A massive South Philadelphia development project has scored a $450 million investment from Bill Gates' nuclear science company.

Why it matters: TerraPower Isotopes is the largest tenant yet for the growing Bellwether District and will expand the city's life sciences industry.

The big picture: Philly edged out eight other cities to be the site of TerraPower's flagship East Coast site for producing actinium-225, a radioactive isotope used to fight cancer, per a news release from Gov. Josh Shapiro's administration.

State of play: TerraPower will lease a new 250,000-square-foot facility, with production expected to begin in 2029, per a news release.

• The project is anticipated to create 225 new jobs.
• The company secured $10 million in state grants for the project and is eligible for tax credits.

What they're saying: "Pennsylvania is competing again and winning major deals," Shapiro said in a news release.

• TerraPower president and CEO Chris Levesque added in a news release that the new facility will increase access to actinium-225 for researchers and drug developers, who are advancing new cancer treatments.

Between the lines: Gates founded the nuclear company TerraPower — the parent company of TerraPower Isotopes — in the 2000s with other investors.

• TerraPower is based in Bellevue, Washington.

Context: The Bellwether District is a multibillion-dollar campus spanning 1,300 acres along the Schuylkill River, and it sits on a former refinery site.

• Developer HRP Group secured its first tenant for the Bellwether District in late 2025 — canned drink manufacturer DrinkPAK.

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The Roc is in the building — Jay-Z is headlining this year's Roots Picnic.

Why it matters: The Roots Picnic needed a shakeup after last year's rain-soaked mess — and booking the Brooklyn icon and Roc Nation founder is a big get that restores buzz to Philly's signature summer festival.

Driving the news: Jay-Z is performing alongside The Roots on the opening day of the two-day festival, which is being held May 30-31 at Belmont Plateau in Fairmount Park.

• General tickets for the rain-or-shine event go on sale Wednesday at 10am.

Catch up quick: The Picnic is moving from its usual home at the Mann Center after last year's mud-filled mess sparked widespread complaints.

• Some concertgoers demanded refunds, but organizers refused, noting it was a rain-or-shine event and that artists still performed despite the downpour.

What they're saying: Changing venues and reuniting Jay-Z and the Roots are "bucket-list moments for us," the band's manager Shawn Lee said in a statement, adding the group was inspired to "dream even bigger" in reimagining this year's picnic for the nation's 250th birthday.

Flashback: Jay-Z and The Roots last teamed up for the rapper's 2001 "Jay-Z: Unplugged" album, recorded as part of MTV's "Unplugged" series.

What we're watching: What Jay-Z's involvement in the Roots Picnic means for the shaky future of his "Made in America" festival.

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👀 Philly restaurant mogul Stephen Starr is lining up his next Rittenhouse restaurant.

• Set for a fall opening, the Pelican Club will feature Greek cuisine "with a touch of Aegean glamour," per a social media post from Starr Restaurant.

🚗 The on-ramp connecting Market Street to I-95 South reopened yesterday for the first time in a year, state officials said.

• Work on and around the on-ramp was tied to a project to build a new city park and cap atop I-95 at Penn's Landing.

❌ TSA security checkpoints at Philly airport at Terminals A-West and F are shut down starting today because of the ongoing partial government shutdown.

• The checkpoint at Terminal C has been shut down for roughly a week. (FOX)

Eastern State Penitentiary is seeking donors to close a funding gap as it works to stand up a new welcome center and fund exhibit upgrades ahead of the nation's 250th birthday.

Why it matters: Since reopening in 1994, the former penitentiary has transformed into an educational hub and tourist draw, welcoming more than a quarter of a million visitors a year interested in learning about our country's criminal justice system.

State of play: Philly has invested $620 million to prepare for this year's packed slate of events — and many cultural institutions are pursuing their own overhauls as they prepare to serve as visitors' first impression of the city.

The big picture: Eastern State, which once housed infamous inmates like Al Capone and bank robber "Slick Willie" Sutton, was opened in 1829 and was recognized as the world's first penitentiary.

• Shuttered in 1971, the former prison sat abandoned for more than 20 years before it reopened and began hosting history tours in 1994.
• It now holds a busy calendar of events, including its popular Halloween Nights festival with five haunted houses sprawled across its 11-acre grounds.

Driving the news: The prison has met 90% of its $2.7 million fundraising goal, boosted by a more than $807,000 grant from the William Penn Foundation.

• The funding will support construction of a new welcome center, expected to open next spring, including an orientation desk for visitors, restrooms (the prison currently lacks permanent public facilities), and upgraded lighting and signage.
• The center is a capstone initiative to the prison's semiquincentennial programming, "A Time for Liberty," exploring the nation's evolving ideas of freedom and justice.

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One dish is about to be crowned the Mac Daddy of them all.

The big picture: Northern Liberties sports bar Craft Hall is tapping into March Madness fever with its own in-house Mac Madness tournament.

Driving the news: The beer hall is pitting its top mac-and-cheese dishes against each other in a single-elimination bracket, starting Thursday with Crab & Old Bay vs. truffle and wild mushroom.

Other first-round matchups:

• Friday: French onion vs. Chipotle brisket
• Saturday: BBQ pork shoulder vs. jerk chicken
• Sunday: Al pastor pork vs. broccoli cheddar

How it works: Each $12 mac order counts as a vote, with winners advancing to the Final Four (March 26–29).

• The top two dishes will face off in the championship round on April 4 and April 6.

💭 Isaac's thought bubble: Quibbles here, but March Mac-ness is like a finger-roll off the tongue. My money's on "The Crab Five."

The bottom line: Get ready for the cheesiest "One Shining Moment" yet.

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