we don’t act on that anger, unless you have better advice for this situation.

    — UPSET IN PENNSYLVANIA

    DEAR UPSET: I will assume that your sister-in-law has power of attorney for your mother-in-law, who has reached the point that she needs an increasing amount of care. By age 97, it stands to reason that most of her friends have passed on. It makes sense that she would be moved into assisted living close enough that your sisters-in-law could see her often.

    While it would have been nice had your wife been kept in the loop about the move, her relationship with her sisters isn’t cordial. You both are entitled to your feelings about what has happened, but please don’t let it rule your lives.

    ** ** **

    DEAR ABBY: Recently, our good friends of 35 years, “Cherise” and “Robert,” announced the upcoming wedding of their daughter. Our children grew up together. Invitations have not been sent out, but they have let us know the date and location of the destination wedding. My husband and I will go, but my children won’t be able to make it because of their jobs, kids, etc.

    Cherise called me today, very upset, to tell me how hurt she is. Abby, our children went their separate ways 20 years ago. They never see each other! My son had planned a destination wedding five years ago (which didn’t happen because of COVID), and Cherise’s entire family declined, which I completely understood. I’m confused about why her reaction was so strong. I’m not telling my children about this because they will feel bad. Should I let this go?

    — THROWN IN OREGON

    DEAR THROWN: Yes, let it go. Your children are adults and have their own priorities. You can’t control them, nor should you try. I’m sorry Cherise is upset, but your children are not responsible for it. The “kids” are not as close as she assumed they were, and she is going to have to learn to accept that.

  • Rams QB Matthew Stafford edges Patriots’ Drake Maye for the AP NFL Most Valuable Player award

    Rams QB Matthew Stafford edges Patriots’ Drake Maye for the AP NFL Most Valuable Player award

    SAN FRANCISCO — Matthew Stafford walked away with the AP NFL Most Valuable Player award and a declaration that he’s returning to the Los Angeles Rams for another season.

    Stafford edged Drake Maye for the MVP award on Thursday night in the closest race since Peyton Manning and Steve McNair were co-winners in 2003.

    Stafford received 24 of 50 first-place votes while Maye got 23. But Maye has a chance to go home this week with a Vince Lombardi Trophy. He leads the New England Patriots against the Seattle Seahawks in the Super Bowl on Sunday.

    Stafford, who turns 38 on Saturday, wants another opportunity to try to win his second Super Bowl ring with the Rams.

    “Oh yeah, I’ll be back. It was such an amazing season and I play with such a great group of guys and great group of coaches that I was lucky enough to finish this season healthy, and I want to make sure that I go out there and see what happens next year,” Stafford told the AP.

    Stafford brought his four daughters — all dressed in identical black-and-white dresses — to the stage to accept the award.

    He thanked his team and saved his wife and daughters for last: “You’re unbelievable cheerleaders for me. I appreciate it. I am so happy to have you at the games on the sideline with me, and I can’t wait for you to cheer me on next year when we’re out there kicking (butt).”

    It was Stafford’s way of announcing he will be back next season after contemplating retirement.

    Myles Garrett was a unanimous choice for the AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year award after setting a season record for sacks with 23.

    All-Pro wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba beat out Christian McCaffrey for the AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year award.

    New England’s Mike Vrabel beat out Jacksonville’s Liam Coen for the AP NFL Coach of the Year award, becoming the seventh coach to win it with two different teams.

    McCaffrey became the first running back to win the AP NFL Comeback Player of the Year award in 24 years.

    Browns linebacker Carson Schwesinger was a runaway winner for the AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year award.

    Panthers wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan ran away with the AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award.

    Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels won the AP NFL Assistant Coach of the Year award in the first season of his third stint with the team.

    A nationwide panel of 50 media members who regularly cover the league completed voting before the playoffs began. Votes were tabulated by the accounting firm Lutz and Carr.

    Voters selected a top 5 for the eight AP NFL awards. First-place votes were worth 10 points. Second- through fifth-place votes were worth 5, 3, 2 and 1 points.

    Josh Allen, the 2024 NFL MVP, received two first-place MVP votes, and Justin Herbert got the other one.

    Stafford, who earned first-team All-Pro honors for the first time in his 17-year career, finished with 366 points to Maye’s 361. Allen placed third with 91 points, Christian McCaffrey (71) was fourth and Trevor Lawrence (49) came in fifth.

