The spotlight on Fetterman’s health | Morning Newsletter
And South Street businesses aren’t happy
The Morning Newsletter
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August is over, school has begun, and summer is winding down, but that doesn’t mean the warm days are over. Expect mostly sunny and clear skies with a high of 80.
In today’s newsletter:
🗳️ A City Council resignation: Cherelle Parker is the latest Council member to resign to run for mayor.
🍴 A homecoming: South Philly native Steve Martorano comes home to open an Italian steak house at Rivers Casino after becoming a successful restaurateur in Las Vegas, Fort Lauderdale, Atlantic City, and Pittsburgh.
🦠 Falling COVID-19 cases: The number of new coronavirus cases is dropping all around the world.
— Taylor Allen (@TayImanAllen, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
While on the campaign trail, John Fetterman’s been up front about the lingering speech problems stemming from his May stroke. He insists his physical and mental health are good, while his opponent, Mehmet Oz, challenges his ability to serve.
“My health now is robust. I’m able to live a normal life,” Fetterman said in his first nationally televised interview on MSNBC. “Driving, going to the grocery store ... it’s just that every now and then, I’m going to miss a word or mush two words together.”
It’s called auditory processing and it results in some word retrieval issues. It’s common among stroke survivors to have communication issues. In his brief speeches on the trail, it’s noticeable but not an overwhelming distraction.
But, Oz and his campaign operatives are pushing back. They’ve amped up pressure on Fetterman to debate while also questioning whether Fetterman can be an effective senator if speech and hearing issues continue.
Reporter Julia Terruso explains how Fetterman’s health could affect the midterm race in November.
To dig deeper into auditory processing from our newsroom:
Here is a complete breakdown on what auditory processing is (and isn’t) and how to treat it.
Fetterman’s height at 6-foot-8 put him at risk for an irregular heart rhythm called atrial fibrillation (A-fib), which raises a person’s risk of a stroke. Tall women are especially susceptible.
What you should know today
Philadelphia City Councilmember Cherelle Parker resigned and will run for mayor.
The teenagers charged in the South Street shooting will face trial for murder and assault.
The World Health Organization said the number of new coronavirus cases fell by 12% everywhere in the world but the pandemic isn’t over.
According to the CDC, nearly one in four young adults received mental health treatment last year.
A GSK engineer is charged with assaulting an air marshal after a video of him getting forcibly removed from a flight leaving Philadelphia to Dallas after a drunken, racist, and homophobic tirade went viral.
Philadelphia is giving $7.6 million to legal aid agencies to clear residents’ tangled titles.
Local coronavirus numbers: Here’s your daily look at the latest COVID-19 data.
Labor Day weekend was sluggish for South Street businesses. Some blame road closures for the lackluster foot traffic, while others mentioned the heavy police presence wasn’t helping.
The crux: The less-than-stellar turnout reignited conversations about how best to balance public safety in a corridor that faces little violent crime but was rocked by a mass shooting in June that injured 11 and left three people dead.
Despite conversations that followed the shooting — involving business owners, residents, and police — the matter is far from settled and the debate about how much police presence is adequate on weekends continues.
Reporter Ximena Conde lays out why no one is satisfied.
🧩 Unscramble the Anagram 🧩
Hint: A Philly-based start-up
CYRIL HELP
Think you know? Send your guess our way at morningnewsletter@inquirer.com. We’ll give a shout-out to a reader at random who answers correctly.
Restaurateur Steve Martorano, who left South Philadelphia three decades ago for greater glory in South Florida and beyond, is coming back in 2023 to open an Italian steak house at Rivers Casino Philadelphia in Fishtown.
No one seems more surprised than Martorano.
“I always wanted to come home,” he said, marveling at his career progression from operating an underground sandwich shop out of his apartment in South Philadelphia to becoming a respected restaurateur with locations in Fort Lauderdale, Las Vegas, Atlantic City, and Pittsburgh.
My colleague Michael Klein has more on Martorano’s vision for his hometown location.
What we’re...
💭 Wondering: If Philly schools will kill snow days.
🎨 Viewing: The first look at Barack and Michelle Obama’s White House portraits.
🏈 Designing: My own Eagles uniform.
Photo of the day
That’s it from me. Thank you for starting your morning with The Inquirer.