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. A cooldown is due to commence by the weekend. In the meantime, the tree pollen, busily tormenting the allergic, is having a blast.
The Philadelphia Flyers will return to the playoffs for the first time since 2020, and will face the rival Pittsburgh Penguins. And the city is ready for playoff hockey.
City Council members during a city budget hearing asked Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel for more transparency about police drone activity.
Plus, Philly sweetens its 2028 DNC host pitch, and more news of the day.
— Tommy Rowan (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
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The playoff drought is over.
The Flyers returned to the grand pursuit of Lord Stanley’s Cup, thanks to a 3-2 shootout win over the No. 1 seed Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference.
🏒 Columnist Marcus Hayes says Rick Tocchet, Danny Brière, and Keith Jones should take a bow.
🏒 The other Philly teams have gotten the chance to experience what a true playoff atmosphere looks like over the last few seasons. Now, it’s the Flyers’ turn.
🏒 Keith Jones was a polarizing pick to oversee the Flyers’ rebuild as team president, writes columnist Mike Sielski, but the former radio jester has proven he shouldn’t be underestimated.
🏒 Now that the Fly guys are back in the playoffs, here’s everything fans need to know, including where to watch the games and how to buy tickets.
On Monday, The Inquirer reported that Boston and other cities require their police forces to compile annual reports on their surveillance tools, including drones.
Then on Tuesday, Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel told City Council members that the Philadelphia Police Department will now produce an annual report for them that details how the department uses its 21 drones.
Reporters David Gambacorta and Dylan Purcell have the full story.
What you should know today
The city brought out some of its renowned legends to strengthen its pitch to be the 2028 host city for the Democratic National Convention: Patti LaBelle, Rival Bros coffee, and Tastykake.
The number of local police agencies that have signed up to help ICE enforce federal immigration laws has surged in Pennsylvania, increasing more than 70% since the end of last year, new data show.
The Justice Department wants to vacate the conviction of Zach Rehl, the ex-leader of the Philly Proud Boys who helped incite the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
A former longtime teacher at a Catholic grade school in Bucks County was sentenced Wednesday to more than seven years in prison for possessing thousands of photos and videos of child pornography he had amassed over the course of a decade.
Toddlers are getting their hands on e-cigarettes — and inhaling — at an alarming rate, new study shows.
Rep. Brendan Boyle has put forward a bill to remove all — or part — of the federal gas tax anytime the national average goes over $4 per gallon.
City officials don’t know how long the slope off Pennway Street in Northeast Philadelphia has been one of Philly’s biggest illegal dumps. But they know it presents a big logistical task to clean it out.
Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm has asked a Philadelphia court for a preliminary injunction that would prevent his parents from using more than $500,000 he alleges they took from him in March.
Greyhound buses will stop at Cherry Hill Mall starting Wednesday.
Quote of the day
Temple students and the Philly Socialist Alternative group hosted a rally last week to protest how the university has policed its skate park and made some North Philly teenagers feel unwelcome.
🧠 Trivia time
This Jewish deli is set for a revival in Cherry Hill.
A) Radin’s
B) Vid’s
C) Kibitz Room
D) Schlesinger’s
Think you know? Check your answer.
What we’re …
💀 Lowkey horrified by. This 50-year-old Flyers fan who got a bloody “Halloween Gritty” tattooed on his head.
🥖 Boasting about. After 13,000 miles of travel and months of “monomaniacal research,” The Atlantic named Parc’s cranberry-walnut loaf the best free restaurant bread in America.
👀 Looking up to. This South Philly author used a $3,000 settlement from an AI lawsuit to rent a billboard for six weeks. She hopes it helps people rethink fatness and AI slop.
🏠 Mapping out. The Philadelphia Housing Authority has purchased 1,715 units for affordable housing in the last 18 months. Find out where and why.
🧩 Unscramble the anagram
Hint: This shuttered brewery is to reopen in Center City this weekend.
HORN LILI
Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here.
Cheers to Niamh Lotty, who solved Tuesday’s anagram: Speed cams, which are now live on a stretch of U.S. Route 13 in Northeast Philadelphia.
Photo of the day
These cherry blossoms on Kelly Drive are saying spring, but the thermometer is saying July.
👋 Thanks for starting your day with The Inquirer. Paola Pérez has you covered tomorrow.
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