🗳️Voting with their wallets | Morning Newsletter
And ICE intercepts a trip to Disney.
The Morning Newsletter
Start your day with the Philly news you need and the stories you want all in one easy-to-read newsletter
Happy Friday, Philly. Temperatures are expected to creep into the mid-80s this afternoon and there’s an off chance of showers overnight.
Today, we start by hearing from voters in all four Pennsylvania swing districts about the top-of-mind topic this midterms: affordability.
Then, we have the story of a local family whose Disneyland dreams were derailed when ICE arrested the mother at the Los Angeles airport.
Plus, a scandal-prone Philly judge could be removed from the bench, and more news of the day.
— Laura Benshoff (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
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A landlord whose tenants can no longer pay rent. A man in Allentown who now stops short of filling his gas tank. A professional chef who’s stressed about the price of groceries.
These three Pennsylvanians all share concerns about rising prices. And they all live in Pennsylvania swing districts that could shape who controls the next Congress.
Among likely voters in Pennsylvania, 75% disapprove of how President Donald Trump is handling the cost of living, compared with just 25% who approve, according to a recent poll from The Inquirer, the New York Times, and Siena University.
But Trump is not on the ballot, and these approval ratings don’t necessarily indicate whether people will back the local Republican or Democrat running to represent them.
Delaware County nurse Monica Ryadi and her husband couldn’t wait to take their 3-year-old son to Disneyland, so he could meet his favorite characters from the Cars movies.
But shortly after their plane touched down in Los Angeles on Sept. 15, they faced a sudden crisis. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement appeared and surrounded Ryadi.
Despite her legal standing in this country, which she has maintained for more than 20 years since her parents brought her to this country at age 9, ICE arrested Ryadi and sent her to detention.
Legally, Ryadi cannot be sent back to Indonesia, where her family fled religious persecution all those years ago. But per a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling, the U.S. can continue to speedily deport people to countries other than where they came from, something Ryadi said ICE agents told her was coming.
Inquirer immigration reporter Jeff Gammage has the full story.
What you should know today
A disciplinary court is weighing whether Philly Judge Scott DiClaudio can remain on the bench. DiClaudio was accused by another judge of trying to sway the outcome of a case involving a friend of rapper Meek Mill.
Records obtained by The Inquirer indicate that the Pennsylvania Department of Health repeatedly reached out to the Lancaster County coroner before announcing the state’s first measles-involved death, despite statements from the coroner indicating a lack of communication.
A pedestrian who was struck and killed in Center City earlier this week has been ID’d as elementary school teacher Zoe Schemm.
During a two-day hearing this week, representatives from the Philadelphia Sheriff’s Office told a judge that they had found $20 million in unspent sheriff sale proceeds, among other revelations.
Eleven Philadelphia-area small-business owners stole nearly $1 million in public funds by defrauding WIC, a program designed to support low-income mothers and their children, authorities said Thursday.
A former Philadelphia woman who voted twice — once here and once in North Jersey — in the 2024 presidential election was sentenced Thursday to three years of probation.
Philadelphia City Council voted unanimously on Thursday to make the city one of the first in the country to explicitly endorse a nationwide boycott of Starbucks amid a unionization drive.
Welcome back to Curious Philly Friday, our forum for readers to ask about the city’s quirks and then we report the answers.
This week, we’re resurfacing an article from reporter Michelle Myers that breaks down how Philadelphia’s city flag got its distinctive hues.
Yes, it’s blue and yellow, but not just any blue or any yellow. It turns out the exact colors are spelled out in the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter.
Read on for Michelle’s full breakdown.
Have your own burning question about Philadelphia, its local oddities, or how the region works? Submit it here and you might find the answer featured in this space.
🧠 Trivia time
Which beloved Chinatown restaurant reopened its renovated dining room this week?
A) David’s Mai Lai Wah
B) Dim Sum Garden
C) Terakawa Ramen
D) Spice C
Test your local news expertise and check your answer in our weekly quiz.
What we’re …
🤖 Gawking at. What’s pink, has four wheels, and may shock or delight you, depending on your mood? The Inquirer’s Stephanie Farr takes a spin with Philly’s answer to those Uber Eats robots, Orifice the Awebot.
🥖 Following. After a man filmed himself throwing a cheesesteak through the open service window at Pat’s King of Steaks in South Philly, the owner is offering a $5,000 reward to help bring him to justice, food writer Michael Klein reports.
🏠 Learning. With mortgage rates hitting 7.28% this week, Inquirer real estate reporter Michaelle Bond talked to experts about how to still get the best rate you can.
🧩 Unscramble the anagram
Hint: Earlier this year, a peregrine falcon with lead poisoning was recovered from this Philly landmark and rehabilitated by the Schuylkill Center.
APPLAUSE HALFTIME HUMIDOR
Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here.
Cheers to Loretta DiPietro, who correctly guessed Thursday’s answer: Clementon Park. The 119-year-old amusement park is heading back to auction just weeks after announcing its closure, and five years after it was last sold at a bankruptcy auction.
Photo of the day
Some gorgeously detailed architecture and a little bit of history to wrap up the week.
👋 Thanks for spending some time with The Inquirer this week. Catch you Monday!
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