Morning Headlines: Thrown Objects Shatter Train Window
Good morning Philadelphia. Here is what you need to know today.
https://twitter.com/TaylorLorenz/status/693954919083175936
Scary moments on an Amtrak train in Philly — a “giant boom” and a cracked window left passengers wondering if they were being shot at.
“There was this giant boom. It almost sounded like this tray table had dropped really hard and strong and loud,” passenger Taylor Lorenz said, according to CBS3 reports. “Immediately everybody looked at it and said, ‘Oh my God, it’s a gunshot. Is that a bullet in there? What’s going on?’” Officials say objects were thrown at the train while it rolled through Bridesburg around 7 p.m. “Amtrak and local authorities are investigating the incident, including the type of objects hitting train,” Amtrak officials said, according to WABC. As it happens, the National Transportation Safety Board is expected to release evidence today in the May crash of Train 188, the derailment at Frankford Junction that left 8 dead.
It’s the race before the race — today is the first day for runners to sign up for the Broad Street Run lottery.
The lottery determines who actually gets run in the popular event: Sign up here. Philly Mag reports that the lottery stays open until Friday, February 12th at 11:59 p.m., and there’s no benefit to registering earlier or a penalty for registering later; according to race officials, everyone has an equal shot. On Tuesday, February 16th, race organizers will post a list of lottery winners on broadstreetrun.com. In years past, they’ve also sent emails to the selected folks, so you can check your email (including your spam box) on that date, as well. The race will be capped at 40,000 participants.
The Democratic candidates for Senate met for the first time during a Sunday forum in Pittsburgh. Everybody played nice — for now.
TribLive reports that Katie McGinty, Joe Sestak, and John Fetterman — the three Dems vying to challenge Republican incumbent Pat Toomey for his U.S. Senate seat. They “fielded questions on issues ranging from immigration and the Syrian refugee crisis to criminal justice reform and racial inequality.” No one attacked each other, according to reports. A recent poll shows 61 percent of Democrats are undecided on a nominee; Sestak leads the field with 17 percent support, followed by McGinty with 13 percent and Fetterman with 6 percent.
Is it time to play the Feud? Hundreds of Philly-area families certainly hope so.
That’s why they converged upon the Pennsylvania Convention Center over the weekend — to participate in auditions for the long-running game show, Family Feud. Families were pitted against each other in mock contests. “I look for families who want to have fun,” casting director Sarah Dansby told CBS3. “Lots of energy, lots of enthusiasm, who love each other, want to get on the show and have a good time and obviously win some money.” Eight-thousand people applied, 700 were invited to the auditions. No word on how many Philly families made the cut. Auditions ended Sunday.
Today is the first day of February. Winter’s only half-over. But the next few days will feel almost like spring.
6ABC says today’s high temp could reach 57 degrees — and go as high as 63 degrees by Wednesday. But winter-like temperatures will return in the back half of the week, settling into the 40s on Thursday and staying there through the weekend.
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