Philadelphia Police Department takes 72 officers off streets; Why the Jersey Shore is always a family affair | Morning Newsletter

Heavy downpours overnight caused major flooding in the Philly area Thursday morning and forced the PATCO High Speed Line to suspend morning rush hour service through South Jersey.

The prime suspect in last week’s shooting of ex-Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz in the Dominican Republic is also described by Reading police as a crime boss facing charges of ordering the shooting of a teen in the Pennsylvania city.

An additional four crew members were charged Wednesday in connection with the record-breaking, 16-ton cocaine bust on a cargo ship at the Port of Philadelphia. The additional arrests come after two other crew members were charged with violations of maritime drug trafficking laws earlier this week.

A Pennsylvania mushroom farm manager is wondering why immigration police are out to get him. A visit to “America’s Mushroom Capital” indicates a shortage of labor but with no shortage of questions.

A youth-services agency called VisionQuest that wants to house 60 undocumented immigrant children in North Philly is getting blowback — both from officials and advocacy groups — and is in a contentious legal battle with the city. In part because of that, the agency is exploring a possible move of the center to Norristown. But Norristown officials haven’t shown much enthusiasm for helping the agency move out of Philly.

The NBA draft is tonight and the 76ers have the chance to add some young players to their roster. Who could they pick? Four members of our sports staff — columnist David Murphy and beat writers Keith Pompey, Sarah Todd, and Marc Narducci — made their projections for the team’s first-round selection.

Presidential candidates like Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey are discussing reparations on the campaign trail, and Congress held its first hearing on the topic Wednesday in more than a decade. Meanwhile, former vice president and current presidential candidate Joe Biden drew fire from fellow Democrats after talking about cooperating with segregationist senators as a symbol of a more civilized political era.

People in Pennsylvania and New Jersey appear to love making drunken online purchases, according to a survey. Are you guilty of imbibing and buying? We want to hear about it.

Following the publication of museum worker salaries from all of the world, a reader through Curious Philly wondered — can you get fired for adding your salary to a list like that? Labor reporter Juliana Reyes found the answer.

Good luck getting $30 tickets for Bradley Cooper in Candide with the Philadelphia Orchestra.

In the 240-some years since the Declaration of Independence was printed on thousands of broadsheets to be sent around and read aloud, few have survived and even fewer are still legible. One of those rare, mint-condition copies is on display at a Philly museum.

How old is old? A study from a New Jersey aging services company found that how you think about age could be very different than how that obviously super ancient person sitting next to you perceives it.

Schuylkill Yards kicked off its project by turning a parking lot into a park. But does it feel any different?

Philadelphia needs to increase access to legal services with a “one-stop shop,” writes David L. Cohen, a Comcast VP and diversity chief, and lawyers Robert C. Heim and Leslie Anne Miller.

Half of young Americans say they don’t know much about the U.S. Army. Lt. Col Keith D. Bryant writes about why he thinks that has to change.

Philly parks — 30 of them — contain sonic devices that target teenagers with terrible sounds only they can hear, Billy Penn reports. The city has been using the devices (banned in other cities around the globe) since 2014.

The Washington Post had a local write a travel guide for Philly and it’s ... not that touristy.

Here’s a fun one for you from The Atlantic: you’re approaching your professional decline faster — much faster — than you might think.