2015 Patriot League Baseball Tournament, Seeding
The top four finishers from the regular season are seeded one through four, with the top seed hosting the fourth seed and second seed hosting the third. The visiting team will be designated as the home team in the second game of each series.


2015 Patriot League Men's Basketball Tournament
The 2015 Patriot League Men's Basketball Tournament was a tournament played March 3, 5, 8 and 11 at campus sites of the higher seed. The winner of the tournament received an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.


2015 Patriot League Men's Basketball Tournament, Seeds
Teams were seeded by conference record, with a ties broken by record between the tied teams followed by record against the regular-season champion, if necessary. If teams remain tied following these tiebreakers, RPI breaks the tie.


2015 Patriot League Men's Soccer Tournament
The 2015 Patriot League Men's Soccer Tournament was the 26th edition of the tournament. It determined the Patriot League's automatic berth into the 2015 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship.


2015 Patriot League Men's Soccer Tournament
Lehigh won the tournament, besting the American in the championship match.


2015 Patriot League Men's Soccer Tournament, Qualification
The top six teams in the Patriot League based on their conference regular season records qualified for the tournament.


2015 Patriot League Softball Tournament
The 2015 Patriot League Softball tournament will be held at Leadership Park on the campus of Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania from May 7 through May 9, 2015. The tournament will earn the Patriot League's automatic bid to the 2015 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament. The entire tournament will be available on the Patriot League Network (PLN) run by Campus Insiders.


2015 Patriot League Women's Basketball Tournament
The 2015 Patriot League Women's Basketball Tournament was held March 4, 6, 10 and 15 at campus sites of the higher seed. The winner of the tournament received an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.


2015 Patriot League Women's Basketball Tournament, Seeds
Teams are seeded by conference record, with a ties broken by record between the tied teams followed by record against the regular-season champion, if necessary.


2015 Peach Bowl
The 2015 Peach Bowl was a college football bowl game that was played on December 31, 2015, at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia. The 48th Peach Bowl was one of the New Year's Eve bowl games. It was one of the 2015–16 bowl games that concluded the 2015 FBS football season. Sponsored by the Chick-fil-A restaurant franchise, the game is officially known as the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. The game started at 12:00 PM Eastern Time.


2015 Peach Bowl
The game was televised on ESPN and ESPN Deportes, and broadcast on ESPN Radio and XM Satellite Radio.


2015 Peach Bowl, Background
Florida State had started the season 6–0 before a loss to Georgia Tech on the final play of the game dropped them from #9 to #17 ranked. A loss to then #3-ranked Clemson curtailed Atlantic Division title hopes in the Atlantic Coast Conference. This was the Seminoles' first Peach Bowl since 2010.


2015 Peach Bowl, Background
Houston, in their first year under newly hired Tom Herman, raced off to a 10–0 start and a #13 ranking, but a loss to Connecticut opened up a chance for Navy to swoop in and win the division title. However, the Cougars beat the Midshipmen handily to win the West Division and qualify for the first-ever American Athletic Conference championship game. Their victory over Temple the following week gave Houston their first conference title since 2006. Since the Cougars were the highest ranked "Group of Five" ranked team, they were selected to play in the Peach Bowl. This was their first major bowl appearance since the 1985 Cotton Bowl Classic.


2015 Pekao Szczecin Open
The 2015 Pekao Szczecin Open was a professional tennis tournament played on clay courts. It was the 23rd edition of the tournament which was part of the 2015 ATP Challenger Tour. It took place in Szczecin, Poland between 14 and 23 September 2015.


2015 Pekao Szczecin Open, Singles main draw entrants, Other Entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2015 Pekao Szczecin Open – Doubles
Dustin Brown and Jan-Lennard Struff are the defending champions, but only Struff defended his title partnering Frank Moser.


2015 Pekao Szczecin Open – Singles
Dustin Brown was the defending champion, but was nominated for Germany Davis Cup team this year.


2015 Penang FA season
The 2015 season is Penang's 89th competitive season, 2nd consecutive season in the second tier of Malaysian football since promoted in 2013, and 94th year in existence as a football club. The season covers the period from 1 November 2014 to 31 December 2015.


2015 Penang FA season, Squad, First-team squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2015 Penang FA season, Transfers, 1st leg
In:Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2015 Penang FA season, Transfers, 1st leg
Out:Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2015 Pendle Borough Council election
The 2015 Pendle Borough Council election took place on 7 May 2015 to elect members of the Pendle Borough Council in England. It was held on the same day as other local elections.


2015 Penn Quakers football team
The 2015 Penn Quakers football team represented the University of Pennsylvania during the 2015 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by first-year head coach Ray Priore and played their home games at Franklin Field. They were a member of the Ivy League. They finished the season 7–3 overall 6–1 in Ivy League play to place in a three-way tie for the Ivy League title with Dartmouth and Harvard.


2015 Penn State Nittany Lions football team
The 2015 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented Pennsylvania State University in the 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was led by second year head-coach James Franklin and played its home games at Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania. They were a member of the East Division of the Big Ten Conference. They finished the season 7–6, 4–4 in Big Ten play to finish in fourth place in the East Division. They were invited to the TaxSlayer Bowl where they lost to Georgia.


2015 Penn State Nittany Lions football team, Game summaries, Temple
This was Penn State's first loss to Temple since 1941.


2015 Penn State Nittany Lions women's volleyball team
In 2015, Penn State finished 4th in the Big Ten and advanced only to the NCAA Region Semifinal where they were swept by Hawaii. Penn State began the year ranked #1 after having won the national championship the previous two seasons.


2015 Penn State Nittany Lions women's volleyball team, Roster
Penn State lost 4 important players from the previous year's championship team. Setter Micha Hancock, middle blocker Nia Grant, libero Dominique Gonzalez and defensive specialist Lacey Fuller all graduated. The four returning starters were Megan Courtney, Ali Frantti, Haleigh Washington and Aiyana Whitney. While Whitney was a returning starter, she played much of the season at middle blocker which was a new position for her in 2015.


2015 Penn State Nittany Lions women's volleyball team, Roster
Prior to the 2015 season, Whitney was selected to represent Penn State on the Big Ten Volleyball Foreign Tour, where a team composed of players from each conference school competed in Slovenia, Croatia and Italy over the summer.


2015 Pennsylvania Supreme Court election
Pennsylvania Supreme Court elections were held on November 3, 2015 to elect three justices to fill vacancies on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. The seats were won by Kevin Dougherty, David Wecht, and Christine Donohue, all Democrats, resulting in a 5-2 Democratic majority.


2015 Pennsylvania elections
Pennsylvania held statewide elections on November 3, 2015, to fill judicial positions (including three seats on the Supreme Court), fill a vacancy in the Pennsylvania State Senate, allow judicial retention votes, and fill numerous county, local and municipal offices. The necessary primary elections were held on May 19, 2015.


2015 Pennsylvania elections, Justice of the Supreme Court
There were three vacancies to fill on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, created by the departures of Joan Orie Melvin in 2013, Seamus McCaffery in 2014 and Ronald D. Castille in 2014.


2015 Pennsylvania elections, Judge of the Superior Court
There was one vacancy to fill on the Pennsylvania Superior Court.


2015 Pennsylvania elections, Judge of the Commonwealth Court
There was one vacancy to fill on the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court.


2015 Pennsylvania elections, 37th Senatorial District Special Election
There was one vacancy to fill in the Pennsylvania State Senate, in the 37th district, created by the resignation of Matthew H. Smith.


2015 Penrith Panthers season
The 2015 Penrith Panthers season was the 49th in the club's history. Coached by Ivan Cleary and captained by Peter Wallace, the team competed in the National Rugby League's 2015 Telstra Premiership. They also competed in the 2015 NRL Auckland Nines pre-season tournament.


2015 Penrith Panthers season
The Panthers were riddled by injury throughout 2015, and as a result, used a total of 32 players over the course of the season - the most of any club for that year. The club finished the season in 11th place, managing to avoid the wooden spoon by defeating the last-placed Newcastle Knights in their final game. Despite this, the Panthers under 20s team won the 2015 National Youth Competition premiership.


2015 Penrith Panthers season, Fixtures, NRL Auckland Nines
The NRL Auckland Nines is a pre-season rugby league nines competition featuring all 16 NRL clubs. The 2015 competition was played over two days on 31 January and 1 February at Eden Park. The Panthers featured in the Waiheke pool and played the Rabbitohs, Cowboys and Storm, losing all three of their games.


2015 Penrith Panthers season, Representative, International
1 - Selected as 20th Man, Moylan did not play during the series. 2 - Manu captained the Tongan side during their match against Samoa.


2015 People's Republic of China military reform
The first wave of the People's Republic of China's military reform was announced in November 2015 at a plenary session of the Central Military Commission's Central Leading Group for Military Reform.


2015 People's Republic of China military reform
In January 2014, Chinese senior military officers said that the People's Liberation Army (PLA) was planning to reduce the number of military regions from seven to five "Theater Commands" to have joint command with the ground, naval, air and rocket forces. This is planned to change their concept of operations from primarily ground-oriented defense to mobile and coordinated movements of all services and to enhance offensive air and naval capabilities.


2015 People's Republic of China military reform
The coastal areas would be turned into three military regions, each with a joint operations command (Jinan, Nanjing and Guangzhou) for projecting power into the Yellow Sea, East China Sea and South China Sea. The four other inland military regions (Shenyang, Beijing, Chengdu and Lanzhou) will be streamlined into two military areas mainly for organizing forces for operations. The change was projected to occur through 2019.


2015 People's Republic of China military reform
The South China Morning Post reported in December 2015 that the Central Military Commission, chaired by Xi, would scrap all four army headquarters — the General Political, General Logistics, General Armament and General Staff Departments, and replaced with the Political Work, Logistic Support,  Equipment Development and Joint Staff Departments respectively.


2015 Pepsi Tankard
The 2015 Pepsi Tankard, the provincial men's curling championship of New Brunswick was held January 28 to February 1 at the Tri County Complex Arena in Fredericton Junction, New Brunswick. The winning Jeremy Mallais team represented New Brunswick at the 2015 Tim Hortons Brier in Calgary.


2015 Perak FA season
The 2015 season was Perak's 12th consecutive season in the Malaysian Super League.


2015 Perak FA season, Background
On September 16, Croatian coach Vjeran Simunic was named as new head coach, replacing Abu Bakar Fadzim who managed to steer Perak clear of relegation with the help of technical director Karlheinz Weigang, who was himself appointed mid-season.


2015 Perak FA season, Background
The official 2015 squad was named on December 4. Some of the notable signings included Malaysian international Bobby Gonzales and former Harimau Muda A goalkeeper Mohd Zamir Selamat. Of the foreign players from the previous season, only Marco Tulio was retained. The remaining foreign player slots were filled by Charles Souza Chad and Thiago Junior Aquino. Namkung Woong was named to fill the Asian foreign player quota despite rumours linking Mohd Shahrazen Said.


