š§ What Philly listened to this year | Morning Newsletter
And todayās top stories

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. Traces of snow coated parts of the region Friday, but Saturday should be mostly cloudy.
Today, weāre chatting about Phillyās year in music and our top Google searches.
But first, letās cover why SEPTAās largest union appears to be on the verge of a strike, how Amazon delivery could pick up speed in Philly, and our report card for this week in Philly news.
ā Paola PĆ©rez (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
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What you should know today
Union leaders representing SEPTAās bus, subway, and trolley operators have grown frustrated with contract negotiations and are preparing members to walk off the job. Visit Inquirer.com for the latest updates.
Experts in Philadelphia sharply criticized a CDC panelās decision to end a long-standing recommendation to immunize all infants at birth against hepatitis B. The vaccine was first developed in the city.
A judge vacated more than 130 drug cases after prosecutors said three Philadelphia narcotics officers repeatedly gave false testimony in court. Hundreds more cases may see the same fate in the coming months.
Wonderland Pier will undergo a review for possible redevelopment after officials voted to move forward this week.
A former top Philadelphia labor official claims in a lawsuit that she was passed over for a promotion because sheās a woman, and was later fired after raising concerns about gender-based discrimination spanning two mayoral administrations.
Amazon is testing out a new delivery model that would get items to customers in 30 minutes or less.
The celebrated architect Frank Gehry died Friday at the age of 96. His acclaimed signature can be found from the audacious Guggenheim in Bilbao, Spain, to the 2021 renovation of the Philadelphia Art Museum.
Delaware County is now the third of Philadelphiaās collar counties to enact a local policy protecting LGBTQ+ residents from discrimination.
Would you be a Grinch if youāre bothered by a neighborās Christmas lights shining brightly into your bedroom? Inquirer reporters discuss the holiday question.
From Delco Donny turning Wawa parking lots into concert venues to Eagles fans egging Kevin Patulloās house, catch up on the good, bad, and weird in the latest Philly news.
By now, you may have already seen your personalized music-listening habits courtesy of Spotify Wrapped and other streaming services, or swiped past countless social media posts of people sharing theirs. As far as Spotify goes, things are slightly different in the city this year.
Rappers Kendrick Lamar and Drake stood strong in our streams, so Taylor Swift is no longer Phillyās top artist of the year (the Reading-born singer dropped to No. 2). Newtown native Alex Cooperās āCall Her Daddyā ranked No. 4 among Philadelphiaās top podcasts. Personally, my favorite feature of Spotify Wrapped 2025 was ālistening age.ā With āWhoās Crying Nowā playing in the background, mine said Iām actually 60 years old with āan old soulā because I enjoyed a lot of early ā80s tunes.
But music isnāt the only data dump we have to contend with. Just one look at Googleās 2025 āYear in Searchā report tells you everything you need to know about Philadelphiaās psyche. It turns out we couldnāt stop searching slang terms like āclock itā and ā6-7ā (which was born here, IYKYK), Eagles players DeVonta Smith and Cooper DeJean (to cop kelly green jerseys), and two songs by Swift: āWoodā and āFather Figure.ā
These behaviors are a lot more algorithmically curated and influenced than, say, the number of cheesesteaks we ate or times we hollered āGo Birds.ā Still, itās been fun to see Philly make other creative end-of-year recaps, like Fillmore Philly crunching venue numbers, the Philliesā āJohn Kruk Wrappedā video, and the Brass Tap highlighting its most popular karaoke track ā which just so happens to be Phillyās No. 5 song of the year.
This week, Marraās in South Philadelphia shut its doors for good. The classic Italian restaurant, just two years shy of a century in operation, cited parking challenges along the renowned dining corridor as a contributing factor.
Inquirer columnist Daniel Pearson argues that the neighborhood fixture and South Philly arenāt alone in managing a process Pearson calls āsuburbanization.ā
In the latest edition of āShackamaxon,ā Pearson unpacks ways in which cities change, whether some like it or not.
š§ Trivia time
Somewhere in Philly, thereās a pond garden near a traditional tea house.
Where is it?
A) Calder Gardens
B) Morris Arboretum & Gardens
C) Shofuso Japanese Cultural Center
D) Bartramās Garden
Think you know? Our weekly Citywide Quest game puts your knowledge of Phillyās streets to the test. Check your answer.
š§© Unscramble the anagram
Hint: Penn Stateās next head coach
CLAM TEMPT LAB
Email us if you know the answer. Weāll select a reader at random to shout out here.
Cheers to Rick Eisenberg, who correctly guessed Fridayās answer: High Note Caffe. The classic South Philadelphia restaurant has a new life as an old-time nightclub.
Itās lit (literally). The Philly Holiday Tree shone its 6,000 lights bright for the lighting ceremony at City Hall on Thursday. Grammy-winning artists Ashanti and Lalah Hathaway performed for attendees.
Somewhere on the internet in Philly
A Redditor wants to know who is feeding the cityās feral cones and road barrels: āNow weāre dealing with a full-on colony at 31st and Girard,ā they wrote. The comments are a gold mine.
Over on Facebook, people are raving about the vegan-style Puerto Rican dishes at Casa BorinqueƱa. Earlier this year, we listed it among the best places serving vegan comfort food.
I canāt be the only one trying to wrap my mind around the way Gritty described his perfect day in Philadelphia. Unfortunately for us, heās gatekeeping the dumpster he eats ādelicious half-eaten burritosā out of.
And The Inquirer wants to hear from you: Whatās your favorite dive bar in the city? Fill out this form to tell us what makes your spot special.
šš½ Thanks for starting your day here. Take care.
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