Good morning, Philly! Let’s start the week off right (even if it starts off wet).

Latino voters shifted toward President Donald Trump nationally in 2024, but several Philly Latino voters say they’re all in on Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro as the gubernatorial election approaches.

A 46-foot-long “Join or Die” sculpture is expected to be unveiled this fall, but still $600,00 needs to be raised. The National Park Service has started a public donation page to close the funding gap.

Plus, a former state lawmaker who’s now leading a Delaware County transit agency was charged with a DUI and child endangerment, and more news of the day.

— Sam Stewart (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)

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‘People are sacrificing necessities’

Jorge Luis Burgos of North Philadelphia, a registered Democrat, was one of many Latino voters who shifted to the right and voted for President Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election. Now, he’s planning to shift back and vote for Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro as he runs for reelection in the key swing state.

Burgos said he voted for Trump in 2024 because he was worried about inflation and felt betrayed by the last-minute switch that swapped then-President Joe Biden for Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee. But he said Trump has failed to fulfill his promises, and he has found himself turning back to the Democratic Party.

In the last decade, support of Republican candidates, specifically Trump, has grown in the majority Latino precincts of Philadelphia — with Trump’s share of the vote increasing from 6.1% in 2016 to 21.8% in 2024.

But now many Latino voters have not seen the outcomes they were hoping for, with a May poll from Pew finding that Trump’s support has fallen more sharply with Latino voters than other voters.

🐍 Slithering to completion

A 46-foot-long sculpture of Benjamin Franklin’s “Join or Die” snake is set to be unveiled this fall on the Liberty Bell Center block of the Independence Mall, near the corner of Fifth and Chestnut Streets. The sculpture will feature eight pieces that represent segments of the snake’s body.

The Independence Mall sculpture will be installed on the ground, allowing visitors to interact directly with the sculpture.

The sculpture was originally one of several other improvements to the park proposed in 2025 and was to be completed before this year’s semiquincentennial. In July of 2025, the Inquirer reported that the project was short the $1.6 million needed to complete the project by this summer.

Severe budget cuts to the National Park Service and other federal funding gaps forced the trust to turn to public fundraising for their improvement efforts.

What you should know today

• Former State Rep. Nick Miccarelli, who left Harrisburg in 2018 during the #MeToo reckoning and then landed a higher-paying job running a publicly funded transit agency, is facing felony charges of child endangerment following a DUI arrest on the Pennsylvania Turnpike.
• President Donald Trump says he will order U.S. forces to hold off on new strikes against Iran, contending that Mideast allies have reached the parameters of a deal to end the five-month old war.
• Federal authorities are warning that critical infrastructure systems in the United States could be at risk after at least seven states reported cyberattacks that interrupted their water or wastewater operations last week.
• Vincent Pastore, a veteran actor who played mobsters and tough guys, and was best known for portraying Salvatore “Big Pussy” Bonpensiero on The Sopranos, has died. He was 80.
• Learn how a “perfect storm” spread fire, heat, and smoke across the Northern Hemisphere. Major wildfires and their massive, suffocating plumes of smoke blanketed vast swaths of North America and Europe, in some cases combining with intense heat waves.

Quote of the day

Will Yip — a Northeast Philly record producer who won a Grammy earlier this year — is also a huge Phillies fan. In fact, he believes that fandom is what brings people together. And it’s that fandom with the Phils that helped him win a Grammy.

🧠 Trivia time

South Philadelphia’s new pedestrian and bicycle route, the Washington Avenue Connector, will connect what park to the Delaware River?

A) Columbus Square Park

B) Dickinson Square Park

C) Jefferson Square Park

D) Chew Park

Think you know? Check your answer.

What (and whom) we’re …

📚 Reading: A collection of “scandalous” 19th-century manuals that has made its way onto the Library Company of Philadelphia’s shelves.

🤔 Wondering: Do recent Philadelphia restaurant closings signal trouble for the industry? The Inquirer’s Michael Klein breaks it down.

🏡 Impressed by: A couple who sold their two Wildwood vacation condos, then found their dream split-level in Brigantine.