2015 Perak FA season, Background
On December 31, Simunic was officially replaced by M. Karathu, without having ever taken charge in an official match.


2015 Perak FA season, Statistics, Top scorers
The list is sorted by shirt number when total goals are equal.


2015 Permatang Pauh by-election
A by-election was held for the Dewan Rakyat seat of Permatang Pauh on 7 May following the nomination day on 25 April 2015. The seat fell vacant after member of parliament Anwar Ibrahim was disqualified from holding his seat after being found guilty of sodomy in a highly controversial trial. Anwar Ibrahim was a member of the Parti Keadilan Rakyat and leader of the opposition alliance Pakatan Rakyat. In the 2013 general election, Anwar won the seat with a majority of 11,721 votes beating Mazlan Ismail of Barisan Nasional.


2015 Permatang Pauh by-election
The Permatang Pauh by-election was contested by 4 candidates, consisting of former opposition leader, Anwar's wife Wan Azizah Wan Ismail from PKR, UMNO's Suhaimi Sabudin, PRM's Azman Shah Othman and independent candidate Salleh Isahak. There were reports saying that PRM has denied that Azman Shah Othman is a member of their party.


2015 Permatang Pauh by-election, Campaign
Several issues dominate the by-election campaign, with the recently introduced GST being the main issue.


2015 Permatang Pauh by-election, Campaign
An UMNO branch in Permatang Pauh dissolved during the campaign period, citing neglect by party leadership.


2015 Permatang Pauh by-election, Results
Wan Azizah retained the seat for PR with a majority of just below 9 thousand votes. Mirroring the trend shown in the Rompin by-election two days before, turnout dropped by more than 10% in Permatang Pauh. The lower turnout also means while PKR's majority is lower, their share of popular vote is practically unchanged.


2015 Persebaya Surabaya season
The 2015 Bhayangkara F.C. season is the 87th season in the club's football history, the 2nd consecutive season in the top-flight Liga Indonesia season and the 3rd season competing in the Indonesia Super League.


2015 Persebaya Surabaya season, Review and events, Pre–2015
Rahmad Darmawan has been sacked as a coach because failed to meet the target.


2015 Persebaya Surabaya season, Review and events, January
In 2015 Gubernur Jatim Cup, Persebaya failed to advance the final after draw and lose in group stage versus Persekap Pasuruan and Gresik United, respectively.


2015 Persib Bandung season
The 2015 season was Persib Bandung's 56th season in the club football history, the 19th consecutive season in the top-flight Liga Indonesia season and the 7th season competing in the Indonesia Super League.


2015 Persib Bandung season, Review and events, Pre–2015
Persib was invited to compete in an international friendly tournament, Marah Halim Cup 2015, from 4–14 January 2015, but declined it on 9 December 2014. They began their first training for the 2015 Indonesia Super League on 23 December 2014. They were planning to have a training center using the facilities of Inter Milan in Italy starting January 6, 2015, but due to tight schedule, the plan was cancelled. Persib stated that they will participate in the 2015 Walikota Padang Cup on 4–8 January 2015. On a 3×40 minutes friendly against local club Tiki Taka FC on 31 December 2014, Persib won 4–0 with each goal from Firman Utina, trial player Hector Eduardo Sosa, new recruit Yandi Sofyan Munawar, and Atep Rizal.


2015 Persib Bandung season, Review and events, Pre–2015
Due to winning the 2014 Indonesia Super League, Persib was given a spot on 2015 AFC Champions League. They, alongside Persipura, also received byes on the 2015 Piala Indonesia and will directly participate in the Round of 16.


2015 Persib Bandung season, Review and events, Pre–2015
Persib retained the majority of the squad. Persib released Djibril Coulibaly due to declining performance. Some players who would still play for this season are Abdul Rahman, Firman Utina, and the three goalkeepers, and some players who got new contracts are Makan Konaté, Muhammad Agung Pribadi, Vladimir Vujović, and Rudiyana. Ferdinand Sinaga left the club to join Sriwijaya F.C. Persib has currently secured three new players, which are Dedi Kusnandar, Dias Angga Putra, and Yandi Sofyan Munawar. Persib actually had gotten the signature of striker Aron da Silva, but he backed out because his old club won't release him. Strikers Michele Di Piedi and Hector Eduardo Sosa came to trial on Persib, but none of them were recruited. Meanwhile, striker Maycon Calijuri who came to trial on 30 December continued the selection.


2015 Persib Bandung season, Review and events, January
Emral Abus was signed to replace Djadjang Nurdjaman as the head coach for the AFC Champions League due to restricting requirement of the competition. Joining Maycon, strikers Nicolás Vigneri and Koh Traore came to trial on Persib. Vigneri was released on 26 January, while Maycon and Traore's fate will be determined after the 2014 Indonesian Inter Island Cup finals on 1 February. Striker Sigit Hermawan were loaned to PSGC Ciamis on a 1-season-long loan.


2015 Persib Bandung season, Review and events, January
On the 2015 Piala Walikota Padang, Persib won the cup after defeating PSP Padang and Pusamania Borneo F.C. both 3–0 on group stage and Persiba Balikpapan 2–0 in the final. Tantan also became the top-scorer. On an international friendly against Felda United F.C. they won 3–1. They won 2–1 on another friendly against Persibat Batang. They run two friendly matches on their training center in Ciamis against Persires Kuningan and PSGC Ciamis and won both of them 3–0 and 3–1 respectively.


2015 Persib Bandung season, Review and events, January
Three Diklat Persib players, Gian Zola, Hanif Sahbandi, and Jujun Saefuloh, were called up to Indonesia national U-16 and U-19 team selection. Persib's third goal-keeper M Natshir were called up to Indonesia national U-22 national team. Manager Umuh Muchtar became one of PT Liga Indonesia's commissioner for 2015 season due to Persib's win in the previous season.


2015 Persib Bandung season, Review and events, February
On their first official match of the season, Persib lost 4–0 against Hanoi T&T F.C. on Mỹ Đình National Stadium on the 2nd preliminary round of the 2015 AFC Champions League qualifying play-offs. Their first ISL match was supposed to be on 20 February 2015 against last year's runners-up Persipura Jayapura, before Kemenpora on 18 February decided to postpone 2015 ISL due to too many clubs that haven't completed their licensing files. On their first 2015 AFC Cup match, Persib won 4–1 in their home against Maldivian team New Radiant S.C. with Jufriyanto, Konaté, Atep, and Yandi scored each a goal.


2015 Persib Bandung season, Review and events, February
On the 2014 Indonesian Inter Island Cup finals, Persib lost 1–2 to Arema Cronus F.C. with Vujović scored Persib's only goal. They won 5–1 on a friendly against Cilegon United F.C., with Yandi, Supardi, Tantan, Vujović, and trial player Robson da Silva scoring the goals. They run another friendly against their youth team Diklat Persib and won 3–1 with Atep, Konaté, and Jufriyanto scored the goals. They also won the following friendly against Football Plus FC on 20 February by 7–0, with Konaté scored three goals, Tantan scored two goals, and Atep and Firman scored a goal each.


2015 Persib Bandung season, Review and events, February
The two trial strikers, Maycon and Traore, were stripped from the squad, but the statement was changed and Maycon will continue to trial because Persib is still waiting for Maycon's legal status from PT Liga Indonesia. Three more strikers came to trial on Persib on 3 and 4 February, Robson da Silva, Kim Shin-young and Carlos Raul Sciucatti. Maycon, Robson, and Carlos Raul were stripped from the trial on 7 February,  while Kim Shin-young stripped later on 13 February along with Nigerian striker Charles Parker who came on the same day.


2015 Persib Bandung season, Review and events, February
Striker Silvio Escobar came to trial on 16 February, but released on the following day. Local player Nico Malau who were invited to trial on Persib since mid-February were released on 21 February. Malian striker Ousmane Ben Goïta came to trial on 23 February 2015, but probably weren't recruited, stated by head coach Djadjang Nurdjaman. Croatian striker who were stated by the management to join Persib, Ivan Krstanović, declined and joined a European team. Cameroonian striker George Menougong came to trial on 27 February, but released on the following day.


2015 Persib Bandung season, Review and events, February
Persib launch their team on 6 February in Siliwangi Stadium, introducing the players and 9 jerseys, three for 2015 Indonesia Super League and 2015 Piala Indonesia, two for Asian competition, two for training, and two for youth team. 2×15 minutes exhibition match also ran here by Persib against Ligina 1994/95 winners, Persib won 4–0 with two goals by Konaté and the other two by Tantan and Rudiyana. On 17 February, Persib announced Mulyana as the vice manager of the team for all competition. Persib's team doctor, Rafi Ghani, take part in ISL Medic Team training in Jakarta on 17–18 February. On 20 February, teams of 2015 ISL gathered in Bandung to state their actions against the delay of 2015 ISL as Declaration of Bandung. Persib's third goalkeeper, M Natshir, were called up to the list of 23 players of Indonesia national U-22 football team players.


2015 Persib Bandung season, Review and events, March
On their visit to Bali, they won 1–0 against Bali United Pusam F.C. with Tantan scoring the lone goal.


2015 Persib Bandung season, Review and events, March
Finnish striker Niklas Tarvajarvi joined Persib's training while he was in Bali, but not intending to trial. Georgian striker Apollon Lemondzhava trials on Persib.


2015 Persib Bandung season, Review and events, March
Persib's assistant coach Asep Soemantri joined the AFC C License Coaching Course on 16–28 February in National Youth Training Center Facility, Depok.


2015 Persib Bandung season, Review and events, May
The 2015 Indonesia Super League was officially discontinued by PSSI on May 2, 2015 due to a ban by Imam Nahrawi, Minister of Youth and Sports Affairs, against PSSI to run any football competition.


2015 Persija Jakarta season
The 2015 Persija Jakarta season is the 7th season competing in the Indonesia Super League for Persija Jakarta.


2015 Persipasi Bandung Raya season
The 2015 Persipasi Bandung Raya season was the 26th season in the club's football history and the 3rd season competing in the Indonesia Super League as Pelita Bandung Raya.


2015 Persipasi Bandung Raya season, Review and events
They will play their home matches at Patriot Stadium. The 2015 Indonesia Super League was officially discontinued by PSSI on May 2, 2015 due to a ban by Imam Nahrawi, Minister of Youth and Sports Affairs, against PSSI to run any football competition.


2015 Perth Darts Masters
The 2015 Perth Darts Masters was the second staging of the tournament by the Professional Darts Corporation, as a third entry in the 2015 World Series of Darts. The tournament  featured 16 players (eight top PDC Players facing eight regional qualifiers) and was held at the HBF Stadium in Perth, Western Australia from 14–16 August 2015.


2015 Perth Darts Masters
Phil Taylor was the defending champion after defeating Michael van Gerwen 11–9 in the last year's final. He successfully defended his title after beating James Wade 11–7 in the final.


