A glimpse into a weekend of gun violence | Morning Newsletter
And how abortion bans impact Pa.
The Morning Newsletter
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The weather will be mostly sunny with a high of 89, but you might want to bring along an umbrella. There’s a 30% chance of thunderstorms.
Gun violence makes headlines most days, and for good reason. The relentless epidemic is at crisis level, and has been for some time. It’s the reason the city has biweekly gun violence briefings and why spending on programs to combat it surged (although it’s hard to see progress when there are no clear goals).
Today’s lead story shows a snapshot of the trauma that has become the norm.
— Taylor Allen (@TayImanAllen, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
This year’s pace of gun violence is worse than last year’s.
To put that in context, more than 560 people were killed in homicides in 2021 — the overwhelming majority by guns — and 1,800 more were wounded by gunfire. It was the city’s most violent year ever.
This summer alone was the deadliest on record, with nearly eight people a day, on average, getting shot between Memorial Day and Labor Day.
That rate is twice that of five years ago, with more women and children shot than ever before.
From Friday evening Aug. 5 through late Sunday, Aug. 7, 20 people were shot.
Inquirer journalists visited the scene of every shooting during a single weekend in nearly real time. The story also traces the weeks that followed as they attended funerals, spoke with survivors trying to heal, visited with neighbors afraid to leave their homes, and tried to understand why the shootings occurred.
Follow our reporters through a devastating, but typical, weekend in Philadelphia.
After the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to abortion, Pennsylvania clinics hired more doctors, extended their hours, and hustled to get time-sensitive care for an influx of out-of-state patients.
The crux: Despite limited resources, Pennsylvania is becoming the closest abortion care option for thousands of people.
The scope: Nearby states — Kentucky, Indiana, and West Virginia — have instituted complete or near-total bans on abortion. Kentucky has no exception for rape or incest.
Near-total bans in Michigan and Ohio have been blocked by state courts for now.
Pittsburgh’s clinics will become the closest provider for more than three times as many women as before the Supreme Court ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson, in a region that includes Columbus and Cleveland.
Important numbers: Providers anticipated a 25% increase in out-of-state patients, which is roughly 8,500 more people.
There are 17 abortion clinics in Pennsylvania, but the vast majority are clustered in the Philadelphia area. To compare, the state had more than 100 in the 1970s.
Keep reading to find out the impact happening now and a glimpse of what’s to come.
What you should know today
As meth overdoses spike in N.J. and Pennsylvania, advocates call for better treatment for people who use stimulants.
Cooper University Health Care is to announce a $2 billion expansion of its Camden campus.
Pennsylvania waived the basic skills requirement for educators in hopes of attracting more teachers to fight the staffing shortage.
Local coronavirus numbers: Here’s your daily look at the latest COVID-19 data.
Two years ago, West Philadelphia High started using Yondr pouches, sealed magnetic devices that allow students to keep phones in their possession but inaccessible until unlocked at the end of the day.
The results: Kids are paying attention and interacting in ways they hadn’t before.
Nationally, most public schools prohibit cell phone usage for nonacademic purposes and 77% have phone bans of some kind. However, schools’ rules are often inconsistently applied.
The Philadelphia School District allows schools to set their own technology polices but more are moving to ban them.
Reporter Kristen Graham breaks down varying phone policies in Philly schools and their impact on students’ engagement.
What we’re...
🎧 Listening to: Omar Apollo’s Tiny Desk concert.
👀 Watching: How thousands of Comcast employees returning to the office will impact downtown businesses as they recover from the pandemic.
📰 Reading: A “Where are they now?” follow-up story about five high school seniors The Inquirer originally profiled 35 years ago.
🧩 Unscramble the Anagram 🧩
Hint: a Halloween pop-up bar
ALBERTINE FIRTHES GNOME
Think you know? Send your guess our way at morningnewsletter@inquirer.com. We’ll give a shout-out to a reader at random who answers correctly. Today’s shout-out goes to Sheryl Shapiro, who correctly guessed Ocean City as Sunday’s answer.
Photo of the Day
That’s all I have for Monday. I’m starting my day with an extra shot of espresso in my coffee ☕. I’ll see you the same time tomorrow.