The Morning Newsletter
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Happy Wednesday, Philly. Patchy morning fog should burn off by midmorning and be replaced later in the day by clouds. Highs remain stubbornly in the mid-60s.
Today, we’re starting with a look at how a shoddy case let a man now accused of killing a Philadelphia police officer slip away.
Then, we’ll hit the campaign trail in Bucks County for the homestretch in one of the year’s most consequential congressional races.
Plus, a pop-up museum is for sale, and more news of the day.
— Laura Benshoff (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
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Eric Lewis, the man now charged with killing a Philadelphia police officer and severely injuring another, was previously accused of a road rage killing in West Philly. That case fell apart, and he walked free in 2023.
The Inquirer has now obtained and reviewed hundreds of pages of records from that earlier trial. They reveal serious issues with the police investigation and prosecution, including:
A police detective assigned to the case failed to submit a warrant for Lewis’ cell phone records, a key piece of evidence that could have shown his location at the time of the crime.
A police officer who initially provided information linking Lewis to the crime later became engaged to Lewis’ sister. He then changed his story and made up another suspect, one he called “Spice.”
Judge J. Scott O’Keefe ultimately acquitted Lewis, deciding there wasn’t enough credible evidence to convict him. O’Keefe then took the unusual step of writing to a letter to police department leadership to draw attention to “numerous irregularities” with the investigation.
Inquirer justice reporters Ellie Rushing and Chris Palmer cover what happened next.
At a Saturday town hall in Levittown, a few Democrats nervously pressed congressional candidate Bob Harvie over whether he’s doing enough to compete with five-term Republican incumbent Brian Fitzpatrick in Bucks County’s 1st District.
“I’ve been left wondering, like, is Bob a fighter?” one resident asked.
Voter anxiety and determination are high because the stakes are. The 1st District is one of four U.S. House seats in Pennsylvania that are in play on Tuesday. New polling from The Inquirer/New York Times/Siena University shows Harvie with a slight lead over Fitzpatrick, although within the margin of error. The winners of these races could determine which party controls the U.S. House of Representatives.
About 20 minutes from Harvie’s town hall, Fitzpatrick held his own rally with local labor leaders earlier in the day, leaning on his bona fides as perhaps the most independent Republican in Congress. He also distanced himself from the occupants of the White House.
If President Donald Trump were to hold an event in the district, “I would not rally,” Fitzpatrick told The Inquirer.
What you should know today
The chair of a Philadelphia commission charged with reviewing police conduct has been charged with witness intimidation, bribery, and conspiracy for allegedly selling information about a witness in an attempted murder case.
Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s administration has spent just a fraction of the money it budgeted this year for a signature housing initiative, per a new report from the city controller.
The mother of a New Jersey 9-year-old who died after what prosecutors say was repeated abuse is being held without bail.
Pennsylvania is expanding the types of incidents covered by mandated reporter laws in response to locker-room assaults on a Cheltenham football player last fall.
James T. Catania, the DOJ official overseeing election monitors in Pennsylvania, is a military veteran and trial lawyer who joined the department in May.
Following community outcry, West Pikeland Township halted a plan to sell a municipal property used by a local community theater.
Exhibits from the pop-up “micro” Museum of the Philadelphian are for sale on Facebook Marketplace.
More mid-career, college-educated workers are choosing to live in Philly, according to a new report.
But as Inquirer workplace reporter Ariana Perez-Castells covers, office jobs aren’t keeping up.
🧠 Trivia time
How many Pennsylvania companies were given exemptions from federal clean air regulations by President Donald Trump’s administration, according to a recent New York Times report?
A) 17
B) 12
C) 41
D) 24
Think you know? Check your answer.
What we’re ...
🦀 Shaking our heads at. It happened again. More than 3,000 pounds of frozen snow crab were looted from a truck in Southwest Philly. The Inquirer’s Henry Savage covers the “smash-and-crab.”
💐 Following. Did you know there are three pick-your-own flower farms within driving distance of Philly? Visual journalist Sarah Silbiger brings us along to make some bouquets.
🇧🇷 Anticipating. Kouklet Brazilian Bakehouse is expanding from a small storefront to an all-day cafe, adding breakfast and lunch alongside its signature Brazilian pastries, reports food writer Michael Klein.
🧩 Unscramble the anagram
Hint: Circular interactive video installation in the courtyard of Philly City Hall.
HALTER TOP
Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here.
Congrats to Kristina Fransel, who correctly solved Tuesday’s anagram: Donald Norcross. The South Jersey congressman apologized after comparing his colleague, Republican U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew, to Hitler at a rally this past weekend.
Photo of the day
Let’s keep chugging.
👋 Catch you tomorrow, Philly.
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