Trump sows chaos in GOP race for Pa. governor | Morning Newsletter

What if I told you we’re expected to reach highs in the 80s today? 😎

As the dust settles on a wild day in the GOP race for Pennsylvania governor, we’re examining the seeds of chaos sprinkled by former President Donald Trump.

Also, we handed out our picks for the best workplaces in the region. Check out which companies made the cut.

And police said that Frank R. James, a person of interest in yesterday’s train shooting in Brooklyn, rented a U-Haul van linked to the shooting here in Philly.

Let’s get into Wednesday. 👇🏾

— Kerith Gabriel (@sprtswtr, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)

Five weeks before the May 17 primary, Donald Trump has begun sowing chaos among the gubernatorial candidates in Pennsylvania.

🐘 First, former U.S. Attorney Bill McSwain suddenly found himself getting the opposite of Trump’s endorsement, which he’d sought since last June. Trump, in a stinging rebuke, denounced McSwain as a “coward” and singled him out as one candidate in the crowded GOP field that he won’t endorse.

🐘 Then, State Senate leader Jake Corman filed a court petition to withdraw his name from the primary ballot for governor — only to quickly do an about-face, citing Trump’s slam against McSwain. Corman also said he had spoken to Trump, who “encouraged me to keep fighting.”

🐘 And to top it off, former U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta, another leading candidate, just happened to have a campaign fund-raiser planned for Tuesday evening at Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s private club in Florida. A source close to Barletta’s campaign said the event had long been planned.

Our reporters Chris Brennan and Andrew Seidman have the latest on developments in a crowded GOP race to take on the presumptive Democratic nominee, state Attorney General Josh Shapiro.

It’s been a wild time in the workplace. The fallout of the pandemic has forced companies large and small to rethink how they do business. But there are the companies that weathered the storm and made our shortlist of Best Workplaces for 2022.

Now, we begin the task of creating an official ranked list of each category, which will be available in August, along with a special section published in The Inquirer. See if your company made the cut in our compilation of Top Workplaces across the region.

Villanova men’s basketball head coach Jay Wright was one of a number of Philly college hoops notables who received Big 5 Awards this week along with players Collin Gillespie and Eric Dixon. Today’s question: Do you know the first recruit Wright brought to the Wildcats? Hint: He was inducted into the Big 5 Hall of Fame this year as well. Take a guess and find the answer here.

a. Kerry Kittles

b. Allan Ray

c. Mike Nardi

d. Kyle Lowry

🤔 Wondering: If other cities plan to follow suit or examine their own mask mandates with Philly being the talk of reinstating its own.

🌞 Examining: How Philly was the eighth warmest city out of 180 locations being monitored by Climate Central during the month of March.

😮 Questioning: How and when did Penn professor Amy Wax get so ironclad, as she continues to make derogatory remarks?

He’s been Philly’s curator of street art since 2011.

BARED CRONNEN

Think you know? Send your guess our way at morningnewsletter@inquirer.com. We’ll give a shoutout to a reader at random who answers correctly. Today’s shoutout goes to Dan Sullivan of Ardmore, who correctly guessed JIM CURTIN as Tuesday’s answer.

Enjoy today. Until tomorrow. ✌️