Follow @JoelMMathis on Twitter. Get morning headlines in your inbox: Sign up here.
Pa. Senate: This Is How to Remove Kane
Good morning, Philadelphia. Here’s what you need to know today.
The Pa. Senate has unveiled the process by which it might — might — be used to remove Kathleen Kane from office.
PennLive reports that under the resolution, a public hearing would be held Jan. 12 to focus on Kane’s ability to serve in office while her law license is suspended while she awaits trial on charges she illegally leaked grand jury information for political gain. Within 15 days, the Senate Rules Committee would produce a report on the matter for the full Senate. “Kane could be removed from office by Gov. Tom Wolf after a two-thirds vote in the Senate,” the paper reports. “The process, however, would likely be challenged in court by the attorney general.”
Mayor-elect Jim Kenney has condemned the desecration of a Philly mosque, as anti-Muslim tensions flare in the wake of terror attacks in Paris and San Bernardino.
A pig’s head was found at the Al-Aqsa mosque on Monday morning; surveillance video showed a person throwing an object out the window of a red pickup truck. Kenney’s response: “The bigotry that desecrated Al-Aqsa mosque today has no place in Philadelphia. The City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection has a long history of coming together in the face of challenge. We cannot allow hate to divide us now, in the face of unprecedented difficulties. I ask all Philadelphians to join me in rejecting this despicable act and supporting our Muslim neighbors.”
A teacher at George Washington High School was attacked by students Monday morning.
The attack occurred around 10 a.m. in Brian Swift’s classroom; three teens arrived at the door. One got in before Swift locked the door. NBC 10 reports: “The teen that went inside then approached a female student, asked her where his phone was and checked through her book bag, investigators said. Swift then told the teen he was calling police and went to use the classroom security phone. The teen then allegedly ran towards Swift and pulled the phone from his hand leading to a struggle between the two.” The other two teens entered and joined the struggle. School security officers caught the fleeing teens, and Swift was taken to a nearby hospital with a swollen jaw and bruised ribs. Despite the incident, though, Swift says the school is getting safer: “They’re doing hall sweeps and really making sure things start to change. And it shows.”
The Sixers have hired basketball hall-of-famer Jerry Colangelo to be chairman of basketball operations. Does that mean the tanking era is over?
Philly Mag’s Derek Bodner writes: While the Sixers were saying all the right things about not being able to miss the chance to add somebody with the experience and expertise that Colangelo brings with him, it’s hard not to look at it as a reaction to recent developments. Between the 1-20 start and Jahlil Okafor’s series of off the court mishaps, it’s been a trying time for everybody involved. “Obviously, we’ve had a tough start. When you go through a tough start, you think about it, you keep working on it. I was racking my brain,” Sixers co-managing owner Joshua Harris explained. “We believe we are entering the next phase of our process where it will be extremely helpful to have someone as experienced, as wise, and as highly regarded and respected as Jerry [Colangelo].”
Temple’s Tyler Matakevich has been named college football’s best defensive player.
The senior linebacker won the 2015 Bronko Nagurski Trophy on Monday night, after a superlative season. Temple University’s athletic department gives the overview: “He is college football’s active leader with 481 career tackles. This year he has 126 tackles, and he became just the seventh college football player to have four seasons over 100 tackles. He also leads the nation in interceptions among linebackers with a career-high five and also reached career-highs in sacks (4.5) and tackles for loss (15.0).”