🧩 Unscramble the anagram

Hint: Philadelphia-based painter and photographer in the late 1800s

ASHANTI SMOKE

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

Cheers to Tim L., who solved Sunday’s anagram: Wissahickon Valley Park. The HBO series Task will film for its second season in the Northwest Philly park Monday through Friday.

Photo of the day

🎶 One more thing: New Barber’s Hall, a cornerstone of Philadelphia’s Black heritage, celebrated its historic run before saying goodbye. Owner Jake Adams and his wife, Sarah, were honored Saturday with a street sign near the iconic jazz venue and restaurant, which sold this year.

📬 Your ‘only in Philly’ story

Think back to the night that changed your life that could only happen in Philly, a true example of the Philly spirit, the time you finally felt like you belonged in Philly if you’re not a lifer, something that made you fall in love with Philly all over again — or proud to be from here if you are. Then email it to us for a chance to be featured in the Monday edition of this newsletter.

This “only in Philly” story comes from reader Rick Schrenker, who describes how he keeps circling back to Philly:

I don’t get to Philly that often, but I lived there for about seven weeks during the summer of 1971. And I’ve visited Philly quite a few times since.

My grandfather lived in Old Forge and was a Scranton coal miner back in the first half of the 20th century. He somehow moved to Rome, N.Y., where my parents met. He then moved to Baltimore, and they followed. When I was a teen, he moved to Philly.

He lived above the bar where he worked, just up the street from the Greyhound bus terminal. He got to know the managers of an envelope printing company in a building on the corner of (I think) 12th & Spring Garden, just around the corner from the bar. And he got me a summer job there.

My routine was to catch a late bus on Sunday night from Baltimore to Philly, work through Friday, then take the bus home and hang out with my friends on the weekends.

Fast forward maybe 10 to 15 years. My Grampa had been at my graduation from Johns Hopkins but was otherwise not around much. I got married, bought a home, had a daughter. Then he got ill. Visits to Philly picked up again. We got nice pictures of the old coal miner holding his great-granddaughter. Later, we transferred him here for the rest of his days.

Then, my daughter finished college and moved to Pottstown. And once again, opportunities to visit Philly picked up. Mostly the zoo with our grandkids. There’s lots of interesting towns between Pottstown and Philly. But a year ago, she and her family moved to New England.

So, a few weeks ago, I got a subscription to The Inquirer’s morning newsletter. I also read the Baltimore Banner, along with the Globe, of course.

But Philly has a special sauce of some sort, or at least it has for me. Maybe I’ll get back again.

P.S. We love your Only in Philly submissions, and we need more! Email us with your stories and get a chance to be featured in an upcoming newsletter.

👋 Have a good one, folks!

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Good morning. Showers are expected throughout the day.

Fifty years ago, a deadly disease at a Philly convention stumped health officials. We go back in time to explore the infamous outbreak, and how it got its name here.

But first, our main Sunday read is about a pornographer’s obsession and criminal past blurring fact and fiction in the mystery surrounding missing women.

Scroll along for these stories and more.

— Paola Pérez (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)

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Dark arts

Note: This article covers sensitive topics, including drug use and violence against women.

In June, a three-story brick twin on a quiet residential street in Olney became the center of a sprawling investigation into the disappearance of at least two women.

The property, owned by Raymond “R.C.” Horsch, has been scoured by hazmat teams and excavation crews looking for clues. Still, key questions remain, and other developments have raised concern about the fates of the missing women.

An Inquirer review of court records and other documents traces the people and events connected to the home, along with dozens of interviews.

Read the detailed investigation by Barbara Laker, Ryan W. Briggs, Max Marin, and Ellie Rushing.

Legionnaires’ legacy

In July 1976, thousands of American Legion members gathered at Philadelphia’s Bellevue-Stratford Hotel for a convention.

Weeks later, dozens would die and others turned gravely ill.

For months, officials couldn’t identify the cause. Fear, paranoia, and frustration spread here and nationwide. Inquirer readers at the time thought everything from pigeon droppings to contaminated ice could have been responsible.

