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| Today: All eyes on Shapiro, delegates for Harris, security failures, wage theft, canned cocktails, and a one-man media outlet scoops the majors. |
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Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro hasn't ruled out running for vice president alongside Kamala Harris. However, he said Harris needs time to make her pick, calling it "a deeply personal decision" at an event on Monday.
Wall Street Journal reporter Ken Thomas said the Harris campaign has requested vetting materials for Shapiro and several others.
A number of influential Pennsylvania Democrats have already endorsed Shapiro for the role, citing his wins in a divided legislature and his electoral success in a must-win state. The conservative Commonwealth Foundation, meanwhile, is launching ads against him and his "do-nothing record."
A hypothetical Harris-Shapiro ticket was polling one point ahead of Trump and Vance in Pennsylvania, Politico reported last week.
If Shapiro ends up running for second-in-command, he could remain governor while doing so, PoliticsPA reports. He would only have to step down as governor if his ticket were to win in November.
If that happened: Lt. Gov. Austin Davis would become governor and Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward (R., Westmoreland) would take over as lieutenant governor and president of the Senate.
Read Spotlight PA's Shapiro primer: Who is Pa. Gov. Josh Shapiro? Full biography, key accomplishments, controversies & more. |
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NOTABLE / QUOTABLE
"Everybody was pissed."
—Unnamed Philadelphia city workers on the mood following last week's enactment of Mayor Cherelle Parker's contested return-to-office order |
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| A strawberry thief caught red-handed by Ruth from Honey Grove in Juniata County. Have a Pennsylvania photo to share? Send it to us by email, use #PAGems on Instagram, or tag us @spotlightpennsylvania. |
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BUDGET BREAKDOWN: Join us Thursday, July 25 from 6-7 p.m. on Zoom for a discussion on the major components of the budget, the politics that shaped the deal, and what was left on the cutting room floor. Register for the event here and submit your questions to events@spotlightpa.org. |
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Following the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump in Butler, Spotlight PA is trying to better understand security protocols at past campaign events in Pennsylvania. To do so, we need your help.
Did you or someone you know attend a public campaign event for either Trump or President Joe Biden? If you did, and you want to assist us in our reporting, please contact reporter Danielle Ohl at dohl@spotlightpa.org or 717-433-3071. |
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 DNC DELEGATE SUPPORT: Pennsylvania delegates to the Democratic National Convention held an emergency meeting on Monday during which they voted unanimously to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris to be the Democratic nominee for president, TribLIVE reports. Harris quickly locked up delegates in other states.
 ON DEADLINE: Republicans are threatening legal action to keep a replacement for President Joe Biden off ballots in November. But experts say there's no basis to do so, while Votebeat reports Democrats have more than enough time to decide on a new nominee "without a risk to ballot deadlines for the November election."
 'WE FAILED': U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle acknowledged “significant” security problems at former President Donald Trump’s July 13 rally in Butler during congressional testimony Monday. She added that local authorities "observed and photographed" the shooter 18 minutes before Trump took the stage. |
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NO SANCTUARY: Elizabethtown has branded itself a "non-sanctuary city" for undocumented immigrants, making it the latest Lancaster County municipality to follow the lead of the county’s two Republican commissioners in adopting such a measure, LNP (paywall) reports.
CASINO CLEARANCE: Pennsylvania's highest court has handed a big win to a contested casino near State College. An operating license for the planned Nittany Mall casino has been upheld by the state Supreme Court, "paving the way for the project to move forward," per StateCollege.com.
FULL COURT PRESS: New Jersey is reportedly trying to lure the Sixers away from Philadelphia. ROI-NJ reports: Sources indicated that talks have picked up recently, in part because efforts to build a new arena for the team in Center City Philadelphia have hit repeated roadblocks.
ON THE WOODER: Norwegian is set to offer service to Bermuda, Canada, and New England from Philadelphia starting in 2026, making it first cruise line to sail out of Philadelphia in years, Travel + Leisure reports.
LOCAL NEWS: WaPo (gift link) explains how a one-man news outlet in Beaver County broke major scoops about the Trump rally shooting. “All news is local,” owner and reporter John Paul Vranesevich explained. |
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Unscramble and send your answer to scrambler@spotlightpa.org. We'll shout out winners here, and one each week will get some Spotlight PA swag. Answers submitted by 5:30 p.m. on issue date will be counted. Please include your first name and last initial. A I N F C T L A A
Yesterday's answer: Revelation
Congrats to our daily winners: Eric F., Bob C., Stacy S., Wendy A., Don H., Jessica K., Jody A., Richard A., Barbara F., Timothy A., Vicki U., Jon W., Jodi R., Jane R., Ernie D., George B., Beth H., Craig E., Elaine C., Marie B., William Z., Perry H., Daniel M., Jeffrey F., Cosette J., Ted W., Tish M., Jodi M., Susan N.-Z., Annette I., Kimberly D., Stanley J., Tom M., Michael T., Sherri A., Jeff F., and George C.
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AGES: More than $18 million from federal wage-theft cases is owed to more than 9,000 low-wage workers in Pennsylvania. The federal government says it's holding the money because it can't find the workers, but 
O-GO DRINKS: Ready-to-drink