    It’s McCaffrey’s second top-five finish in three years, more than any other non-quarterback since the weighted point system was implemented in 2022.

    Stafford led the NFL with 4,707 yards passing and 46 TDs. He threw eight picks and finished second to Maye with a 109.2 passer rating. Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams lost to Seattle in the NFC championship game.

    Maye had 4,394 yards passing, 31 TDs and eight picks. The second-year pro led the league in passer rating (113.5) and completion percentage (72).

    Coach of the Year

    Vrabel can get his first Super Bowl title as a head coach Sunday if the Patriots beat the Seahawks. He received 19 first-place votes to Coen’s 16 and finished with 302 points.

    Vrabel, the 2021 Coach of the Year winner with the Titans, led the Patriots from worst to first in the AFC East, a 10-win turnaround in his first season in New England.

    Coen had 239 points after leading the Jacksonville Jaguars to 13 wins and an AFC South title in his first season.

    Seattle’s Mike Macdonald got eight first-place votes and finished third (191). Chicago’s Ben Johnson received one first-place vote and came in fourth (145). San Francisco’s Kyle Shanahan had six first-place votes to place fifth (140).

    Defensive Player of the Year

    Garrett received all 50 first-place votes to become the ninth player to win DPOY multiple times and second unanimous choice following J.J. Watt, who did it in 2014. Cleveland’s edge rusher also was a unanimous All-Pro selection. Garrett previously won the award in 2023.

    “It doesn’t just start with me,” he said. “It starts with great teammates, a great organization, great coaches being able to put us in position. I’m thankful for every single one of teammates to help get me up here. It’s not possible without them.”

    Texans edge rusher Will Anderson Jr. finished second with 77 points, Packers edge rusher Micah Parsons came in third (63) followed by Broncos edge rusher Nik Bonitto (52) and Lions edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson (42).

    Garrett surpassed both Michael Strahan (22.5) and T.J. Watt (22.5) when he sacked Joe Burrow in the final game of the regular season.

    Offensive Player of the Year

    Smith-Njigba got 14 first-place votes to McCaffrey’s 12 and finished with 272 points. McCaffrey, who won the AP NFL Comeback Player of the Year award, had 223 points.

    Smith-Njigba caught 119 passes and led the league with 1,793 yards receiving. He had 10 TDs.

    Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua, a unanimous All-Pro like Smith-Njigba, finished third with eight first-place votes and 170 points. Falcons All-Pro running back Bijan Robinson was right behind him with six first-place votes and 168 points.

    Comeback Player of the Year

    McCaffrey, San Francisco’s All-Pro do-it-all back, received 31 first-place votes and 395 points, outgaining Aidan Hutchinson. Garrison Hearst was the last running back to win it in 2001.

    Hutchinson got nine first-place votes and 221 points. Dak Prescott came in third with six first-place votes and 167 points. Lawrence got two first-place votes and finished fourth (130). Stefon Diggs came in fifth (40).

    Philip Rivers and Chris Olave each received one first-place vote.

    McCaffrey played in just four games in 2024 due to bilateral Achilles tendinitis followed by a season-ending PCL knee injury. He returned to play every game for the 49ers and had 2,126 yards from scrimmage and 17 TDs.

    Defensive Rookie of the Year

    Schwesinger received 40 first-place votes and had 441 points to become the sixth player in the last 45 seasons to win the award after not being picked in the first round. Shaq Leonard (2018) and DeMeco Ryans (2006) were the only others in the last 20 seasons. Cleveland selected Schwesinger in the second round at No. 33 overall.

    Versatile Seahawks defensive back Nick Emmanwori got seven first-place votes and finished second (199).

    Offensive Rookie of the Year

    McMillan earned 41 first-place votes after catching 70 passes for 1,014 yards and seven TDs.

    Saints quarterback Tyler Shough got five first-place votes and finished second with 168 points, way behind McMillan’s 445.

    Assistant Coach of the Year

    McDaniels received 17 of 50 first-place votes and finished with 249 points. Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph placed second with 10 first-place votes and 176 points.

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

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

    The 76ers signed Dominick Barlow to a standard NBA contract.

    The 6-foot-9 power forward, who started 33 games, is averaging 8.4 points, 5.1 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 1.0 steals this season.

