Head of Pa.’s civil rights agency to resign as Gov. Shapiro launches inquiry into agency’s spending Gov. Josh Shapiro has asked Chad Dion Lassiter to resign, and four other senior officials departed the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission in recent weeks.

www.inquirer.com/news/pennsyl...

RIP to our son’s alma mater. Served him well.

Hampshire College Will Close Amid Student Enrollment Declines

“I think there’s an inability for those people who have wealth in the country to understand and value something like Hampshire,” Ken Burns said. “It was dedicated to a transformational education, in an era when higher education has been hijacked by the transactional.”
www.nytimes.com/2026/04/14/u...

Philadelphia police expand drone use, but with little oversight from above The Philadelphia Police Department has been operating a drone program for two years without the kind of transparency and oversight common in other major cities.

That drone overhead could be a cop. www.inquirer.com/news/philade...

Some Philadelphia-area smoke shops sell unregulated psychedelics that often mislead customers Philadelphia is a wonderland for unregulated “magic mushrooms.” Trip at your own risk.

MYSTERY MUSHROOMS
Philadelphia is a wonderland for unregulated “magic mushrooms.” Trip at your own risk. www.inquirer.com/news/a/magic...

American Journalist Kidnapped in Iraq Is Freed

American Journalist Kidnapped in Iraq Is Freed www.nytimes.com/2026/04/07/w...

Montco Intermediate Unit staff criticize leaders for taking ‘dream trip’ to Africa on agency credit cards “The trips felt deceptive and intentionally secretive," one staffer said, "and I struggle to understand how they related to our mission.”

www.inquirer.com/news/montco-...

‘An embarrassment’: Deed delays in Philly Sheriff’s Office prompt lawsuits One firm has nearly $1 million tied up in eight property sales with no idea when Sheriff Rochelle Bilal's staff will process the deeds. Another has been waiting since 2024.

www.inquirer.com/news/sheriff...

Nice description of Philly fans today.

The long-running WXPN show ‘Kids Corner’ will end in June After almost 40 years on the air, Kathy O'Connell is hanging up her headphones and heading into retirement when Kids Corner goes off the air this summer.

Lotta kids grew up to her happy voice www.inquirer.com/life/wxpn-sh...

montco-intermediate-unit-travel-safari Montco Intermediate Unit leaders used public funds to purchase professional-development trips to Africa, Singapore, South Korea and Central Europe. School officials elsewhere paid their own way.

The safari, she said, was “about that process of survival of the fittest, and how are you a leader, and what do you prioritize.”

www.inquirer.com/news/montco-...

A Bucks County teen was internet-savvy entrepreneur. Now he’s an alleged bombmaker behind the NYC terror plot. For a computer-savvy Bucks teen, Emir Balat had a faint online presence.

www.inquirer.com/news/emir-ba...

Flyers fight coach and bareknuckle brawler Johnny ‘Cannoli’ Garbarino sparked a melee outside Barstool Sansom. It was caught on video. Police are investigating the altercation after an assault complaint was filed. But a cop on the scene reportedly gave Garbarino a fist bump. The boxer said he was a friend.

www.inquirer.com/news/johnny-...

Members-only Philly cop bar has been linked to two DUIs — and a third crash kept secret, until now Anna Wakeman still questions why 7C Lounge bartenders didn’t stop serving the officer who crashed into her house and upended her life five years ago.

www.inquirer.com/news/philade...

New Epstein files show years of email exchanges with Sixers co-owner Josh Harris The Sixers owner shows up scores of times in emails released Friday by the U.S. Department of Justice, covering a period after Epstein's conviction for solicitation of sex with a minor.

www.inquirer.com/news/josh-ha...

Safety board releases initial findings in Bristol nursing home explosion that killed three people, injured dozens The initial findings of federal investigators provide the most detailed account of what happened in the lead-up to the deadly blast on Dec. 23 that rattled lower Bucks County.

www.inquirer.com/news/bristol...