2015 Perth Darts Masters, Broadcasting
The tournament was available in the following countries on these channels:


2015 Peru bus accident
The  2015 Peru bus accident occurred on 24 March 2015, when a bus crashed into traffic in Peru, leaving at least 37 people dead  and another 70 wounded.


2015 Peru bus accident
The accident took place on the Carretera Panamericana near Huarmey, around 320 km north of Lima.


2015 Peru bus accident
The bus, belonging to the Murga Serrano line, swerved on the incoming lane and hit a truck along with two more buses.


2015 Peruvian Segunda División
The 2015 Segunda División season, was the 70th edition of the second tier of Federación Peruana de Futbol. The tournament was played on a home-and-away round-robin basis.


2015 Peruvian Segunda División
The clubs Alfonso Ugarte, Defensor San Alejandro and Pacífico withdrew before the start of the season and were relegated to the Copa Perú.


2015 Peruvian Segunda División
The club San Simón was disabled and relegated to the Copa Perú for outstanding debts with the SAFAP.


2015 Peruvian protests against Las Bambas mining project
Groups of people who do not belong to the communities of the area of direct influence and are even located in distant provinces and regions and do not evidence their intention to enter into a dialogue or have a clear platform of struggle are holding a protest since 25 September. The protests escalated on 29 September, when four people were killed and dozens injured in clashes between demonstrators and police, prompting President Ollanta Humala to decree a state of emergency.


2015 Peruvian protests against Las Bambas mining project, 29 September clashes
On 29 September, an estimated 15,000 people gathered in Challhuahuacho to protest against a $7.4 billion copper mine project. Locals in the region are concerned that the copper mine project will cause environmental damage to the Andean area. Peruvian authorities sent 1,500 police officers and 150 soldiers to the area. Several hundred demonstrators attacked the mine installations and clashed with police, who responded with tear gas. The protest escalated, after law enforcers opened fire on protesters, killing four of them. The four fatalities were all local men.


2015 Peruvian protests against Las Bambas mining project, 29 September clashes
In a press conference, authorities confirmed that Uriel Elguera Chilca (34), Beto Chahuallo Huillca (24) and Alberto Cárdenas Chalco (23) died from gunshots on way to Cusco, while Exaltación Huamaní (30) succumbed to death at Challhuahuacho hospital. Likewise, 23 other people, including eight policemen, were injured in ensuing clashes. Officials say ambulances couldn't reach the local clinic following the attack because police also shot at a vehicle carrying doctors.


2015 Peruvian protests against Las Bambas mining project, 29 September clashes
MMG says that Las Bambas has reserves of 6.9 million tons of copper and expects to produce more than 2 million tons of copper concentrate in its first five years. The deposit was discovered at more than 4,000 meters above sea level and will become one of the largest copper mines in the world once it is in full production. Construction started on 10 August and began operations in early 2016.


2015 Peruvian protests against Las Bambas mining project, Reactions
Peruvian President Ollanta Humala regretted the loss of lives during the violent repression of the protest and called on calm and for dialogue. He also stated that "many of the protest leaders (...) come from outside the region and are using the protests to promote their campaigns for the April 2016 general elections".


2015 Peruvian protests against Las Bambas mining project, Reactions
Humala decreed the emergency for 30 days in the southern Andean regions of Cusco and Apurímac, where the mine, Las Bambas, owned by China's MMG Ltd., is under construction. The state of emergency applies to six provinces. Suspending civil liberties and authorizing military patrols, the government announced that more troops would be sent to Apurímac "to restore internal peace". Interior Minister José Luis Pérez Guadalupe said radical groups from outside the area had provoked the clashes.


2015 Peruvian protests against Las Bambas mining project, Reactions
Amnesty International's executive director in Peru, Marina Navarro, called the deaths "unacceptable" in an email sent to the AP. "The price of social protests should not be the death of any person", the statement said.


2015 Peshawar mosque attack
On 13 February 2015, group of armed men wearing uniforms of security forces broke into the Shiite mosque named as Imamia mosque in the city of Peshawar, Pakistan, where people were attending Friday prayers, and opened fire, killing 19 people and injuring over 63.


2015 Peterborough City Council election
The 2015 Peterborough City Council election took place on 7 May 2015 to elect members of Peterborough City Council in England. This was on the same day as other local elections.


2015 Peterborough City Council election, Council make up
After the 2015 local election, the  political make up of the council was as follows:


2015 Petit Le Mans
The 18th Annual petit Le Mans presented by Mazda was the 2015 version of the Petit Le Mans automotive endurance race, was held on October 1st-3rd 2015 at the Road Atlanta circuit in Braselton, Georgia. This was the second Petit Le Mans in the United SportsCar Championship. The race was rain shorted for the first time with only eight hours of racing instead of the maximum 10 hours. The race was won by Porsche North America Racing in 8 hours (199 laps). This marked the first time since the 2003 24 Hours of Daytona that a prototype did not score the overall victory.


2015 Petit Le Mans, Entry list
The official entry list consisted of 37 cars, including 9 in prototype, 8 in prototype challenge, 8 in GTLM and 12 in GTD.


2015 Phachi collision
On 26 March 2015, two passenger trains collided in Phachi District, Thailand. One train was stationary when it was run into by another. More than 50 people were injured, three seriously.


2015 Phachi collision, Accident
The accident occurred at 22:15 local time (15:15  UTC) when an Express Train no.69 from Bangkok to Nong Khai and a Rapid Train no.107 from Bangkok to Den Chai collided. The Nong Khai train was stationary when it was run into by the other. Six carriages were derailed and 52 people were injured, with three of them suffering serious injuries. Damages were estimated at 80 million baht. There were more than 150 passengers on the two trains.


2015 Phachi collision, Investigation
Thai Police opened an investigation into the accident. It is suspected that the driver of the Phrae train passed a red signal, causing the accident.


2015 Philadelphia Cycling Classic
The 2015 Philadelphia Cycling Classic, known as The Parx Casino Philly Cycling Classic for sponsorship purposes, was the sixth round of the 2015 UCI Women's Road World Cup. It was held on 7 June 2015, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The event had last appeared in the Women's Road World Cup in 2001, as the Liberty Classic.


2015 Philadelphia Cycling Classic
On a six-lap course which climbed Manayunk Wall, an 800-metre (2,600 ft) long climb with an average gradient of 8 percent, at the end of each lap, Jasmin Glaesser (Optum–KBS) established an early breakaway, leading for two laps before being caught by the peloton. Her breakaway earned her sufficient "Queen of the Mountain" points for her to win that title. Further attacks were made, but none were successful. On the final ascent of Manayunk Wall, Lizzie Armitstead (Boels–Dolmans) won in a sprint, beating Elisa Longo Borghini (Wiggle–Honda) and Alena Amialiusik (Velocio–SRAM).


2015 Philadelphia Cycling Classic, Entry
The organisers of the Philadelphia Cycling Classic indicated that they would invite the top twenty ranked UCI teams at the end of 2014, and then any further allocations would be assigned to highly ranked national teams and other UCI teams. A list of seventeen participating teams was published in March, just over 10 weeks prior to the race. Of those teams, Astana-Acca Due O, BePink-La Classica and Cycling Canada did not feature in the race, while further teams were added to feature 96 riders across 19 teams.


2015 Philadelphia Cycling Classic, Course
The Philadelphia Cycling Classic follows a six-lap course near the Schuylkill River in northwest Philadelphia. It started and finished at the top of the Manayunk Wall, an 800-metre (2,600 ft) long climb which peaks at a gradient of 17 percent, though it only averages around 8 percent. The course also included climbs up Lemon Hill and Strawberry Mansion Drive. Each of the six laps is 19.71 kilometres (12.25 mi), giving a total race length of 118.26 kilometres (73.48 mi). "Queen of the Mountain" points were awarded for the first rider to the top of Manayunk Wall and Lemon Hill each lap, while an intermediate sprint was located roughly halfway along the outward section of the lap, where Kelly Drive intersects with Midvale Avenue.


2015 Philadelphia Cycling Classic, Preview
After five rounds of the 2015 UCI Women's Road World Cup, there had been five different winners; Jolien D'Hoore at the Ronde van Drenthe, Lizzie Armitstead at the Trofeo Alfredo Binda-Comune di Cittiglio, Elisa Longo Borghini at the Tour of Flanders, Anna van der Breggen at the La Flèche Wallonne Féminine, and Giorgia Bronzini at the Tour of Chongming Island. Anna van der Breggen led the World Cup standings as the racing moved to Philadelphia, with 290 points, but her Rabo-Liv team had opted not to take part in the event.


2015 Philadelphia Cycling Classic, Preview
Annemiek van Vleuten and Jolien D'Hoore, who were second and third in the standings, had not travelled with their teams to the event. Elisa Longo Borghini (Wiggle–Honda) and Lizzie Armitstead (Boels–Dolmans), who entered the race placed fourth and fifth, were highlighted as possible favourites for the race, though Armitstead's teammate, Evelyn Stevens had won the race in both 2013 and 2014.


2015 Philadelphia Cycling Classic, Race
There was no significant breakaways during the first lap, but as the riders climbed Lemon Hill on the second of six laps, Jasmin Glaesser (Optum–KBS) established a gap, and maintained the lead of the race for two laps, earning her the Queen of the Mountain award. She was caught during an attack by Alison Jackson (Twenty16 p/b Sho-Air), but the pair could not maintain their advantage, and were caught by the peloton on the climb up Manayunk Wall at the end of the third lap.


2015 Philadelphia Cycling Classic, Race
Team Hitec Products attacked each of the intermediate sprints, with Kirsten Wild providing a lead-out each lap for her teammate Emilie Moberg. They also attempted to make breakaways of their own, and Moberg managed to lead off the front of the peloton for around half a lap before being caught once more by the peloton. The Velocio-SRAM team attacked through the fourth lap, with each of their riders riding off the front in turn, but they failed to establish a breakaway.


2015 Philadelphia Cycling Classic, Race
Entering the final lap, the peloton remained close, although a number of riders had fallen behind or dropped out, particularly through the cobbled bends at the base of the Manayunk Wall. A series of attacks were made on the final lap; Charlotte Becker (Team Hitec Products) gained an advantage, but it was closed again due to work from the Boels-Dolmans team. Once Becker had been caught, Dalia Muccioli (Alé–Cipollini) made a move, but the Twenty16 p/b Sho-Air team worked to eliminate her lead.


