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Krasner wins Philly DA race, remembering Roy Halladay, the latest on Meek Mill | Morning Newsletter

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Newly elected City Controller Rebecca Rhynhart, left, and DA Larry Krasner, center, with Sen. Anthony H. Williams, right.
Newly elected City Controller Rebecca Rhynhart, left, and DA Larry Krasner, center, with Sen. Anthony H. Williams, right.Read moreDAVID MAIALETTI / Staff Photographer
    by Aubrey Nagle, STAFF WRITER
    Published 

Welcome to Wednesday. It was an emotional night, and today election winners are taking their victory laps as the city mourns a baseball legend.

If you like what you're reading, it's free to sign up to get this newsletter in your inbox every weekday. I would love to hear your thoughts, ideas, and feedback, so please email me, tweet me @aubsn, or reach our social team on Facebook.

— Aubrey Nagle

» READ MORE: Dems win: Krasner elected DA, Phil Murphy to be N.J. governor

The results are in after yesterday's off-year elections. While our local races didn't include too many surprises, across the country Democratic wins are being hailed as anti-Trump victories.

Democrat Larry Krasner handily beat Republican Beth Grossman in the race for Philadelphia district attorney in what columnist Mike Newall calls a watershed moment for the city. Democrat Rebecca Rhynhart, a newbie to candidacy though not to city government, was elected city controller and Democrat Phil Murphy, a former Wall Street banker, beat out Chris Christie's lieutenant governor, Kim Guadagno, to become governor of New Jersey.

Virginia saw some major blue victories, too, as Democrat Ralph Northam won a hard-fought race for the nation's other open gubernatorial seat and Democrat Danica Roem became the first transgender person elected to state legislature.

Pennsylvania voters passed a ballot question on property taxes, while Philly and New Jersey voters each approved spending measures. And yes, we're already looking ahead to 2018.

» READ MORE: Remembering Roy Halladay

Beloved former Phillies pitcher Roy "Doc" Halladay, 40, known for grace and strength on and off the field, died yesterday when his small plane crashed into the Gulf of Mexico. As soon as the news broke, fans, former teammates, local athletes, and more took to social media to share their condolences, grief, and fondest memories.

The two-time Cy Young award winner and eight-time All-Star pitched for the Phillies from 2010 to 2013. During that time, he pitched the second postseason no-hitter in baseball history in the 2010 National League Division Series and a perfect game against the Florida Marlins in 2010 — the kind of "remember where you were when" moments fans dream about.

From former Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels and former Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. to columnist David Murphy, friends and fans agree: we've lost a legend. Rest easy, Doc.

» READ MORE: Is Meek Mill’s career over?

Philadelphia rapper Meek Mill was sentenced to two to four years in state prison Monday for violating his probation in a 2008 gun and drug case. Mill was twice arrested this year and didn't stop booking gigs outside of Philly and Montgomery County as ordered.

Celebs like Jay-Z and Philly's own Kevin Hart voiced support for the rapper while some fans called the sentence unjust. Billionaire Michael Rubin, who testified on Mill's behalf, even said, "For the first time in my life, I've lost complete faith in the justice system."

So is his career over? History shows public support combined with music's legacy of reinvention could give him a boost later on. Columnist Jenice Armstrong says, whatever happens, Mill's a victim of his own ego.

What you need to know today

  1. A Pennsylvania state trooper was shot three times Tuesday morning during a traffic stop in Northhampton County. As of last night, he's in "extremely critical" but stable condition.

  2. It's about to get very cold. The first official freeze of the season is headed our way this weekend. Bundle up!

  3. Information on the gunman behind Sunday's mass shooting in Texas has revealed two more times law enforcement could have stopped him from accessing guns.

  4. Knock on wood as soon as you read this: the Eagles are currently the best team in the league and the Sixers have won five straight.

  5. If you catch the flu this season, your own doctor could be the culprit. A study says 4 in 10 health-care providers show up for work when sick. Great.

  6. Speaking of heading to the doctor, here's the list of regional docs approved to recommend medical marijuana. Fair warning: most aren't taking new patients.

» READ MORE: #OurPhilly

We want to see what our community looks like through your eyes. Show us the park that your family walks through every weekend with the dog, the block party in your neighborhood or the historic stretch you see every morning on your commute to work.

Tag your Instagram posts or tweets with #OurPhilly and we'll pick our favorite each day to feature in this newsletter and give you a shout out to build those followers!

That’s Interesting

  1. Stranger Things 2 Spoiler Alert: this season features some dead squirrels, brought to you by a South Philly taxidermist.

  2. The new leader of Temple Har Zion in Mount Holly, Tiferet Berenbaum, is a rare find: she's one of the country's only female African American rabbi.

  3. When Center City bra-fitting mecca Coeur closed last winter, the city didn't just lose lingerie. It lost a community that has yet to recover in the face of a growing list of chain storefronts.

  4. Talk about paying it forward: A Temple student used the settlement she received from a sexual harassment case to pay for her studies. Then she bioengineered a treatment for a disorder affecting 5 million Americans, and herself.

  5. Catch last night's ESPN doc Nature Boy, about pro wrestling star Ric Flair? It was directed by Plymouth Meeting's very own Rory Karpf. Pretty stylin' and profilin' if you ask me.

  6. A local hip-hop duo who has opened for acts like rapper Freeway continues to perform on the streets just to make people happy. Try not to smile while reading their story.

Opinions

"It's not at all a bad thing that so many of us can't stop thinking and talking about how low we felt on Nov. 8, 2016. What would be truly terrible is if we forgot." Columnist William Bunch calls the last presidential election
—

  1. We need to pay attention to Beijing's effort to crush three young Hong Kong democracy activists, columnist Trudy Rubin writes. Their work sets an example for democracy's future.

  2. In the wake of another mass shooting, columnist Ronnie Polaneczky revisits the tragically ignored connection between domestic violence and community violence. 

What we’re reading

  1. As if it couldn't get much darker, at The New Yorker's Ronan Farrow uncovers Hollywood hit-maker Harvey Weinstein's disturbing history of paying spies to silence his victims.

  2. On this day one year ago, the presidential election shook the nation. Esquire's oral history of Nov. 8, 2016, told from all sides, is absolutely riveting.

  3. What's it really like to be out at work in 2017? Fast Company asks this and many more questions in a multi-faceted, multi-story package about being LGBTQ in the workplace. It's well worth the read.

  4. Technically, this one's a "what we're watching" — the next installment of New York Times' video essay series Internetting with Amanda Hess examines how our favorite social media filters reinforce beauty standards.

  5. Political and environmental upheaval have made Iraq's de facto national dish, a fish delicacy called masgouf, a rarity. But as NPR reports, restaurateurs are hopeful the comfort food will make a comeback.

A Daily Dose of | Happy Hour

The city is your oyster (or taco, or sushi roll) as bigger, better happy hours follow a boom in the food scene. Hungry yet?