A dangerous gang’s rise and fall | Morning Newsletter
And former Pa. federal workers seek state jobs.
The Morning Newsletter
Start your day with the Philly news you need and the stories you want all in one easy-to-read newsletter
Morning, Philly.
Our lead story today investigates how a group of teens chasing money and fame through drill music grew into a violent gang, leaving nearly a dozen people dead and some of its members in prison for decades.
And Gov. Josh Shapiro told Pennsylvania’s fired federal workers to apply for state jobs. Hundreds did.
Here’s what to know today.
— Julie Zeglen (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
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The gang known as the Young Bag Chasers started as kids from West Philly just trying to make it out. Over the next few years, the group ascended in the city’s music scene, making tens of thousands of dollars in profits, even as its members killed people — and bragged about it.
To understand a trend that law enforcement officials say is driving more and more young people to commit shootings, gun violence reporter Ellie Rushing spent months interviewing members of YBC, along with their families, police, prosecutors, and others who know them.
Read her sobering investigation here.
Further reading:
One YBC member’s path from North Philly rapper to shooter was accelerated by a brain injury and dropping out of school.
The woman whose son was the first YBC member to be killed says she resents the group for using his death as an excuse to hurt others.
Around 700 former federal workers have taken Gov. Shapiro up on his offer and applied for open Pennsylvania state government jobs in the past two weeks, according to the commonwealth.
The applications follow mass federal layoffs led by the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency. On March 5, Shapiro signed an executive order giving these workers hiring preference for state jobs, saying they would be considered “pre-qualified.”
Other Democrat-led states nearby have launched initiatives to support or hire laid-off government workers, too.
Politics reporter Fallon Roth has the story.
In other federal news: Shapiro says his trip to the White House helped him unfreeze $2.1 billion in federal funds, but the White House doesn’t agree. And with the U.S. Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights depleted, a lawsuit seeks to continue discrimination investigations in schools, while some local parents remain worried.
What you should know today
A man was killed in a Kensington fire Monday morning, fire officials said, making it the second fatal blaze in the city in just three days. An older woman was also found dead inside a Mount Airy home on Monday afternoon after its roof collapsed.
More than 100 people gathered Monday evening at Philadelphia City Hall to demand the release of Mahmoud Khalil, a leader of pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University who was arrested by immigration officers earlier this month.
The family of a Chester County man is suing Phoenixville Hospital, saying staff gave him a “lethal dose” of medication during a mental-health crisis.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has postponed a Philly book tour stop amid backlash for voting with Republicans to advance a stopgap spending bill that averted a government shutdown.
The University of Pennsylvania has asked a federal judge to dismiss the racial discrimination lawsuit filed by controversial law professor Amy Wax.
Upper Darby residents are suing to block a new local income tax, arguing again that procedural errors invalidate the ordinance.
The state attorney general’s office is investigating a Sunoco pipeline spill that contaminated drinking water wells in a Bucks County community.
Philadelphia Gas Works is exploring the use of geothermal energy to heat and cool a school district building and city recreation center.
🧠 Trivia time
A Montgomery County-based egg producer agreed to settle a federal class-action lawsuit accusing it of deceptively marketing eggs how?
A) Calling them “organic”
B) Saying they came from “free roaming” hens
C) Calling them the “best” eggs in the region
D) Promising consumer savings of $2 per carton
Think you know? Check your answer.
What we’re...
🏀 Getting hype for: March Madness with these NCAA men’s and women’s tournament brackets.
🎤 Anticipating: West-Philadelphia-born-and-raised Will Smith’s first album in 20 years.
🗺️ Mapping: Philly’s delivery cheesesteaks that actually deliver.
🎶 Catching up on: Questlove’s music documentaries.
🇺🇸 Considering: What it means to be American since Trump’s refugee admission pause.
🧩 Unscramble the anagram
Hint: Art collection now housed on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway
NONFAT BOUNDARIES
Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here. Cheers to Joanne Fritz, who solved Monday’s anagram: Poconos. Some ski resorts in the area saw record attendance this season, thanks to consistently colder temperatures.
Photo of the day
🚧 One last disruptive thing: Expect traffic detours and delays around the Market Street Bridge over the next four years during a $149 million reconstruction of the span that connects University City and Center City.
Thanks for starting your day with The Inquirer. See you back here tomorrow.
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