2015 Philadelphia Cycling Classic, Race
A sprint to the bottom of the Manayunk Wall was led by Loren Rowney (Velocio–SRAM), but more riders struggled over the cobblestones and dropped back. Alexis Ryan (UnitedHealthcare) took over the lead of the peloton at the bottom of the hill, and established a fast pace up the lower slopes, leading Joëlle Numainville (Bigla Pro Cycling Team) and her teammate Coryn Rivera. Optum-KBS also had a number of riders near the front, while Elisa Longo Borghini (Wiggle–Honda) and Lizzie Armitstead (Boels–Dolmans) were just behind. Longo Borghini attacked first, but Armitstead went with her and passed her just before the line to claim victory. Alena Amialiusik (Velocio–SRAM) and Shelley Olds (Bigla Pro Cycling Team) finished in third and fourth; the top four were all classified with the same time.


2015 Philadelphia Eagles season
The 2015 Philadelphia Eagles season was the franchise's 83rd season in the National Football League and the third and final year of head coach Chip Kelly.


2015 Philadelphia Eagles season
Acting as the de facto general manager, Kelly cut or traded several prominent starters, such as Nick Foles, Evan Mathis, Trent Cole, and 2013 rushing champion LeSean McCoy, while their leading receiver Jeremy Maclin left in free agency. Kelly brought in new players like Sam Bradford, Byron Maxwell, Kiko Alonso, and 2014 rushing champion DeMarco Murray, who he believed to better fit his system.


2015 Philadelphia Eagles season
After a 1-year hiatus from the NFL, the team also signed quarterback Tim Tebow on April 20, 2015 in what would be Tebow's last stint in the NFL until 2021, when he converted to tight end and play for his hometown Jacksonville Jaguars, but was cut by the team on August 17, 2021, after just one preseason game. In a mirror image of 2014, the Eagles were eliminated from playoff contention in a Week 16 Saturday Night Football loss to the Washington Redskins. On December 29, 2015, Kelly was abruptly fired by the Eagles. Offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur would take over as interim head coach for the final week of the 2015 season.


2015 Philadelphia Eagles season, Roster changes, Roster changes
The Eagles released veterans James Casey, Todd Herremans, Trent Cole, Evan Mathis and Cary Williams prior to the official start of the new season.


2015 Philadelphia Eagles season, Schedule, Game summaries, Week 1: at Atlanta Falcons
The Eagles opened their season on the road against the Atlanta Falcons. Other than the one-handed Kiko Alonso interception in the end zone, Atlanta dominated in the first half, while former Legion of Boom cornerback Byron Maxwell had trouble covering Julio Jones. DeMarco Murray also struggled in the first half, as he had a 12-yard loss on one run. In the second half, the Eagles opened up with an interception on Matt Ryan by Walter Thurmond and scored on their next 3 possessions, and took the lead late in the 4th quarter.


2015 Philadelphia Eagles season, Schedule, Game summaries, Week 1: at Atlanta Falcons
However, Matt Bryant kicked a field goal to give the Falcons back a 26–24 lead and the Eagles had a chance to come back. However, the Eagles were stopped on 3rd and 1, and Cody Parkey missed a 44-yard field goal attempt. Malcolm Jenkins then made a critical stop on 3rd down to force a Falcons punt. The Eagles' next drive ended as Sam Bradford threw a pass to Jordan Matthews, but the ball bounced off him and was intercepted by the Falcons, sealing a Falcons' victory. Reigning NFL rushing champ DeMarco Murray had 8 carries for 9 yards, which included an 8-yard touchdown run. Backup Darren Sproles picked up the slack by averaging 10 yards per carry and catching 7 passes for 76 yards.


2015 Philadelphia Eagles season, Schedule, Game summaries, Week 2: vs. Dallas Cowboys
The Eagles played poorly in a 20–10 loss to their divisional rival. The defense played a great game, but the offense was unable to convert it into points. Connor Barwin and Cedric Thornton each scored a sack, while Byron Maxwell forced a fumble that Malcolm Jenkins recovered. Rookie linebacker Jordan Hicks, who was filling in for injured stars Mychal Kendricks and Kiko Alonso, not only sacked Cowboys starter Tony Romo, but he also injured Romo and forced a fumble that Fletcher Cox recovered. However backup Brandon Weeden went 7/7 and scored a passing touchdown to seal the game. All Bradford could muster was a meaningless touchdown to Jordan Matthews in the fourth quarter. Ex-Cowboy DeMarco Murray was given the ball 13 times but only came up with 2 yards, bringing his total for the season at merely 11 rushing yards on 21 carries.


2015 Philadelphia Eagles season, Schedule, Game summaries, Week 2: vs. Dallas Cowboys
The Eagles drop to 0–2. It's the first time since 2007 that the Eagles had lost their first two regular season games.


2015 Philadelphia Eagles season, Schedule, Game summaries, Week 3: at New York Jets
As the visit of Pope Francis generated excitement in the city of Philadelphia, the Eagles made the first of two visits to MetLife Stadium to square off with the Jets. The Eagles improved their all-time head-to-head record against the Jets to 10–0. DeMarco Murray was out with a hamstring injury, but Ryan Mathews carried the load, rushing 25 times for 108 yards. Darren Sproles also ran for 17 yards and one touchdown, but the highlight of his game was an 89-yard punt return for a touchdown. In the first half, all areas of the Eagles dominated the Jets 24–7.


2015 Philadelphia Eagles season, Schedule, Game summaries, Week 3: at New York Jets
Right before the first half ended, Brandon Marshall fumbled the ball on an ill-conceived lateral attempt, which was recovered the Eagles and turned into a Darren Sproles 1-yard touchdown run. In the second half, the Eagles attempted to mostly maintain the lead and run the clock out, using a majority of run plays that the Jets were able to predict. Eric Rowe, Jordan Hicks, and Walter Thurmond all intercepted Ryan Fitzpatrick in the game, who had done relatively well with turnovers until this game. The Jets would however score 10 unanswered points, but the Eagles would stop their comeback by recovering an onside kick and being able to get a first down off a last-minute Jets penalty.


2015 Philadelphia Eagles season, Schedule, Game summaries, Week 3: at New York Jets
The Eagles improved to 1–2 and were tied at 2nd place in the NFC East along with the Redskins and the Giants.


2015 Philadelphia Eagles season, Schedule, Game summaries, Week 3: at New York Jets
A day later, the Eagles announced that kicker Cody Parkey would undergo season-ending groin surgery.


2015 Philadelphia Eagles season, Schedule, Game summaries, Week 4: at Washington Redskins
In a heart-pounding NFC East battle, the Redskins scored a last-minute touchdown to end the Eagles' comeback hopes. The Eagles struggled in the first half as the offensive line struggled to protect Sam Bradford and the defense gave up big plays in the first half. And after DeMarco Murray's first run went for 30 yards, he only added 6 yards to it for the rest of the game. The defense would hold the Redskins from a TD on the first 2 drives. Kirk Cousins and the Redskins were able to get the ball moving in the first half.


2015 Philadelphia Eagles season, Schedule, Game summaries, Week 4: at Washington Redskins
New Eagles kicker Caleb Sturgis, who replaced an injured Cody Parkey, missed a short field goal at the end of the first half and an extra point at the beginning of the second half. The Eagles were able to get the chains moving in the third quarter. Touchdowns by veterans Riley Cooper and Brent Celek gave the Eagles a tie, but Washington took the lead back. At the end of the third quarter, Brandon Graham forced a fumble on Jordan Reed, which was recovered by rookie Jordan Hicks.


2015 Philadelphia Eagles season, Schedule, Game summaries, Week 4: at Washington Redskins
The Eagles would score on the corresponding drive with a Miles Austin touchdown. However, the Eagles made costly mistakes on 3rd down and had to settle for a punt with 5 minutes left in the game. The Redskins then drove down the field and Pierre Garçon scored the game-winning touchdown. The Eagles attempted to tie or win the game with only 26 seconds left, but the Redskins defense held. The offensive line failed to protect Bradford again and gave up another 2 sacks.


2015 Philadelphia Eagles season, Schedule, Game summaries, Week 4: at Washington Redskins
With the loss, the Eagles dropped to 1–3 and last place in the NFC East. However, due to the Cowboys losing and dropping to 2–2, the Eagles were only one game out of 1st place.


2015 Philadelphia Eagles season, Schedule, Game summaries, Week 5: vs. New Orleans Saints
Following the loss, the Eagles bounced back against the 1–3 Saints, who were also last in their division, in their first meeting since their heartbreaking last second loss in the 2013 Wild Card round. After a weak 1st quarter, the Eagles blew out the Saints and successfully got their revenge. In the 2nd quarter Sam Bradford gave second-year receiver Josh Huff his first career receiving touchdown to tie the game. Following this, veteran tight end Brent Celek gained his second receiving touchdown of the year off a 13-yarder.


2015 Philadelphia Eagles season, Schedule, Game summaries, Week 5: vs. New Orleans Saints
Murray, Mathews, and Sproles all gained large chunks of yards, but it was Murray who finally had a respectable game, rushing for 83 yards and a touchdown after getting 20 carries, which was more than his entire season total prior to the game.


2015 Philadelphia Eagles season, Schedule, Game summaries, Week 5: vs. New Orleans Saints
The Eagles improved to 2–3, while losses from the Cowboys and Redskins put them back in contention for the NFC East crown.


2015 Philadelphia Eagles season, Schedule, Game summaries, Week 6: vs. New York Giants
The Eagles came into the game seeking a win and the lead in the NFC East (the Redskins had lost to the Jets on Sunday). Although both teams committed turnovers, the Eagles came away with the win. Penalties, such as Running into the Kicker and Roughing the Passer, against the Giants gave the Eagles new life on drives that were stopped early and led to points. Although Eli Manning and the Giants' opening drive looked promising, the Giants could not get anything going after that. Bradford threw three interceptions, but DeMarco Murray had his first 100-yard game of the season, and the defense managed to shut down the giants offense.


2015 Philadelphia Eagles season, Schedule, Game summaries, Week 6: vs. New York Giants
The Eagles advanced to 3–3 and were tied with the Giants for the lead in the NFC East (the Eagles had the tiebreaker over the Giants due to their head to head win)


2015 Philadelphia Eagles season, Schedule, Game summaries, Week 7: at Carolina Panthers
Sam Bradford has been inconsistent for the previous weeks and this led to rumors about whether or not coach Kelly should bench him. Despite these rumors, the Eagles travel to Charlotte to take on Cam Newton's  Carolina Panthers, who had a dominant start to the season. The Eagles were unable to stop the Panthers hot streak as Bradford's struggles continued all game. Jason Peters left the game with a back injury.


2015 Philadelphia Eagles season, Schedule, Game summaries, Week 9: at Dallas Cowboys
This was the Eagles' only game outside of the Eastern Time Zone during the 2015 season.


2015 Philadelphia Eagles season, Schedule, Game summaries, Week 9: at Dallas Cowboys
DeMarco Murray returned to Dallas for the first time since leaving the Cowboys.


2015 Philadelphia Eagles season, Schedule, Game summaries, Week 9: at Dallas Cowboys
Hoping to win on his 28th birthday, Sam Bradford accomplished it by throwing the game-winning touchdown pass to Jordan Matthews for 41 yards to give the Eagles the final score in an overtime thriller.


