These are the new COVID-19 restrictions in Philly and N.J. | Morning Newsletter
And, inside Trump’s week of devastating losses in court.
The Morning Newsletter
Start your day with the Philly news you need and the stories you want all in one easy-to-read newsletter
Good morning.
First: Philadelphia and New Jersey have both offered new restrictions on gatherings and business operations as coronavirus cases surge in the region.
Then: Courtroom losses have devastated President Donald Trump’s legal attempts to contest the election results in Pennsylvania. The suits haven’t provided any evidence of a vote being deliberately cast illegally.
And: One of President-elect Biden’s dogs will make history when the family moves into the White House in January.
— Josh Rosenblat (@joshrosenblat, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
Philadelphia announced it will shut down the following starting Friday (and through at least Jan. 1) due to the increasing spread of COVID-19:
indoor dining, which “could spell doom" for Philly eateries, according to restaurateurs.
gyms.
public and private gatherings, which means no fans at Eagles games.
Click here for full guidelines and restrictions in Philly.
New Jersey is tightening its rules on indoor and outdoor crowd numbers, officials announced yesterday, impacting potential Thanksgiving festivities scheduled for next week.
Click here for full guidelines and restrictions in New Jersey.
Pennsylvania and New Jersey officials both urged folks to keep Thanksgiving gatherings as small as possible. But, Pennsylvania has not yet made any official changes to its established statewide restrictions.
Click here for full guidelines and restrictions in Pennsylvania.
What you need to know today
A week of courtroom losses has devastated the Trump campaign’s legal push to contest Pennsylvania’s election results. From my colleague Jeremy Roebubuck: “None of the suits his campaign has filed so far has contained even one allegation — let alone evidence — of a single vote being deliberately cast illegally.”
“Without additional federal relief to stem losses from the pandemic as well as long-term funding solutions to ensure SEPTA’s longevity, extreme measures, including service cuts, layoffs and fare increases, are on the table,” reports my colleague Patricia Madej in a story stemming from an hour-long interview with SEPTA General Manager Leslie Richards.
Federal appeals judges heard arguments yesterday in the U.S. Attorney’s office bid to block the nation’s first supervised injection site from opening in Philadelphia.
Back in 2005, Penn scientists started laying the groundwork for an approach used to make today’s coronavirus vaccines.
Spotlight PA has learned that the federal government rejected a plan for Pennsylvania to spend $300 million in stimulus money to help lower property taxes.
Through your eyes | #OurPhilly
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That’s interesting
😋 You can watch a behind-the-scenes video from our Let’s Eat, Philly cover shoot and a video that highlights some of the spots and people featured in this year’s dining guide.
👀 Take a look at the Flyers' retro jersey.
🍩 A new doughnut shop is opening in South Philly after getting a James Beard Award nomination while it operated out of a temporary stand at a New Jersey farmer’s market two years ago.
📕 The life of this Philly insurance salesman is unremarkable. He wrote a memoir anyway and wants to sell it to you, aggressively.
⚽ A 29-year-old West Chester native is trying to return Venice to Italy’s soccer spotlight.
Opinions
“Many of us breathed a sigh of relief when election results were called. But that sigh is accompanied by the grim knowledge that a ‘return to normal’ is not possible — and for most of us, ‘normal’ wasn’t livable, either. As we return to calls for ‘unity’ and ‘healing division,’ we remember that the more palatable politicians like Biden didn’t put food on our tables, either.” — writes Eric Jenkins, a Black activist in Philadelphia and member of Socialist Alternative, about the work still to be done in Philadelphia.
Many Philadelphians' could lose their ability to get paid sick leave in less than two months. The Inquirer Editorial Board writes that City Council must fix that — fast.
Mayors from Erie to Philly and in between shared their hopes for how Biden will change Pennsylvania.
What we’re reading
The New Yorker writes about the scene outside the Convention Center on Nov. 5, which included Trump supporters protesting vote counting, Biden supporters blasting music, and some Philadelphians just wanting all of it to stop.
Esquire reported out an oral history of what was going on at CNN during election week.
An Ina Garten profile? Sign me up. Here’s one the New York Times published yesterday.
Your Daily Dose of | Top dogs
Meet Joe Biden’s German shepherds, who are "about to make the White House warm and furry again,” my colleague Alfred Lubrano writes. Major will become the first shelter animal to live at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. And 12-year-old Champ will join him in January.