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. It’s a sunny Saturday with highs in the 80s.
Today, I’m talking about the city’s reaction to Made in America going dark for the third year in a row.
Plus, we have details on upcoming road closures along Kelly Drive, last call at a Collingswood diner, and the fight to save exhibits at Independence Park.
There’s much more to cover. Let’s get into it.
— Paola Pérez (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
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What you should know today
Claims arising from the deadly Jan. 31 plane crash in Northeast Philly are anticipated to surpass the airline’s $10 million insurance policy coverage. Dozens of property owners and victims have already filed, and more are expected to follow.
Sections of Kelly Drive will soon be closed overnight for planned resurfacing work. “Significant backups and delays” are expected.
Philadelphia police say they now believe the party in Grays Ferry that ended in a fatal mass shooting last month was not a targeted attack. Twelve victims were struck by bullets fired by partygoers who, after hearing what they thought was the sound of gunfire, aimlessly started shooting.
During a Friday visit to a West Philly community center, Gov. Josh Shapiro said state lawmakers are “making progress” in budget talks, although he refused to comment further on the content of the negotiations.
Breaking Bread Community, a homeless shelter in Upper Darby, has until May to fill a more than $500,000 hole in its operating budget or leaders say it will have to close.
A pharmacy company in Philadelphia has been criminally charged in an alleged $2 million scheme to defraud Medicaid and Medicare through reimbursements for unregulated HIV medications.
Collingswood Diner will close after a final day of service on Aug. 10. It will be replaced by a weed dispensary.
In roughly six weeks, more than a dozen exhibits about slavery at Independence National Historical Park could be removed or covered up by the Department of Interior. Philadelphians are trying to preserve or archive these sites before it could be too late.
Two Pennsylvania metro areas ranked among the top three fastest-selling housing markets in May.
A New Jersey Superior Court judge issued an injunction against a Vineland gun shop accused of selling ammunition to buyers without checking whether they were permitted to possess firearms.
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting said it will close following Congress’ decision to strip its current funding and foreclose on future appropriations.
For three years running, Made in America, the Philly fixture that brought flocks of fans, music, food, and end-of-summer vibes to the city, has been put on hold. The limbo has people wondering if this is it for now, or for good.
The major Labor Day weekend event, which ran nearly every year from 2012 to 2022, would bring tens of thousands of people to the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. But Jay-Z’s Roc Nation did not file a permit in time to make that happen in 2025. The 2023 cancellation was particularly frustrating for fans — the concert was suddenly shut down just weeks from showtime. As festivalgoers clamored for refunds, the organizer then promised “an exciting return to the festival.” 2024 was all the more elusive.
Could that return coincide with the Semiquincentennial? That remains to be seen. Between America’s 250th birthday, the FIFA World Cup, the MLB All-Star Game, and the NCAA Division I college basketball tournament, Philadelphia is booked and busy in 2026. What I do know is that Made in America has become somewhat of a polarizing event. Reactions to its postponement (again) on social media span from joy, to sadness, to confusion over its newsworthiness. But it’s important to remember that the cancellation doesn’t just hit music lovers — it impacts workers and local businesses across various industries and cultural institutions. It’s a major loss of revenue for the city.
Personally, I felt disappointed to hear the news. It made me think back to 2022. Seeing Snoh Aalegra, Tyler, the Creator, Pusha T, and Bad Bunny in the flesh was surreal. Now all I can ask myself is, “Was that it? Did I live through the last one?” That started as a rhetorical joke between friends after we experienced MIA together. We knew by then that people were sort of done with the festival, but now we’ve reached a point where its demise is to be expected.
And if years of online chatter is to be believed, the MIA fest that I got to know for one weekend doesn’t come close to its former greatness. People who attended earlier iterations say recent lineups have been lackluster. Comparisons are drawn to other city festivals like Roots Picnic (though that one didn’t go so well this year).
Down in Raleigh, J. Cole’s Dreamville festival went out with a bang after five incredible years. Instead of closing the curtains with persistent postponing, I think the fans that believe in what makes MIA special are hoping for a better swan song here.
In a column for The Inquirer, Melissa Ostroff argues that while methane may be invisible to the naked eye, its impact on Pennsylvania communities is clear.
“What I’ve seen in my fieldwork makes one thing certain: Pennsylvania needs a strong and durable plan to implement the EPA’s methane safeguards and defend Pennsylvanians from the Trump administration’s environmental rollbacks,” Ostroff writes. She is a certified thermographer and public health professional.
Read Ostroff’s perspective on why Pa. must take the lead on cutting methane pollution.
🧠Trivia time
Philly-area recipe influencers are making six figures cooking, baking, and posting from their kitchens. One told The Inquirer she typically makes more than this amount a year.
(Hint: It’s about six times what she earned at a software company.)
A) $300,000
B) $920,000
C) $650,000
D) none of the above
Think you know? Check your answer.
🧩 Unscramble the anagram
Hint: 2008 World Series MVP
CAMEO SHELL
Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here.
Cheers to Abbie Moynihan who correctly guessed Friday’s answer: Out West. The West Philly-based outpost from the team behind Down North Pizza is a coffee shop with a menu that includes a lamb scrapple breakfast sandwich and a vegan cheesesteak.
On Sunday, Phillies great Dick Allen was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame alongside Dave Parker, CC Sabathia, Ichiro Suzuki and fellow former Phillie Billy Wagner. Allen’s widow, Willa, spoke on her late husband’s behalf at the induction ceremony.
That’s just one memorable moment captured by Inquirer staff photographers. Flip through more in our best sports photos of the week.
Somewhere on the internet in Philly
Australian rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard played the Mann on Monday with a live orchestra, and posted photos with the caption “(Philly billy) cheesesteak.” I wonder whose cheesesteaks they tried.
What ties this city together? Philadelphians on Reddit say: “Go Birds.” “No one likes us, we don’t care.” And, of course, “Brotherly love.”
I had a good laugh reliving some of the best Always Sunny memes. It’s hard to narrow down favorites out of 20 seasons, but apart from the “Pepe Silvia” moment, I have to give a shout-out to Charlie’s confounding campaign speech, and the gang’s messy high school reunion dance.
Speaking of our favorite sitcoms, people are excited about a sports-style Abbott Elementary surprise coming to Philly. What do you think it could be? I’ll take your show theories here.
👋🏽 Thanks for stopping by this morning. I’ll catch up with you again tomorrow.
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