2015 Philadelphia Eagles season, Schedule, Game summaries, Week 9: at Dallas Cowboys
Breakout rookie Jordan Hicks left the game with a torn pectoral muscle. The Eagles later announced that Hicks would miss the rest of the season. Up to this point, Hicks was the Eagles' leading tackler, with 1 sack, 3 fumble recoveries, 1 forced fumble, and 2 interceptions, one of which was a 67-yard pick six that was caught in this game.


2015 Philadelphia Eagles season, Schedule, Game summaries, Week 9: at Dallas Cowboys
With the win, the Eagles tie the season series with Dallas 1–1 and they improved to 4–4.


2015 Philadelphia Eagles season, Schedule, Game summaries, Week 10: vs. Miami Dolphins
The Eagles had a good first quarter and scored 16 unanswered points in the 1st quarter, but were unable to muster any points afterwards. In the third quarter, quarterback Sam Bradford left the game with a concussion along and an injured shoulder, while leading rusher Ryan Mathews left with a concussion as well. Mark Sanchez took over as quarterback for the game's remainder and led the Eagles into field goal range. Sanchez was an improvement over Bradford in some ways, mainly mobility and avoiding sacks, but he was also a less accurate passer. He was intercepted in the end zone while attempting to give the Eagles the lead, on a pass that was wrestled away from wide receiver Miles Austin in the 4th quarter.


2015 Philadelphia Eagles season, Schedule, Game summaries, Week 11: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Playing in the place of Bradford, Sanchez had an excellent first half, throwing for 2 touchdowns to keep the Eagles in contention, although he threw his first interception shortly before halftime. After halftime, the Eagles offense broke down. The defense, which had already broken down, allowed 5 touchdowns from rookie quarterback Jameis Winston, their once elite run defense let Doug Martin rush for 235 yards, and the Eagles were blown out at home by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers by a score of 45–17 as they fell to 4–6. The 28-point loss was the worst output at home for the Eagles since December 5, 2005 against the Seattle Seahawks, and worst to a sub-.500 opponent.


2015 Philadelphia Eagles season, Schedule, Game summaries, Week 12: at Detroit Lions
Playing in their second straight Thanksgiving game, the Eagles struggled especially on defense, where they were unable to stop the much-hyped Lions offense, led by Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson, all game. The worst of it all was how unproven rookie Eric Rowe was tasked with covering wide receiver Calvin Johnson for the majority of the games, leading to Johnson catching 3 touchdowns. Philadelphia's offense was no help, either and frustrations, especially from the team's sideline boiled over. Stafford's five passing touchdowns, including three of them to Johnson was too much for the Eagles to overcome and for the second consecutive time this season, the Eagles gave up 45 points in a game.


2015 Philadelphia Eagles season, Schedule, Game summaries, Week 12: at Detroit Lions
With the loss, the Eagles drop to 4–7 on the season and 6–1 when playing on Thanksgiving. However, hope was revived for the team when the Giants, who could have moved to a commanding 3 game lead in the NFC East, fell to the Washington Redskins, meaning the Eagles were only down 1 game from the Giants and Redskins.


2015 Philadelphia Eagles season, Schedule, Game summaries, Week 13: at New England Patriots
In a game that was predicted to be a blowout, with a struggling Eagles defense playing a 10–1 Patriots led by Tom Brady, who led the NFL in passing yards and passing touchdowns. The Eagles held the Patriots to 0 points in the first quarter, but Brady threw a touchdown to James White on the first play of the 2nd quarter, followed by an 11-yard strike to Danny Amendola to make the game 14–0. New England tried an onside kick to surprise Philadelphia, but the special teams were ready and recovered it, giving the Eagles ideal field position.


2015 Philadelphia Eagles season, Schedule, Game summaries, Week 13: at New England Patriots
Bradford took advantage of this with a 5-yard touchdown to Zach Ertz next drive, but could not get going following the drive. With 15 seconds left, New England looked poised to end the half with a 7-point lead, but Chris Maragos blocked a punt that middle linebacker Najee Goode took back 24 yards for a touchdown. In the third quarter, Brady drove the ball to the five-yard line, but free safety Malcolm Jenkins had other plans, catching an interception and running it back for a 100-yard pick six.


2015 Philadelphia Eagles season, Schedule, Game summaries, Week 13: at New England Patriots
Next drive, New England was forced to punt, which Darren Sproles took back 83 yards for a touchdown. Next drive, Brady threw an end zone pick to cornerback Byron Maxwell, who went down in the end zone for a touchback. In a drive set up by Maxwell's INT that lasted well into the fourth quarter, Bradford threw a TD to Jordan Matthews, and the Eagles were leading 35–14.


2015 Philadelphia Eagles season, Schedule, Game summaries, Week 13: at New England Patriots
Enraged fans started to leave the stadium, but soon the lead would thicken as the Patriots scored, recovered an onside kick, and scored again, turning things to make the score 35–28 with 3 minutes left. Riley Cooper batted the next onside kick out of bounds to secure the Eagles possession. After 3rd string running back Kenjon Barner fumbled with slightly over a minute left, Tom Brady and the undermanned Patriots' offense attempted to rally to tie the game, but dropped passes by Martin and Amendola ultimately lead to the underdog Eagles stunning New England and its home crowd.


2015 Philadelphia Eagles season, Schedule, Game summaries, Week 13: at New England Patriots
Although Bradford posted very few yards, he threw 2 touchdowns and continued to not turn the ball over. Outside linebackers Connor Barwin and Brandon Graham scored 2 sacks each. DeMarco Murray returned to his shape from weeks 1–4, rushing for 24 yards on 8 carries, which turns into a pitiful 7 carries for 5 yards when you take away his longest run of 19 yards. Darren Sproles stepped up, rushing for 66 yards, receiving for 34 yards, and returning punts for 115 yards and 1 touchdown.


2015 Philadelphia Eagles season, Schedule, Game summaries, Week 13: at New England Patriots
With the win, the Eagles go to 5–7, ending a three-game skid and passing the Giants for second place in the NFC East. With a loss by the Washington Redskins, the Eagles' 5–7 record tied them with the Redskins for the best record in the NFC East, but their Week 4 loss kept them in second. Not only was this their first win against the Patriots in the Brady-Belichick era (preseason notwithstanding), but two years later, they would proceed to claim their first Super Bowl title in their next game against them.


2015 Philadelphia Eagles season, Schedule, Game summaries, Week 14: vs. Buffalo Bills
The Eagles host the Buffalo Bills with the return of LeSean McCoy, the Eagles all-time leading rusher who was traded in the offseason. McCoy's started well mentally and physically, as he kissed the Eagles logo and embraced Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie, as well as racking up 63 yards on 12 carries. After halftime, he started to fall apart. McCoy only rushed for 8 carries and 11 yards in the 2nd half, and after the game, he was not on the field to interact with his former teammates and did not shake hands with coach Kelly, which McCoy said he wouldn't do prior to Week 14.


2015 Philadelphia Eagles season, Schedule, Game summaries, Week 14: vs. Buffalo Bills
The game started off well for Philly, besides a first down rush by McCoy, the Buffalo offense was forced to punt after 5 plays, and on the ensuing drive, Darren Sproles rushed for 15 yards to put his team on the 1-yard line, then ran it in for a TD on the next play. The Bills answered with a Tyrod Taylor pass ro Sammy Watkins, a catch and run that went 47 yards for a TD.


2015 Philadelphia Eagles season, Schedule, Game summaries, Week 14: vs. Buffalo Bills
After several more drives, the Eagles strike again in the second quarter, with first rounder Nelson Agholor getting his first career touchdown on a 53-yard catch and run. The Bills could only muster a Dan Carpenter field goal, which was countered by a Caleb Sturgis field goal with 5 seconds left in the half. The second half started with a Caleb Sturgis field goal, but the Bills scored 10 unanswered points, then intercepted Sam Bradford on the ensuing drive. The score stayed 20–20 until the fourth quarter, where Sturgis kicked another field goal with 3 minutes left. The Bills started to gain some momentum, but a rushed pass led to an interception by backup safety Ed Reynolds clinching the game for the Eagles.


2015 Philadelphia Eagles season, Schedule, Game summaries, Week 14: vs. Buffalo Bills
With the win, the Eagles improved to 6–7, but remained in second place in the NFC East due to a win by the Redskins.


2015 Philadelphia Eagles season, Schedule, Game summaries, Week 15: vs. Arizona Cardinals
For the second time this season, the Eagles wore their black uniforms as they hosted the Arizona Cardinals, who clinched a playoff spot after a Week 14 victory against Minnesota. The Cardinals didn't let up, as they mercilessly beat the Eagles 40–17. Rookie back David Johnson had a breakout game at an inconvenient time for the Eagles, as he scored 3 touchdowns and over 200 all-purpose yards. A win from the Redskins put the Eagles 2 games down in the East, which they could easily fix by beating the Redskins the following week.


2015 Philadelphia Eagles season, Schedule, Game summaries, Week 16: vs. Washington Redskins
In a do-or-die situation, the Eagles died. With a chance to take control of the NFC East, they let the Washington Redskins run away with the division. After an excellent first drive where Sam Bradford played efficiently and Ryan Mathews sliced through the Redskins defense for a rushing TD, the Eagles failed to get anything going afterward. Although a missed extra point gave the Eagles the lead for most of the first quarter, after a second Cousins-Reed touchdown, they never got the lead back.


2015 Philadelphia Eagles season, Schedule, Game summaries, Week 16: vs. Washington Redskins
After an exchange of field goals (1 by Sturgis, 2 by Hopkins) which put the Redskins up by 13, the Eagles struck back with a 4-yard DeMarco Murray touchdown to cut the deficit to 6. However, on the next Eagles drive, turnovers struck. First Darren Sproles muffed and recovered his punt for minimal gain, followed by knocking the ball of Bradford's hands on a play action fake, which was also recovered.


2015 Philadelphia Eagles season, Schedule, Game summaries, Week 16: vs. Washington Redskins
But on 3rd down Murray fumbled a pitch which was returned for a touchdown by DeAngelo Hall, putting the Redskins up by 13, which was made even worse with a Pierre Garçon touchdown and a 2-point conversion, putting the Eagles down by 21 with 8 minutes left. The Eagles responded with a 43-yard Jordan Matthews touchdown, then the forced a Redskins punt. The Eagles got to the Redskins 26 again, but with 1:42 left on 3rd and 5, a wide open Kenjon Barner drops a potential touchdown pass, leading to a turnover on downs. Then, Cousins took 2 kneels, and the Redskins won the NFC East. The Eagles fell to 6–9 and out of the playoff picture: The loss also eliminated the Giants from the playoffs as well. Chip Kelly was fired 3 days after the game.


