🌡️ Bucks as political thermometer | Morning Newsletter
And Penn Medicine spends big on cancer centers.
The Morning Newsletter
Start your day with the Philly news you need and the stories you want all in one easy-to-read newsletter
Morning, Philly. Look up: Comet Lemmon will appear in the region’s skies the next several evenings.
“Philly crime” and the specter of Donald Trump are dominating two Bucks County law enforcement races. Their results will be a sort of political thermometer ahead of the 2026 midterms.
And the University of Pennsylvania Health System is investing more than $500 million in new cancer facilities amid rising regional competition.
Plus, Michael Days, who led the Philadelphia Daily News during its 2010 Pulitzer Prize win for investigative reporting, has died at 72. Read on for these stories and more.
— Julie Zeglen (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
P.S. Today is the last day to register to vote in the Nov. 4 general election. See The Inquirer’s Philly voters guide for more dates to know.
If someone forwarded you this email, sign up for free here.
Violent crime is way down from its pandemic highs in Philadelphia. But you wouldn’t know it from Republicans’ digital ads for the sheriff and district attorney races urging voters to “keep Philly crime out of Bucks County.”
🌡️ The tactic follows the playbook of President Donald Trump, who has made exaggerated claims about crime in blue cities throughout his presidency.
🌡️ Democrats, meanwhile, seek to portray the GOP incumbents as Trump allies and thus inspire voters who are frustrated with national politics to turn out as a sort of protest.
🌡️ These tensions in the purple suburban county, which Trump narrowly won last November, mean the local races will be a temperature check on how swing voters are responding to his second term as well as to gauge their enthusiasm ahead of the 2026 midterms.
Reporters Katie Bernard and Vinny Vella have the story on Bucks candidates’ stances and strategies.
In other government news: Pennsylvania state government relies on H-1B workers. Trump wants to charge employers $100,000 for those visas. And U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick of Pennsylvania has joined fellow Senate Republicans in urging top health officials in the Trump administration to rescind approval for an abortion pill.
Following years of growth, Penn Medicine, the region’s biggest provider of cancer care and a national leader in developing new treatments, is spending more than $500 million on two new cancer facilities in Philadelphia and central New Jersey.
Other regional health systems are expanding their cancer services, too, especially in the suburbs, as more patients seek care closer to home.
The trend comes amid financial pressure to increase revenue — and as cancer diagnoses rise.
Reporter Harold Brubaker explains the business of cancer care.
More health news: A cold triggered an autoimmune disease in a Pennsylvania man. Now he’s channeling his challenges into advocacy for people with rare diseases.
What you should know today
DNA analysis confirmed Sunday that the body recovered the day before in East Germantown is that of 23-year-old Kada Scott, according to law enforcement sources. New details also emerged about what led investigators to her remains.
Billionaire Marc Rowan made secret large donations to the University of Pennsylvania, where he heads Wharton’s advisory board, after he led campaigns to oust leaders and urged alumni to stop donating.
New Jersey’s first Hispanic federal judge, U.S. District Judge Joseph H. Rodriguez, has retired after 40 years on the bench.
Temple University’s main campus fell about 700 students short of its enrollment projection, which translates to about $10 million in lost revenue. Plus: The school recently received a record $55 million gift from an alumnus whose application almost didn’t get accepted.
SEPTA must inspect 225 Silverliner IV Regional Rail trains by the end of October. As of Friday, the transit agency had inspected 58.
A new study found that access to youth sports is unequal in Philadelphia. The city is looking to change that.
Former defensive end Brandon Graham is considering ending his retirement and rejoining the Eagles, league sources told The Inquirer.
Singer David Byrne, amid three shows at the Met Philadelphia, attended the city’s “No Kings” march on Saturday. “I wanted to be here for this,” a fan recalled him saying.
Michael Days, the award-winning journalist who led the Philadelphia Daily News and Philadelphia Inquirer in various roles over a celebrated career, died suddenly on Saturday at the age of 72 in Trenton.
A longtime mentor to young journalists and past president of the National Association of Black Journalists’ Philadelphia chapter, Days is remembered by former colleagues and peers as a respected leader and steadfast advocate of his team.
“He was the kind of person who wanted to serve,” his wife, Angela Dodson, said Sunday. “People could talk to him, and he had something wise to say.”
Read more on Days’ life and legacy.
🧠 Trivia time
The creator of which notable work received the National Constitution Center’s prestigious Liberty Medal on Friday?
A) Hamilton the musical
B) Hamnet the film
C) Fat Ham the play
D) Hamilton the biography
Think you know? Check your answer.
What we’re...
🗺️ Mapping: The local spots in the Task season finale, including the Media courthouse. (Psst: The show has a bittersweet ending — just as Berwyn-based creator Brad Ingelsby intended.)
🚨 Noting: These five things contributing to Philly’s improved homicide clearance rate.
📜 Learning about: This program that helps Philly homeowners write wills to protect their properties.
🌲 Plotting a visit to: This Bucks County couple’s architectural retreat in the woods.
👐 Considering: How threats to immigrant workers impact the communities that depend on their labor.
🧩 Unscramble the anagram
Hint: Philadelphia restaurateur
CREASE JOGS
Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here.
Cheers to Dana Carter, who solved Sunday’s anagram: Pemberton. A soybean farmer in the Burlington County borough says his job is harder now because of warehouses, rising costs, and tariffs. He’s determined to adapt and endure.
Photo of the day
The latest in our How I Bought My House series features a family of eight who made a few compromises, but ultimately found a haven on a quiet block.
📬 Your ‘only in Philly’ story
Think back to the night that changed your life that could only happen in Philly, a true example of the Philly spirit, the time you finally felt like you belonged in Philly if you’re not a lifer, something that made you fall in love with Philly all over again — or proud to be from here if you are. Then email it to us for a chance to be featured in the Monday edition of this newsletter.
This “only in Philly” story comes from reader Diane Page, who describes a memorable exchange:
Walked into a tiny bakery in South Philly. “How long you been here?” I inquire. “99 years next month,” the counterman says. I peruse the baked goods. “I’ll take one of these rolls.” “Just one?” he asks. “Yep,” I say. “What, ya havin’ a party?” was the deadpan reply.
I’d been baptized with that Philly attitude, fell in love with the city right then and there.
May you fall in love with Philadelphia anew today. See you back here tomorrow.
By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirer’s Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10.