🏈 Hurts so good | Morning Newsletter
And the Crozer conundrum.
The Morning Newsletter
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Good morning, Philly.
The good vibes continue as the city cheers the Super Bowl-bound Eagles. After enduring years of doubt, quarterback Jalen Hurts deserves all the kudos, Inquirer writers say — and that celebratory cigar seen ‘round the world.
And in a low-income area of Delaware County, Pennsylvania officials are scrambling to preserve Crozer Health’s services after its owner declared bankruptcy.
— Julie Zeglen (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
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The days of disparaging Jalen Hurts’ ability are over. The former backup quarterback to Carson Wentz — now a backup himself to the Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes — has taken his share of criticism over his years in Philadelphia. On Sunday, Hurts answered by giving his best performance of the season. And he remains humble through it all.
“It’s not about me. I don’t even play the game for any statistical measure. Nothing more than just winning,” Hurts said Sunday night. “You play the game to win.”
He seems plenty unbothered by the past flak, too. After the win, the QB enjoyed a celebratory cigar in the locker room. The dad-core image quickly went viral, pleated khakis and all.
🏈 Call your bird-friend: Want to congratulate Hurts on a job well done? Visit Philadelphia is placing rotary phones across the city for fans to leave “Bird Call” voice messages for the team.
🏈 Celebrations gone awry: Broad Street was surprisingly tidy after the revelry of Sunday night’s win. Yet post-game partying also led to several arrests and some violence. In one case, eight people were injured when a 26-year-old woman drove a Mercedes SUV through a crowd at North Broad and Spring Garden Streets.
🏈 A presidential snub: President Donald Trump ignored the Eagles’ NFC championship victory, congratulating the Chiefs instead.
Crozer Health’s emergency departments are among the busiest in Southeastern Pennsylvania, serving tens of thousands of patients each year in Chester and Ridley Park. The nearest hospitals in Delaware County are nearly 10 miles away by car.
But the health system has been plagued by years of financial strife, with slashed programs and layoffs. It’s led to an attempted intervention by Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration and Pennsylvania Attorney General’s office to get the health system back under nonprofit ownership to preserve services and jobs.
The urgency has only grown since its California-based, for-profit owner, Prospect Medical Holdings, declared bankruptcy earlier this month.
“On behalf of our patients, we’re really hoping that there is an 11th-hour solution,” a Crozer cardiologist told The Inquirer.
Reporter Harold Brubaker goes inside the scramble to get Crozer healthy.
What you should know today
Philadelphia backslid on juvenile justice reform as prosecutors took up a practice District Attorney Larry Krasner called “coercive,” an Inquirer investigation found.
Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman, a Democrat who has gained attention for his frequent outreach to the GOP, has nearly doubled his approval rating among Republicans.
New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin visited a Cherry Hill abortion clinic as providers prepare for more restrictions under Trump.
Pennsylvania’s largest cyber charter school spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on cars, dining, and entertainment, according to a report from a public education advocacy group.
Two South Jersey towns have new school board members who are just 19 years old — among the youngest in the state.
Avian flu has been detected in a commercial flock of chickens in Pennsylvania for the first time in nearly a year.
Some Lawnside residents are concerned about a New Jersey Turnpike widening project that will bring traffic closer to an Underground Railroad museum.
Wildwood officials announced a number of security upgrades intended to make their historic boardwalk safer.
🧠 Trivia time
A new docuseries called Spy High follows the 2010 scandal about laptops in which area school district secretly photographing students on webcams?
A) Cherry Hill
B) Lower Merion
C) West Chester
D) Philadelphia
Think you know? Check your answer.
What we’re...
🚗 Watching for: The speed-enforcement cameras coming to West, North, and Northeast Philadelphia.
🎨 Glad to see: Charles Willson Peale’s name spelled correctly in the mural at Independence Hall station.
🤼 Preparing for: All Elite Wrestling’s pay-per-view event, coming to the Liacouras Center April 6.
⚖️ Considering: The measures advocates can take to protect Philadelphia’s immigrant community.
🧩 Unscramble the anagram
Hint: Local coffee shop chain
MUFFLE COOTIE
Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here. Cheers to Carol Basile, who solved Monday’s anagram: Nok Suntaranon. The 2025 James Beard Award semifinalist and past Chef’s Table subject is one of several Philly chefs taking fans on international culinary tours.
Photo of the day
👋 Thanks for starting your day with The Inquirer. See ya tomorrow.
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