2015 Philadelphia Eagles season, Schedule, Game summaries, Week 17: at New York Giants
In their first game without Chip Kelly, who was fired days after last week's loss against Washington, the Eagles still managed to end the season on a high note with a hard-fought 35–30 victory over the Giants, in what was likely to be Tom Coughlin's final game coaching the Giants.


2015 Philadelphia Eagles season, Schedule, Game summaries, Week 17: at New York Giants
The Eagles went to 7–9, and completed a 2–0 season sweep over the New York Giants.


2015 Philadelphia Freedoms season
The 2015 Philadelphia Freedoms season was the 15th season of the franchise (in its current incarnation) in World TeamTennis (WTT).


2015 Philadelphia Freedoms season
Led by the strong mixed doubles play of Taylor Townsend and Marcelo Melo, the Freedoms had only 5 wins against 9 losses but qualified for the playoffs for the second consecutive season. The Freedoms lost the Eastern Conference Championship Match, 25–9, to the Washington Kastles.


2015 Philadelphia Freedoms season, Season recap, Draft
At the WTT draft on March 16, 2015, the Freedoms passed on making any selections in the marquee portion of the draft. In the roster portion of the draft, the Freedoms protected Taylor Townsend and 2014 WTT Male Most Valuable Player Marcelo Melo. They left Victoria Duval and Liezel Huber unprotected in the second round and instead chose Robby Ginepri. The Freedoms could not protect Frank Dancevic in the fourth round, because they already had two full-time male players. Huber was still available, and the Freedoms selected her to complete their roster.


2015 Philadelphia Freedoms season, Season recap, Other player transactions
On June 29, 2015, the Freedoms announced that Liezel Huber would miss the 2015 season due to health concerns, and she was removed from the active roster. The Freedoms also announced that they had signed Coco Vandeweghe, Asia Muhammad and Abigail Spears as substitute players. Vandeweghe was scheduled to play in the team's first three matches (all on the road), followed by Muhammad playing in the next four and Spears playing in the final seven.


2015 Philadelphia Freedoms season, Season recap, Second-half turnaround
After winning their opening match on the road, the Freedoms lost their next six consecutive matches and found themselves with 1 win and 6 losses at the midway point of the season with the four-time defending WTT champion Washington Kastles coming to town.


2015 Philadelphia Freedoms season, Season recap, Second-half turnaround
The July 20 home match against the Kastles got off to a difficult start when the Freedoms dropped the opening set of men's singles, 5–2. But Taylor Townsend responded by taking a 5–1 set win over Madison Brengle in women's singles to give the Freedoms a 7–6 lead. Robby Ginepri and Marcelo Melo won a tiebreaker over Sam Querrey and Leander Paes in men's doubles to increase the lead to 12–10. But the Kastles won the next set of women's doubles and took a 15–13 lead to the final set. Melo and Townsend dominated Paes and Anastasia Rodionova in the final set of mixed doubles, 5–1, to give the Freedoms an 18–16 victory.


2015 Philadelphia Freedoms season, Season recap, Second-half turnaround
After a night off, the Freedoms went on the road to face the Boston Lobsters looking to avenge an early-season home loss. The Lobsters took the opening set of mixed doubles in a tiebreaker. But the Freedoms responded by winning the final four sets on their way to a 24–14 victory. Townsend gave the Freedoms a 9–5 lead in the match when she took the women's singles set from Irina Falconi, 5–0. Townsend won 20 of the 26 points played in the set. Following two sets won by the Freedoms in tiebreakers, Melo and Ginepri closed out the match with a 5–1 men's doubles set win.


2015 Philadelphia Freedoms season, Season recap, Second-half turnaround
The Freedoms returned home the following evening to face the Austin Aces, who entered the match with 8 wins and 0 losses. The Freedoms stunned the Aces by winning the first four sets to take a 20–9 lead. Ginepri opened with a 5–2 set win in men's singles, and Townsend followed by taking the women's singles set, 5–3. Ginepri and Melo won the men's doubles, 5–3, and Townsend teamed with Abigail Spears for a 5–1 set win in women's doubles. The Aces salvaged the final set of mixed doubles, 5–1, to cut the Freedoms' lead to 21–14 and send the match to extended play. But Townsend and Melo won the first game of extra time to give the Freedoms their third consecutive victory by a score of 22–14.


2015 Philadelphia Freedoms season, Season recap, Second-half turnaround
The Freedoms followed their three-match winning streak with two straight losses. Yet, with 4 wins and 8 losses and two matches remaining, the Freedoms controlled their own playoff destiny. The Lobsters were in second place in the Eastern Conference with 4 wins and 7 losses, and the Freedoms had a home-and-home series scheduled with them to close the season. Following the home-and-home, the Lobsters were scheduled to close their season on the road against the Kastles. Therefore, if the Freedoms could sweep the home-and-home series, they would clinch a playoff berth.


2015 Philadelphia Freedoms season, Season recap, Second-half turnaround
The Lobsters hosted the first match, and Ginepri put the Freedoms in front early with a 5–2 set win in men's singles. The Lobsters took the women's singles by the same score to tie the match at 7. Ginepri and Melo followed by winning the men's doubles set, 5–3, to give the Freedoms a 12–10 lead. But the Lobsters won the women's doubles set by the same score to tie the match at 15, heading to the final set. Melo and Townsend converted two of three break point opportunities while thwarting all five break point opportunities they gave the Lobsters and won the set, 5–2, for a 20–17 victory.


2015 Philadelphia Freedoms season, Season recap, Second-half turnaround
Returning home with a chance to clinch a playoff berth in their final regular-season match, the Freedoms got off to a quick start when Ginepri won the opening set of men's singles, 5–0. But the Lobsters charged back, winning the next three sets to take a 15–12 lead to the final set. Melo and Townsend controlled the early portion of the fifth set of mixed doubles with two breaks of serve on two opportunities, and it looked as though the Freedoms might win the match outright with a lopsided final set win.


2015 Philadelphia Freedoms season, Season recap, Second-half turnaround
But the Lobsters broke back late, and the Freedoms won the set by a score of 5–3 to cut the Lobsters' lead in the match to 18–17 and set up extended play. Melo served the first game of extended play, and the Freedoms quickly fell behind in the game, 3–1. The Freedoms successfully defended the first two break points, but the Lobsters ultimately broke at 3 all to win the match, 19–17. The Freedoms would have to wait for the result of the Lobsters' final match to learn their fate.


2015 Philadelphia Freedoms season, Season recap, Second-half turnaround
With an opportunity to grab a playoff spot, the Lobsters fell to the Kastles, 22–14, in their final regular-season match, clinching a playoff berth for the Freedoms. Since the Freedoms and Lobsters finished the regular season with identical 5–9 records, the WTT standings tiebreaker system was used to break the tie. The teams split their four regular-season meetings. So, the tie was broken by comparing games won in head-to-head matches, which favored the Freedoms, 78–71. The biggest contribution to this margin was made by the Freedoms' 24–14 road victory over the Lobsters on July 22.


2015 Philadelphia Freedoms season, Season recap, Playoffs
The Freedoms visited the Washington Kastles to play the Eastern Conference Championship Match on July 30, 2015. It was a dominant performance for Washington, as the Kastles took all five sets en route to a 25–9 victory for their fifth consecutive Eastern Conference title. Martina Hingis teamed with Leander Paes in the opening set of mixed doubles for a 5–1 set win over Taylor Townsend and Marcelo Melo. Townsend and Coco Vandeweghe were able to push Hingis and Anastasia Rodionova to a tiebreaker in the fourth set of women's doubles before dropping the set. Madison Brengle saved three break points and won both 3-all points for a 5–2 set win in women's singles over Vandeweghe. Paes and Sam Querrey took the men's doubles set, 5–2, over Melo and Robby Ginepri. Querrey closed out the match with a 5–0 whitewash of Ginepri in men's singles.


2015 Philadelphia Freedoms season, Draft picks
Since the Freedoms had the worse record of the two conference championship losers in 2014, they selected fourth from the bottom (fourth) in each round of the draft. Unlike previous seasons in which WTT conducted its Marquee Player Draft and its Roster Player Draft on different dates about one month apart, the league conducted a single draft at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, California on March 16, 2015. The selections made by the Freedoms are shown in the table below.


2015 Philadelphia Freedoms season, Statistics
Players are listed in order of their game-winning percentage provided they played in at least 40% of the Freedoms' games in that event, which is the WTT minimum for qualification for league leaders in individual statistical categories.


2015 Philadelphia Freedoms season, Individual achievements
Taylor Townsend was fourth in WTT in winning percentage in mixed doubles. Marcelo Melo was sixth in WTT in winning percentage in mixed doubles.


2015 Philadelphia Phillies season
The 2015 Philadelphia Phillies season was the 133rd season in the history of the franchise, and its twelfth season at Citizens Bank Park. The team finished the season with a record of 63–99 (.389), the worst record in the majors, and missed the playoffs for a fourth consecutive season.


2015 Philadelphia Phillies season, Offseason, Broadcasting changes
After only one season, Jamie Moyer departed the Phillies' broadcast booth. Comcast SportsNet hired Ben Davis, previously a pre-game and post-game analyst, to replace Moyer as a game analyst, working with Matt Stairs (another analyst), Tom McCarthy (play-by-play), Gregg Murphy (field reporter), and Mike Schmidt (analyst for weekend home games).


2015 Philadelphia Phillies season, Roster
All players who made an appearance for the Phillies during 2015 are included.


2015 Philadelphia Phillies season, Season notes, Spring training
The Phillies entered spring training with rather low expectations for the upcoming season; in fact, Baseball Prospectus projected the Phillies would go 69–93, which would be the worst record in baseball. Even Phillies' front office personnel conceded that the Phillies were unlikely to be particularly competitive, although eventually, acting team president Pat Gillick suggested the team could hover around .500, depending on whether the team stays healthy, and whether it trades some of its better players such as Cole Hamels, Cliff Lee, or Jonathan Papelbon.


2015 Philadelphia Phillies season, Season notes, Spring training
Nevertheless, manager Ryne Sandberg expressed optimism at the team's chances, noting they might "surprise some people" in what he called a "transition" season rather than a "rebuilding" one. Among those transitions was at shortstop, where Freddy Galvis was expected to replace all-time Phillies' hits leader Jimmy Rollins. Also, the Phillies sought to piece together an outfield. Domonic Brown moved from left field to right field in the offseason, and Ben Revere was the presumptive starter in center field, which left several players vying for playing time as reserves and situational players. However, at one point Revere spent time in left field while Odubel Herrera played center field; Sandberg commented that Revere's arm may be a better fit in left, and that he was using spring training to experiment.


2015 Philadelphia Phillies season, Season notes, Spring training
"Darin Ruf could be a surprise guy for me. Cody Asche and Sizemore might be guys who can chip in. Who knows how many home runs they can hit? If we're just thinking about solid contact and more contact and cutting down strikeouts from the type of team we had last year, I think that will go a long way with us. Driving balls into the gaps and some of those doubles turning into home runs."


