Philadelphia Inquirer

Good morning. It’s Friday, November 22nd. As another winter approaches and temperatures fall across the region, New Jersey officials are taking a step they hope will save lives. The state is working to fix the Code Blue law. The law passed in 2017 required counties to have plans to issue code blue alerts under certain conditions. But it's led to confusion among towns. It never specified what the plan should include beyond emergency warming centers.

Good morning. It’s Thursday, November 21st. New Jersey’s Attorney General Gurbir Grewal [GUR-BEER GRAY-WALL] announced yesterday that police officers across the state must follow new rules related to interacting with transgender and nonbinary people. The rules are part of a package that he says will protect residents from discrimination based on gender identity.

Good morning. It’s Wednesday, November 20th. The narrative following the elections earlier this month and in recent years, too, was that wins by Democrats in the Philadelphia suburbs meant the region was turning bluer and bluer. But behind the scenes, some Democrats are scared that they might struggle in a key 2020 House battleground: the Bucks County-based 1st Congressional District.

Good morning. It’s Tuesday, November 19th. Bucks County prosecutors decided yesterday not to pursue the death penalty against Sean Kratz in the violent murders of three young men on a remote farm in July 2017. Instead, the 22-year-old will face a mandatory sentence of life in prison for his first-degree murder conviction. In the other two slayings, an assistant district attorney sought consecutive life sentences.

Good morning. It’s Monday, November 18th. Across the country, a number of states have passed new laws to protect expectant mothers from workplace discrimination. But such protections do not exist in Pennsylvania. While pregnancy discrimination claims are decreasing across the U.S., they are on the rise in the Keystone State. Advocates argue that when pregnant women lose jobs, have their hours cut, or miss out on a promotion, it can derail careers.

Good morning, it’s Friday, November 15. The public impeachment hearings against President Donald Trump continue today. Marie Yovanovitch, who was ambassador to Ukraine until she was recalled earlier this year by Trump, is scheduled to appear before the House Intelligence Committee today. This is the second day of hearings after two career diplomats -- William Taylor and George Kent -- testified on Wednesday.

Good morning, it’s Thursday, November 14th. A lawyer with Philly roots emerged as a key player in the impeachment hearings into President Donald Trump yesterday. Steve Castor is the lead Republican staff attorney for the House Oversight Committee. Castor has been grilling witnesses as part of closed-door hearings held by Democrats for months.

Good morning. It’s Wednesday, November 13th. The impeachment hearings against President Donald Trump will be on TV starting today. It will all start at 10 a.m., when House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff opens public hearings into whether Trump pressured the Ukraine to investigate the family of Democratic rival Joe Biden.

Good morning. It’s Tuesday, November 12th. The superintendent of Delaware County’s jail is retiring after a report into allegations of racist and abusive conduct. The investigation, published last week by the Inquirer and The Caucus, detailed allegations by former prison employees about John A. Reilly Jr.

Good morning. It’s Monday, November 11th. Philadelphia City Council is going to look a little different when the new year begins. In last week’s election, four new members were elected to City Council: Jamie Gauthier, Isaiah Thomas, Katherine Gilmore Richardson, and Kendra Brooks. Among those shakeups, Brooks was the biggest of them all. That’s because her win was historic.