    Not afraid of the moment, Barlow finished with a career-high 26 points to go with 16 rebounds — including a career-high 10 on the offensive boards — in Tuesday’s 128-113 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif.

    He became the first Sixer with at least 25 points and 10 offensive rebounds since Hall of Famer Charles Barkley did so in November 1990.

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

    Barlow’s previous two-way deals with the San Antonio Spurs and Atlanta Hawks also were converted to standard deals. Barlow averaged 4.2 points and 3.1 rebounds in 96 games over three seasons with the Hawks and Spurs before joining the Sixers on a two-way contract last July.

    Barlow, who has family in Philadelphia, was one of the top high school players in New Jersey.

    He had his freshman year of high school at St. Joseph High School in Metuchen, N.J. cut short due to a torn labrum in his shoulder. The native of Hackensack, N.J., transferred to Dumont High School as a sophomore.

    As a senior, he was named the North Jersey boys’ basketball player of the year while averaging 27.6 points, 17.0 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 2.6 blocks in eight games during the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 school year.

    ‘Every team needs one of those guys’ like Dominick Barlow, who is showing he deserves to stick with the Sixers

    Barlow opted to sign with Atlanta-based Overtime Elite, forgoing his college career. After going undrafted a year later, he signed a two-way contract with the Spurs on July 10, 2022, and his contract was converted to a standard deal on March 2, 2024.

    He then signed a two-way contract with the Hawks on July 30, 2024, and it was converted on March 4, 2025.

  • Phillies are well-represented across the World Baseball Classic team pool

    Phillies are well-represented across the World Baseball Classic team pool

    All 20 rosters for the World Baseball Classic were announced on Thursday night, and the Phillies are well-represented.

    Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber will play for the United States under manager and Penn alum Mark DeRosa, joined by Brad Keller in the bullpen.

    Schwarber represented the U.S. at the 2023 World Baseball Classic, helping the team win a silver medal. Harper had plans to play for the 2023 team as well, but withdrew after undergoing elbow surgery the previous winter.

    “[Schwarber] was the chemistry guy for me, last time,” DeRosa said in December.

    Spring training preview: Outlook for Aidan Miller, level of concern for Bryce Harper, and more from Reddit AMA

    Cristopher Sánchez will join the Dominican Republic’s rotation, with outfielder Johan Rojas also named to the team.

    The Phillies’ other participants include José Alvarado (Venezuela); Taijuan Walker (Mexico); Garrett Stubbs and Max Lazar (Israel); Edmundo Sosa (Panama); and Aaron Nola (Italy).

    Several Phillies prospects were also named to rosters. Outfielder Dante Nori, the Phillies’ 2024 first-round selection and No. 6 prospect, will join Nola on Team Italy.

    Pitching prospect Jaydenn Estanista will play for the Netherlands. Estanista had a 4.84 ERA in 44⅔ innings last season between high-A Jersey Shore and double-A Reading. Mitch Neunborn, who pitched for Reading and triple-A Lehigh Valley last year, will represent Australia.

    Phillies prospect Dante Nori will represent Italy in the WBC.

    Gabriel Barbosa was named to Brazil’s roster. Barbosa had a 3.62 ERA across three levels in the Phillies’ system in 2025, finishing the season in double A.

    The Phillies will play an exhibition game against Team Canada in Clearwater, Fla. on March 4 before WBC pool play takes place March 5-10 in Tokyo, San Juan, Miami, and Houston.

    The quarterfinals will be held on March 13 in Miami and Houston, while the semifinals and finals are March 15-17 in Miami.

  • Social media spoilers can ruin big events like the Olympics and Super Bowl. Xfinity has a new way to prevent that.

    Social media spoilers can ruin big events like the Olympics and Super Bowl. Xfinity has a new way to prevent that.

    It’s every sports fan’s nightmare.

    You’re watching a big game, it’s getting into crunch time, and there’s a crucial play about to happen. The only issue is, that play already happened and the people who saw it first are sharing it on social media.

    The notifications begin to flood your feed from X or ESPN informing you what just happened, all before it plays out on your television screen. Now though, with Super Bowl LX just days away and the Winter Olympics officially getting underway, Xfinity has created a way for people to stay current with everything that happens.

    The Philly-based company’s new RealTime4K feature, which will be introduced Sunday during the Super Bowl between the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks, will allow Xfinity viewers to keep pace with the game as if they were in attendance, while still watching in high-quality 4K.

