“His Arm Is Virtually Destroyed”

Officer Jesse Hartnett

Good morning, Philadelphia. Here’s what you need to know today.

Police Commissioner updates wounded officer’s status: “His arm is virtually destroyed”

Police Commissioner Richard Ross visited the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists on Tuesday night, and CBS3 says he offered an update on Officer Jesse Hartnett’s condition: “Somewhere along the way, some folks are thinking he was shot in the arm and it’s not an issue. His arm is virtually destroyed. So for him, he’s got a long road to go physically.” Meanwhile, a pair of demonstrations in support of police generally and Hartnett specifically happened on Tuesday. Operation Save Our City marched down Broad Street at rush hour, 6ABC says, while NBC10 reports a group of Muslims marched to 24th and 25th police district headquarters. Said one marcher of the shooting: “We’re here to say that we do not support those types of activities nor does our religion support those types of activities.”

N.J. Senate President Steve Sweeney says the state should take over Atlantic City and its failing finances.

NJ.com reports: “This is a very clear statement to Atlantic City,” Sweeney said in floating his takeover plan. “Get your act together. Knock off the B.S. and start addressing what you need to address.” The move caught city officials by surprise, with Mayor Don Guardian likening it to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. “Certainly, no one was lost or killed,” Guardian said. “But certainly, it was that kind of a surprise to me.” Sweeney on Monday began floating a bill that would let the state take over the “functions, powers, privileges, immunities, and duties” of Atlantic City’s government. “There is extreme Atlantic City fatigue in this Statehouse,” Sweeney said. “My colleagues — every time we talk about doing something for Atlantic City now, they’re tired of hearing it.”

Vice President Joe Biden will come to Philadelphia to kick off the federal government’s “moonshot” anti-cancer initiative.

President Obama announced the effort in his Tuesday night State of the Union speech. NewsWorks reports that Biden will visit Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine on Friday to get the effort started. Biden lost his son, Beau, to cancer last year. “It’s personal for me,” Biden said in a post at Medium.com. “But it’s also personal for nearly every American, and millions of people around the world. We all know someone who has had cancer, or is fighting to beat it. They’re our family, friends, and co-workers.”

Ed Rendell says Kathleen Kane doesn’t need a law license to be the attorney general.

Philly Mag reports: Rendell — Philadelphia’s district attorney for eight years before later becoming mayor of the city and governor of the state — testified before a state senate committee Tuesday in defense of Kane, the embattled AG who had her law license suspended last year. The Pennsylvania Special Committee on Senate Address hearing was on the topic of whether that suspension disqualifies Kane from the office of attorney general. Rendell said that, when he was district attorney of Philadelphia, “at least 97 percent” of his job did not require a law license. He gave an example: “If council turned me down, I would go to Mayor Rizzo, and I would say, ‘Mayor, it’s a war out there.’ And he would pound his fists on the desk and I would get whatever I wanted. This did not require me to have a law license.”

ESPN says Andy Reid assistant Doug Pederson has the inside track on the Eagles head-coaching job.

Phil Sheridan writes: “As a quarterback, Pederson followed Reid from Green Bay to Philadelphia. As a coach, he followed Reid from Philadelphia to Kansas City. Lurie appears to be clearing out the Kelly era with a return to the Reid model. Pederson would be a pretty comfortable fit.” Mike Kafka, who played for Pederson when he coached quarterbacks with the Eagles, tells Philly Mag: “He’s a straight shooter and tells you what it is, whether you’re right or wrong, good or bad, he lays it on the table and I think that’s appreciated and respected.”

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