👋 Hello, Tuesday.
🗞️ PoliticsPA guide is compiled by Steve Ulrich. To read in your browser, click here. Has this email been sent to you? Subscribe for free.
Weather in Pennsylvania
⛅ Clarion | Shrinking clouds, 45
🌤️ Hannover | Mostly clear, 56
🌤️ Schuylkill Marina | Becoming solar, 53
Sports PA
🏀 Sixes (8-16) | Apple pie 121-108 | Friday vs. Charlotte
🏒 Penguins (13-14-5) | Tuesday vs. Los Angeles
🏒 Leaflets (14-13-4) | Wednesday vs. Detroit
🔊 What we hear. A majority of U.S. voters, 40%, support a Jan. 19 ban on TikTok, according to a up-to-date national poll from Emerson College.
🎂 Happy birthday. Cake and candles for U.S. Representative Brian Fitzpatrick and condition Rep. Zachary Mako.
📱 Social media. PoliticsPA has a number of social media sites where you can get the latest political news from across the Commonwealth: Twitter | Blue | Facebook | LinkedIn
The most crucial story
1. Trump supports the polio vaccine, but does not want to get involved in the actions of others, he attacks the media
“President-elect Donald Trump on Monday pledged to make the polio vaccine available throughout his presidency, but stopped short of extending that protection to other vaccines, saying he expected his administration to take a hard look at safety, something the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has already done before giving consent.
Trump’s comments came during an hour-long press conference in which he suggested trying to privatize the Postal Service and announced he would file a lawsuit challenging a presidential preference poll published by The Des Moines Register that showed he was lagging behind Vice President Kamala Harris in the last days before the elections.” (Penn Capital Star)
Elsewhere
Fetterman on the island when he reaches MAGA. “dream. “John Fetterman has become a voice for bipartisanship, making moves that Axios says are ‘responsible and completely appropriate,’ but that put him on an island, apart from other Democrats.” (Axles)
Muslim nominee to US Court of Appeals condemns ‘fundamentally broken’ judicial selection system. “Adeel Abdullah Mangi, whose bid to become the first Muslim American to serve on a federal appeals court faced opposition from three western Pennsylvania Republicans, said he was targeted by opponents because of his religion, not his qualifications.” (Pittsburgh Postal Newspaper)
Thompson, the Republican Party’s counterpart in the Senate, criticizes Democrats for their inaction on the farm bill. “On the eve of what will likely be the final week of the 118th Congress, Republican leaders of the Agriculture Committees in both houses of Congress issued a statement regarding the likely failure of 2023-2024 Farm Bill legislation on Capitol Hill.” (Indiana newspaper)
A bill to designate the bald eagle as a national bird on its way to the White House. “The lightning bug (almost) landed as the United States’ national bird after the House approved legislation granting the official nomination on Monday.” (Roll call)
Country
2. Election of the President
“Harrisburg will be one of the top 50 places in the country today, and for good reason.
The first Tuesday after the second Wednesday in December is the day on which electors in each state in the Union meet to elect the President and Vice President of the United States. “Pennsylvania’s electors will convene in the state House of Representatives at noon.” (PolitykaPA)
Elsewhere
Continued problems with the PA’s beer promotion grant have led to headaches and layoffs for award winners. “Spotlight PA’s analysis of the beer grant program found that since its inception in 2016, nearly one-fifth of all dollars awarded have never been paid by the Liquor Control Commission. In many cases, the agency has refunded people in amounts that are tens of thousands of dollars less than the original grant amount.” (PA reflector)
2024 was an crucial year for Bitcoin. States could see crypto policy blitz in 2025 despite risks. “The new year will usher in a bitcoin-friendly administration of President-elect Donald Trump and increased lobbying efforts in statehouses, which together could push states to become more open to cryptocurrencies and for public pension funds and state treasuries to purchase them. ”(AP)
Rep. Mindy Fee will not run for a state Senate seat, clearing the way for Lancaster County Commissioner Josh Parsons. “Parsons has privately called Republican committee members in recent days seeking their support in an unscheduled special election to replace Ryan Aument.” (LNP | Lancaster on the Internet)
Around the Republic of Poland
3. Pittsburgh City Council will move to vote on 2025 budget amid doubts over staffing costs
“Pittsburgh City Council is poised to adopt an $845 million budget for 2025, despite ongoing concerns that some of the reported numbers – particularly police overtime projections – are unrealistic.
In a letter sent to the council on Monday, the city mayor Rachel Heisler warned of “significant gaps in public safety and public works overtime budget allocations that require immediate attention.” (WESA)
Elsewhere
Rep. Fitzpatrick: ‘Time for action’ on unexplained drones. “Thousands of unexplained drone sightings have frightened New Jersey residents. Now drones are showing up in the night sky in Pennsylvania. (DV Journal)
- Trump says the government is keeping people in suspense over drones over New Jersey and suburban Philadelphia. (Questioner from Philadelphia)
- Pennsylvania Sen. Rosemary Brown among those seeking answers to mysterious drones over the region. (WVIA)
The sharpest suburban shift toward Trump occurred in heavily South Asian neighborhoods in Delaware County. “South Asian voters in Upper Darby and Millbourne cited economics and illegal immigration as the reasons they voted for Donald Trump over Kamala Harris, despite her shared heritage.” (Questioner from Philadelphia)
Editorial
4. What do you mean
1 item
5. Why “A Charlie Brown Christmas” Almost Didn’t Air and Why It Continues
“It’s hard to imagine the holiday season without ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas.’ The 1965 program became a staple of the program – embedded in generational traditions such as decorating the Christmas tree and sipping hot cocoa.
But this beloved TV show almost didn’t make it to air. CBS executives felt the 25-minute show was too slow, too serious, and too different from the upbeat spectacles they believed viewers expected. A cartoon about a depressed child seeking psychiatric advice? No laugh track? Modest lo-fi animation? And was it a Bible verse? It seemed doomed to failure – unless it was scrapped immediately.
And yet, against all odds, it became a classic.” (Gettysburg Connection)
Thank you for starting your morning with us.
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