    “The benefit here is our customers will be among the first in the country, other than those at the game, to see what happens at the Super Bowl,” said Vito Forlenza, Comcast’s vice president for sports entertainment. “So we’re doing this for a whole day of 4K. It’s going to be Olympics programming in the morning, 7 a.m. to noon, Super Bowl programming all the rest of the day.”

    RealTime4K will debut during the Super Bowl and will allow fans to watch the game in 4K up to 30 seconds faster than other 4K broadcasts.

    Xfinity rolled out its enhanced 4K before creating RealTime4K. At the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, enhanced 4K resulted in a nearly 30-second difference between Xfinity viewers and other viewers watching Noah Lyles win the men’s 100-meter gold medal in a photo finish. In other words, Xfinity viewers could have watched Lyles finish the race three times before others would have seen him cross the line once.

    Being able to keep up with sporting events in real time is not the only new feature Xfinity is adding for the Winter Olympics. It’s also adding Fan View, tailoring the Games to each viewer and making sure the events and sports they want to see are on their screens.

    A beginner’s guide to watching figure skating at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics

    “There’s so much Olympics [content] on here you can get overwhelmed,” said Comcast’s director of product management, Scott Manning. “But what we’re bringing for 2026 is Fan View. What that does is it takes all these experiences and puts it into one.”

    That means viewers will be able to personalize their Olympic experience. They can pick certain events that they find interesting in Fan View. Then, viewers will be able to access a sidebar that will serve them highlights of the events they like, as well as interviews from athletes competing in the sports they picked.

    “I’m able to pick actual broadcasts and then specific sports as I’m going through, and it’s going to remember these selections, and then it will start tailoring some of the experience based on that too,” Manning said. “I don’t have to pick things. If I just want to try to get everything, that’s fine.”

    Viewers can access Xfinity’s new Fan View even while watching four Olympic events at the same time.

    Viewers will be able to also see medal counts, a feature that was there for previous Olympics, but this time it will be integrated into Fan View, which will debut on Friday.

    Fan View can also help customers keep track of several sports at once — even while they’re watching something different, as it won’t interfere with the sport currently on the screen. So, if curling is on the TV, viewers can continue to have their Fan View on the side, and their watching experience will not be impacted.

    After all, there’s a lot to keep track of.

    “Our customers said, ‘Well, that sounds good, but I want to make sure I can find the one sport that I’m looking for,’” Forlenza said. “One of our customers said it doesn’t matter if we have 3,000 hours [of content] if they can’t find the one hour they really want to watch. So that’s the problem we’re trying to solve to make sure customers can get to the Olympics coverage they want to watch quickly and easily.”

    With a big 2026 on tap for Xfinity, both in Philly and nationally, this won’t be the last time fans get this kind of experience.

    “We’re already thinking about the World Cup,” Forlenza said. “We’re building these types of features. We’re already thinking, ‘How’s this?’”

  • About 40 anti-ICE activists are arrested at protest inside Target in South Philly

    About 40 anti-ICE activists are arrested at protest inside Target in South Philly

    About 40 people were arrested after an activist group Thursday evening conducted a demonstration inside a Target store in South Philadelphia to demand that the company take a public stand against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions at the chain’s stores.

    More than 100 demonstrators affiliated with No ICE Philly chanted “ICE out of Target now!” and played instruments inside the store near Snyder Avenue and I-95. Some shoppers joined the chanting.

    Shortly before 6 p.m., the protesters were given their first warning by police to leave or be arrested. Dozens then left, but a group of 40 or so remained inside, seated on the floor. Around 6:15 p.m., police began making arrests without incident. Three remaining protesters were given citations and allowed to leave, police said.

    The zip-tied detainees were led by police out of the store one by one to cheers from other protesters outside.

    The demonstration and subsequent arrests did not deter shoppers from going about their business, entering and leaving the store.

    A man dressed in a bear costume and wearing an action camera harnessed to his chest showed up and yelled at the activists inside the store, calling them “weirdos.” Police intervened to prevent an escalation.

    Rabbi Linda Holtzman, 73, (right) a spokesperson for No ICE Philly, addresses the crowd during a demonstration inside a Target store in South Philadelphia, Feb. 5, 2026.

