Lairmore had testified that the sandwich “exploded all over” his chest and claimed he could smell mustard and onions. But a photo showed that the sandwich was still in its wrapper on the ground after it hit Lairmore in his bulletproof vest.

“In del Toro’s films, the urge to narrate is always knotted together with a maternal body that holds life and death. In his telling, every story is, at its heart, the story of return.”

Forrest Smith, the only National Park Service engineer cleaning up abandoned oil and gas wells, lost his contract, leaving 93 orphaned wells on park lands unmanaged. These leaking wells release methane and toxins, threatening human health and the environment.

“A cabin is like a dream, a simple place where you can become the best version of yourself. You might whittle a walking stick by the fire or cook bacon on a skillet while your new buddy, a red fox, waits for scraps.” @jasonnark.bsky.social’s difficult journey to Dick Proenneke’s Alaskan home:

“It doesn’t matter how old you are,” Jeff said. “Everybody needs somebody. And she’s always there for those guys.” @byalexcoffey.bsky.social introduced us to Allison Stoutland, the Mama Bear to @philadelphiaeagles.bsky.social offensive line:

While Philadelphia was smothered this summer by triple-digit heat and the stench of a garbage strike, a team of armed crooks began stalking and robbing armored trucks across the city. A look at the heists, and the crew’s abrupt arrest earlier this month:

Members of Philadelphia’s powerful police union are accusing its leaders of financial mismanagement. We dug through hundreds of pages of tax records and found plenty of questions about the union’s network of nonprofits: share.inquirer.com/XGgC8w

“For Dick Allen,” said Fletcher, “his experience at Little Rock, Arkansas, was his superhero origin story, just like the planet Krypton for Superman.” Great read from @lochlahn.bsky.social:

A walk-off Phillies win is a good excuse to read @byalexcoffey.bsky.social’s thoughtful feature on the team’s Hot Pants Patrol, and the sisterhood its members formed in the 1970s and 80s:

This is a enormous loss for the Inquirer and Philadelphia. @helenubinas.bsky.social pushed the city — its elected leaders, its community groups, its journalists — to better serve residents who needed the most and asked for the least: gun violence survivors and homicide victims’ relatives.

This week, I wrote about camp girls. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

“We lost him,” he told me. “We lost our light.” Heartbreaking column from @notesfromhel.bsky.social, who has written for years about Azir Harris, his family, and the long, endless toll of gun violence in Philadelphia:

Recent E.P.A. news releases and newsletters have echoed some of President Trump’s comments on the environment, the letter said, citing agency statements describing coal as “beautiful” and “clean.” Coal is the dirtiest of the fossil fuels and is a significant source of greenhouse gases.

“Although Parker cannot increase her own salary, she has doled out substantial pay raises to her closest advisers — far beyond what DC 33 is seeking for workers who earn an average annual wage of $46,000.” @ryanbriggs.bsky.social & Sean Walsh:

“The word HOMICIDE was stripped across the room’s pebbled-glass door, but Steindler didn’t think anything of it, didn’t see the straight line linking those three things: the word and the woman and her father.”

Jesús Luzardo allowed: - 20 earned runs in 2 starts - 21 earned runs in his other 14 starts

it shouldn't be a radical position to believe that the average worker deserves to have a job, not just extra special influencer types www.nytimes.com/2025/06/16/m...

The suspect police encountered at the home of Hortman, the lawmaker who was killed, was wearing a vest, taser, and badge, impersonating a police officer, according to Chief Mark Bruley of the Brooklyn Park Police. “No question, if they were in this room, you would assume they were a police officer.”

“Internal 82nd Airborne Division communications reviewed by Military.com reveal a tightly orchestrated effort to curate the optics of Trump's recent visit, including handpicking soldiers for the audience based on political leanings and physical appearance.” From @militarydotcom.bsky.social:

From @sprtswtr.bsky.social: Will Lincoln Financial Field have an ICE presence at Monday’s Club World Cup game? www.inquirer.com/soccer/club-...

Did not expect to run across the phrase “sumptuous gambling casino” this week. Excellent work Gelb

“I think R.F.K. Jr is a conspiracy theorist, and that’s what this document is about,” said Dr. Paul Offit, who serves as an adviser to the Food and Drug Administration.

The 88-year-old Holocaust survivor who was burned in the Boulder attack has a message for America: "We are better than this."

@willbunch.bsky.social on the looming existential crisis that we’re not paying enough attention to: www.inquirer.com/opinion/comm...

Page One in Des Moines. @jemsinger.bsky.social

Christine Emery worked for 34 years as a Philly neuroradiologist, helping to diagnose patients’ brain tumors. After retiring, she met a Rehoboth Beach family who had been devastated by twin tragedies — and was inspired to become a top brain cancer fundraiser.