The slavery exhibits at the President’s House have been removed following Trump administration push President Donald Trump and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum ordered content at national parks that “inappropriately disparage” the U.S. to be reviewed and potentially removed.

www.inquirer.com/politics/nat...

Survivors recount persistent gas smell, lack of concern by staff and a smoke break before explosion rocked Bristol nursing home Nursing home staffers told Robert Flesch that Peco had fixed the leak and the building was safe, he recalls, despite the lingering gas smell.

www.inquirer.com/news/nursing...

Looking for a good story to read while your turkey thaws? Take our quiz to get a recommendation. If you're trying to pass some time while your Thanksgiving turkey thaws or you wait for your delayed flight, these stories can help.

Got some time on your hands? Here are some treats from 2025.

www.inquirer.com/news/inq2/in...

Looking for a good story to read while your turkey thaws? Take our quiz to get a recommendation. If you're trying to pass some time while your Thanksgiving turkey thaws or you wait for your delayed flight, these stories can help.

Got some time on your hands? Here are some stories we like from 2025 but you might have missed.
www.inquirer.com/news/inq2/in...

Philly street festivals are shutting down over rising police overtime costs. But some groups don’t have to pay. Philly elected officials, police-connected groups, and street festival organizers who cut special deals are exempt from tens of thousands dollars in city event fees inked to street festivals.

Bills for thee, but not for me.
www.inquirer.com/news/philly-...

Former Philadelphia police captain and eight current and former cops charged with conspiracy, theft The charges are tied to the $392,000 'Guns Down, Gloves Up' anti-violence program founded by former Capt. Nashid Akil. Five cops are expected to be fired.

www.inquirer.com/news/olice-c...

‘No new information:’ Philly sheriff mum 15 months after a guy with a poodle wrecked an office SUV Sheriff Rochelle Bilal won't disclose the outcome of an investigation involving a high-ranking deputy's city-leased Ford Expedition. Meanwhile, another deputy recently had her car stolen.

www.inquirer.com/news/philade...

Yoshinobu Yamamoto Will Not Be Denied | Defector The Toronto Blue Jays sent 57 batsmen to the plate in the 25 hours between Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s last pitch of Game 6 of the World Series and his first pitch of Game 7, so it isn’t like they didn’t hav...

"Indeed, the last World Series like this one was actually the cafeteria scene in Blazing Saddles, and that was 51 years ago."
defector.com/yoshinobu-ya...

How a Philly ‘betfluencer’ wound up at the center of an NBA gambling scandal Feds also accuse Hennen of providing rigged card-shuffling machines and other tech that was used to fix mob-affiliated backroom poker games in New York City.

www.inquirer.com/news/shane-h...

An untimely death for a gentle loner His name was Hercules Rumph. For more than 20 years he was a roving fixture on Chelten Avenue in Germantown, a ragged, grizzled graybeard with his hand humbly extended. Kids on the street had diffe…

His name was Hercules Rumph. For some reason I thought of him today while walking through the streets of Philadelphia.

danielrubinphl.wordpress.com/2025/10/14/a...

The Philly legacy of the three Alexander Calders The new Calder Gardens brings an opportunity to celebrate the family's dynasty in Philadelphia.

The first two Alexander Calders don't get much space in the wondrous gardens that opened last month and are named for the third. I got to dig into the legacy of all three sculptors who helped shape Philadelphia's public spaces. www.inquirer.com/news/a/alexa...

E-bikes have evolved into e-motorcycles. Law enforcement is lagging behind. Serious injuries are on the rise in emergency rooms around the country, as electric cycles become bigger and faster. Lawmakers and police departments are scrambling to address the problem.

“Kids are being given essentially electric motorcycles and being set loose on the street, and that’s having tragic results.”
www.inquirer.com/news/electri...

thank you for your scholarship.

Fyi: www.hud.gov#openModal