    Benita Dixon, 66, accompanied by her granddaughter, was at the store to buy a Valentine’s Day present for her daughter when the protest broke out.

    Dixon’s first reaction was to get a tighter grip on her granddaughter’s hand, but when chanting began, the pair joined in dancing with protesters.

    “ICE has been going around killing people in Minnesota, and that’s not right,” Dixon said. “Many of my co-workers are coming into work carrying their passports because they are scared, so I’m glad we are protesting: No ICE in our streets.”

    Protests coordinated by No ICE Philly were conducted last month at Target stores around Philadelphia, including in Center City, Fairmount, Port Richmond, and South Philadelphia.

    Across the country, protesters — including employees of the company — have been calling for Target to publicly oppose the federal immigration crackdown in Minnesota, the company’s home state, and deny ICE agents who do not have judicial warrants access to Target stores and parking lots.

    Demonstrators from No ICE Philly protesting inside the Target store.

    “Target does not have cooperative agreements with any immigration enforcement agency,” a company executive said in a memo to employees on Jan. 22, Business Insider reported.

    A day after two ICE agents fatally shot 37-year-old Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, where Target is headquartered, then-incoming CEO Michael Fiddelke cosigned a joint statement from the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce with dozens of other executives, “calling for an immediate de-escalation of tensions and for state, local and federal officials to work together to find real solutions.”

    Pretti’s Jan. 24 killing in Minneapolis was the second in less than a month. On Jan. 7, an ICE agent fatally shot 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good.

    A Target spokesperson said in an email that Fiddelke also sent a note to employees saying “the violence and loss of life in our community is incredibly painful” and that “we are doing everything we can to manage what’s in our control, always keeping the safety of our team and guests our top priority.”

    Target, founded in 1962, operates 1,989 stores across the United States and generates net revenue of more than $100 billion annually.

    The company was hit with a national boycott last year after it rolled back Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives to fall in line with the policies of President Donald Trump.

    No ICE Philly has led demonstrations against the agency and against the arrests of immigrants outside the city Criminal Justice Center.

    Demonstrators from No ICE Philly protesting inside the store.

    At the Target in South Philadelphia, Rabbi Linda Holtzman, 73, said the in-store protest is what people must do when neighbors are under attack.

    “What ICE is doing, what they have been doing, is horrible, and we stand with the people of Minneapolis,” Holtzman said.

    Protesting at the South Philadelphia Target is a way to tell the company that it must stand on the side of the people, Holtzman said.

    “Target has become an ally to ICE, letting them come into their stores without a warrant,” Holtzman said. “That’s not the America I grew up in. Is that the country you want?”

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

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

    The shaping of the 76ers took a step backward this week … perhaps just momentarily.

    The team moved on from Jared McCain, a fan favorite and 2025 Rookie of the Year front-runner, and seldom-used veteran guard Eric Gordon before Thursday’s 3 p.m. trade deadline. In return, the Sixers acquired a first-round pick, three second-rounders, and a second-round pick swap.

    McCain was shipped to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday in exchange for the Houston Rockets’ 2026 first-round pick and three second-round selections. One of the second-rounders is the most favorable 2027 pick from the Thunder, Rockets, Indiana Pacers, and the Miami Heat. The other second-rounders are the 2028 picks that previously belonged to the Milwaukee Bucks and Thunder.

    Then, around 2 p.m. on Thursday, the Sixers agreed to send Gordon and the right to swap second-round picks in 2032 to the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for the draft rights to Justinian Jessup.

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

    Shedding those players’ salaries gives the Sixers just over $7.6 million in cap space under the first apron. That means they can sign players on the buyout market in addition to using up to $8 million in a trade exception to acquire a player.

    After the deadline, the Sixers signed forward Patrick Baldwin to a 10-day contract and center Charles Bassey to his second 10-day stint, giving the Sixers 14 standard contracts. And 48 minutes before Thursday’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers, the team announced it converted starting power forward Dominick Barlow’s two-way contract to a standard deal.

    Sixers guard Eric Gordon, a mentor to young star VJ Edgecombe, was dealt to the Memphis Grizzlies.

    That enabled Barlow remain active for the remainder of the season.

    But for now, they’re not in a good situation.

    The buyout market could be key for the Sixers if they don’t sign Baldwin and Bassey for the remainder of the season.

