❄️ Flying flakes on Friday. We remember: It is the 61st anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas
Weather in Pennsylvania
☃️ Somerset | Heavy snow, 38
☔ Selinsgrove | Rain and snow, 44
☔ Scranton | Rain and snow, 38
Sports PA
🏈 Steelers (8-3) | Cleveland 19-24 | December 1 vs. Cincinnati
🏈 Eagles (8-2) | Sun vs. LA Rams
🏈 Pennsylvania State (9-1) | Saturday vs. Minnesota
🏈 Pitt (7-3) | Saturday vs. Louisville
🏈 Temple (3-7) | Friday vs. UTSA
🏀 Sixes (2-12) | Friday vs. Brooklyn | Sun vs. LA Clippers
🏒 Flyers (8-10-2) | Saturday vs. Chicago
🏒 Penguins (7-10-4) | Friday vs. Winnipeg | Saturday vs. Utah
🔉 What we hear. “Senator Bob Casey has dedicated his career to improving our community. Dina and I want to express our sincere gratitude to Senator Casey, Teresa and their family for their decades of service, hard work and personal sacrifice.” – Dave McCormick
🎂 Happy birthday. Cake and candles for Senator Tim Kearney.
📱 Find us in the blue sky. PoliticsPA has joined Blue Sky as another option for your social media. Come to us at politicspa.bluesky.social. You can also find us on Twitter @PolitykaPA
🗞️ Good morning, Pennsylvania. Find the latest news on political events in the Keystone State with the PoliticsPA Playbook. We’ll deliver all the latest headlines in an easy-to-read format every weekday at 8am. And it’s free. Add your name to the list and sign up now.
The most significant story
1. Casey concedes race against McCormick after recount, ending Senate career after three terms
“US Senator Bob Casey he admitted to Republicans Dave McCormick on Thursday, formally ending his re-election bid and confirming defeat two weeks after the Associated Press announced McCormick’s victory and after a statewide race recount began.
Casey resisted stepping down, citing the thousands of votes that still needed to be counted and entering into litigation to maximize the number of ballots counted. “However, when the final votes were tallied on Thursday, Casey’s deficit of approximately 16,500 votes was too large to overcome, and so large that a recount had no impact.” (Questioner from Philadelphia)
Elsewhere
Casey admits. McCormick will be the next AP senator. “It’s over. Three-term U.S. Senator Bob Casey Jr. conceded the Pennsylvania Senate race to Republican Dave McCormick.” (PoliticsPA)
Trump tells Republicans in the US Senate they ‘have to kill’ the Journalism Shield Act. “This measure would limit federal law enforcement surveillance of journalists and the government’s ability to compel disclosure of journalists’ sources by codifying regulations put in place by the Department of Justice under President Joe Biden.” (Penn Capital Star)
- The veteran News editor expects Trump to be “attacking the press in every way possible.” (NPR)
Gov. Josh Shapiro says he’s ready to stand up to Trump during a visit to a West Philly hair salon: ‘I have a job to do’ “As attorney general of Pennsylvania during Trump’s first term, he was frequently at odds with the administration, suing several times with other Democratic governors and gaining national attention fighting Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election.” (Questioner from Philadelphia)
Meuser elected to serve on the House GOP policy committee. “Congressman Dan Meuser (PA-09) was unanimously elected by his House Republican Conference colleagues to represent the Pennsylvania region on the Republican Policy Committee (RPC) for the 119th Congress.” (PoliticsPA)
Biden nominates Halie Craig to the U.S. International Trade Commission. “Craig currently serves as the Director of Policy for the Technology Division of the U.S. Senate Republican Commerce Committee, where he oversees all aspects of technology policy for Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas), ranking member. Before the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee, she held various positions on the staff of former U.S. Senator Pat Toomey (R-PA)” (PoliticsPA)
Country
2. Harrisburg officials point fingers at insufficient transit funding
“While Pittsburgh Regional Transit may not face a financial crisis like the one at Philadelphia-based SEPTA, the agency’s $240 million budget deficit has led to high-level finger-pointing in Harrisburg over the funding of all transit agencies in the state, including this PRT.
