Company to pay billions for failure to warn about drug that led to male breast growth; Tioga residents still feel anxious two months after police standoff | Morning Newsletter

In mid-August, a police standoff roiled the Tioga section of North Philly. In the time since, residents in the neighborhood say they still haven’t felt safe. And even with efforts such as a police-cosponsored block party, any sense of unity might just be a veneer. Also, a Philadelphia jury is making Johnson & Johnson pay billions in damages to a man who claimed he and other boys were not warned that a drug they took could lead them to grow breasts. And in national news, the White House said it will not cooperate with the impeachment inquiry.

— Josh Rosenblat (@joshrosenblat, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)

On Aug. 14, 2019, the Tioga section of North Philadelphia was the site of eight hours of chaos when a drug bust went wrong. A standoff left six cops wounded and the city reeling. But for some residents in the area, those feelings of fear and danger didn’t stop when the standoff did.

Two months later, some Tioga residents still remain skeptical of how police handled the incident, and believe their efforts to mend the relationship have felt artificial.

Working Families Party candidate Kendra Brooks has done a number of things in her bid to win a City Council at-large seat that has been held by Republicans for decades. Endorsements from high-profile elected officials and some unions? Yep. The backing of Philly’s progressive movement? Yes. Anger from the city’s Democratic establishment? Got that, too.

Another thing she’s done: raised a record amount of money for a third-party candidate. Fund-raising is especially important for candidates such as Brooks because she is attempting to take from the Republicans a seat that’s reserved for candidates outside the dominant (Democratic) party. Due in part to that, Brooks’ campaign remains a long shot, but her fund-raising at least makes it more feasible for her to compete with the Republicans.

Johnson & Johnson must pay $8 billion in punitive damages to a man who claimed the company failed to warn that boys using its antipsychotic drug Risperdal could grow breasts, a Philadelphia jury said Tuesday.

The jury agreed that a subsidiary of the company engaged in a “pervasive nationwide effort to illegally market Risperdal and downplay its very serious risks on a systemic level.” Thousands of Risperdal cases remain pending in the Philadelphia court system, according to the law firm involved in the case.

Philly’s so pretty that it makes being stuck in traffic seem not too bad. Cool picture, @menuka_basnyat.

Tag your Instagram posts or tweets with #OurPhilly and we’ll pick our favorite each day to feature in this newsletter and give you a shout out!

“People are so bold with their racism lately. It seems as if folks are expressing thoughts and feelings that might have been squelched once upon a time. The Age of Trump has emboldened them to say what’s on their minds, ignoring how their narrow-minded viewpoints will play out to diverse audiences.” — columnist Jenice Armstrong writes about a letter a Penn State alum wrote to a current football player

It all started, naturally, when Paul Salter was made the grand marshal of the 2018 Philly Seersucker Vintage Bike Ride. The lawyer, dance instructor, and musician likes to ride the old-school bike every other day, mostly along the Schuylkill.