Aubrey Whelan
@aubreywhelan.bsky.social
Reporter covering public health, addiction, hospital workforces, and other health stuff for @inquirer.com. Pronouns: she/her. South Philly forever.
Contact me on Signal: aubreywhelan.73
https://www.inquirer.com/author/whelan_aubrey
Contact me on Signal: aubreywhelan.73
https://www.inquirer.com/author/whelan_aubrey
Reposted by Aubrey Whelan
Additional funding for public transit is noticeably absent from Pa.'s $50.1 billion budget. It's another "disappointing" blow for SEPTA.
No funding for SEPTA in Pa.’s $50.1 billion budget is another ‘disappointing’ blow for the agency
Gov. Josh Shapiro previously approved a short-term funding plan for SEPTA.
www.inquirer.com
November 14, 2025 at 7:12 PM
Additional funding for public transit is noticeably absent from Pa.'s $50.1 billion budget. It's another "disappointing" blow for SEPTA.
Reposted by Aubrey Whelan
“These successful policies all do one thing: They make drugs boring again. Drugs are not magic, they are not demonic, they are not fundamentally different from all the other problems society faces. They are highly desirable and highly dangerous consumer goods. They are not unique in that regard.”
Opinion | Our Deadly Fentanyl Delusion
www.nytimes.com
November 15, 2025 at 1:44 PM
“These successful policies all do one thing: They make drugs boring again. Drugs are not magic, they are not demonic, they are not fundamentally different from all the other problems society faces. They are highly desirable and highly dangerous consumer goods. They are not unique in that regard.”
A little explainer on ventricular fibrillation, the most serious form of heart arrhythmia, which sent Sen. John Fetterman to the hospital yesterday: www.inquirer.com/health/ventr...
What to know about ventricular fibrillation, the heart condition that sent Sen. John Fetterman to the hospital
The condition is the most severe form of arrhythmia and a common cause of cardiac death. Fetterman's outcome could have been helped by the defibrillator that he had implanted after a stroke in 2022.
www.inquirer.com
November 14, 2025 at 3:18 PM
A little explainer on ventricular fibrillation, the most serious form of heart arrhythmia, which sent Sen. John Fetterman to the hospital yesterday: www.inquirer.com/health/ventr...
Reposted by Aubrey Whelan
Now that the government shutdown has ended, the White House said that recipients would see their SNAP benefits restored almost immediately.
But the damage may be far more lasting. (1/2)
But the damage may be far more lasting. (1/2)
‘It’s kind of like they’re playing puppeteer’
Even as the government shutdown ends, SNAP recipients across Philadelphia wonder if a longtime safety net can still be relied on.
www.inquirer.com
November 13, 2025 at 10:33 PM
Now that the government shutdown has ended, the White House said that recipients would see their SNAP benefits restored almost immediately.
But the damage may be far more lasting. (1/2)
But the damage may be far more lasting. (1/2)
Reposted by Aubrey Whelan
The Supreme Court is expected to rule Tuesday on a request from President Donald Trump’s administration to keep blocking states from providing full benefits, arguing the money might be needed elsewhere.
The Supreme Court is expected to say whether full SNAP food payments can resume
The Supreme Court is expected to rule on a request from President Donald Trump’s administration to keep blocking states from providing full benefits, arguing the money might be needed elsewhere.
www.inquirer.com
November 11, 2025 at 2:03 PM
The Supreme Court is expected to rule Tuesday on a request from President Donald Trump’s administration to keep blocking states from providing full benefits, arguing the money might be needed elsewhere.
Reposted by Aubrey Whelan
What we’ve heard after a day of reporting is that some states couldn’t complete benefit payments, and some SNAP recipients could not use their cards.
The Trump admin continues to block food stamp aid
The Trump admin continues to block food stamp aid
NEW: Millions of Americans on food stamps found themselves in limbo Saturday, after the intervention of the Supreme Court. The order froze states' efforts to provision full benefits, and in many parts of the country, there was a severe lack of info about what's next www.nytimes.com/2025/11/08/u...
Families in Limbo After Supreme Court Order Interrupts Food Stamp Payments
www.nytimes.com
November 8, 2025 at 6:39 PM
What we’ve heard after a day of reporting is that some states couldn’t complete benefit payments, and some SNAP recipients could not use their cards.
The Trump admin continues to block food stamp aid
The Trump admin continues to block food stamp aid
Reposted by Aubrey Whelan
The methadone clinic on East Market is closing. Its in one of the buildings bought by the Sixers and Comcast for their unspecified future development www.inquirer.com/real-estate/...
