💺 The SEPTA seat shuffle | Morning Newsletter

Good morning, Philly. Watch out for heavy downpours and the threat of flash flooding starting Saturday evening.

The train is crowded. A new passenger approaches your aisle. Who will have to squeeze into the dreaded middle seat? Inquirer staffers share their thoughts on the polite approach.

Plus, we have an update on the sprawling investigation into missing women in Olney, why the logo for Meta’s new AI agent may look familiar, and our report card for this week in Philly news.

— Paola Pérez (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)

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What you should know today

• The woman who police believe was killed by pornographer Raymond Horsch on camera has been identified as Nicole Amanda Fusaro. She was last seen in Kensington in 2018.
• State officials announced four “breakthrough cases” of Pennsylvanians who were vaccinated against measles and have contracted the highly contagious illness.
• Bald Birds Brewing Co. violated state wage law at its Montgomery County and Lycoming County locations, with some workers going unpaid for five weeks, according to state regulators.
• After Meta debuted its new AI agent “Muse” this week, Inquirer columnist Stephanie Farr connected the dots on why its logo rang a few bells: It resembles Mural Arts Philadelphia’s logo.
• Cherry Hill’s new Asianfresh Food Market officially opens to shoppers on Saturday. Take a peek inside.
• The Wings, Philadelphia’s National Lacrosse League team, is discontinuing operations.
• Beauty brand Dove is picking up the tab at South Street’s Marsha’s on Saturday, as part of a partnership with select women-owned bars across the country.
• City crews officially began installing the Rocky statue at the top of the Art Museum steps on Friday. Construction is slated to be completed over the next two weeks and will cost roughly $150,000.
• From a disappointing $88 baked potato to our first look at a new sports arena, catch up on the good, bad, and weird from recent stories out of Philly.

Rush hour train seat rules

A reader asked: On Regional Rail, I often sit in the aisle of a three-seater, knowing the car will fill up at rush hour. When it does, I stand up so another passenger can take the middle seat, then return to my aisle seat. My friend says that’s awkward on a busy car, and I should just slide over. Who’s right?

Personally, I think both achieve the same objective — namely, offering a seat at all — but the first option takes up more time, and feels like the less socially acceptable move.

To analyze the moral situation, my colleagues Beatrice Forman and Abigail Covington lit up the group chat with some unfiltered thoughts. “Everybody knows the middle seat is terrible,” Covington said.

Forman suggested that taking ownership of the end of the row comes off as a defensive posture. “I think it’s weird because it treats the middle seat kind of like a punishment? And most Regional Rail rides aren’t long enough to the point that it matters,” Forman said.

Read their full conversation here. Need advice, or want to share your thoughts? We want to hear it. Email us here.

One viewpoint

Inquirer columnist Daniel Pearson was 12 years old when the 9/11 terror attacks happened. In reflection on the anniversary of the terror attacks, he argues that America lost its way afterward, and traces much of what went wrong to the nation’s initial efforts to avenge the fallen.

“When the planes hit the World Trade Center towers on Sept. 11, 2001, most of us did not realize it was the first step in the dismantling of the world we knew,” Pearson writes.

Read on for Pearson’s perspective on how the country can change its trajectory.

❓Pop quiz

Rep. David Maloney, a Republican who represents parts of Berks County, wants to rename Lake Erie to what?

A) Lake Maloney

B) Lake Trump

C) Lake Berks

D) Lake Pennsylvania

Think you know? Check your answer.

🧩 Unscramble the anagram

Hint: North Philly native and multiplatinum artist

LEMME ILK

Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here.

Cheers to Terry Hafler, who correctly guessed Friday’s answer: Penn Medicine. Earlier this week, the hospital system announced a $50 million gift to accelerate work on therapies for cancer, autoimmune diseases, infectious diseases with the hope of bringing treatments to market faster.

We were there

The Academy of Natural Sciences Museum is closing its doors, but its “beating heart” will remain, to the tune of 19 million specimens amassed over more than two centuries. Think bird carcasses, fish, mollusks, minerals, and bones of various kinds.

Culture writer Peter Dobrin takes us backstage beyond the museum walls to show one of the world’s largest repositories of natural specimens, and what will happen to the trove.

Somewhere on the internet in Philly

💡 A team of Inquirer journalists sat down to answer reader questions about the case of Raymond Horsch and his son, Eugene.

🕰️ Redditors are reminiscing on a decades-old photo of the food court in The Gallery. One commenter said, “I can smell this picture.”

😍 Hello Kitty x Eagles? Yes, please.

👋🏽 Thanks for reading! It was nice to catch up with you. Let’s do this again tomorrow.

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