Today, we now know the culprit as Legionnaires’ disease. Caused by Legionella pneumophila bacteria, it has more recently reemerged in a Manhattan outbreak that has claimed at least seven lives.

Dive into the archives with Nick Vadala to learn how the cause of Legionnaires’ was ultimately discovered.

What you should know today

• Police are searching for a man who fired a gun inside a Walmart store in Delaware County, wounding an employee.
• Resident physicians at Temple and Jefferson hospitals have ratified their first contracts with their health systems after voting to unionize last year.
• Psychiatry’s leading guide to diagnosing mental health conditions is due for a major update. A Penn psychiatrist is heading the effort.
• President Donald Trump denied New Jersey’s request for federal disaster aid. Sen. Andy Kim said he’s concerned about the possible politics behind the decision.
• The fate of an assistant Delco fire chief accused of hurling racist threats at a woman during a tense confrontation in 2024 is now in the hands of a judge.
• Costs for a Tredyffrin park have ballooned to $1.7 million, angering residents. Officials say it’s an investment.

This week in history

🎤 Here’s Tommy Rowan with a look back at the saga of hitchBOT’s decapitation.

To try and better understand human-robot relationships, Canadian researchers in the mid-2010s birthed a child-size figure with robotlike qualities and sent him out into the word.

He was carried across the Northeast by the kindness of strangers who were kept up to date through social media posts. Nicknamed hitchBOT, the oddity developed quite a following, moving through the Netherlands, Germany, and Canada.

When he hit the United States, he safely crossed through the northeastern part of the country over a two-week span.

And then he arrived in Philadelphia.

Here’s what happened.

❓Pop quiz

Temple University, which faces a budget deficit and challenging financial headwinds, received a record amount of donations in the last fiscal year.

How much did the school raise?

A) $100 million

B) $123 million

C) $214 million

D) $321 million

Think you know? Check your answer.

What we’re …

🍅 Hungry for: A savory tomato tart from Market Day Canelé.

🧠 Playing: Pillars, The Inquirer’s new weekly word game, built specifically for Philly.

📖 Browsing: Bookstores with West Philly novelist Emma Copley Eisenberg.

⚽ Discovering: What’s it like to be a player in the “Welcome to Wrexham” fishbowl.

🎞️ Watching: A documentary screening on the life and career of beloved poet Mary Oliver.

🧩 Unscramble the anagram

Hint: Vast green space in Northwest Philadelphia

AIRPLAY LINK SHOCKWAVES

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

Cheers to Timah Jay, who correctly guessed Saturday’s answer: Quakertown. A local Quaker school closed with little warning after four decades in Bucks County. Parents say they’re still waiting for thousands in tuition refunds.

Photo of the day

🎶 In memory of French electronic DJ and producer Kavinsky, today’s song goes like this: “I’m giving you a night call to tell you how I feel.”

One more musical thing: Oscar-winning Irish singer Glen Hansard also died last week. He loved coming to Philly, where he worked on an album for a year and shoveled snow for the first time.

👋🏽 Have a great Sunday.

By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirer’s Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10.

Rise and shine, Philly. It’s August, and we’re promised a warm, partly sunny day.

A reader feels torn on wanting to tear up the 1950s-style bathroom in their new South Philly home. Inquirer staffers debate the dilemma.

Plus, we’re talking about a developer’s plans for Manayunk’s Venice Island, a sit-down with Cecily Tynan, and our report card for this week in Philly news.

