👏 It's Friday!

⛅ Partly sunny skies with a high near 80, low of 68.

📍Situational awareness: Cyclists will ride through the city on Saturday in their birthday suits during the Philly Naked Bike Ride. Start time and location to be revealed later today.

Today's newsletter is 1,027 words, a 4-minute read.

Stephen A. Smith is committed to having the first take and the last take.

Why it matters: Smith is feuding with the National Association of Black Journalists — a group he credits with helping shape him into the journalist he's become — over its claim that he has a "recurring public pattern" of disrespecting "prominent Black women across politics, sports and media."

The big picture: The former Philadelphia Inquirer Sixers beat writer and columnist turned ESPN megastar — and possible presidential contender — is mad that NABJ gave him a Thumbs Down Award.

• Smith spent 44 minutes on his podcast arguing the organization ignored his lifetime of supporting Black women and denied him basic journalistic fairness by publicly condemning him without calling him first.

What they're saying: Smith's former ESPN colleague Jemele Hill says the issue isn't that Smith criticizes Black women, but that his "tone is very different" when he does.

• Smith says he's simply, as the name of his podcast suggests, a "straight shooter," telling hard truths about athletes and politicians.

Zoom in: It has led to past public feuds with everyone from new Sixer LeBron James to Texas Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett, whom Smith said was an "educated, brilliant Black woman" but also claimed was "engaging in verbiage and rhetoric for the streets."

• He criticized tennis legend Serena Williams after her appearance in Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl performance; former Vice President Kamala Harris during her presidential run; and had a public falling out with journalist Joy-Ann Reid.

Zoom out: Journalists have also criticized Smith for stretching the definition of journalism into a bankable brand of debate-style punditry that captures eyeballs but isn't always fair to the people being covered — or on the receiving end of his criticism.

• Sandra Long Weaver, an NABJ founding member and former Inquirer editor who helped hire Smith three decades ago, tells Axios she always respected his smarts and hustle.
• He was one of the first reporters in the newsroom to use a BlackBerry to quickly file stories, once helping the Inquirer beat competitors on a major breaking story.

But his approach to journalism shifted when he got on TV, she said.

• "It's not the way we did business at the Inquirer," says Weaver, who doesn't always agree with Smith's opinions. "His approach is to get a conversation going."

Keep reading for Iverson's lesson

SEPTA's bus overhaul gets going this weekend after years of fits and starts.

Why it matters: The agency is selling the system's first redesign in roughly 60 years as a way to improve service, enhance reliability and attract new riders.

Driving the news: The majority of the changes roll out on Sunday and will shake up more than two dozen routes across the city.

• Then on Monday, SEPTA will eliminate Route 106 and extend Route 105 to Paoli Hospital.

Plus: The first phase of the plan primarily affects South Philly; Kensington; Juniata; the Cheltenham and Lancaster Avenue corridors; and Roxborough.

Flashback: The plan was originally approved back in 2024, but was put on hold amid uncertainty around state funding that same year and threats of deep service cuts.

• SEPTA tweaked the plans in the years since before getting the green light earlier this year.

Key changes include:

✨ 2 new routes:

• Route 72 will run along Cheltenham Avenue connecting Frankfort Transit Center and Cedarbrook Plaza.
• Route 76 creates a connection between North and South Philly.

↔️ 6 extended routes include:

• Route 45 will now provide seven-day service to the Navy Yard, connecting it to Center City for the first time in decades.
• Route 60 will expand service to Wissahickon Transit Center in Northwest Philly.

❌ 7 routes eliminated: 35, 47M, 62, 78, 80, 89 and 106.

Keep reading

🎓 Temple University says it will require most freshman undergrads to live on campus starting this fall. It's a big change for a university long considered a commuter school.

• The new policy comes amid declining enrollment and deficits at Temple.

👀 ICYMI: Most of the popup shops on Market East that opened this summer are sticking around through the end of the year. (WHYY)

🏆 Ulster Scottish Pipe Band based in Warminster took home the top prize at the World Pipe Band Championships in the Grade 2 category in Scotland last weekend.

• The Philly regional group became only the sixth U.S. band to win that title. (Philly Voice)

Philadelphia, Boston and Denver are the finalists to host the 2028 Democratic National Convention, the party revealed yesterday.

Why it matters: The party's selection is a nod to the cities' political power and a signal they're vital to Democrats' road back to the White House.

State of play: DNC chairperson Ken Martin said in a released statement that the party will make a final selection in the coming months.

• In the latest round, the party eliminated Atlanta and Chicago from consideration.
• The convention is set for Aug. 7–10, 2028.

Zoom in: If Philly is selected, the convention would be held at Xfinity Mobile Arena.

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Lattes and matchas are going bananas.

The big picture: Already the most-eaten fresh fruit in America, bananas are ripe for the beverage market beyond smoothies.

State of play: Banana is the fastest-growing beverage ingredient flavor over the past year at restaurants, per Circana market data.

By the numbers: Top chains introduced 100 banana items from July 2025 through July 2026 — and most of them were nonalcoholic beverages, according to Datassential.

• Even Wawa has jumped on the bandwagon with its Banana Bread Coffee.

Keep reading

🤝 Isaac can solve this Stephen A.-NABJ feud. Induct him into your Hall of Fame, if he gives an induction speech apologizing to those the org feels he wronged. Good advice, huh? My Venmo is … JK.

🙌 Mike is finishing up installing new floors to his bathroom.

Today's newsletter was edited by Jen Burkett.