East Market Street methadone clinic is closing in building owned by Comcast and the 76ers
The clinic has operated from its current location since 2009 but is expected to shutter at year's end.
www.inquirer.com
November 7, 2025 at 2:13 PM
The methadone clinic on East Market is closing. Its in one of the buildings bought by the Sixers and Comcast for their unspecified future development www.inquirer.com/real-estate/...
Reposted by Aubrey Whelan
A new, more powerful tranquilizer on Philly streets is causing the worst complications some doctors have seen yet among opioid users. We unpack the rapid rise of medetomidine.
A new, potent street drug is causing severe withdrawal, and Philly doctors are scrambling to respond
By last winter, medetomidine was showing up in 70% of illicit opioid samples tested in Philly, along with other unregulated substances and synthetic opioids like fentanyl.
www.inquirer.com
November 4, 2025 at 1:17 PM
A new, more powerful tranquilizer on Philly streets is causing the worst complications some doctors have seen yet among opioid users. We unpack the rapid rise of medetomidine.
Reposted by Aubrey Whelan
"Drug users would lose consciousness on the street, with their heart rates dropping. The paramedics who found them tried dispensing naloxone, a medication used to reverse opioid overdoses, but couldn’t wake them up."
www.inquirer.com/health/a/med...
www.inquirer.com/health/a/med...
A new, potent street drug is causing severe withdrawal, and Philly doctors are scrambling to respond
By last winter, medetomidine was showing up in 70% of illicit opioid samples tested in Philly, along with other unregulated substances and synthetic opioids like fentanyl.
www.inquirer.com
November 4, 2025 at 3:15 PM
"Drug users would lose consciousness on the street, with their heart rates dropping. The paramedics who found them tried dispensing naloxone, a medication used to reverse opioid overdoses, but couldn’t wake them up."
www.inquirer.com/health/a/med...
www.inquirer.com/health/a/med...
In a matter of months, the veterinary tranquilizer medetomidine has flooded Philly's illicit opioid markets. Patients addicted to a drug they never sought out are filling ERs -- and experiencing terrifying side effects. With @maxmmarin.bsky.social: www.inquirer.com/health/a/med...
A new, potent street drug is causing severe withdrawal, and Philly doctors are scrambling to respond
By last winter, medetomidine was showing up in 70% of illicit opioid samples tested in Philly, along with other unregulated substances and synthetic opioids like fentanyl.
www.inquirer.com
November 4, 2025 at 3:55 PM
In a matter of months, the veterinary tranquilizer medetomidine has flooded Philly's illicit opioid markets. Patients addicted to a drug they never sought out are filling ERs -- and experiencing terrifying side effects. With @maxmmarin.bsky.social: www.inquirer.com/health/a/med...
Reposted by Aubrey Whelan
🗳️ Philly has a DA race, New Jersey is electing a governor, and the balance of Pennsylvania's Supreme Court is on the ballot today.
Follow live Election Day updates here 👇
Follow live Election Day updates here 👇
Voters to choose Philly DA, New Jersey governor as polls open for election 2025
Voters will also decide the makeup of Pennsylvania's Supreme Court Tuesday.
www.inquirer.com
November 4, 2025 at 12:26 PM
🗳️ Philly has a DA race, New Jersey is electing a governor, and the balance of Pennsylvania's Supreme Court is on the ballot today.
Follow live Election Day updates here 👇
Follow live Election Day updates here 👇
Reposted by Aubrey Whelan
BREAKING: Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro released $5 million in state funding for food pantries as a SNAP freeze looms on Saturday. The declaration expedites the delivery of those funds.
Shapiro signs a disaster declaration in Pa. as SNAP benefits careen toward freeze
In Pennsylvania, SNAP provides more than $366 million in benefits to about two million families, including 713,000 children.
www.inquirer.com
October 31, 2025 at 5:27 PM
BREAKING: Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro released $5 million in state funding for food pantries as a SNAP freeze looms on Saturday. The declaration expedites the delivery of those funds.
Reposted by Aubrey Whelan
Longtime WMMR-FM host Pierre Robert was found dead in his home Wednesday. He was 70.
Beasley Media Group, the station’s parent company, announced Robert’s death in a statement, calling him a “true radio icon.”
🔗 www.inquirer.com/entertainmen...
Beasley Media Group, the station’s parent company, announced Robert’s death in a statement, calling him a “true radio icon.”
🔗 www.inquirer.com/entertainmen...
