The Morning Newsletter
Start your day with the Philly news you need and the stories you want all in one easy-to-read newsletter
Rise and shine, Philly. We’re promised a gloriously sunny Sunday.
In our main read, we tested local “magic mushroom”-based products to find out what they’re really made of.
And when they leave the hospital, some homeless Philadelphians are still too sick to stay in a shelter. Medical respite beds help fill the gap.
— Paola Pérez (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
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Philadelphia-area smoke shops are a wonderland for so-called magic shrooms. The products, promising an “otherworldly” high, lure customers in with late-1960s-style psychedelic packaging and clever names.
The fine print says ingredients are legal. The Inquirer decided to send 20 for testing.
Among our lab and investigative findings:
🍄 Many products included psilocybin, the hallucinogen found in “magic mushrooms,” along with other chemicals banned by federal law.
🍄 Yet, fringe chemists now import legal or loosely regulated chemicals and turn them into potent designer drugs sold at the corner store as pills, gummies, chocolate bars, and other tasty treats.
🍄 Manufacturers get away with it because these substances exist in a legal gray area, and the result is an unregulated, potentially dangerous world of over-the-counter psychedelics.
Notable quote: “They’re just buying some powder from China,” one chemist said. “They’re essentially changing the third molecule and altering it just enough so that it’s no longer scheduled.”
Go into the shroom boom with investigative reporters Max Marin and Ryan Briggs.
Alexis DiBella was ready to be discharged from care after having a foot amputated. But the shelter where she’d hoped to start a new life could not accommodate her disability.
Finding a medical respite in West Philly saved DiBella from falling through the cracks.
Respites are shelters specially equipped to house people with medical needs that are not severe enough for hospital care, but exceed the care available at traditional shelters.
Pennsylvania is home to five such programs, two of which are in the city of Philadelphia. New Jersey and Delaware operate one each. Many share common funding challenges.
Learn about respites’ reach and impact in the region through public health reporter Aubrey Whelan’s story.
What you should know today
Philadelphia’s ironworkers union identified the worker killed and two others who were presumed dead after a Grays Ferry parking garage collapsed. As demolition of the site continued Saturday, neighbors gathered nearby for a community meeting set up by the city.
Imani Ringgold, 20, was three days into a new job as a home health aide, saving up for her upcoming college classes, when she was caught in the crossfire of a gang feud, police said.
Drexel University and the Academy of Natural Sciences may sever ties as discussions into their relationship unfold. The two organizations joined forces in 2011.
Two Philadelphia landlords are asking a judge to hold the city in contempt, saying City Council violated transparency requirements while advancing renter protection bills.
The Cherry Hill school district will cut about 70 positions and increase class sizes to help plug a $29 million budget gap.
The Trump administration quietly unveiled its proposed updates for panels at the President’s House, indicating how it wants to frame history ahead of the United States’ 250th anniversary. The Inquirer analyzed each alternative panel and how it differs from longstanding exhibits.
A new web app is using AI to help homeowners and renters in Philadelphia complete necessary home repairs or match them to a contractor for the job.
Philadelphia Ballet began rehearsing in its impressive new home on North Broad Street this week, marking a milestone the company has chased for two decades.
❓Pop quiz
Sixers star Joel Embiid was discharged from a Houston hospital Friday and will return to Philly following his appendectomy.
About how many American adults are affected by appendicitis every year?
A) 25,000
B) 300,000
C) 600,000
D) 1 million
Think you know? Check your answer.
What we’re …
🍗 Tasting: Classic vegan wings in South Philly (“the best in the country”), among the best things we ate this week.
⚽ Watching: English Premier League games with Flyers announcer Lou Nolan at the start of his perfect day.
🌼 Exploring: Penn State Arboretum during a spring weekend trip in State College.
🧩 Unscramble the anagram
Hint: This high-end department store will close its huge City Avenue storefront next week
FAUST FIVE SHAKEN
Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here.
Cheers to Seth Schulman, who correctly guessed Saturday’s answer: American Airlines. The largest carrier at Philadelphia International Airport raised fees on checked bags, becoming the latest to increase prices amid rising jet fuel costs associated with the war in Iran.
Photo of the day
🎶 Today’s song goes like this: “There’s a cool breeze in the air / Why should we be afraid to love?”
👋🏽 Thank you for starting your day with The Inquirer. Have a good one.
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