    Baldwin was the 28th overall pick by the Golden State Warriors in the 2022 NBA draft. On July 6, 2023, he was traded to the Washington Wizards.

    The 7-foot, 220-pound player has averaged 3.7 points and 2.0 rebounds while shooting 37.7% on three-pointers in a combined 95 games with the Warriors, Wizards, and Los Angeles Clippers.

    Meanwhile, Bassey was not active for any games with the Sixers during the initial 10-day deal that he signed on Jan. 26. However, he excelled for their NBA G League affiliate, the Delaware Blue Coats.

    Sixers guard Jared McCain was shipped to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

    The Sixers headed into the trade deadline with a 29-21 record and were riding a five-game winning streak. Even though they were fifth in the Eastern Conference standings, they were regarded as the league’s most dangerous team.

    With Joel Embiid healthy and playing at a high level, the thought was that they could beat any team on any given night. And it didn’t matter that Paul George is in the midst of serving a 25-game suspension for violating the NBA’s anti-drug program.

    Kelly Oubre Jr., Barlow, and VJ Edgecombe took up the slack during the first three games that he missed.

    Since then, the Sixers traded away players who were well-liked in the locker room for what on the surface appear to be moves to help them get below the luxury tax threshold.

    Jared McCain traded to OKC Thunder for first-round pick and three second-round selections

    But it’s still too early to fully judge the moves that were made.

    McCain was exceptional in his rookie season before suffering a season-ending knee injury in December 2024. But he struggled with consistency this season, leaving him out of the rotation. Gordon played in only six games, with his last appearance coming Dec. 23 against the Brooklyn Nets.

    The Sixers signed Patrick Baldwin (center) to a 10-day deal after the NBA trade deadline.

    So these moves were made on the margins and will only be crystalized once we see how they affect the roster this season and what they do with their draft picks in the future.

    But in the interim, the Sixers got a little worse over two days while several contenders in the East improved.

  • Philly federal judges are growing frustrated with ICE policy to detain most undocumented immigrants

    Philly federal judges are growing frustrated with ICE policy to detain most undocumented immigrants

    Federal judges in Philadelphia have been unusually outspoken in recent weeks about what they call the “illegal” policy by ICE of mandating detention for nearly all undocumented immigrants — and have been sharply critical of the “unsound” arguments by government attorneys seeking to justify the approach.

    U.S. District Judge Harvey Bartle III has overturned the government’s attempts to detain people in six cases over the last two months, writing in one opinion that Immigration and Customs Enforcement “continues to act contrary to law, to spend taxpayer money needlessly, and to waste the scarce resources of the judiciary.”

    And U.S. District Judge Kai N. Scott became the latest jurist to equate the ongoing legal battle with the government to Greek mythology, saying she and her colleagues on the bench have been squaring off with the Justice Department in a manner similar to Heracles’ confrontation with Hydra, the serpentlike monster that grew two heads every time one was chopped off.

    Although the region’s federal judges have “unanimously rejected” the government’s attempts to rationalize ICE detention of immigrants “without cause, without notice, and in clear violation” of federal law, Scott wrote, the government has continued to detain people in the same fashion day after day. And after each rejection, she wrote, “at least two more nearly identical” petitions seeking relief pop up on the court’s docket.

    “The Court writes today with a newfound and personal appreciation of Heracles’ struggles,” she said.

    District Judge Kai N. Scott’s Feb. 4, 2026 memo granting another habeas petition filed by an immigrant, and expressing frustration with the federal government’s arguments.

    The judicial rebukes come as immigration authorities have continued sweeping the nation to fulfill President Donald Trump’s promise of mass deportations. The number of detained immigrants has exploded — as has the number of court petitions from people seeking immediate release, which are known as habeas petitions.

    The enlarged legal workload has put a corresponding strain on the nation’s U.S. attorney’s offices, which typically defend ICE’s actions in federal court. Prosecutors from the New Jersey U.S. Attorney’s Office, for example, requested an extension in January to handle part of a class-action suit in order to deal with a surge in immigration release petitions.

    “This Office continues to handle an unprecedented volume of emergent immigration habeas petitions, which we continue to prioritize because of the liberty interests at issue,” the letter said.

    And in Minnesota this week, a federal prosecutor said she wished the judge would hold her in contempt so she could get some sleep in jail. Julie Le seemed exasperated when the judge pressed her on why the government had been ignoring his release orders.

