đź“Ł Protests across Philadelphia | Morning Newsletter
And Jersey gov race as barometer.
The Morning Newsletter
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Hi, Philly. If you’re doing the Broad Street Run, consider a poncho: Showers are expected this weekend through the next several days.
From a Montgomery County retirement community to Philadelphia City Hall, May Day protesters across the region rallied against President Donald Trump and in support of workers on Thursday.
And with just weeks to go, it’s looking like all six candidates have a chance to win the New Jersey governor’s Democratic primary. The race is set to be a barometer of how voters are responding to Trump’s second term so far.
— Julie Zeglen ([email protected])
P.S. Friday means trivia. Our latest news quiz includes questions on an infamous liqueur, a White House speech, and more.
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Joining municipalities across the United States on a national day of May Day protests, the Philadelphia region on Thursday was home to several events backing progressive causes.
đź“Ł Dozens of pro-immigrant groups gathered at the federal courthouse downtown as an appeals court considered a New Jersey state ban on immigration-detention contracts.
📣 Seniors from a Montco retirement home took to a suburban street for a Trump-focused protest. “I don’t know that it’ll help, but it makes us feel like we’re doing something,” said one 84-year-old, with a sign that read “grandmas for democracy.”
📣 Sen. Bernie Sanders, headlining the “For the Workers, Not the Billionaires” rally hosted by Philadelphia’s AFL-CIO chapter, called on Pennsylvania lawmakers to oppose cuts to Medicaid. The event outside City Hall swelled to an estimated 1,500 people, with some then parading to Broad and Vine Streets where more than 70 were arrested for blocking the road.
New Jersey’s June 10 primary could be seen as a referendum on how voters in the state — typically blue, but tinged purple as of last fall’s presidential election — are feeling about Trump. Is the country’s rightward shift welcome, or will they seek a new direction?
Each candidate could bring a distinct voter base and is positioning themself to take their own path to victory, from a Working Families Party-backed progressive to a moderate focused on tax policy.
Yet so far, polling doesn’t show a clear winner among the six candidates. First place right now? Undecided.
Politics reporter Aliya Schneider explains the stakes.
In other Jersey politics news: Candidate U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer is a fan of Bruce Springsteen — so much so that he shared a fake Spotify Wrapped to show it. Now, a Boss-tied celebrity is endorsing him. And U.S. Rep. Donald Norcross, a Democrat from Camden, has been discharged from Cooper University Hospital following his treatment for a gallbladder infection that had progressed to sepsis.
P.S. Jersey’s biggest fire in more than a decade, last month’s Jones Road Wildfire, started in an infamous party area. Here’s what we know about its cause.
What you should know today
A corrections officer at Philadelphia’s Federal Detention Center has been charged with sexually assaulting a prisoner, authorities said Thursday.
A former Philly police detective is again facing assault and threat charges stemming from a bizarre off-duty incident, four years after a city judge found him not guilty of those charges.
The Trump administration has terminated a $600,000 grant to the Pennsylvania Innocence Project, a nonprofit that helps exonerate people incarcerated for crimes they didn’t commit.
Gov. Josh Shapiro is streamlining Pennsylvania’s consumer-complaint process in the hopes of filling gaps left by a shuttered federal watchdog.
Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s administration sent City Council five bills to advance her housing initiative, but only one was introduced — a sign the plan hasn’t been embraced by lawmakers.
The city’s new Neighborhood Wellness Court initiative has been placed on hold amid growing concern from legal leaders.
Philly District Attorney Larry Krasner is airing his first television ad with less than three weeks until election day, touting a lower homicide rate and jabbing “Trump and his billionaire buddies.”
Temple University, Dickinson College, and other area schools kept their commencement speaker picks in-house this year. Here’s the region’s full lineup.
Welcome back to Curious Philly Friday. We’ll feature both new and timeless stories from our forum for readers to ask about the city’s quirks.
This week, we have an explainer on the Morse code-like system that dictates the honks heard along Southeastern Pennsylvania train lines. Though the sounds may seem random at times — or like engineers are just saying hi to each other — they’re actually a regulated form of communication.
One long horn means brakes, for instance, while three short beeps mean the train needs to back up. Here’s the full explanation.
Have your own burning question about Philadelphia, its local oddities, or how the region works? Submit it here and you might find the answer featured in this space.
🧠Trivia time
Which celebrity Eagles fan cooked cheesesteaks for the Birds on the final day of the NFL draft?
A) Kevin Hart
B) Rob McElhenney
C) Bradley Cooper
D) Tina Fey
Think you know? Check your answer.
What (and who) we’re...
đź“ą Remembering: This week in Philly history, when The Real World: Philadelphia started filming in Old City.
🫢 Cringing over: The viral incident in which a Delaware County driver allegedly rage pooped on car.
🕵️ Obsessed with: The case of a library book returned to Stillman Elementary, 43 years late.
🏀 Admiring: Dawn Staley’s new statue in South Carolina.
🪤 Jealous of: The 300 people who got cheesesteaks at the Nihonbashi Philly pop-up — out of the thousands who showed up.
🧩 Unscramble the anagram
Hint: Downtown Philadelphia business improvement org
ENTICED CITRIC TRYST
Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here.
Cheers to Michelle Cibort, who solved Thursday’s anagram: Prince Edward. The royal visited Old City on Wednesday to rededicate the Bicentennial Bell given to the city by his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, in 1976. The Duke of Edinburgh also stopped by a Philly high school where students are embarking on a youth awards program named in his honor.
Photo of the day
May your weekend contain high-flying yet safe and supported fun. I’ll be back with you Monday.
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