— Paola Pérez (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)

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What you should know today

• A developer wants to build on 30 acres of flood-prone Venice Island in Manayunk, sparking community pushback about suburbanization.
• Philly residents left traumatized by the Northeast plane crash in January 2025 are suing the Mexican jet company.
• A doctor and Bangladesh native was driving for DoorDash to support his wife’s medical career when police say he was killed during a robbery this month. It was one of at least three shootings involving delivery drivers in the city this summer.
• West Oak Lane tenants who sued one of Philadelphia’s biggest landlords over unsafe conditions will get rent forgiveness and refunds if their class-action settlement is approved.
• More than a dozen Philadelphia-area contractors have sued apartment developer Post Brothers, alleging the company failed to fully pay for completed work.
• Federal prosecutors have charged a Montco rail parts supplier and its owner for their part in a bid-rigging conspiracy involving SEPTA contracts.
• Construction on Philly’s new cruise terminal is behind schedule and will cost millions more than expected.
• Federal funding for a teen pregnancy prevention program in Philadelphia was abruptly cut last month. Leaders said the program’s curriculum had already been approved.
• Cecily Tynan’s retirement surprised viewers, but it had been coming for years. A brief bout with vertigo sealed the longtime 6abc meteorologist’s decision.
• From John Kruk stealing the show with his clip-on ties to a new Wildwood-set comedy, catch up on the good, bad, and weird from recent stories out of Philly.

The pink bathroom problem

This week’s question is: I just bought a South Philly house with a pristine 1950s bathroom. Everyone who sees it says I MUST keep it, pink toilet and all. But I want radiant heat flooring, marble, and a moody paint scheme. Am I a monster?

Inquirer reporters Earl Hopkins and Stephanie Farr joined forces to tackle this one, discussing ways to pay respects to the house’s roots, while also honoring one’s free will and individuality.

Farr, who grew to love the anachronistic feel of pink tile in her bathroom, suggested our reader soak it in a little bit longer before taking a hammer to it. “I’m in the modern era in the rest of my house, but when I go to the bathroom I’m transported back to the 1950s,” Farr said. ”It’s a bathroom time machine!”

Read their full chat here. And if you’re looking for advice, or want to share your thoughts, we want to hear it. Email us here.

One viewpoint

A quaint Pennsylvania borough has become a “speed trap” for detaining immigrants through a partnership with ICE, Inquirer columnist Will Bunch writes, with police having turned over 32 immigrants since March.

“Some longtime residents of Mount Holly Springs are worried that things will never be the same,” Bunch writes. Read more here.

📍 Find the location

This photo was our very first Citywide Quest question. Think you know where it was taken? Check your answer.

P.S. Thanks for playing Citywide Quest with us over the last year. This is the last edition of the game. Rest assured, we’re making new experiences for you to enjoy, including Pillars, a new word game built specifically for Philly.

🧩 Unscramble the anagram

Hint: In Bucks County (one word)

QUART WOKEN

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

Cheers to Mary Keeley, who correctly guessed Friday’s answer: Brio Italian Grille. The Cherry Hill restaurant permanently shut its doors — for real this time. The nearest location is now 200 miles from South Jersey.

We were there

The FBI conducted a search of Dane Fine Art in Haverford Township on Wednesday.

A “premier dealer of limited edition and unique works of art,” the gallery buys, sells, and auctions prints and original works from a variety of artists like Andy Warhol and Keith Haring, according to its site.

Here’s what staff photographer Jose F. Moreno and reporter Denali Sagner heard and saw at the scene after the gallery reopened Thursday.

Somewhere on the internet in Philly

🏙️ LeBron James made his NBA debut in 2003. A Philly real estate agent showcases just how much the city has changed since then.

🗺️ Waze? Apple Maps? Nah, let me hear that Delco GPS.

🏀 Even “Dr. Seuss” can’t help but trust the process.

👋🏽 Thanks for reading. Have a good one, and I’ll catch up with you again tomorrow.

By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirer’s Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10.

We made it to Friday.

Heads up, homeowners: taxes are going up in Philadelphia. Before you feel it in your wallet, check to make sure you aren’t missing out on thousands in savings.

Some new Philly school buses will give parents the ability to track their real-time location.

Plus, a suspect was arrested in the fatal hit-and-run of a Temple student, and more news of the day.

P.S. Yesterday, we accidentally shared a broken link to a story about 6abc meteorologist Cecily Tynan, who recently announced her retirement. We’ll be publishing a Q&A with Tynan on Saturday and will include that in the newsletter then.

