🦭 A feast at the edge of the world | Morning Newsletter
And no Republican DA candidate.
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, Philly. Fun fact: The region just had its rainiest calendar day since June 5.
Today’s newsletter has something a little different for you.
The Inuit community of Inukjuak in northern Québec has long fought to preserve the traditional culinary practices that define them, but a melting landscape is a threat unlike anything they’ve faced before. Travel with Inquirer food columnist Craig LaBan and a Pennsylvania State University documentarian to the edge of the world to see the very near future of climate change.
And Philadelphia Republicans can’t find a candidate to run for district attorney against Democratic incumbent Larry Krasner. We explore what it means for the state of the GOP in the city.
— Julie Zeglen (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
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Nine hundred miles north of Montréal along the freezing Hudson Bay, Inukjuak attracted international curiosity when its tiny hunter-gatherer community became the subject of the world’s first feature-length documentary, the controversial Nanook of the North, in 1922.
🚣 Now a community of around 1,800 people, life has changed dramatically since then, even as residents fight to keep their customs alive.
🧊 Penn State professor Kirk French has been collaborating with residents for the past few years to make A Century After Nanook. The film examines how those in the Canadian Arctic fish, hunt, and prepare traditional meals, called “country food,” in a challenging ice-based landscape while facing the effects of climate change.
🦭 “It’s country food that drives the narrative,” French said, “because being out on the land and hunting also helps the Inuit define who they are.”
Craig LaBan and Inquirer photographer Monica Herndon traveled to Inukjuak in October to attend the film’s premiere and partake in a village feast. See LaBan’s account of a resilient community facing a new kind of existential threat, and Herndon’s accompanying photo essay.
For the first time in decades, Philly’s 130,000 registered Republicans are unlikely to see a GOP candidate on the ballot for district attorney.
Not that party leaders aren’t asking “every Republican lawyer with a pulse” to run. But they’ve found no takers in a city where registered Democrats outnumber them 6-1.
“Most people believe for a Republican to beat Krasner is a very insurmountable task,” party chair Vincent Fenerty told The Inquirer. “Nobody wanted to take 10 months out of their life to try to do it and not be able to attain it or get near it.”
What you should know today
President Donald Trump is planning to sell off a few hundred federal buildings, which in Philly could include the U.S. Custom House, an Old City landmark. The Trump administration also froze $12 million that was set to expand the tree canopy across the city.
Gov. Josh Shapiro on Wednesday signed an executive order directing Pennsylvania agencies to give hiring preference to fired federal employees. And because Canada and Mexico are the state’s top trade partners, he also warned of higher prices for residents with Trump’s latest tariffs.
A Delaware County official who prosecutors say tried to steal a mayoral election now faces additional criminal charges.
Rowan University is the second local college to publicly acknowledge making substantive changes in response to a federal directive to scale back diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.
Pennsylvania’s higher education system will conduct a review of Commonwealth University president Bashar Hanna, who drew a vote of no confidence last month.
SEPTA survived the Eagles parade. Now, planners say: Bring on the World Cup, All-Star Game, and Semiquincentennial events of 2026.
Still reeling from the unsolved theft of a cherished crown, Center City’s St. John the Evangelist Church is struggling to raise funds to address badly needed repairs and could close its doors.
🏒 Heads up, hockey fans: Have any questions about the Flyers heading into the NHL trade deadline? Tune into beat reporter Jackie Spiegel’s Reddit AMA this morning for some answers. Join the conversation in r/Flyers at 10 a.m. ET.
🧠 Trivia time
Police from across the Philadelphia suburban region are investigating thefts from cemeteries of what, worth thousands of dollars each?
A) Headstones
B) Decorative signposts
C) Surveillance cameras
D) Mausoleum doors
Think you know? Check your answer.
What we’re...
🏖️ Calculating: How much it will cost to buy Jersey Shore beach tags this summer.
🪪 Getting: REAL IDs in Pennsylvania before the fast-approaching deadline.
🎓 Learning: How the halt on student loan forgiveness for income-driven repayment plans will affect borrowers.
🚢 Impressed by: The little tugboat that pulled the SS United States to Alabama through extreme winds and 16-foot waves.
🧩 Unscramble the anagram
Hint: The _ _ for Dance Education
COLOR SHOCK
Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here. Cheers to Beth Briglia, who solved Wednesday’s anagram: Bart Blatstein. The prolific Philly developer defaulted on a $25 million loan last year, an Inquirer report found — and while he’s satisfied his lenders, he still owes the city $1 million in taxes.
Photo of the day
🏈 One last athletic thing: The Atlantic East Conference just became the first conference across all college divisions to recognize women’s flag football as a varsity sport. Local teams include Neumann, Immaculata, Holy Family, Gwynedd Mercy, and Eastern Universities. At an event at Lincoln Financial Field, players were called “trailblazers” for being part of “a historic moment here in Philadelphia.”
See you back here tomorrow morning.
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