Longtime WMMR host Pierre Robert has died at 70
The cause of death was not immediately known.
www.inquirer.com
October 29, 2025 at 7:25 PM
Longtime WMMR-FM host Pierre Robert was found dead in his home Wednesday. He was 70.
Beasley Media Group, the station’s parent company, announced Robert’s death in a statement, calling him a “true radio icon.”
🔗 www.inquirer.com/entertainmen...
Beasley Media Group, the station’s parent company, announced Robert’s death in a statement, calling him a “true radio icon.”
🔗 www.inquirer.com/entertainmen...
Reposted by Aubrey Whelan
After a year in which the Trump administration has already cut grants at the National Institutes of Health, scientists worry more research will be disrupted.
🔗 www.inquirer.com/health/natio...
🔗 www.inquirer.com/health/natio...
Federal shutdown spurs fears of scientific grant funding delay in Philly
After a year in which the Trump administration has already cut grants at the National Institutes of Health, scientists worry more research will be disrupted.
www.inquirer.com
October 28, 2025 at 5:02 PM
After a year in which the Trump administration has already cut grants at the National Institutes of Health, scientists worry more research will be disrupted.
🔗 www.inquirer.com/health/natio...
🔗 www.inquirer.com/health/natio...
Before the shutdown, the Trump administration had already canceled grants and delayed scientific research funding. Now, scientists who review grants for the NIH are worried that more chaos is ahead. www.inquirer.com/health/natio...
Federal shutdown spurs fears of scientific grant funding delay in Philly
After a year in which the Trump administration has already cut grants at the National Institutes of Health, scientists worry more research will be disrupted.
www.inquirer.com
October 28, 2025 at 2:26 PM
Before the shutdown, the Trump administration had already canceled grants and delayed scientific research funding. Now, scientists who review grants for the NIH are worried that more chaos is ahead. www.inquirer.com/health/natio...
Reposted by Aubrey Whelan
NEW: The entire staff supporting ACIP was laid off, and most working groups haven't met in months.
That means the US may not make routine vaccine recommendations for more than half of children in 2026, and it could halt new vaccines in the pipeline. My latest:
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
That means the US may not make routine vaccine recommendations for more than half of children in 2026, and it could halt new vaccines in the pipeline. My latest:
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Threat to US vaccines as CDC staff supporting key advisory panel laid off
Critics say scientists ‘held hostage’ by RFK Jr as changes mean vaccine development and guidance in peril
www.theguardian.com
October 27, 2025 at 2:20 PM
NEW: The entire staff supporting ACIP was laid off, and most working groups haven't met in months.
That means the US may not make routine vaccine recommendations for more than half of children in 2026, and it could halt new vaccines in the pipeline. My latest:
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
That means the US may not make routine vaccine recommendations for more than half of children in 2026, and it could halt new vaccines in the pipeline. My latest:
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Reposted by Aubrey Whelan
Dozens of Philadelphia-area Catholics rallied outside the Center City ICE office on Wednesday, joining a pro-immigrant push undertaken by fellow church groups around the country.
Protesters rally outside Philly ICE office as Catholics launch ‘One Church, One Family’ campaign for immigrants
A second day of prayer is set for Nov. 13, to coincide with the feast of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, an Italian immigrant who became the first U.S. citizen to be declared a saint.
www.inquirer.com
October 22, 2025 at 8:22 PM
Dozens of Philadelphia-area Catholics rallied outside the Center City ICE office on Wednesday, joining a pro-immigrant push undertaken by fellow church groups around the country.
most wonderful time of the year at the Inquirer is the lead-up to the publication of The 76 because everyone inevitably gets recruited to help the scouts try out restaurants. one night in august i had 15 pizzas delivered to my house for research purposes. sublime
Our scouts for The 76, all 18 of them, fanned out across the Philadelphia area and ate through cuisines we were curious about to find the city’s best restaurants.
Inquirer food and dining reporter Kiki Aranita had the largest beat.
🔗 www.inquirer.com/food/inq2/be...
Inquirer food and dining reporter Kiki Aranita had the largest beat.
🔗 www.inquirer.com/food/inq2/be...
October 22, 2025 at 7:05 PM
most wonderful time of the year at the Inquirer is the lead-up to the publication of The 76 because everyone inevitably gets recruited to help the scouts try out restaurants. one night in august i had 15 pizzas delivered to my house for research purposes. sublime
Reposted by Aubrey Whelan
Despite escalating anti-vaccine rhetoric, most Americans support vaccine mandates, a University of Pennsylvania survey found.
