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📣 Hanging with Philly’s beloved cheer squad at nationals | Morning Newsletter

And Eagles fun and games.

The George Washington High School cheer team huddles before they enter the arena to perform on the first day of competition at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas, Texas, on Jan. 21. The team became the first Philadelphia School District cheerleaders in history to qualify for nationals.
The George Washington High School cheer team huddles before they enter the arena to perform on the first day of competition at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas, Texas, on Jan. 21. The team became the first Philadelphia School District cheerleaders in history to qualify for nationals.Read moreHeather Khalifa / Staff Photographer
    by Ashley Hoffman
    Published 

    The Morning Newsletter

    Start your day with the Philly news you need and the stories you want all in one easy-to-read newsletter

We went down to Dallas to watch your George Washington HS cheer faves compete.

If you see this 🔑 in today’s newsletter, that means we’re highlighting our exclusive journalism. You need to be a subscriber to read these stories.

— Ashley Hoffman (@_AshleyHoffman, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)

The George Washington HS cheer team made it to nationals. Here’s how Philly’s team fared in Dallas.

I’ve got a special reading recommendation for you today.

📣 It’s been exhilarating for so many of us to watch the George Washington High cheerleaders become the first Philadelphia School District cheerleaders in history to qualify for nationals, a story that made cheerleaders out of all of us in spirit.

📣 The relentless team captured Philly’s attention to their story by collecting invites to march in parades and cheer at a Philadelphia Eagles game, and even garnering a City Council proclamation.

📣 The squad put in the work, and then it was time for them to compete at nationals 1,500 miles from home in Texas.

“I want to prove ourselves to the people who say: ‘George Washington? You’re from Philly, what are you doing here?’” junior Sarai Jeudy told our Kristen Graham who went to Dallas to report on it all for this must-read story about how they fared against the competition. It will put you right in the middle of the arena.

What you should know today

  1. U.S. downs suspected Chinese spy balloon over Atlantic Coast.

  2. On Philly’s coldest day of the year, a celebration of ice cream.

  3. Meeting in Philly, Democrats decide to shake up start of 2024 presidential primary.

  4. As Silicon Valley megacompanies lay off thousands, Philly employers eagerly seeking tech workers.

  5. More than a hundred students at Penncrest High School donated blood that will go to Philly-area hospitals.

  6. The Pa. GOP is sticking with its current leadership despite suffering big 2022 losses.

❓Pop Quiz❓

Which Beyoncé performance in Philly never happened?

A) The Black Is King tour at Wells Fargo in 2020

B) On The Run Tour II in 2018 at the Linc

C) The Formation tour at the Eagles football stadium in 2016

D) Mrs. Carter World Tour at Wells Fargo Center in 2013

Find out if you remember.

🧩 Unscramble the Anagram 🧩

The New Deal agency program that helped inspire the Eagles’ team name.

AARON LEVITATE NONDISCRIMINATORY

We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here. Send us your own original anagram to unscramble if you’d like.

Email us if you know the answer. Cheers to Jay Shifman who correctly guessed Friday’s answer: The War on Drugs.

Photo of the Day

🎶 For today’s Sunday track, we’re listening to “Boom, boom.” 🎶

👋🏽 E-A-G-L-E-S, Eagles.