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.
It’s the first day of winter. Naturally, resident weather expert Tony Wood has us covered with some snowy considerations at the solstice.
In today’s main story, a young man’s family longs for answers two years after his untimely death.
— Paola Pérez (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
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This story contains references to suicide. If you or someone you know is thinking of suicide, call or text 988.
Terrence Butler was locked in a battle with himself. His death at his own hands in August 2023 was core-shaking to those who knew and cared for him.
In the two years that followed, his loved ones have tried to piece together why he had killed himself.
Terrence’s family supported his academic and extracurricular dreams. He played for the Drexel men’s basketball team after making a big impression on coach Zach Spiker, who recruited Terrence immediately after seeing him play a pickup game.
But near the end of his freshman year, Terrence was contemplating his dedication to the sport. He loved it for play, not for business. He had overcome multiple setbacks and injuries, and his mother, Dena, trusted her son could handle what might come his way.
Still, no one saw the signs. Trying to anticipate when someone may take their life or to get a concrete explanation for why they did it is a frustrating conundrum that can feel next to impossible to grasp.
In Dena’s own words: “What I struggle with the most to understand in all this, is that my son was devoid of hope, that he was in such despair, and he didn’t want anybody to help him.”
The night Terrence died, his family found his journal and hoped they might understand his state of mind.
Read the full story from sportswriter Mike Sielski, and hear from Terrence’s family in this video as they reflect on spreading mental health awareness through his memory.
With the astronomical winter upon us, Tony Wood is here to remind us what to expect in the short and long term:
☀️ Sunday is the shortest day of the year. Come Monday, we will gain two (yes, just two) more seconds.
❄️ The dream of a “white Christmas” may be a long shot. Officially, it’s about a 1-in-10 chance in any given year.
🌕 The night skies will soon glow brighter as the last of four consecutive “super moons” rises in two weeks.
Read along for more of Wood’s seasonal thoughts at the solstice, including a snowy anniversary coming up in January.
What you should know today
Philadelphia police are investigating two hit-and-run crashes that left a pedestrian and a bicyclist dead.
Thousands of households in Philadelphia’s collar counties were without power Saturday after wind gusts downed trees and caused hundreds of electrical outages throughout the region.
A West Philadelphia man who set a fatal fire in the midst of a tumultuous breakup, killing his ex-girlfriend’s disabled sister, was convicted Friday of first-degree murder.
A $17,000 grant will help teenagers from nonprofit Klean Kensington turn a trash-filled lot into a public garden.
The deaths of four undocumented immigrants being held in federal detention facilities, including in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, have sparked an outcry among advocates and a U.S. senator. Meanwhile in Delaware, Gov. Matt Meyer has stepped in to the case of a 52-year-old disabled Ecuadoran immigrant.
Philadelphia’s nonprofit Senior Law Center has taken over two of the programs that the Center for Advocacy for the Rights and Interests of the Elderly operated before it abruptly shut down around Thanksgiving.
Temple University will offer a voluntary retirement program for faculty as it attempts to close a budget deficit. The university also plans to increase its patrol officer ranks by 58% over five years after a study on police staffing levels suggested the school is understaffed.
State College police underreported hundreds of rapes over the span of a decade in the central Pennsylvania community, leading to highly inaccurate data, according to a new Spotlight PA investigation.
Pennsylvania’s fledgling State Board of Higher Education on Thursday rolled out its first strategic plan to improve college affordability and increase the number of people who complete degrees.
Alycia Marshall will earn $295,000 as the new president of Community College of Philadelphia under terms of a contract approved by the board of trustees Friday.
❓Pop quiz
What was the most popular book borrowed across all Philly library branches this year?
A) Dog Man: Big Jim Begins by Dave Pilkey
B) The Wedding People by Alison Espach
C) The God of the Woods by Liz Moore
D) Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins
Think you know? Check your answer.
🧩 Unscramble the anagram
Hint: Popular Philadelphia-based company that crafts inclusive, custom engagement rings with responsibly sourced stones
JERSEY LEEWAY MICHELL
Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here.
Cheers to Jim Kelly-Evans, who correctly guessed Saturday’s answer: Mummers Parade. Ahead of Philly’s iconic New Year’s Day celebration, check out our guide for details on road closures, the parade route, and how you can take part.
This is Gary, Philly’s version of a milkman, but for tiny fish eggs. He delivers thousands of dollars’ worth of caviar to the city’s top restaurants, an effort he likens to “supplying paint to Michelangelo.” Here’s why chefs made him their go-to caviar guy.
🎶 Today’s track goes like this: “Who knew the hard times were the good ol’ days?” I was happy to see Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party among the honorable mentions in Dan DeLuca’s favorite pop albums of the year. See who made the pop critic’s list.
👋🏽 Julie will be back in your inbox bright and early tomorrow. Until then, have a great Sunday.