Good morning, Philly. We squeaked into Red October, and we’re in for some beautiful weather with highs near 80 as our reward.
Today, we start with how a Philly educator’s hoax about her ethnicity has shattered two advocacy groups she worked with, and we hear from a fellow organizer whom she conned.
Then, we have new exclusive reporting on FanDuel’s practice of sending personalized celebrity videos to users.
Plus, Pennsylvania marks a fifth measles death, and more news of the day.
— Laura Benshoff (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
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Two groups shattered
For years, Philadelphia School District teacher Hannah Gann advocated for social justice in classrooms, claiming her work with the Racial Justice Organizing Committee and Philly Educators for Palestine was rooted in her identity as a Black and Palestinian woman.
Last week, she admitted to lying about her ethnicity. Her deception is now roiling the groups and communities she fought for.
“After much reflection, Philly Educators for Palestine has made the decision to dissolve,” a statement from the group read. Meanwhile, the Racial Justice Organizing Committee announced it would take a two-month hiatus “to rest, process, and decompress.”
One fellow organizer, furious at the damage done by Gann, shared details around Gann’s con with The Inquirer. The organizer said Gann would wear African print clothing and selectively speak in African American Vernacular English, but was also “a little ambiguous” about her background.
Inquirer education reporter Kristen Graham has all the details.
FanDuel cops to more videos
Earlier this year, The Inquirer broke the story that FanDuel sent a personalized video of Phillies slugger Bryce Harper to a Philly-area user who was suffering from a gambling addiction.
Now, The Inquirer has exclusively learned that the company sent around 30 such videos from athletes and celebrities over the last two years, according to a letter from a FanDuel executive to members of Congress.
Following our initial reporting, several U.S. lawmakers demanded that FanDuel end its VIP services, the unit sending the videos.
In response to that pressure, Cory Fox, FanDuel’s senior vice president for public policy and sustainability, said that the videos are not used to “induce customers to continue gambling.”
Read investigative reporter David Gambacorta’s full exclusive here.
What you should know today
- Pennsylvania’s Department of Health has confirmed a fifth death, of an unvaccinated person in Lancaster County, amid the ongoing measles outbreak.
- Philly DA Larry Krasner said the federal judge who accused him of crimes, Judge Paul S. Diamond, should be removed from the case and called Diamond’s allegations “fever-dream conspiracy theories.”
- Members of a Black Panther-style group were arrested in Chester after doing an armed patrol in that city earlier this year.
- Pennsylvania Democrats’ hope to take control of the state Senate runs through three swing districts in Bucks and Montgomery Counties.
- Camden is weighing whether to raise taxes to keep sewage outflows from disrupting recreation on the Cooper River.
- As of 12:01 a.m. today, WHYY’s acquisition of Pennsylvania State University’s public radio and television station, WPSU, is complete.
Quote of the day
Water, water, everywhere, and all of it has little bits of plastic in it.
Microplastics were detected in 22 stream and river segments across the Delaware River watershed, reports Inquirer environment reporter Frank Kummer.
🧠 Trivia time
Which one of the following celebrities was not among those allegedly defrauded by a Main Line businessman running a marijuana payment processing business?
A) Chrissy Teigen
B) John Legend
C) Andy Roddick
D) Brooklyn Decker
Think you know? Check your answer.
What we’re …
📺 Watching. The Netflix reboot of the 1980s comedy A Different World has tons of Philly connections and is a good show to boot, writes Inquirer columnist Elizabeth Wellington.
🍽️ Reviewing. The historic Morris House Hotel in Society Hill has a promising new Moroccan-French restaurant. Too bad, writes restaurant critic Craig LaBan writes, that it suffers from uneven execution.
🦅 Cheering to. Wielding an accordion, a foot drum, and a kazoo, one Doylestown woman plays the Eagles fight song all by herself. Oh, there’s also a foot tambourine. And yes, there is video.
⚡️Reading. Vineland residents living in the shadow of a data center shared their experiences with Inquirer consumer reporter Erin McCarthy.
🧩 Unscramble the anagram
Hint: A defunct waterpark in South Jersey.
CLONK PETERMAN
Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here.
Congratulations to Lataya Rothmiller, who correctly guessed Wednesday’s answer: Alex McFarlane. This Phillies rookie was a teenager when Hurricane Irma struck his home island of St. Thomas. What followed would put him on the path to the big leagues.
Video of the day
For today’s visual, something a little different. Inquirer video host Ariane Datil has cooked up something really fun — part-matchmaking show, part-food challenge — called Love at First Bite. Watch along as some of Philly’s top chefs pair off and make a new dish for The Inquirer’s Food Fest.
👋 Thank you for reading.
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