2015 Philadelphia Phillies season, Season notes, Spring training
Phillies' manager Ryne Sandberg discussing Phillies lack of power hitters


2015 Philadelphia Phillies season, Season notes, Spring training
During spring training, the Phillies did not hit many home runs, which prompted Sandberg to note that throughout the season, the Phillies would play small ball to manufacture runs, especially via bunting and hit and run. As part of that strategy, Sandberg announced that both Revere and Herrera would make the opening day roster, with Revere playing left field and Herrera playing center.


2015 Philadelphia Phillies season, Season notes, Spring training
Another key storyline for the Phillies was completing their starting rotation. Hamels, Lee, Aaron Harang, and Jerome Williams comprised the presumed first four in the rotation, but there was significant competition for the fifth starter spot. Among the leading candidates was David Buchanan, who looked to improve after a rookie campaign during which he posted a 6–8 record with a 3.75 earned run average (ERA), and struggled with surrendering home runs.


2015 Philadelphia Phillies season, Season notes, Spring training
Other candidates included Cuban import Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez, who had failed to live up to expectations after the Phillies signed him as an international free agent due to injuries, among other factors, and Chad Billingsley, who was still recovering from two right elbow surgeries. Late in spring training, after it became clear that Lee was going to miss significant time, the Phillies announced that Hamels, Harang, Williams, and Buchanan were their first four starters, and that there were both internal and external candidates to be the fifth starter. Hamels would start on opening day. On the last day of spring training, the Phillies signed relief pitcher Dustin McGowan who, despite a track record as a reliever, could potentially start if the Phillies needed him to while they awaited the return of Billingsley from the disabled list.


2015 Philadelphia Phillies season, Season notes, Spring training
Ultimately, 12 pitchers, two catchers, seven infielders, and four outfielders comprised the Phillies opening day roster.


2015 Philadelphia Phillies season, Season notes, April
After a "drubbing" on opening day in which the Phillies surrendered five home runs to lose 8–0 – their worst opening day shutout in team history – they rebounded to beat the Boston Red Sox in the series' second game behind a strong start from Aaron Harang that "closely emulated [the opening day starts] of the pitcher who made five consecutive opening-day starts for the Reds" before a loss in the rubber match during which David Buchanan pitched only three innings, allowing six runs, and snapping a streak of 16 starts in which Buchanan allowed three or fewer earned runs. Against the NL East favorite Washington Nationals, the Phillies won two of three, including a 10-inning bout in which Darin Ruf hit a home run, and Cody Asche had three hits.


2015 Philadelphia Phillies season, Season notes, April
The Phillies' third series of the year was against the New York Mets; both squads entered the series with a 3–3 record. Despite one game in which Chase Utley homered twice and another in which Odubel Herrera notched three extra-base hits, the Mets swept the Phillies. The team continued a road trip in Washington, and opened a four-game set with the Nationals by losing two, extending their losing streak to six games before beating the Nationals 5–3 thanks to strong offensive efforts from Herrera and Freddy Galvis, and a quality start from Harang. Unable to build momentum, the Phillies lost the series finale to drop their record to 4–9 on the season.


2015 Philadelphia Phillies season, Season notes, April
The Phillies entered their next series with the Marlins averaging only 2.46 runs per game, among the worst in the major leagues. However, they did win the first game of the series 7–3 thanks to home runs from Galvis and Ryan Howard, and a two-RBI triple from Ben Revere. The woeful offense manifested itself during the remainder of the series, as the squad mustered only two total runs, losing both games. The homestand continued with a series against the Atlanta Braves.


2015 Philadelphia Phillies season, Season notes, April
After winning the first game 1–0 thanks to a strong start from Harang and a late-inning error by Freddie Freeman and losing the second game 5–2 with Buchanan's fourth loss of the season, the Phillies took the rubber match when Howard hit his second home run of the series (third of the season).


2015 Philadelphia Phillies season, Season notes, April
The team's final series of the month was a four-game set in St. Louis to face the Cardinals. Notwithstanding heating trade rumors including a potential deal to the Cardinals, Hamels picked up his first win of the season, leading the Phillies to a 4–1 victory. The next evening, Panamanian rookie Severino González made his major league debut, but was unsuccessful, relinquishing seven runs in 22⁄3 innings as the Phillies lost 11–5. The Phillies also lost the final two games, and finished the month of April with an 8–15 record, their worst April record since 2002.


2015 Philadelphia Phillies season, Season notes, April
The team's .223 batting average was also the worst in the National League; they also ranked last or tied for last in the NL in runs, runs per game, and home runs. The bullpen was markedly better than the starting rotation; the former ranked fourth in the NL in ERA, while the latter ranked 13th. As of the end of the month, Chase Utley had a .114 batting average, the worst in the major leagues. Meanwhile, Harang posted a rotation-leading 2.51 ERA in 321⁄3 innings pitched during the month, and was even mentioned as a potential candidate to be traded to a contending team.


2015 Philadelphia Phillies season, Season notes, May
The Phillies began the month by reshuffling their pitching staff, optioning David Buchanan (0–5, 8.76 ERA in April) to Triple-A Lehigh Valley, recalling Elvis Araújo (who conspicuously had similar struggles in the minor leagues), and preparing to add Chad Billingsley to the starting rotation.


2015 Philadelphia Phillies season, Statistics, Batting
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; BB = Base on balls; SO = Strikeouts; AVG = Batting average; SB = Stolen bases


2015 Philadelphia Phillies season, Statistics, Pitching
Note: W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; SV = Saves; IP = Innings pitched; H = Hits allowed; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; HR = Home runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; K = Strikeouts


2015 Philadelphia Soul season
The 2015 Philadelphia Soul season was the tenth season for the franchise in the Arena Football League. The team is coached by Clint Dolezel and play their home games at the Wells Fargo Center. The Soul improved from their disappointing 9-9 record to 15-3. The Soul finished undefeated at home, the only team of the season to do so.


2015 Philadelphia Soul season, Schedule, Regular season
The 2015 regular season schedule was released on December 19, 2014.


2015 Philadelphia Soul season, Roster
Rookies in italics updated August 18, 201524 Active, 12 Inactive


2015 Philadelphia Union season
The 2015 Philadelphia Union season was the club's sixth season of existence, competing in Major League Soccer, the top flight of American soccer. The team was managed by Jim Curtin, his second season with the club and first full season after taking over from John Hackworth midway through the 2014 season. For the second consecutive season, the Union finished runners-up in the 2015 U.S. Open Cup, this time to Sporting Kansas City. The 2015 season also marked the departure of CEO Nick Sakiewicz, who had been with the club since its inaugural season. Sakiewicz was replaced with former U.S. men's national team player, Earnie Stewart, who was named Sporting Director in October 2015.


2015 Philadelphia Union season, Background, 2014 MLS regular season
The 2014 Philadelphia Union MLS Regular Season saw the team go 10–12–12 finishing 6th in the Eastern Conference and 12th overall. The Union had a slow first half of the season, winning only 3 of their 16 games. Because of this, head coach John Hackworth was fired and Jim Curtin was named the club's interim head coach. Following the summer break, the Union saw better results, and were in a position to reach the 2014 MLS Cup Playoffs. However, a loss to the Columbus Crew SC on October 11, 2014 put them out of the playoff race. After the season was over, the title "interim" was taken removed from Jim Curtin's title and is now the permanent head coach.


2015 Philadelphia Union season, Background, 2014 U.S. Open Cup
The 2014 U.S. Open Cup was the most successful Open Cup in the club's history. The Union entered the competition in the fourth round along with the other 18 MLS clubs. In that round, the Union defeated the Harrisburg City Islanders, a team in the third tier of the American soccer pyramid, 3-1 after extra time. In the next round, the Union defeated the NASL team the New York Cosmos 2-1 after extra time. The Union then defeated the New England Revolution 2-0 in the quarterfinals and FC Dallas 4-3 on penalty kicks after a 1-1 tie in the semifinals. In the final, the Union lost to the Seattle Sounders 3-1 after extra time.


2015 Philadelphia Union season, 2015 roster
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2015 Philadelphia Union season, 2015 roster, Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2015 Philadelphia Union season, Competitions, U.S. Open Cup
Philadelphia entered the 2015 U.S. Open Cup with the rest of Major League Soccer in the fourth round.


2015 Philadelphia mayoral election
The 2015 Philadelphia mayoral election was held on November 3, 2015, to elect the Mayor of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, concurrently with various other state and local elections. Heavily favored Democratic party candidate Jim Kenney won.


2015 Philadelphia mayoral election
Incumbent Democratic party Mayor Michael Nutter could not run for re-election to a third consecutive term due to term limits in the city's home rule charter. Registered Democrats hold a formidable 7-to-1 ratio over registered Republicans in Philadelphia, giving Democratic candidates a distinct advantage in citywide elections.


2015 Philadelphia mayoral election
The mayoral primary elections were held on May 19, 2015. 27% of the city's registered voters voted in the primaries. Democrats nominated Jim Kenney, a member of the Philadelphia City Council, as their party's nominee. Kenney won the primary in a landslide with 55.83% of the vote, defeating a crowded field of five other Democratic candidates, including Anthony H. Williams and former District Attorney Lynn Abraham. Republican Melissa Murray Bailey, a business executive, ran unopposed for the Republican nomination. Had she been elected, Bailey would have become Philadelphia's first female mayor, as well as the city's first Republican mayor in more than 60 years.


2015 Philadelphia train derailment
On May 12, 2015, an Amtrak Northeast Regional train from Washington, D.C. bound for New York City derailed and wrecked on the Northeast Corridor near the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Of 238 passengers and 5 crew on board, 8 were killed and over 200 injured, 11 critically. The train was traveling at 102 mph (164 km/h) in a 50 mph (80 km/h) zone of curved tracks when it derailed.


2015 Philadelphia train derailment
Some of the passengers had to be extricated from the wrecked cars. Many of the passengers and local residents helped first responders during the rescue operation. Five local hospitals treated the injured. The derailment disrupted train service for several days.


2015 Philadelphia train derailment
The National Transportation Safety Board ruled that the derailment was caused by the train's engineer (driver) becoming distracted by other radio transmissions and losing situational awareness, and said that it would have been prevented by positive train control, a computerized speed-limiting system that was operational elsewhere on the Northeast Corridor, but whose activation at the wreck site had been delayed due to regulatory requirements.


2015 Philadelphia train derailment
The track in question was also not equipped with ATC (automatic train control), an older and simpler system that had been operational for years on the southbound track of the curve at which the derailment occurred, and that also would have limited the train's speed entering the curve. Shortly after the derailment, Amtrak completed ATC installation on the northbound track.


2015 Philadelphia train derailment
The 2015 wreck was the deadliest on the Northeast Corridor since 1987, when 16 people died in a wreck near Baltimore.


