The Penn trans athlete breaking records and barriers | Morning Newsletter
And don’t forget to give the trivia a guess
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’re in the calm before another major storm this weekend, with temperatures in the 50s for now. The storm? Packing cold and precipitation.
Leading off today, we look at a new policy for transgender athletes — and what it means for a swimmer smashing records at Penn.
And see if you recall today’s trivia from high school history class. 👇🏾
— Kerith Gabriel (@sprtswtr, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com )
The national governing body for competitive swimming issued a new policy yesterday establishing eligibility criteria for transgender athletes competing in elite events.
NCAA athletes won’t be impacted by the change — unless the agency decides to adopt the new policy later this month.
That includes University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas, a trans woman who has been breaking collegiate swim records and making waves across the sports world.
🏊♀️ Effective immediately, USA Swimming will require trans women athletes to submit an application to compete to a three-person panel of “independent medical experts.”
🏊♀️ Those experts will determine whether “prior physical development of the athlete as a male” gives the athlete “a competitive advantage over the athlete’s cisgender female competitors.”
Our reporter Ellie Rushing brings us up to speed on the changes and just how much was inspired by the remarkable career Thomas is having in the water.
What you should know today
CHOP’s guidance for children and schools to mitigate COVID is rubbing a lot of educators the wrong way.
You can help keep track of the where the $727 million budgeted to the Philadelphia Police Department goes.
Philly’s health commissioner says the city’s current pandemic restrictions won’t be lifted anytime soon.
A school administrator in Chester County admitted to stealing $90,000 meant for class trips and sporting events.
The CEO of Crozer Hospital stepped down amid a crisis for the cash-strapped hospital.
Local Coronavirus Numbers: Here’s your daily look at the latest COVID-19 data.
🧠 Philly Trivia Time 🧠
Today we’re looking back at a tragic Philly event that left an indelible mark in a fight for equality. Today’s question: Do you know the year the famed Pennsylvania House along Walnut Street was set ablaze? Take a guess and find the answer here.
a. 1860
b. 1838
c. 1842
What we’re…
🦠 Reading: All about the new omicron subvariant Ba. 2.
👀 Watching: This guide to making homemade dumplings like Baology’s Judy Ni in celebration of the Lunar New Year.
👏🏽 Applauding: The Main Street Manayunk pizza shop that battled back to open its doors four months after Hurricane Ida.
Photo of the day
Catch you all tomorrow. Have a great day. ✌️