Pa. Has Lottery Winners
Good morning, Philadelphia. Here’s what you need to know today.
Powerball fever has broken: The big winners were in other states. But there’s still good news close to home.
ABC News reports that Wednesday night’s drawing produced three winning tickets for the $1.6 billion jackpot: One winning ticket each was sold in California, Tennessee, and Florida. The good news? Philly.com reports that three tickets in Pennsylvania and two tickets in New Jersey matched the five white balls, winning at least $1 million each. The better news for the Pennsylvanians? PennLive reports that Pennsylvania doesn’t actually collect personal income taxes on lottery winnings. That could change: State officials figure they could raise $15 million a year by imposing such a tax. “”It’s not the easiest thing to do to go back to the people of Pennsylvania and say you are going to push up the personal income tax,” one official says. “But if you include lottery winnings, I think that it’s something most people are comfortable with.”
FBI director on Philly police shooting: “We are investigating that as a terrorist attack.”
James Comey made the comments on a visit to Pittsburgh, according to the Post-Gazette. TribLive adds that Comey said family members should report loved ones they believe have been radicalized. “That’s a choice no parent would want to make, but the choice is not a hard one,” he said. “If you think your child is on a path toward violence, for that child’s sake, for your family’s sake and for the community, you’ve got to talk to us about it. Because what will come later will be unspeakably painful for a whole lot of people.” Edward Archer, who shot Officer Jesse Hartnett last week in West Philadelphia, told investigators he was inspired by ISIS to do so.
State Rep. Dwight Evans has raised $330,000 to challenge Chaka Fattah for Congress.
Via Al Día, Philly Mag’s Citified blog says we learn Team Evans likely revealed the news before campaign finance reports are due Jan. 31st in hopes of impressing potential donors and garnering press coverage. Evans also says he currently has $280,000 in the bank. Team Fattah, meanwhile, declined to unveil how much money the incumbent has raised in the last few months. When campaign finance reports were last due in the fall, Fattah had just $822 in his coffers. Much of his money has gone to legal fees: Federal prosecutors charged Fattah with bribery, conspiracy, racketeering, money laundering and other offenses in July. The congressman has denied any wrongdoing.
One of the Eagles’ favored coaching choices has accepted a job elsewhere.
AP reports that Ben McAdoo, one of the favorites to replace Chip Kelly in Philadelphia, has instead been hired by the Giants, where he served as offensive coordinator the last two seasons. Philly Mag reports the Giants may have moved quickly to keep McAdoo from coming here; before the news emerged, it was thought the Eagles might announce a coaching hire as soon as today. That leaves Doug Pederson, Duce Staley, Pat Shurmur, and Tom Coughlin as the Eagles interviewees who haven’t claimed jobs elsewhere.
Where does Allen Iverson rank among the NBA’s great shooting guards?
ESPN, which is ranking the all-time NBA greats this week, offers up its opinion: A.I. comes in sixth — after Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Jerry West, Dwayne Wade, and Clyde Drexler. Iverson is the highest-ranked player on the list without a championship to his name. One ESPN writer sums up The Answer’s career: “Often referred to as the best ‘pound for pound’ player of his time, Iverson remains a larger-than-life figure to basketball fans of his generation.”
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