How probation keeps people imprisoned without committing a crime, New Year’s events happening in Philly | Morning Newsletter

Authorities are still investigating the fatal stabbing in Olney that killed a mother and left her 14-year-old son critically injured Christmas morning. Police said violence erupted during a family party inside where the suspect was allegedly drinking heavily and arguing with other guests at the party.

Five female inmates inside a Delaware County’s correctional facility spent Christmas night in hospitals after overdosing on heroin. It wasn’t clear how the narcotic was brought into the prison, but guards suspected that a visitor sneaked it in during holiday visitation hours.

If you, or someone you know, is using Medicaid, you may want to check with your prescription provider to ensure you won’t have to change your prescription next year. Nearly 150,000 Medicaid recipients in Pennsylvania might be forced to change their medications come 2020 because of new regulations.

In the ongoing investigation into the South Philly rowhouse explosion and fire, neighbors within the impacted area said they had been dealing with near-constant digging on South Eighth Street while workers repaired some defective water pipes. Some wondered whether the street work was partially responsible for the subsequent disaster, but the city Fire Department, the lead agency in the investigation, has not yet determined the cause of the explosion.

Census Bureau officials knew filling almost half a million jobs to conduct the 2020 Census would be difficult, given the country’s low unemployment rate. One way they’re attracting help: paying census takers $25.50 an hour to go door to door and follow up with households that don’t respond to questionnaires.

The Mummers Parade is entering its 120th anniversary of the glitzy, and often boozy, celebration come Jan. 1, but parking restrictions in preparation for the all-day party actually begin today along portions of the parade route.

🏂You don’t have to go to the mountains to get your ski on. Big Snow, an indoor ski park found inside the $5 billion American Dream Mall in New Jersey, offers an indoor slope, lessons for both skiing and snowboarding, rentals, and even a ski lift. All inside a mall.

🗓️ When the clock strikes midnight to usher in Jan. 1, 2020, millions of Americans will be celebrating what they think is the start of the next decade. Actually, that might be a bit preemptive, according to a variety of authoritative sources, from legendary Library of Congress researcher Ruth Freitag to the U.N. World Meteorological Organization. The right day to celebrate the next decade, they say, should be Jan. 1, 2021.

🎭 With the Mummers Parade being a drunken affair, one man decided to ensure the safety of his fellow mummers by creating a pin to help drunk or lost mummers find a safe ride home.

If you’re enjoying a slow holiday break and have some downtime, our top 20 book recommendations for the decade will offer a relaxing opportunity get lost in a good story.

The political winds are all shifting to Iowa and New Hampshire as we head into 2020, but the fact that candidates vying for their party’s nominee all flock to these select states shows just how much more important those voters are than everyone else, writes Albert Eisenberg, a political consultant and former communications director for the Philadelphia Republican Party.

It was a grim Christmas prelude last week when China and Russia vetoed cross-border aid deliveries to millions of desperate Syrian civilians, but what was overlooked was that the U.S. played a role in displacing many of those refugees, writes columnist Trudy Rubin. She also points to a few ways people who want to help refugees can lend a hand.

Kwanzaa has been a celebration of African heritage since its creation in 1966, and the Philadelphia Citizen snagged a rare interview with its founder, Maulana Karenga, as it explored the food traditions found during the holiday.

Somali American model Halima Aden will become the first black woman to wear a hijab on an Essence cover in the black magazine’s 50-year history.

They say if you don’t see it, create it. That’s what Sean and Terry Torrington are doing with SlayTV, the first global TV network for the black LGTBQ community.