This week’s biggest Winners & Losers

There’s a new prince of Dragonstone. The Drexel University Board of Trustees confirmed Antonio Merlo, a political economist from NYU, as the school’s next president. Merlo, a former University of Pennsylvania faculty member, has led NYU Arts & Science since 2019 – and will take over the reins of the Drexel Dragons for the foreseeable future, beginning in July.

State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta has new influence within the Democratic Party, as the Philadelphia state lawmaker was elected one of three new vice chairs of the Democratic National Committee in February. Despite the party suffering setbacks in last November’s general election, Kenyatta struck an optimistic tone following his victory. “Some may be ready to write the obituary for the Democratic Party, but today we made clear we are on the path to a revival,” he said.

President Trump announced this week that Sean Parnell, a combat veteran who ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate and House seats, has been picked to serve as the chief Pentagon spokesperson and assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs. Parnell, who received Trump’s endorsement during his bid for the Republican Senate nomination in 2021, is one of several Pennsylvanians expected to join the Trump administration.

We’ve heard of poaching eggs, but this is ridiculous. Someone stole 100,000 Pete & Gerry’s eggs  – organic specimens worth $40,000 earlier this week, but considering the bird-flu-related shortages that have driven egg prices skyward lately, possibly more now – out of the back of a distribution truck in Antrim Township. Days later, police have yet to crack the case.

Whole Foods employees in Philadelphia who recently voted to unionize could face a whole lot of complications in their effort to secure a contract. Attorneys for Whole Foods argued in a legal filing that the election should be dismissed due to President Donald Trump’s firing of two leaders at the National Labor Relations Board, per The Washington Post. According to the paper, attorneys for Whole Foods allege that the firings mean the board lacks the authority to lawfully certify the union’s election win, spelling uncertainty for the union's future.

You can study foreign languages at Juniata County schools – but according to a sign posted in one of its partner schoolbuses last week, you can’t practice Spanish onboard. David Schrantz, a vice president for Rohrer Bus, said the company had suspended the bus operator for posting an unauthorized sign admonishing: “Out of respect to English only students, there will be NO speaking Spanish on this bus!”