SEPTA’s financial problems recently prompted the state’s largest transit agency to propose a 29% fare increase effective Jan. 1, and one of its executives said it was facing a “fiscal cliff.” Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro told an audience this week that the situation could be entirely blamed on the Republican-controlled Senate, which Shapiro says has repeatedly refused to pass transit funding requested by Democrats.
Senator Joe Pittman of Indiana County, the Republican majority leader in the house, has once again placed the burden on Mr. Shapiro.” (Pittsburgh Postal Newspaper)
Elsewhere
Information about Josh Shapiro’s secret quest for influence at Penn. “Documents obtained by The Daily Pennsylvanian reveal the governor’s extensive involvement with Penn, including his response to anti-Semitism and the pro-Palestinian encampment.” (Daily Pennsylvanian)
State Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward looks to the future. “This election spoke volumes,” Ward said. “People don’t want to hear about social issues. Of course, Democrats have gone full speed ahead on the abortion issue. [People] I don’t want to hear about boys in women’s sports. They want to hear how you will help them put food on the table and pay their utility bills.” (Wide + Freedom)
The red wave did not hit state buildings during this election. “Democrats at the state level have largely stood their ground, even winning key victories in battleground states — and under Trump, that will matter.” (Nation)
Around the Republic of Poland
3. The head of the steelworkers’ union destroys the PR blitz by pressing for the American Steel-Nippon deal
“President of United Steelworkers International David McCall he’s aware of the cracks that are forming in his union’s opposition to the sale of U.S. Steel to Japan’s Nippon Steel as the companies push for publicity, but he’s not backing down.
McCall condemned television ads that appeared in the Pittsburgh region depicting Mon Valley mayors and some members of his union advocating the proposed sale as “the future of American steel.” He said both companies are more interested in public relations efforts than in convincing the United Steelworkers.” (Greensburg Tribune Review)
Elsewhere
Pittsburgh’s efforts to regulate firearms appear to have succeeded following a state Supreme Court ruling. “The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected an attempt by Philadelphia officials to invalidate a state law barring the city from enacting its own gun laws. Officials say this could impact Pittsburgh’s efforts to regulate gun violence and have far-reaching consequences for gun laws across the state.” (WESA)
Philly school officials tax changes OK for new Sixers arena over concerns: takeaways from board meeting. “In districts financing tax increases, the city can allocate a portion of tax revenues to support development and job growth. However, if the arena passes, it will be on city-owned property and will not be subject to the tax, although the Sixers will pay a fee in lieu of taxes. (Questioner from Philadelphia)
Residents are demanding the resignation of Democratic Party commissioners over the voting controversy. “The meeting had one of the highest turnouts in recent history and took place after Presiding Commissioner Diane Ellis-Marseglia stated that she would vote to accept hundreds of mail-in and absentee ballots that were incorrectly completed, contrary to recent court decisions.” (LevittownNow.com)
‘The City of Erie Cannot Wait’: Democrat Daria Devlin Launches Mayoral Campaign. “Devlin, an Erie native, officially launched her mayoral campaign Wednesday morning, pledging to aggressively pursue positive changes in the city related to its growing population while dealing with Erie’s fiscal challenges.” (Erie Times-News)
Editorial
4. What do you mean
1 item
5. Doctor, my eyes
A recent frontier is opening up in cosmetic surgery – changing eye color.
- Doctors who perform As part of the procedure, patients’ corneas are incised with a laser, then the incisions are widened and filled with dye, reports The Wall Street Journal.
- 🎨 Some people want to make a subtle change their appearance. Others told the Journal that they intentionally wanted eyes that looked unnatural and attention-grabbing. One patient had only one eye change color, so he had the same mismatched eyes as his dog.
- A controversial procedure costs approximately $12,000. The effects are lasting and cannot be undone. Only a few doctors will do it, but the demand is growing.
