🐫 Halfway sign. Thank you for your support of the PoliticsPA Guide.
Weather in Pennsylvania
⛈️Butler | Showers and thunderstorms possible, 81
🌂Thompsontown | Rainfall delayed, 79
🌥️ Havertown | Mostly overcast, 83
Sports PA
⚾ Phillies (43-19) | Milwaukee 2-1 | Wednesday vs. Milwaukee
⚾ Pirates (28-32) | Wed-Thurs vs. LA Dodgers
👂 What we hear. “Neither Biden nor Trump currently has a significant advantage in any of the three states (PA, MI, WI).” – Duchong KimFAU PolCom Lab/Mainstreet Research survey
🗓️ What’s happening today. Both the House and Senate are in session at 11 a.m.
🎂 Happy birthday. Cake and candles for U.S. Representative Chrissy Houlahan.
🗞️ Pennsylvania. The ultimate swing state. Where can you find the latest information on political events in the Keystone State? Sign up for the PoliticsPA Guide. 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 best story
1. How the roots of D-Day will play a key role in the Trump-Biden battle in 2024
“D-Day not only paved the way for European victory in World War II: it strengthened international military alliances that have led the world for more than eight decades and are today the subject of political controversy.
How President Joe Biden and other world leaders will travel to Normandy to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day this week and will defend the alliances that led the Western world through World War II, the Cold War, the War on Terror and now Russia’s bloody invasion of Ukraine. Ex-president Donald Trump he has repeatedly threatened to leave NATO, saying the United States bears too much of the burden. However, the support for – and attack on – international agreements can be traced in part back to the Trident Conference in 1943.” (USA today)
Related
After endorsing him in 2020, modern poll shows some adolescent voters have Biden to lose. “Five months after the presidential elections, the state of voting among young people remains in some sense a question mark. This is a topic that is regularly discussed as President Biden continues to receive low approval ratings from Gen Z and Millennial voters, even though the same age group overwhelmingly voted for him four years ago.” (WQLN)
The Trump campaign reached black voters in Philadelphia with cigars and cognac. “Former President Donald Trump’s campaign held two events in Philadelphia on Tuesday aimed at engaging Black Philly voters, but it’s unclear how many got the message.” (Questioner from Philadelphia)
GOP group attacks Philadelphia with anti-Trump billboards. “A group of anti-Trump Republicans are putting up billboards in Philadelphia this week saying ‘I will not vote for a convicted felon.’ Billboards depicting former Trump supporters went up along major highways around Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Harrisburg on Tuesday. (Axios Philadelphia)
Former US Capitol Officials Warn AP Voters Trump Is an Existential Threat: ‘This Is Not a Drill’. “At the arched monument to the king of kindness, Fred Rogers, two former Capitol Police officers warned Pennsylvania voters that former President Donald Trump poses a threat to American democracy and the law.” (PennLive)
Country
2. Encouraged by court ruling, PA House Democrats introduce bill to enhance K-12 spending by $1.1 billion next year
“The push to change Pennsylvania’s K-12 funding system, which has been deemed unconstitutional, entered a new and potentially controversial phase on Tuesday when the committee voted to approve the proposed amendment, with all Democrats in support and all Republicans opposed .
The House Education Committee’s 14-11 vote was the first formal vote on the bill shaped by a 2023 ruling in which a Commonwealth Court judge found that students in low-income school districts “are deprived of the same opportunities and resources” as students to wealthier neighborhoods.” (Pittsburgh Postal Newspaper)
Related
AP Republicans are introducing a historic tax cut plan to the House of Representatives. “Pennsylvania Republicans are bringing their historic $13 billion tax cut to the House of Representatives, hoping to pressure Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro and the Democratic-controlled House to include tax cuts in negotiations.” (DV Journal)
Two Philadelphia Democrats want to change the AP constitution to force elected officials to resign if convicted of a crime. “State Reps. Malcolm Kenyatta and Jared Solomon want Pennsylvania to require any elected official convicted of a crime to resign from office in the wake of former President Donald Trump’s conviction.” (Questioner from Philadelphia)
PA House passes bill to provide students with free pads and tampons. “A Republican state lawmaker said Tuesday she opposes a bill that would make pads and tampons free for public school students because it could lead to communism.” (Penn Capital Star)
Palestinian Authority Senate Committee Presents Draft Bills Combating Child Pornography, Including Artificial Intelligence-Generated Counterfeits. “On Tuesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted unanimously in favor of three bills. Two of them replace the term “child pornography” in existing state statutes with the more current and applicable term “child sexual abuse material.”PennLive)
Paid family leave attracts bipartisan support as good for economy, but some oppose cost and loss of control. “The legislation, which has supporters in both major parties, would create minimum paid leave in Pennsylvania that lacks statewide standards.” (PA reflector)
Around the Republic of Poland
3. It’s no coincidence that so many GOP Senate candidates are wealthy
“At a calculated risk, Republican officials and allies Donald Trump they supported Senate candidates who have never held elected office but can help finance the campaign from their own wealth. Except Montana Tim Sheehywho received a key endorsement from Trump that helped pave the way for his nomination, national Republicans have endorsed such Senate candidates Dave McCormick in Pennsylvania and Eric Hovde in Wisconsin, both rich and politically inexperienced.” (known)
Related
Steelton Factory Showcases How $1 Trillion Infrastructure Law Benefits PA. “U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg walked into the Cleveland Cliffs Steel Mill in Steelton, eager to see first-hand how President Biden’s once-in-a-generation, bipartisan investment is being spent to benefit Pennsylvania and the nation.” (PennLive)
Questions remain as 20% of eligible people choose to take employee buyouts on Penn State campuses. “Preliminary news reports indicate that approximately 20% of Penn State employees who qualified for the university’s voluntary buyout plan have taken up the offer, and department leaders are concerned about how they will cope with this reduction in faculty and staff,” if fall classes started in less than three months.” (WPSU)
In rural Pennsylvania, senior gas wells are being used to mine bitcoin – even though the owners are breaking the law. “The emails show that Diversified largely kept the state in the dark as it launched its bitcoin mining operation.” (Fast Company)
Editorial
4. What do you mean
- A depressed story of Pennsylvania’s inability to pass a budget. (Grandstand overview)
- Fracking provides the resources needed to wean ourselves off fossil fuels. PA should adopt this. (Pittsburgh Postal Newspaper)
- The Left’s ‘Sue-Till-Green’ Strategy Is Coming to Pennsylvania. (André Beliveau)
- Pennsylvania families caring for people with disabilities need lawmakers to pass Governor Shapiro’s budget. (Gary Blumenthal)
- Is Biden taking a cue from Hillary Clinton’s campaign strategy? (David Winston)
- Lawmakers can ease Pennsylvanians’ financial problems (Stephen Bloom)
- School choice offers high returns for disadvantaged students. (Beth Ann Rosica)
- The jury spoke. What happens next will be the great test of American democracy. (Lorraine Ali)
- It is in our power to create a more civic future for PA. (Elizabeth Preate Havey)
1 item
5. A wandering bear dives at Camp Hill
“A young black bear jumped out of a tree Tuesday and landed on a giant tarp held aloft by a team of wildlife officials, public safety officers and rescuers who calmed it down as it wandered through suburban Pennsylvania.
Bruin showed up around noon in the residential neighborhood of Camp Hill, near the capital of Harrisburg. Under the influence of sedatives, the animal fell approximately 20 feet onto a large blue tarp held up by several wildlife officials, police and firefighters.” (AP)
Thank you for starting your morning with us.
Please invite your colleagues
to sign up for the PoliticsPA Guide
