President Biden Came to Town, Joined By Protesters

President Joe Biden with Gov. Josh Shapiro and Mayor Jim Kenney during his Philadelphia visit. (Photo by Mandel NGAN / AFP / Getty Images)

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President Biden Came to Town, Joined By Protesters

President Joe Biden came to Philadelphia on Monday. Yes, again. This was his ninth visit to Philadelphia this year. And there are still a few weeks to go!

Biden gathered with Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, and fire department officials to announce new federal funding that will reopen three fire stations.

He also popped over to the Hilton at Penn’s Landing for a fund-raiser that was attended by the well-heeled and politically connected. Shapiro introduced Biden and gave him kudos for his “moral clarity.” Biden called Shapiro a “star.” He referred to former governor Ed Rendell as “Eddie.” He reminded us, yet again, that he’s just a “Scranton boy.”

Biden had a few things to say about Donald Trump, something he’s been doing increasingly after avoiding it during the 2020 campaign.

To wit:

The future of American democracy is literally at stake. It’s literally at stake.

Let me be clear: Donald Trump poses many threats to this country, from the right to choose, to civil rights, to voting rights, to America’s standing in the world.

You ought to come to me at these international meetings with other heads of state — who I’ve known for a long time — listen to what their concerns are about this election.

But the greatest threat he poses is to our democracy, because if we lose that, we lose everything.

Lunch was served.

The National Republican Congressional Committee issued a statement about Biden’s fund-raiser. It read, in part: “Joe Biden would rather schmooze with donors in Philadelphia instead of middle-class Pennsylvanians who are suffering from his failed ‘Bidenomics’ and uptick in crime.” (Just for the record, the dramatic increase in Philadelphia homicides began when Donald Trump was president and is now trending downwards. Clearly, Philadelphia’s homicide problem wasn’t caused by Trump, but since the Republicans seem to be connecting Biden and crime, I figured it’s worth mentioning actual facts.)

Leading up to Biden’s visit, protesters took to the streets holding various signs about Israel and Palestine. The crowd made its way from Washington Square to the area outside the Hilton.

Protesters at President Joe Biden’s visit to Philadelphia (Photographs via Getty Images)

Philly’s COVID Sick-Leave Law Is Ending

During the pandemic, Philly instituted a special COVID sick-leave law that required certain employers to give employees up to 40 hours of additional paid sick leave related to COVID. But as of December 31st, that law expires. Here’s what you need to know.

Speaking of Philly Things That Are Ending

If you were a fan of the big holiday light show projected on City Hall that Philly started in 2017, I’ve got bad news for you: It’s over. No light show this year due to funding challenges.

Headlines We Like

The Wall Street Journal weighed in on the Johnny Doc conviction with this one: “Philadelphia’s Union Crooks.” Apt!

Local Talent

Congrats are in order for Philadelphia drag queen extraordinaire (and I do mean extraordinaire; this girl has a six-octave vocal range) Sapphira Cristal, who just announced that she made it onto the next season of RuPaul’s Drag Race. The shows begin airing in January. And we’ll all be tuning in and pulling for you, Sapphira!

Oscar buzz continues to build for Colman Domingo, star of Rustin, the biopic about the late local civil rights activist Bayard Rustin. Terry Gross snagged him for a fascinating interview on Fresh Air yesterday. You can listen here. Haven’t seen Rustin yet? It’s on Netflix. Get to it.

And in Colman Domingo-adjacent news, his pal James Ijames recently opened Fat Ham at the Wilma. That’s the South Philly playwright’s Pulitzer winner from last year that saw its Broadway debut this year. Fat Ham runs through December 30th. Tickets here.

By the Numbers

$15 million: Award a jury just granted to a former Rothman Orthopedics surgeon who sued Thomas Jefferson University for the way it handled a rape investigation of him.

$1.1 billion: Debt owed by PREIT, owner of the Cherry Hill Mall, Plymouth Meeting Mall, and Center City’s Fashion District. The company just filed for bankruptcy. Again.

25 mph: New speed limit on Kelly Drive. The speed limit had been 35 mph, which effectively meant people were going 50, so hopefully this will get them down to 40 or so.

And from the Easy-Peasy Sports Desk …

It was the Sixers vs. the Wizards last night at Wells Fargo, and I missed the first few minutes because I was trying to decide what kind of Christmas cookies to start baking. By the time I tuned in, it was 19-2 Sixers. Woah, as the kids say. Tyrese Maxey was particularly hot, and Joel looked ready to match his last Wizards total of 50 points. D.C. tightened it up a bit toward the close of the first, which ended with us up 43-27 — the Sixers’ highest single-quarter point total so far this season. Making it look simple …

The 76ers are up 75-45 on 14 made 3’s at halftime.

Embiid: 17 PTS, 6 REB, 4 AST

Maxey: 22 PTS, 5 AST

All smiles for the Sixers duo in the first half 😎 pic.twitter.com/Gq750lJDDp

— HEIR (@Heir_Company) December 12, 2023

And hey, Brickin’ for Chicken! Embiid came out for good with a minute and change left in the third, when the Sixers had a 40-point lead, and all the youngsters came in. Always fun to watch them hoop. Did you know Mo Bamba has a seven-foot-six-inch wingspan? And lookee here — more chicken nuggets!

MAKE IT AN 8 COUNT !!! https://t.co/km05XACQMu

— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) December 12, 2023

Thanks, Mike Muscala and Bilal Coulibaly! Wow, I didn’t know this:

The Sixers are 10-1 when Kelly Oubre plays. The only game they lost was to the Bucks, and it was by 1 point. pic.twitter.com/36R1Sj3QBb

— Aidan LaPorta (@AidanLaPorta69) December 12, 2023

Stay off the bike, sir. Final score: 146-101. Play the song!

And speaking of Embiid and Maxey, in the Inquirer, Gabriela Carroll had this recap of what they had to say on the latter’s podcast about playing with Ben Simmons vs. playing with James Harden. And last week, LeBron James had some interesting comments on America and gun control. Makes one wonder if more athletes speaking out could force some civic traction on the topic.

Any College Hoops News?

The Howard University Bison encountered the Penn Quakers at the Palestra last night and managed to keep it close through the first half. In the second, though, Penn pulled ahead, and while Howard tried, the Quakers had a pretty consistent 10-point lead throughout. That was the case at the buzzer: 78-68 Penn. It’s finals time, so there’s nothing on local colleges’ slates until Saturday.

All Philly Today sports coverage is provided by Sandy Hingston.