The Morning Newsletter
Start your day with the Philly news you need and the stories you want all in one easy-to-read newsletter
Welcome to Wednesday. Showers are possible, and it’s going to start feeling a lot hotter soon.
As students in Philly prepare to receive report cards and wrap up the academic year, some teachers are sounding the alarm on what they call an open secret.
And the Philadelphia Police Department is under scrutiny from the federal government for its policies on revoking gun permits.
Plus, a beloved Main Line gift and craft store is closing after five decades.
Scroll along for these stories and more news of the day.
— Paola Pérez (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
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When report cards go out on Thursday, the last day of the 2025-26 school year, some students will learn that they earned a passing grade.
But Philly schools reporter Kristen Graham heard from two dozen teachers who say they were pressured to mark them that way, even if those students performed poorly or didn’t show up. Some say they’ve given out failing grades that were overridden.
✏️ Notable quote: “There’s a push right after grades are due,” said one teacher, who noted that administrators will say, “‘Is there anything you can do to bump these up?’”
✏️ In being discouraged from flunking students, the teachers said they are concerned about the long-term implications for kids who are passed along without the necessary skills to advance.
✏️ One K-8 teacher, a veteran of district schools for three decades, told The Inquirer a “subtle shift” started since the early 2000s, the era of the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
Read on for the district’s response, a history of its grading policies, and the ripple effect of this approach to grades.
In other Philly schools news: Olney High School stands to lose 17 staff because of budget cuts. At their graduation ceremony, some students included a protest against the looming losses.
The Justice Department is looking into whether Philly police violated the Constitution by improperly revoking people’s licenses to carry guns, officials announced Tuesday.
In the city, which has unique laws surrounding gun permits, the police department has broad authority to revoke them.
This comes weeks after five members of the Panthers, a Philadelphia-based armed Black citizens group, reportedly had their gun permits terminated. The Panthers’ leader called the move unconstitutional.
Chris Palmer and Jesse Bunch report.
In other federal news: Three Philly hospitals are among 500 that have been warned by the Trump administration to provide the public with basic pricing information or face fines.
What you should know today
Councilmember Cindy Bass rejected a roll call vote and declared herself the winner of a Philly ward election. It might have violated party rules.
A new local improvement district may be needed to care for the Chinatown Stitch cap over the Vine Street Expressway, a city official said.
A Brooklyn man was convicted of manslaughter as a hate crime and other charges in the 2023 killing of beloved Philadelphia dancer O’Shae Sibley.
A man who called himself “the Beast” targeted defenseless Philadelphians, including his own mother. A jury has convicted him of all crimes.
Pennsylvania lawmakers could still deliver additional revenue to Philadelphia, even after City Council last week largely rejected Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s proposed tax increases for the next fiscal year.
160,000 Pennsylvania residents who bought a healthcare plan through Pennie, the state’s Affordable Care Act marketplace, have dropped their coverage following price hikes.
Lower Merion is advancing a policy to eliminate iPads and laptops for K-2 students after facing intense pushback from parents who say kids are getting too much screen time in school.
Plenty of Philly hotel rooms and Airbnbs remain available just days before the FIFA World Cup kicks off.
One of Philly’s last independent accounting firms was just acquired amid an “unprecedented” spree of mergers and deals.
After 18 months and traffic snarls, Market Street improvements in Old City are complete. The transformation permanently narrowed vehicular traffic, added bike lanes, and built a new public plaza.
Past Present Future, the Main Line shop that owner Sherry Tillman calls “part gift store, part mini-museum,” is shutting its doors. She plans to sell the Lancaster Avenue building, and will stay open until all the merchandise is gone (“hopefully”).
🧠 Trivia time
A delegation of Philadelphians, on behalf of the National Constitution Center, brought which of the following to Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican this week?
A) A bundle of Villanova swag
B) A replica of George Washington’s Acts of Congress
C) A Wawa tote bag filled with Tastykakes
D) All of the above
Think you know? Check your answer.
What (and whom) we’re...
🍼 Congratulating: Michelle Zauner of Japanese Breakfast and Katie Crutchfield of Waxahatchee, who are both expecting.
🤓 Testing: Our knowledge of the World Cup players and nations coming to Philly.
🍋🟩 Anticipating: The East Kensington debut of a Mexican agave bar by a James Beard Award-winning duo.
⚽ Planning: Where to watch the games around Philly, from bars open to 4 a.m. to beer gardens in the suburbs.
🍉 Counting: The 76 most iconic Philly foods. Among the newly revealed entries (numbers 54-33) are Carter’s delicious watermelons.
🧩 Unscramble the anagram
Hint: Prior to joining Fox 29, she spent 18 years as part of 6abc’s Action News team.
JADE MYOPIA
Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here.
Cheers to Lars Weintraub, who solved Tuesday’s anagram: Five Below. The Philly-based discount retailer recently ditched an unpopular section of its store.
👋🏽 Thanks for starting your day with us. Take care.
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