2015 Philadelphia train derailment, Derailment
At about 9:10 p.m. (EDT) on Tuesday,  May 12, 2015, Amtrak's northbound Northeast Regional No. 188 led by Amtrak ACS-64 601 departed Philadelphia's 30th Street Station en route from Washington, D.C., to New York City. The train consisted of seven cars hauled by a year-old Amtrak Cities Sprinter (ACS)-64 locomotive, No. 601. The engineer was Brandon Bostian, who had begun working the route a few weeks prior.


2015 Philadelphia train derailment, Derailment
The train entered a four-degree left curve on the four-track line at the railroad's Frankford Junction near the intersection of Frankford Avenue and Wheatsheaf Lane, and it derailed and wrecked at 9:23 p.m.(EDT). Passengers reported that the front of the train shook at first, then came to a sudden stop. The entire train went off the track, with three cars rolling onto their sides. The train sustained at least $9.2 million in estimated damages.


2015 Philadelphia train derailment, Derailment
The train should have been slowing to approach the curve with a reduced speed limit of 80 mph (130 km/h) in its approach and 50 mph (80 km/h) within it, but instead, it had accelerated into the curve and was traveling at 106 mph (171 km/h) when its engineer applied the emergency brake, and 102 mph (164 km/h) when it derailed, according to Robert L. Sumwalt, the National Transportation Safety Board's lead investigator, who cited the onboard event recorder recovered from the wreckage. Investigators are working to determine why the train entered the curve at such a high speed. The windshield of the locomotive may have been hit by a projectile shortly before the derailment.


2015 Philadelphia train derailment, Derailment
Proponents argue the train should have been equipped with positive train control (PTC), which can automatically stop a train or slow it to a safe speed if the engineer fails to do so in time. Amtrak officials said PTC had been installed on the tracks ahead of a Congress-mandated December 2015 deadline, but had yet to be operational due to "budgetary shortfalls, technical hurdles and bureaucratic rules".


2015 Philadelphia train derailment, Derailment
For four years, the railroad struggled with the FCC to purchase the rights to airwaves in the Northeast Corridor required for PTC, which might have limited the train's speed and thereby prevented the wreck. During a press conference, NTSB member Robert Sumwalt told reporters, "Based on what we know right now, we feel that had such a system been installed in this section of track, this accident would not have occurred."


2015 Philadelphia train derailment, Derailment
The track in question was not equipped with ATC (Automatic Train Control), which had been operational for years on the southbound track of the curve at which the derailment occurred, and which also would have limited the train's speed entering the curve. Shortly after the derailment, Amtrak completed that ATC installation on the northbound track.


2015 Philadelphia train derailment, Derailment
This fatal derailment was the second at Frankford Junction. On September 6, 1943, on the same tracks and within two blocks of the 2015 wreck site, an extra section of the Congressional Limited, then the Pennsylvania Railroad's premier Washington-to-New York service, derailed approaching the same curve en route to New York, killing 79 people and injuring 117 others.


2015 Philadelphia train derailment, Immediate aftermath
Some passengers were able to walk off the train, while others needed to be rescued with cutting tools. Eventually, a crane was brought to the site to lift the overturned train cars, in part to search for trapped victims.


2015 Philadelphia train derailment, Immediate aftermath
More than 200 passengers were treated at area hospitals, including Temple University Hospital, Aria Health, Hahnemann University Hospital, Jefferson University Hospital, and Einstein Medical Center. Most of the injured passengers sustained minor lacerations and contusions, while some also had fractured bones; 11 were critically injured. Bostian, the engineer, survived the wreck with leg injuries, a concussion, and a head wound.


2015 Philadelphia train derailment, Immediate aftermath
Former Congressman Patrick Murphy, who was a passenger on the train, said: "There was a lot of mayhem. A lot of blood, a lot of bleeding. I pulled myself up. The guy who I kind of landed on was OK. The guy next to him was completely passed out, knocked unconscious. People were pretty banged up." He said that after the train derailed, there were loud banging sounds and the train was shaking. Murphy, who sustained minor injuries in the wreck, helped other passengers leave the train. The man seated next to Murphy eventually regained consciousness, walked off the train, and helped other passengers. Delaware Senator Tom Carper had been on the same train, but got off at an earlier stop in Wilmington, Delaware. Chef Eli Kulp was among the badly injured passengers.


2015 Philadelphia train derailment, Immediate aftermath
Paul Cheung, an Associated Press manager, was also on the train. He said that before the train derailed, it "started to decelerate, like someone had slammed the brake. Then suddenly you could see everything starting to shake. You could see people's stuff flying over me." Passenger Daniel Wetrin was taken to a nearby school after the wreck. He said, "I walked off as if, like, I was in a movie. There were people standing around, people with bloody faces ... power cables all buckled down as you stepped off the train." Another man took a cell phone video of the wreck's aftermath, in which rescuers are telling trapped passengers to crawl to safety, while other passengers cry and moan. One Port Richmond resident said the wreck felt like "a mild earthquake"; another said it "sounded like a bomb."


2015 Philadelphia train derailment, Immediate aftermath, Regulatory response
On May 19, 2015, the Federal Railroad Administration issued an emergency order to Amtrak related to the derailment. It required Amtrak to modify its automatic train control system to enforce the passenger train speed limit on the curve where the derailment occurred, while noting that Amtrak had already implemented the changes at the time of the order. It also required Amtrak to identify other curves on the Northeast Corridor with a more than 20 mph drop in the authorized approach speed and carry out similar changes, and to install additional passenger-train speed-limit signage.


2015 Philadelphia train derailment, Investigation and NTSB findings
After an initial investigation of the scene, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said there was not any indication that the derailment was terrorism-related. An NTSB team also investigated. Preliminary information suggested that the derailment was accidental, according to informal statements made by both agencies, which continue to investigate. In early June authorities stated that they were still investigating the reason the train entered the curve while speeding.


2015 Philadelphia train derailment, Investigation and NTSB findings
Investigators are focusing on why the train entered the curve too fast; it passed 70 mph (110 km/h) at 65 seconds before the wreck, 100 mph (160 km/h) just 16 seconds before, and the emergency brake was applied just seconds before the wreck. All of the locomotives' controls could only be manipulated manually by the engineer when it derailed. The engine was not aging equipment as it was only a year old and had no reported history of unintended acceleration. Bostian was not talking on the phone, texting or using smartphone data during the accident, nor was he using alcohol or drugs. The NTSB has told Congress that human error is a likely factor.


2015 Philadelphia train derailment, Investigation and NTSB findings
Bostian's lawyer said that his client does not recall much about the accident because of a concussion he sustained in the wreck, but that "he remembers coming into a curve. He remembers attempting to reduce speed and thereafter he was knocked out." The NTSB interviewed Bostian on May 15, who said he had "no recollection" of events after the train passed North Philadelphia station. Lead NTSB investigator Robert Sumwalt said Bostian was "extremely cooperative". Earlier, Sumwalt had said, "for somebody who's been through a traumatic event, this is not at all unusual for human behavior to have the mind blank out things like that, at least for the short term."


2015 Philadelphia train derailment, Investigation and NTSB findings
According to The New York Times Magazine, investigators focused on two possibilities: that a rock hit the windshield of the locomotive and caused Bostian to be distracted or disoriented, or that he mistakenly believed he was in a different curve. Both would result in Bostian losing situational awareness and allowing the train to enter the curve too fast.


2015 Philadelphia train derailment, Investigation and NTSB findings
At a hearing on May 17, 2016, the National Transportation Safety Board reported that the primary cause of the derailment was a loss of situational awareness by the train's operator, likely caused by distracting radio chatter from a nearby SEPTA train that had experienced an emergency situation. Someone had thrown a rock at the SEPTA train's windshield, shattering it and blinding the conductor. This distraction resulted in the operator believing he was further down the track than he was, thus accelerating the train before the curve rather than after it.


2015 Philadelphia train derailment, Investigation and NTSB findings
The board concluded that the accident would have been entirely prevented if the line had been equipped with positive train control, which would have recognized and applied the appropriate speed limit, and chairman Christopher A. Hart called on federal railroad regulators to "end this list of PTC preventable fatalities and injuries right now."


2015 Philadelphia train derailment, Response of politicians
Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter said of the wreck, "It is an absolute disastrous mess." Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf said, "Anything that the state can do, we stand ready to do that." Amtrak was "deeply saddened by the loss of life from Amtrak Northeast Regional Train 188," according to a statement released on May 13. Vice President Joe Biden said, "Amtrak is like a second family to me, as it is for so many other passengers." He said he had taken about 8,000 Amtrak trips to and from Washington during his career.


2015 Philadelphia train derailment, Response of politicians
President Barack Obama, in his statement following the accident, said:


2015 Philadelphia train derailment, Response of politicians
Along with Americans across our country, Michelle and I were shocked and deeply saddened to hear of the derailment aboard Amtrak Train 188. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families and friends of those we lost last night, and to the many passengers who today begin their long road to recovery. Along the Northeast Corridor, Amtrak is a way of life for many. From Washington, DC and Philadelphia to New York City, this is a tragedy that touches us all.


2015 Philadelphia train derailment, Response of politicians
As we work to determine exactly what happened, I commend the fire, police and medical personnel working tirelessly and professionally to save lives. Philadelphia is known as the city of brotherly love – a city of neighborhoods and neighbors – and that spirit of loving-kindness was reaffirmed last night, as hundreds of first responders and passengers lent a hand to their fellow human beings in need.


2015 Philadelphia train derailment, Response of politicians
The day following the derailment, the U.S. House Appropriations Committee passed a measure to cut $260 million from Amtrak's $1.36 billion budget for the next fiscal year. Democrat Nita Lowey said, "While we don't know the cause of this accident, we do know that starving rail of funding will not enable safer train travel." In the same meeting, some Republicans criticized Democrats for linking the budget to the wreck. Idaho Rep. Mike Simpson admonished the Democrats for taking advantage of the situation, saying, "Don't use this tragedy in that way. It was beneath you."


2015 Philadelphia train derailment, Resulting changes
As a result of the derailment and in particular the inability of the engineer to remember the wreck, Amtrak installed inward-facing cameras in its locomotives in 2015 and 2016, recording the actions of engineers before any future accidents. Amtrak completed installation of the ACSES positive train control system on the entire Northeast Corridor between Washington and Boston in December 2015.


2015 Philadelphia train derailment, Litigation
While § 161(a) of the "Amtrak Reform and Accountability Act of 1997" (ARAA) capped the total liability (including for punitive damages) of Amtrak and all other defendants in any single passenger train accident at $200 million, a Bill (S. 1360) introduced by US Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) on May 18, 2015, would if passed raise that limit to $500 million retroactive to May 12, 2015, the date of the Philadelphia derailment. If the ARAA imposed statutory liability limit proves insufficient to cover all damages and it is not raised by Congress, however, some plaintiffs' attorneys have already stated that the constitutionality of the $200 million cap would be challenged.