Testing Philly’s contaminated drug supply | Morning Newsletter
And the race for mayor (unofficially) begins.
The Morning Newsletter
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Expect mostly clear skies with a high of 82.
In today’s newsletter:
Increased security 🚨: FBI offices are on high alert after two men with Pennsylvania ties separately attacked two location days after the search of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate.
The mayor’s race🗳️: Allan Domb, a two-term at-large City Council member, resigned from his current post but stopped short of declaring his mayoral candidacy.
Missing hurricanes💧: This year’s hurricane season has been calm ... for now. Forecasters expect that to change.
— Taylor Allen (@TayImanAllen, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
Inside the sprawling complex of NMS Labs in Horsham, scientists are testing Philly’s contaminated drug supply. The company’s nonprofit arm, the Center for Forensic Science Research and Education, is partnering with the Philadelphia Department of Health to help officials learn what’s in the city’s drug supply.
The toxicology lab, one of the largest in the country, is accustomed to testing blood and tissue samples for a host of substances to help clinicians, law enforcement, and medical examiners’ offices investigate everything from suspicious deaths to suspected arsenic exposures.
But over the last decade, as the overdose crisis worsened, the lab has been cataloging overdoses in the hundreds of thousands of samples it receives each year. It also helps identify contaminants in the drug supply.
The city’s drug supply is increasingly contaminated with synthetic opioids such as fentanyl and xylazine, an animal tranquilizer. Nearly all of the city’s overdose deaths now involve fentanyl, a once-rare powerful additive to the region’s heroin.
Reporter Aubrey Whalen has the story.
What you should know today
Amber Heard hired a Philadelphia law firm for her appeal after losing the defamation trial brought by her ex-husband, Johnny Depp, who claimed she lied about domestic abuse.
The FBI is bolstering security after two men with Pennsylvania ties orchestrated separate attacks on the FBI office in Cincinnati and the Capitol building in Washington following last week’s search of former President Donald Trump’s Florida estate.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy ended COVID-19 testing mandate for teachers, child-care workers, and state contractors.
Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse broke Philly’sFair Workweek law by failing to give workers 14 days’ notice of their schedules in early 2021. It now has to pay workers $24,500.
SEPTA Regional Rail schedules are changing Aug. 21.
Here’s everything we know about the fatal car crash at the fund-raiser for the fire victims in Berwick, Pa.
Local coronavirus numbers: Here’s your daily look at the latest COVID-19 data.
Philadelphia City Councilmember Allan Domb resigned Monday and said he is considering a run for mayor, the first major step of any contender who may throw a hat in the ring for next year’s race.
The real estate magnate stopped short of declaring his candidacy, but he is the first elected official to step down from his current tole to potentially run for mayor. The city charter requires city officeholders to quit their jobs to seek another office.
The announcement could set off a cascade of developments among what is expected to be a crowded field. Although no one has formally declared candidacy, several Democrats are considering it and a handful have already begun assembling teams of operatives behind the scenes.
Reporters Anna Orso and Sean Collins Walsh have more.
🧠 Philly Trivia Time 🧠
This year’s hurricane season has been pretty benign (so far). No hurricane has formed in the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, or the Gulf of Mexico as of Monday. Question: This is the first time this has happened in how many years?
A. Five
B. Seven
C. Ten
D. Three
Find out if you know the answer.
What we’re...
🎶 Reading: This week’s DeLuca’s 5 Picks.
💵 Learning: How Medicare drug costs could change under the Inflation Reduction Act.
✈️ Remembering: The one-year anniversary of the fall of Kabul, which resulted in a mass evacuation. Philadelphia served as the nation’s main arrival point, welcoming more than 30,000 Afghans to the country and hundreds living in the city.
🧩 Unscramble the Anagram 🧩
A Jackass star with West Chester roots
ABE GRAMMAR
Think you know? Send your guess our way at morningnewsletter@inquirer.com. We’ll give a shoutout to a reader at random who answers correctly. Today’s shoutout goes to Ashley Anyu, who correctly guessed Bobby Flay as Monday’s answer.
Photo of the day
That’s all from me. See you back here tomorrow!