    “What do you want me to do? The system sucks. This job sucks,” Le said, according to a court transcript.

    Le was subsequently fired.

    The issue at the center of each incident involves ICE’s mandatory detention policy. The policy was rolled out over the summer, and it requires that nearly all undocumented immigrants be held in custody as their cases wind through the country’s backlogged and complex immigration system.

    That upended decades of government practice, which typically allowed people who entered the country illegally, but who were otherwise law-abiding, to at least receive a bond hearing and determine if they could remain in the community as their cases moved forward.

    Jeanne Ottoson with Cooper River Indivisible attends an Immigrant rights groups rally outside the Third Circuit Court of Appeals to defend the New Jersey state ban on immigration-detention contracts on May 1, 2025.

    Some of those detained as a result of the policy have filed habeas petitions, arguing that their detention violates the Constitution. And in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia’s federal court, judges have granted challenges to the policy at a near-universal rate.

    Still, those decisions have been made on a case-by-case basis, with relief extended only to one petitioner at a time. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which is based in New Orleans and is considered one of the country’s most conservative jurisdictions, heard a broader challenge to the policy. A divided 2-1 court ruled Friday that ICE can detain undocumented immigrants the agency is seeking to deport, even those who have been in the country for years.

    The ruling covers only federal courts in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas, and many legal experts expects the matter to ultimately end up before the U.S. Supreme Court.

    In Philadelphia, Scott’s expression of frustration came this week in response to the release petition of Franklin Leonidas Once Chillogallo. The 24-year-old from Ecuador came to the United States in 2020, lives with his partner and his 6-month-old twin daughters in Upper Darby, and works as a construction worker. He has no criminal history.

    After ICE arrested Once Chillogallo outside his home on Jan. 13, he was held in the Philadelphia Federal Detention Center without the opportunity for an immigration judge to review his case.

    Just as happened in the previous 90 cases, Scott rejected the argument that Once Chillogallo, an immigrant who has been in the country for years, was subject to the same bond rules as those who were caught entering without permission. The judge ordered Once Chillogallo’s release, which took place the following day, according to the court docket.

    In dozens of cases, Philly’s federal judges have found Trump’s mandatory detention policy unlawful

    Inside the federal courthouse Thursday, judges held three hearings on arcane legal questions surrounding habeas petitions.

    Dozens of other habeas petitions remain pending, court records show. In many that were recently decided, judges used terse or brusque language to point out that the government’s interpretation of the law has been repeatedly rejected.

    “Across the board, there is frustration. There is frustration from attorneys. There is frustration from the judges,” said Kimberly Tomczak, an immigration attorney who represented Once Chillogallo. “Nothing seems to be changing on the immigration side in response to the flood of habeas grants across the nation.”

  • Eagles tackle Jordan Mailata reacts to Jeff Stoutland’s departure: ‘I’ve been crying about it.’

    Eagles tackle Jordan Mailata reacts to Jeff Stoutland’s departure: ‘I’ve been crying about it.’

    SAN FRANCISCO — Eagles star tackle Jordan Mailata spent the past eight seasons developing a relationship with Jeff Stoutland that went beyond football.

    So, while Mailata expressed professional disappointment in Stoutland’s decision to depart the Eagles, announced Wednesday, he said he also understood the 63-year-old coach’s choice.

    “As selfish as it is for me to want him there, I think it’s about time for him,” Mailata told The Inquirer on Thursday from Super Bowl LX Radio Row. “I knew it was probably closer to the end maybe. I thought I had a couple more years with him. I think age, I think the time he spends away from his family is a factor. And now he’s going to become a grandparent. … I think he’ll want to be around for that.”

    Stoutland is the only offensive line coach Mailata has played under since entering the NFL in 2018. Mailata, a native of New South Wales, Australia, entered the NFL via the International Player Pathway Program, and with very little previous exposure to football. Stoutland scouted him from the program before the Eagles made him a seventh-round pick in 2018, then developed Mailata into one of the league’s top offensive tackles.

    Longtime Eagles offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland announces departure from team

    Mailata was named a second-team All-Pro in 2024, the same season a run-first Eagles offense bulldozed its way to a Super Bowl title.

