The Joe Frazier statue that's stood in South Philly for more than a decade has landed at the base of the Philadelphia Museum of Art's steps.

Why it matters: "Smokin' Joe" is getting one of the city's most prominent public stages, taking over the site once occupied by Philly's Rocky statue.

The big picture: The addition to the art museum footprint — joining a loaned Rocky statue at the top of the steps — caps a yearslong battle to spotlight Philly's adopted son and heavyweight champion of the world.

• The competing Rocky-Frazier narratives have duked it out among their supporters in Philly for decades.
• Frazier, an African American, is Philly's top real-life boxer: An Olympic gold medalist who improbably rose to the sport's pantheon of fighters. He also trained in the city and on the art museum steps.
• But it is Rocky Balboa — a white, fictional boxer — who has become the city's most recognizable fighter, synonymous with Philly's underdog spirit and grit.

What they're saying: "We will forever remember that the city got right what it had got wrong for a long, long time," Mayor Parker said at yesterday's unveiling, noting Frazier's story helped to inspire Sylvester Stallone's character.

• "If you never thought that telling the truth about history has mattered — so many people wouldn't be trying to stop us from documenting [it] in a very formal way," Parker said, referring to Frazier's story.

The intrigue: Whether the so-called Rocky steps will become known as the Rocky-Fraizer steps.

• The city's original Rocky statue — which was featured in "Rocky III" and is part of an exhibit inside the museum — will be relocated to the top of the steps in the fall.

Zoom out: The Frazier relocation comes as the city works to diversify its public art.

• That includes the Octavius Catto Memorial outside City Hall and forthcoming statues of Harriet Tubman and Sadie Alexander.

1 cool thing: The Rocky Shop by the art museum steps is selling Frazier merch, including T-shirts ($34), hats ($35) and a replica championship belt ($285).

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Philadelphia is bracing for a "heat dome" that's expected to bring dangerously high temperatures ahead of the city's biggest party of the year.

Why it matters: As many as 1 million people could flock to Philly for the Fourth of July, when a massive concert will kick off alongside a World Cup knockout match, followed by a fireworks show.

The big picture: Philly expects to hit the 100s on Thursday and Friday for the first time this summer. Saturday could see a high near 101, with a chance of showers and storms for the festivities, per NWS.

• Scorching heat hasn't been a big factor in Philly's World Cup matches so far — but rain has. Last week's France-Iraq match was the first of the tournament to be delayed because of weather.
• FIFA already works two three-minute hydration breaks during matches to help combat the heat. The governing body hasn't outlined any temperature threshold that would trigger a delay or suspension of play, per the Athletic.

Meanwhile, Philly is likely to issue a heat advisory, like it did earlier this month, that opens cooling centers and activates other citywide resources to keep people safe.

What they're saying: The high temperatures, "combined with high humidity, will result in heat indices approaching or exceeding 105-110 in many places," NOAA forecasters write.

• "Overnight lows will also be quite warm, with some record high minimums possible, bringing little to no relief from the heat in the nighttime hours."

Threat level: Such conditions affect "anyone without cooling/hydration as well as health systems, industries, and infrastructure."

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✈️ A man who is blind says airline staff abandoned him after his flight was canceled when traveling through Philadelphia International Airport.

• Disability advocates say Tony Maglione's experience is unfortunately all too common. American Airlines says it rebooked Maglione's flight and provided him with a hotel stay. (CBS)

A contractor was injured after an explosion rocked a house under renovation in the Philly suburbs yesterday.

• Police are looking into the possibility that a propane tank may have had a role in the explosion. (6ABC)

🗣️ Quote du jour:

"We will do our job, and we'll do our duty, and we'll review it, but it's also important to understand that this isn't a quest to prove someone wrong. It's a quest to ensure that all parties are zealously advocated for."

Philadelphia-based Comcast is splitting into two publicly traded companies — separating its media assets from wireless and broadband services.

Why it matters: Any changes to the telecommunications giant could have an outsized effect on the city, where it ranks among Philly's largest companies and employers.

State of play: As part of the plan announced Monday, Comcast will spin off NBCUniversal and Sky from its high-growth technology and connectivity business, Axios' Sara Fischer reports.

• The split is expected to take about a year.

Between the lines: Over the next year, Comcast's staffing and footprint in Philly are not expected to significantly change. (After that, it's TBD.)

• That's because Comcast has a small number of NBC employees in Philly — limited to NBC10 and NBC Sports Philadelphia. The bulk of NBC employees are based in New York City and Los Angeles.
• Meanwhile, Comcast is in the midst of expanding its Xfinity Mobile services.

The big picture: The separation underscores the pressure that media companies face to evolve as technology upends the way consumers engage with content.

• In 2018, Comcast outbid Fox to buy Sky in the U.K. for $40 billion to scale its entertainment and media footprint in a bid to compete with tech.
• Earlier this year, Comcast completed the spinoff of NBCUniversal's cable networks into a separate, publicly traded company, Versant Media.

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