The Morning Newsletter
Start your day with the Philly news you need and the stories you want all in one easy-to-read newsletter
Welcome to Saturday. Sunshine is expected to return today.
It feels like December outside. Would you go to an Eagles game in these conditions, or worse? A reader is torn over wanting to break family tradition, so here’s what Inquirer staffers had to say.
Plus, there’s news on the potential future of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Friday’s abrupt ground stop of all flights nationwide, and our report card for this week in Philly stories.
— Paola Pérez (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
If someone forwarded you this email, sign up for free here.
What you should know today
The Federal Aviation Administration grounded all flights nationwide Friday afternoon due to communications problems at air traffic control centers, leading to hundreds of flight delays at Philadelphia International Airport.
Two rare November tornadoes touched down in the Philly region on Thursday, according to the National Weather Service. Hard freezes are expected over the next several mornings.
Drexel University has agreed to a review funded by the William Penn Foundation and other philanthropies for a set of studies to produce a vision for the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University. There is no guarantee of the museum’s reopening.
Pennsylvania health confirmed a seventh death tied to the state’s measles outbreak, the nation’s worst in decades.
U.S. Rep.-elect Chris Rabb took a neutral approach when asked about a controversial pro-Palestinian protest that targeted six Jewish-owned restaurants near Rittenhouse Square last weekend.
A former top executive at the Philadelphia Museum of Art admitted to using corporate credit cards to make tens of thousands of dollars in personal purchases.
Philadelphia City Council bowed to community pressure and paused consideration of a zoning bill backed by Mayor Cherelle L. Parker that would add modest amounts of residential capacity to neighborhood commercial corridors.
From debates over the Gobbler’s origins to the loss of South Philly’s standing orange cat, catch up on the good, bad, and weird from recent stories out of Philly.
This week’s question is: My family has a holiday tradition of seeing the Eagles every December. Every December it is FREEZING and my toes feel like they’re going to fall off. I’ve been good with it in recent years because the Eagles have been good. Now... that is not the case. They are bad. Very bad. And tickets are still not cheap! How do I convince my family it’s really not worth it? I’m hoping they secretly harbor the same desire.
To tackle this dilemma, we tapped in life and culture writers Jason Nark and Mike Newall. They considered how watching the team play in the bitter cold obviously won’t feel amazing, but it may equally feel bad to catch heat for blowing off the plan.
“I do think you should go to the game, regardless,” Nark said. “The fact that the team is terrible, in some ways, could make the family time a bit more enjoyable.”
Between mulling on a handful of their own family traditions, Nark and Newall also suggested new rituals to consider. Maybe watch the action from home with little tiny roast pork sandwiches, or at a bar over good beer and wing specials. There’s always the Flyers, too. (Still cold, yes, but cheaper than the Sixers.)
Read their full conversation here. Need advice, or want to share your thoughts? We want to hear it. Email us here.
Pictured above is the 1100 block of Ruby Street, one of the blocks with the highest new property tax assessments in the city.
In this week’s Shackamaxon, Inquirer columnist Daniel Pearson unpacks ongoing debates over valuations.
“For years, Philadelphia used out-of-date valuations that left some paying far too much and others paying far too little,” Pearson writes. “To some, however, regular reassessment simply feels unfair.”
Read on for Pearson’s perspective on contentious assessments, along with other political happenings around Philly and Harrisburg.
❓Pop quiz
Who tops the list of the most-searched Wikipedia pages of celebrities born in Chester County?
A) Charlie McDermott
B) Adriana Chechik
C) Johnny Weir
D) Miles Teller
Think you know? Check your answer.
🧩 Unscramble the anagram
Hint: One of Philly’s largest building contractors
COLUMNISTS RECONNECT
Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here.
Cheers to Jack Zaborowski, who correctly guessed Friday’s answer: University of Pennsylvania. The founding of Pennsylvania’s first school of higher learning, that would ultimately become the University of Pennsylvania and America’s first university, will be celebrated this Saturday as part of the Philadelphia Historic District’s “firstival.”
We were there
Sam Janesch, The Inquirer’s national politics reporter, was in the room Friday when Gov. Josh Shapiro acknowledged a potential run for president in 2028.
Speaking to a gathering of Democratic Party heavy hitters in Denver, Shapiro addressed the speculation he has waved off for months, calling the decision a “personal” one he will make with his wife and children. Get Janesch’s full dispatch here.
Somewhere on the internet in Philly
🍁 A Reddit user shared dreamy film photos of what fall looks like across our fair city.
🥊 Hugh E. Dillon posted a video of a whole lot of Rocky Balboas gathered at the Philadelphia Museum of Art steps on Friday. The Inquirer’s Earl Hopkins has the story on the clones’ quest to break a Guinness World Record.
🔔 And whatever happened to the old red sign welcoming travelers at PHL? “we, the people, want the sign BACK!!!” Turns out a new mosaic took its place.
👋🏽 Thanks for stopping by. Have a good one, and I’ll catch up with you again 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.