    “I’ve been crying about it to be honest. Guy’s like my father,” Mailata said. “It hit me hard. And now I’m just kind of glad the Super Bowl week is keeping me busy so I can deal with that when I get home when I have the time to myself. Yeah, it’s hard. It got me.”

    Mailata will have to adjust to a new position coach amid changes to the Eagles offensive staff. Offensive coordinator Sean Mannion, pass game coordinator Josh Grizzard, and run game coordinator Ryan Mahaffey are among the new faces that have been named to Nick Sirianni’s staff.

    Asked about the expected changes to the Eagles offense, Mailata said, “I don’t know, I’ll be honest. I’m excited for the challenge. I just don’t know what we’re walking into because it’s uncharted territory for me, man. I’ve had the same coach for the last eight years, but I welcome it. It’s a challenge that we have to learn a new playbook, but this is the NFL, man, this is what we do.”

  • A Michigan man who set fire to a Bensalem house to target his ex’s new boyfriend is sentenced to 20 to 40 years in prison

    A Michigan man who set fire to a Bensalem house to target his ex’s new boyfriend is sentenced to 20 to 40 years in prison

    A Michigan man who drove across the country to set fire to a Bensalem family’s home in a targeted attack on a romantic rival was sentenced Thursday to 20 to 40 years in prison.

    Harrison Jones, 22, pleaded no contest to six counts of attempted murder and two counts of animal cruelty for the killing of the family’s two dogs, which perished in the blaze. He also pleaded guilty to a slew of related crimes in connection with the February 2025 incident.

    Bucks County prosecutors said Jones drove more than 700 miles from his native Rockford, Mich., that winter to set the blaze at the home of Alex Zalenski, a man Jones’ ex-girlfriend and high school sweetheart had recently begun a long-distance relationship with.

    Zalenski, along with his father, mother, sister, and grandparents, was sleeping when Jones broke in and set off an incendiary device in the living room and kitchen around 5 a.m. Their dogs, Jett and Trey, barked, waking up the family, who all managed to escape.

    Members of the Zalenski family suffered non-life-threatening burns and injuries, though in court they recounted traumatic memories that they said would not soon heal.

    Alex Zalenski’s sister, Ava, recalled being awakened to the sound of yelling and heavy smoke clouding her room, choking her airways.

    “My dad told me to get down to breathe,” she said. “At age 20, I was ready to accept death.”

    The family had just minutes to escape the blaze, which consumed the property and left them without a home.

    Andrew Zalenski, the father of Alex and Ava Zalenski, recalled telling them to crawl on the floor to avoid inhaling smoke.

    He forced them out of a window before going to look for his wife, Stacy, he said, but could not find her and fled.

    It was challenging to describe the feeling of watching your home ablaze “believing your wife is burning to death inside,” he tearfully recounted.

    Stacy Zalenski had been trying, unsuccessfully, to save the dogs. The woman, who is battling breast and lung cancer, ultimately jumped from a second-floor window to survive.

    Andrew Zalenski suffered from severe smoke inhalation and was put in an induced coma in the hospital, he said.

    Meanwhile, Alex Zalenski — the young man whose relationship with Jones’ ex had enraged the Michigan man — said the attack “shredded any normalcy I had.”

    He had to withdraw from college after the incident, he said, and has since had trouble sleeping.

    “It felt as if my entire world had been set ablaze,” he told the court.

    Jones, wearing a yellow prison jumpsuit and shoulder-length hair, showed little emotion during the Zalenski family’s remarks.

    Given the opportunity to speak, however, Jones took full responsibility for the crime.

    “I need to take accountability,” Jones said, his voice breaking. “I’m guilty — I’ve done what I’ve done.”

    Jones’ family, including his father, mother, sister, stepfather, stepmother, and stepbrother, were in the gallery behind him.

    Jones’ attorney, Paul Lang, said Jones had no previous criminal record and had suffered physical abuse growing up. To cope, he had turned to abusing Xanax and marijuana, Lang said.

    Jones, for his part, alluded to being under the influence of drugs during the attack.

    In addition to sentencing Jones to decades in prison, Bucks County Court Judge Matthew D. Weintraub ordered him to pay more than $500,000 in restitution to the Zalenski family.

    Weintraub told the Zalenskis that the trauma of the attack had clearly bonded their family.

    Addressing Jones, the judge said he believed the young man had attempted to “effectuate maximum damage” that day.