🥭 A secret mango trade | Morning Newsletter

It’s Friday, Philly.

The city broke a 74-year-old rain record on Thursday. As for today, patchy fog is in the forecast, along with a chance of storms in the evening.

In our main read, we followed the trail of premium mangoes to learn how they got from Pakistan to the Philadelphia area.

And could “King James” himself really become a Sixer? We built a way to gauge the chances en vivo.

Plus, Philadelphia firefighters blasted a new contract that leaves them behind police on pay, and more news of the day.

— Paola Pérez (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)

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Juicy secret

Consider the mango out of the bag.

🥭 Pakistani mangoes, approved for import in 2010, are hard to come by in the U.S. due to high transport costs, customs restrictions, and their short shelf life.

🥭 But a network of dealers across the country makes it possible for people to enjoy the highly coveted fruit. Mango middlemen sell them through WhatsApp groups at a premium.

🥭 A father-son duo of a Delco farmers market talked to The Inquirer about what it took to navigate this high-stakes network, and the satisfaction of acquiring the sweet fruit. “It smells like you’re in Pakistan, that’s how fresh they are,” Musa Khan told food reporter Hira Qureshi.

Read on about the secretive supply chain.

LeBron vibe check

At 41, basketball superstar LeBron James is considering several suitors for his 24th season with the NBA, and insiders are reporting that Philly is among the top destinations.

But is it at all likely for him to join the Sixers? 🤞

Enter the Bron-O-Meter. We built it to keep our finger on the pulse of the latest reporting, analysis, and speculation surrounding the all-time great’s moves.

It’s wholly unscientific, but with the rumor mill working overtime, the tool lets us peep the evolving possibility that he may or may not come to South Broad.

Scope out the current vibes for yourself.

What you should know today

• Philly firefighters and paramedics will receive smaller wage increases than police officers got for the first time in two decades. The head of the union said the new contract is a “middle finger” to the city’s emergency medical personnel.
• An Oregon man was sentenced to 30 years in prison Thursday for fatally stabbing a beloved South Jersey veterinarian at the vet’s Cherry Hill home.
• Police officers in one of Philadelphia’s largest districts frequently failed to activate their body-worn cameras during encounters that department policy required them to record, according to a new audit.
• SEPTA is trading Glenside Regional Rail riders three scheduled daytime trains for new off-peak options, more train cars, and new schedules aimed at preventing delays.
• Bryce Harper declined to comment Thursday on an Inquirer report that FanDuel sent a personalized video of him to a VIP bettor with a gambling addiction.
• A New York-based developer who outbid real estate investor Dean Adler and Philadelphia’s PMC Property Group for control of the huge office complex at Centre Square has decided to walk away from the property.
• In a rare move, Pennsylvania’s two senators have created a joint fundraising committee that would allow them to split money from donors who want to give to both of their campaigns, despite being members of different parities.
• Scrap iron, one of the Philadelphia area’s biggest exports, is plagued by battery fires, junkyard and port operators say.
• The Ben Franklin Bridge will be closed to vehicles for much of Saturday, allowing pedestrians to walk the span’s roadway. Here are the details of the party shutting down the bridge.

Plus: What does it take to get a historical marker in Pennsylvania?

Welcome back to Curious Philly Friday. We’ll feature both new and timeless stories from our forum for readers to ask about the city’s quirks.

This week, we’re resurfacing an explainer from 2024 on how to nominate a person, place, or event to be immortalized on a blue-and-yellow plaque.

More than 320 historical markers line the streets of Philadelphia, and about two dozen new ones join the ranks annually, according to the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. Here’s what they told us about the process.

Have your own burning question about Philadelphia, its local oddities, or how the region works? Submit it here and you might find the answer featured in this space.

🧠 Trivia time

Will Smith was ready to go home on the night of the July 4 Parkway concert following bad weather. Then, he said he got a call from Mayor Cherelle L. Parker, pleading for a late-night concert. When recounting this on stage, Smith affectionately referred to the mayor by this nickname:

A) “Mrs. Mayor”

B) “Fresh Princess”

C) “Aunty Cherelle”

D) “Cherelle-ton Banks”

Think you know? Test your local news know-how and check your answer in our weekly quiz.

P.S. Yesterday’s trivia link was wrong. Sorry about that! Here is the correct story (and solution): The Vances added a chicken coop to the vice president’s residence.

What we’re…

🎸 Rocking out to: Concerts in Philly this week, featuring a triumvirate of legends and much more.

🧺 Curious about: Why Philly’s chefs and bartenders are gathering black walnuts this week.

📖 Reading: The real (and more complicated) story on the Delco library that made headlines for a “borrowed book returned after 100 years.”

🩻 Hearing from experts: The reasons behind a perceived prevalence of cancer right now.

🥙 Anticipating: The award-winning Emmett in Kensington is opening a second restaurant — upstairs.

🧩 Unscramble the anagram

Hint: Large physician-owned group

ANDORRA PHOTOCHEMIST

Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here.

Cheers to Jeanne Maier, who solved Thursday’s anagram: The Schmitter. The iconic sandwich is making its triumphant return to Citizens Bank Park for the All-Star game.

Photo of the day

Thanks for reading, and have a great weekend when you get there.

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