— Paola Pérez (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)

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Don’t leave money on the table

Tax revenue helps fund city services like parks and the police department, but rising real estate taxes can be costly for some families.

Philadelphia has programs designed to help ease this burden. Still, thousands are not enrolled in them.

On the flip side, more than 13,000 were found to have fraudulently received assistance despite not being eligible, city officials said Wednesday.

One homeowner told The Inquirer the city could do more to inform people and build trust.

To help, we built a tool using city property data to help you discover which programs are available to you. The survey will tell you what you can apply for, and how much you would save.

Answer a couple of questions to find out if you qualify for any assistance.

Where’s the bus?

For the first time, Philadelphia parents will be able to track their kids’ school buses for at least 200 routes in the city.

The school district recently awarded a contract to a company called Zum for a high-tech fleet equipped with technology that updates yellow bus locations via an app.

🚍 Still mostly analog: Most city school buses don’t have GPS and are still driven using turn-by-turn directions.

🚍 Technology plus comfort: The vendor promises families the ability to be informed on who is driving their child’s bus, and get notifications on students’ departures and arrivals. All Zum buses are also air conditioned. Currently, AC is guaranteed only on buses transporting students with disabilities.

🚍 Beyond Philly: Zum runs routes in 18 states and 6,500 districts nationwide.

Philly schools reporter Kristen Graham has the details.

What you should know today

• Authorities arrested a driver they say struck and killed 20-year-old Temple University student Bryce Wolfe on Kelly Drive in June.
• Prosecutors and a Montgomery County grand jury faulted the Cheltenham School District for failing to protect players during two violent 2025 locker-room assaults.
• New records obtained by The Inquirer detail the scramble to save Philadelphia’s only free sexual assault exam center.
• A former Philadelphia diversity chief alleges that City Hall moved to suppress DEI work and dissent, according to a lawsuit over her firing.
• The University of Valley Forge will suspend operations at the end of its summer 2026 semester.
• A man who has lived legally in the United States for almost 20 years is being held by ICE while it looks for a country where it can send him.
• Convicted former Philadelphia labor leader John Dougherty will remain in prison after a judge again denied his request to be released on house arrest.
• A year after a devastating fire, the Curtis Institute of Music is closing in on a $25 million vision for the historic Art Alliance building’s next act.
• In a reversal, New Jersey now says Pennsylvania residents should register their e-bikes in order to legally ride them there.

Plus: Who is the voice of SEPTA?

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’re resurfacing an explainer from Michelle Myers on the mysterious character responsible for the voice you hear when a train is delayed or when it’s time to board.

His name is Alvin Elliott, a veteran SEPTA employee who at first volunteered his voice long before it became a cornerstone of the transit system, and of Philadelphians’ lives.

“Even when he’s announcing trains are being delayed, there is something comforting about the way he speaks,” an Inquirer reader said. Here’s the full story.

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

A rising senior at La Salle University built an app to help him and other athletes on his team excel in their sport, using a collection of stats and artificial intelligence. What sport is the app specialized for?

A) Cross country

B) Rowing

C) Lacrosse

D) Golf

Think you know? Test your local news know-how and check your answer in our weekly quiz.

What we’re…

🕵️ Probing: Is Bradley Cooper really from Jenkintown?

🍱 Trying: New eateries outside of the city.

⛸️ Curious about: What South Jersey figure skater Isabeau Levito is cooking up for her new programs.

🦕 Learning: The first public display of a complete dinosaur skeleton happened in Philly.

🎹 Feeling FOMO over: Herbie Hancock’s Kimmel Center concert. (Paola says: Now “Watermelon Man” is stuck in my head.)

🧩 Unscramble the anagram

Hint: Its Cherry Hill location has closed. This time, it’s for good. 🍝

ILLIBERAL RIGATONI

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

Cheers to Ken Goldman, who solved Thursday’s anagram: The Odyssey. A Penn professor’s work was used as reference for the film. It didn’t impress her, though.

Photo of the day

👋🏽 As always, thank you for waking up with The Inquirer. Make of the most of July’s final hours, and have a great weekend.

By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirer’s Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10.