Mummers strut in 2019; Philly judge’s words may overturn murder convictions | Morning Newsletter
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The Morning Newsletter
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Happy 2019, Philly. Whether you caught the mummery strutting through the city or caught up on your sleep after watching the ball (or giant Peep) drop at midnight, we hope you had a positive start to the new year. In Philadelphia’s courts, 2019 also is expected to bring new challenges to a dozen murder convictions, after a judge compared convicting a defendant of murder to treating a loved one’s life-threatening illness.
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— Oona Goodin-Smith (@oonagoodinsmith, morningnewsletter@philly.com)
Around 10,000 Mummers donned their golden shoes — and, in one extra-Philly case, the Magic Gardens — for the 119th annual New Year’s Day parade through the city Tuesday.
And with unseasonably mild temperatures, the strutters and spectators alike appeared to step up their game in the iconic Philadelphia tradition with roots in one city councilman’s childhood.
Missed the parade? Catch up on the highlights through the eyes of our photojournalists here.
Words matter, and the ones used by a judge over a decade ago are now being scrutinized to challenge potentially more than a dozen Philly murder convictions.
A federal court judge has ruled that former Common Pleas Judge Renee Cardwell Hughes’s instruction to a jury to picture choosing life-saving treatment for a family member when deciding the fate of a murder defendant skewed the jurors' favor toward convicting, rather than assessing whether the defendant was guilty beyond all reasonable doubt.
New trials have been ordered in two cases, and negotiations are underway in a third to avoid a similar outcome.
What you need to know today
In 2018, Philadelphia recorded 353 homicides, the city’s highest annual total over the last decade. Eleven minutes into the new year, the city recorded its first homicide of 2019.
As the government shutdown enters its second week, national parks are taking a hit, and New Jersey and Philadelphia TSA officers — many of whom live paycheck-to-paycheck — may soon be put in an impossible position.
Last year was a wet one in the Delaware Valley, setting a rainfall record in New Jersey with an average of 64.49 inches of precipitation. Keep your umbrellas handy in 2019: heading into this weekend, the forecast calls for more of the same.
The governors of New Jersey and Pennsylvania say it’s time for their states to expand voting access, but both will need the cooperation of sometimes-hostile legislatures to move forward.
As of Jan. 18, 2016, seven new head coaches joined the NFL. As of Black Monday 2018, the annual coaching purge, six of them had been fired. Only the Eagles' Doug Pederson remained.
Through Your Eyes | #OurPhilly
Looks like 2019 is starting with a bang, @the_brittjames.
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!
That’s Interesting
If your Christmas tree already seems so last year, you don’t have to haul it to the curb. Here’s how you can recycle your live trees in Philly.
Rowan University President Ali A. Houshmand remembers what it’s like to struggle to buy appropriate professional attire as a college student, so he created a donation closet to help soon-to-be-grads dress for success.
Raise your glass: Doylestown’s Pink isn’t just an award-winning artist and activist. She’s also a serious winemaker, a passion she’s pursued in private for five years.
As Philadelphia’s collar counties continue to develop, Chester County has preserved 500 farms in an effort to save the open space.
Sorry, South Philly midnight snackers. Penrose Diner has done away with its 24-hour operation, reflecting a nationwide shift in night time nosh.
Opinions
“It’s up to men themselves to recognize that the systems they inhabit — government, military, society itself — don’t work anymore. They don’t work for women, they don’t work for people of color, they don’t work for children. And frankly, the systems don’t work for men, either.” - The Inquirer Editorial Board on male bad behavior in 2018.
The main threat to U.S. security in 2019? The psyche of President Donald Trump, writes foreign affairs columnist Trudy Rubin.
Legalizing marijuana is just another economic bait and switch for people of color in America, says Solomon Jones.
What we’re reading
Queen Village’s bustling Weccacoe Playground was built atop the Bethel Burying Ground, the city’s first private cemetery for black people and final resting place for thousands of Philadelphia African Americans. Meetings over memorializing the paved-over historic space are underway, and residents are counting on the city to get it right, PlanPhilly reports.
Keep an eye on Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid, says The Ringer, predicting the Sixers pair will dominate the NBA discussion in 2019.
As Philadelphia closed out 2018 with its highest homicide numbers in a decade, the city is seeking new ways to combat violence. WHYY followed a team of “violence interrupters,” who promote career resources and hope to ease tensions in areas where gun violence is common.
When his new friend joined MS-13, a Long Island high school student and his best friends became the targets of the Central American street gang. ProPublica tells their harrowing tale.
Your Daily Dose of | Sportsmanship
After 10-year-old Cohen Zechman got the football from Nate Sudfeld’s first career touchdown pass Sunday, the young Eagles fan gladly gave back the quarterback’s ball. “He’s the player. He earned it more,” he said.