“Soon, everyone entered a deeper state of listening, attuning their minds to the rustling treetops and tiny footfalls on the forest floor. They stopped every 20 yards or so and stood, in the silence, scanning the dark woods for birdsong.” @jasonnark.bsky.social:

SEPTA amid a dire financial shortfall is planning deep service cuts. But those cuts won't just impact those who currently rely on SEPTA to get around. Drivers commuters will be impacted too. Thomas Fitzgerald and @jasen.bsky.social have the details. www.inquirer.com/transportati...

“Some people think it’s crazy. That's fine. There are certainly elements of it that are crazy. But most of the people who think it’s crazy have probably never been to Philadelphia, you know?” The A’s moved over 70 years ago, but these Philadelphians are still fans: www.inquirer.com/phillies/phi...

Doctors who screen former NFL players for neurological illnesses are still slow to turn in test results — hindering the players’ quest to be paid by the league’s billion dollar concussion settlement program.

The trails of Wissahickon Valley Park are for hikers, runners, bikers, and horses. …Yet, there it was Monday morning, a Porsche. With some fiber pills inside and a probiotic shake, according to one hiker. The fun read you didn’t know you needed, via @wbender99.bsky.social @ryanbriggs.bsky.social

After years of victims crying out for help and answers, has the Philadelphia Police Department finally answered their call? www.inquirer.com/opinion/comm...

"There may be much to fear in the near future, yet it could also be the most exciting time to be alive." —David Attenborough for @thetimes.com www.thetimes.com/life-style/c...

Several Columbia Univ student journalists are suspended after covering protests (while wearing press ID) in the main library. Their access to campus is blocked, and they can't take final exams. Also: Columbia's acting president is a former ABC journalist www.columbiaspectator.com/news/2025/05...

THEY CALLED IT A “DESK POP” AND LINKED TO A CLIP FROM THE OTHER GUYS THATS MY NEWSPAPER

“During Tuesday’s Council hearing, Council President Kenyatta Johnson expressed skepticism at Bilal’s request for a nearly 55% budget increase…given that her office is struggling to fill dozens of jobs already approved in the budget.” 🧐 via @ryanbriggs.bsky.social @wbender99.bsky.social

“The Spectrum was where Dr. J and Moses played. The Wells Fargo Center is where Joel Embiid and Paul George don't. I mean, what did we want them to call it? Josh Harris' House of Sadness?” From @highcheese.bsky.social:

Listening to VA Sec. Doug Collins testify to Senate He said stories on VA cuts have "not been backed up, even articles from today." We just published story on VA cuts W/ internal emails “Enrollment in clinical trials is stopping" "life-saving cancer trials” www.propublica.org/article/trum...

“I could only imagine how much Ted resented me,” he recalled in an interview. Would Ted consider allowing him to visit, he wrote, and try to explain? “I wanted to tell him in person that we morally felt an obligation to stop the violence,” he said. www.nytimes.com/2025/04/29/u...

"Grief is so, so unbelievably strange. It's just crazy, little things. … I mean, it could be anything. I could open up the refrigerator and it brings back a memory. So, that part has been difficult.” Jane Gaudreau talks to @byalexcoffey.bsky.social www.inquirer.com/flyers/gaudr...

Another urgent column from @notesfromhel.bsky.social: www.inquirer.com/opinion/trum...

Philly area photographer is missing. His colleagues say that his car was found Friday afternoon on the Benjamin Franklin Bridge.

At 59, Donald Frank struggles to complete his thoughts, and can no longer live alone — fallout from countless brain injuries that he sustained playing football in college and the NFL. He is renewing a frustrating quest to be paid by the NFL’s $1.5 billion concussion settlement fund.

“Balmer told investigators he hated Shapiro and that if he found him at the property early Sunday morning, he would have "beaten him with a hammer" he had brought with him to break into the residence, according to the complaint.” www.inquirer.com/news/pennsyl...

“Long before John McPhee’s The Pine Barrens was published, New Jersey’s vast, dreamlike swath of sand and scrubby pines was seen as a wasteland by the unfamiliar, a place full of pirate lore, monsters, and recluses.” @jasonnark.bsky.social www.inquirer.com/news/new-jer...

A look back at some Philly sports history — the time Dr. J opened a shoe store in Society Hill. “If you come in with a nice pair of shoes on, it generally grabs somebody's attention," he tells @byalexcoffey.bsky.social www.inquirer.com/sixers/juliu...

“I want to tell you something: This is not a dress rehearsal, life. If your parents are still around, I would cherish them. If you have siblings, spend more time with them. If you have children, love them to death and spoil them.” www.inquirer.com/health/a/nor...

Around 2:30 a.m. on Friday, Mr. Musk shared the post written by an X user that said, “Stalin, Hitler and Mao didn’t murder millions of people. Their public sector workers did.”