Despite escalating anti-vaccine rhetoric, most Americans support vaccine mandates, surveys find
An April 2025 survey found that 70% of the public believes children should be required to receive the MMR vaccine before attending public school.
www.inquirer.com
September 24, 2025 at 12:29 PM
Despite escalating anti-vaccine rhetoric, most Americans support vaccine mandates, a University of Pennsylvania survey found.
Reposted by Aubrey Whelan
"Despite heightened anti-vaccine rhetoric from the administration, surveys show that most Americans support vaccine mandates for children." Thanks to @inquirer.com @aubreywhelan.bsky.social for looking at our research. cc: @childrensphila.bsky.social @upenn.edu
www.inquirer.com/health/ameri...
www.inquirer.com/health/ameri...
Despite escalating anti-vaccine rhetoric, most Americans support vaccine mandates, surveys find
An April 2025 survey found that 70% of the public believes children should be required to receive the MMR vaccine before attending public school.
www.inquirer.com
September 24, 2025 at 1:20 PM
"Despite heightened anti-vaccine rhetoric from the administration, surveys show that most Americans support vaccine mandates for children." Thanks to @inquirer.com @aubreywhelan.bsky.social for looking at our research. cc: @childrensphila.bsky.social @upenn.edu
www.inquirer.com/health/ameri...
www.inquirer.com/health/ameri...
Reposted by Aubrey Whelan
Trump on Monday claimed there is a link between Tylenol and autism. A Drexel University scientist who studied the topic found none.
Trump’s claim Tylenol and autism are linked is wrong, Drexel scientist says
Drexel University scientist Brian Lee found no link between a mother taking Tylenol and her child developing autism in a large-scale study published last year in the medical journal JAMA.
www.inquirer.com
September 23, 2025 at 12:34 PM
Trump on Monday claimed there is a link between Tylenol and autism. A Drexel University scientist who studied the topic found none.
Reposted by Aubrey Whelan
September 21, 2025 at 8:11 PM
Reposted by Aubrey Whelan
Penn State's NPR station will be the first to go dark following Trump's cuts to public media.
“The news devastated me,” said Jeff Hughes, WPSU’s former program director who retired in August, "it devastated all the employees.”
www.inquirer.com/news/pennsyl...
“The news devastated me,” said Jeff Hughes, WPSU’s former program director who retired in August, "it devastated all the employees.”
www.inquirer.com/news/pennsyl...
‘The news devastated me’: Pennsylvania NPR station will be first in the U.S. to go dark following Trump’s cuts
WPSU, which has been broadcasting out of Penn State since 1953, will shut down following federal cuts to public media organizations
www.inquirer.com
September 17, 2025 at 4:02 PM
Penn State's NPR station will be the first to go dark following Trump's cuts to public media.
“The news devastated me,” said Jeff Hughes, WPSU’s former program director who retired in August, "it devastated all the employees.”
www.inquirer.com/news/pennsyl...
“The news devastated me,” said Jeff Hughes, WPSU’s former program director who retired in August, "it devastated all the employees.”
www.inquirer.com/news/pennsyl...
Reposted by Aubrey Whelan
OPINION: "The decision to shift capital funding to save operations does not prevent the collapse transit leaders have been warning about for years; it simply delays it." — The Inquirer Editorial Board
SEPTA service restoration is a short-term win | Editorial
The decision to shift capital funding to save operations does not prevent the collapse transit leaders have been warning about for years; it simply delays it.
www.inquirer.com
September 9, 2025 at 12:08 PM
OPINION: "The decision to shift capital funding to save operations does not prevent the collapse transit leaders have been warning about for years; it simply delays it." — The Inquirer Editorial Board
Reposted by Aubrey Whelan
An Inquirer article inspired an anonymous $1 million donation to pay off nurses’ student loans at Paoli Hospital.
For Damacia Gilbert, "every little bit helps; to have any amount of money freed up every month is amazing.”
For Damacia Gilbert, "every little bit helps; to have any amount of money freed up every month is amazing.”
An Inquirer article inspired an anonymous $1 million donation to pay off nurses’ student loans at Paoli Hospital
An Inquirer article about an anonymous $1 million donation to help pay Lankenau Medical Center nurses’ student loans has inspired another donation at Paoli Hospital.
www.inquirer.com
September 9, 2025 at 12:14 PM
An Inquirer article inspired an anonymous $1 million donation to pay off nurses’ student loans at Paoli Hospital.
For Damacia Gilbert, "every little bit helps; to have any amount of money freed up every month is amazing.”
For Damacia Gilbert, "every little bit helps; to have any amount of money freed up every month is amazing.”