May 2: Same Verse as the First Verse

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Sixers (2-3) | Thu vs. New York






Pirates (14-17) | Oakland 0-4 | Fri-Sun vs. Colorado






Phillies (21-11) | LA Angels 2-1 | Fri-Sun vs. San Francisco

What We’re Hearing. AxAdvocacy, a public affairs and government relations firm, is launching a new practice in Pennsylvania to be led by lobbyist Alex Rahn, senior advisor Tom Killion, and political strategist Rob Brooks.

Happy Birthday. Cake and candles for Sen. Devlin Robinson, Reps. Keith Greiner and Tim Brennan.

Daily Bruce. “Things I found out through hard times and good. I wrote ’em all out in ink and blood. Dug deep in my soul and signed my name true. And sent it in my letter to you.” – Letter To You

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Top Story

1. Trump, Repeating 2020 Election Lies, Will Not Commit to Accepting 2024 Results

“Former President Donald J. Trump told The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Wednesday that he would not commit to accepting the results of the 2024 election, as he again repeated his lies that the 2020 election was stolen from him.

“If everything’s honest, I’ll gladly accept the results. I don’t change on that,” Mr. Trump said, according to The Journal Sentinel. “If it’s not, you have to fight for the right of the country.”

In an interview with Time magazine published on Tuesday, he also dismissed questions about political violence in November by suggesting that his victory was inevitable.” (NY Times)

• Mastriano Says GOP Needs to ‘Stop Sabotaging’ Each Other, ‘Come Together’ to Elect Donald Trump in November. (Pennsylvania Daily Star)

Related

Will Abortion and MAGA Politics Save This Endangered Pennsylvania Dem? “For the last two cycles, Rep. Susan Wild has won reelection by some of the narrowest margins in the country. Could this be the year the Democrat from Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley finally gets the boot?” (The Dispatch)

Vice President Kamala Harris Will Visit Montco Next Week To Talk About Abortion Rights. “Vice President Kamala Harris will visit Montgomery County next week to talk about women’s reproductive rights, as she and President Joe Biden continue to make the issue a centerpiece of their reelection campaign.” (Philadelphia Inquirer)

• Following VP Harris’ Pittsburgh Trip, PA to Get $152M More To Remove Lead Water Lines. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

How a Post Falsely Claiming Migrants Are Registering To Vote Spread To Millions In Four Weeks. “A false narrative suggesting that over half a million migrants had registered to vote in swing states shows how quickly misinformation can spread — and how difficult it is to stop.” (NBC News)

State

2. Pre-Canvassing Measure Heads to PA Senate After Passing House

“Legislation that would allow Pennsylvania county boards of election to begin pre-canvassing up to seven days prior to Election Day has passed another hurdle.

A party-line vote of 102-99 in the House sends H.B. 847 to the state Senate for consideration of legislation that, if adopted by the upper chamber and signed by the governor, would take effect in time for the 2024 general election.” (PoliticsPA)

Related

Democrats Advance Election Bill In Pennsylvania Long Sought By Counties To Process Ballots Faster. “Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives on Wednesday approved a bill long sought by counties seeking help to manage huge influxes of mail-in ballots during elections in the presidential battleground state and to avoid a repeat of 2020’s drawn-out vote count.” (AP)

Fun With Maps IV: Kenyatta’s Path to Dems Auditor General Nomination. “While the final total in the Democratic contest for the nomination for Auditor General appears decisive, a look at a map that shows the counties won by each candidate reveals a great deal about the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.” (PoliticsPA)

Bill Solidifying Grounds For Unemployment Benefits Denial Clears PA Senate. “A bill adding additional restrictions to unemployment benefits passed the PA Senate Wednesday on a near party-line vote, with Democrats saying the measure was an ill-timed attempt to give employers more leverage over potential employees.” (PennLive)

PA Game Commission Head Resigns After ‘Business Relationships’ Revealed. “Bryan Burhans, PGC executive director, stepped down on Monday after the Board of Game Commissioners raised concerns unrelated to his leadership capabilities.” (The Center Square)

Waggett Wins Democratic Nomination In 50th, Setting Up Rematch With Rep. Cook. “A rematch of the Republican primary for the 50th state House District is now set for the fall.” (Washington Observer-Reporter)

Pennsylvania Taxpayers Are Funding Discriminatory Religious Schools. “Private schools can reject disabled applicants, expel LGBTQ students, and teach creationism all they want—even though hundreds of millions of public dollars flow to them every year.” (The New Republic)

Around The Commonwealth

3. Voters in This ‘Boomerang’ County Say They’re Nostalgic For Trump Economy

“Luis Escarraman says he is nostalgic for the Trump economy. The 41-year-old Republican owns his own truck and hauls freight from New Jersey to California. Maintenance, parts, diesel fuel — it has all become so pricey, he said.

But he also remembers that life under former President Donald Trump was at times alarming. “I know it was a lot of fights in the country,” he said. “It was kind of like a civil war, but financially, it was better.”” (NPR)

Related

GOP Senate Hopeful Visits Penn Encampment: ‘They Should Be Arrested’ “David McCormick and other politicians are using the camp for their messaging. Students say they feel unsafe after an attack with an unknown substance and other incidents.” (WHYY)

Pittsburgh Spent More Than It Brought In Last Year. The City Controller Warns The Trend Will Continue. “Controller Rachael Heisler said city leaders need to review all spending and that a tax increase could be necessary.” (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

Abortion Advocates In Pennsylvania Renew Calls For National Policy. “Even in a ‘safe’ state like PA, access to abortion care is not widely available for many people.” (Penn Capital-Star)

PA Lawmakers Ask Court to Expedite ‘Bidenbucks’ Election Suit. “With early voting beginning in September, lawyers for 27 Pennsylvania legislators are asking the U.S. Supreme Court for an expedited appeal of a federal court’s decision to throw out an ongoing election case.” (DV Journal)

Far-Right PAC Met Secretly With School Board Members From Across York County, Documents Show. “Emails obtained by The York Dispatch document secret meetings and behind-the-scenes coordination between school board members who’ve pushed book bans and anti-LGBTQ+ policies and the political action committee that helped elect them.” (York Dispatch)

Vendor That Mishandled Pennsylvania Virus Data To Pay $2.7 Million In Federal Whistleblower Case. “A large staffing firm that performed COVID-19 contact tracing for Pennsylvania and exposed the private medical information of about 72,000 residents will pay $2.7 million in a settlement with the Justice Department and a company whistleblower, federal prosecutors announced Wednesday.” (AP)

Editorial

4. What’s On Your Mind

• Protests Begin In The Streets But — For Lasting Impact — Should End At The Ballot Box. (Philadelphia Inquirer)
• Don’t Rely On Primary Results For Hints On Whether Biden Or Trump Wins PA In November. (John Baer)
• Funding For Internet Subsidy Should Continue. (Daily Item)
• Free Speech … or Pro-Terrorist? (Larry Platt)
• For a Change, State Lawmakers Put Ethics At The Fore. Now They Should Look In The Mirror. (Tribune-Review)
• Voters Can Be Confident In How Elections Are Run, Votes Are Counted. (Jerry Feaser and Jeff Greenburg)

1 Thing

5. It’s World Password Day

“Exactly 9,429 people are into Metallica — at least as a password, according to a list compiled for IT Brew by the password manager NordPass.

NordPass’s data-pull revealed some of 2023’s most commonly used passwords in the categories of online game, movies, cars, sports, and music. The pop-culture PWs, which included over 30,000 unique instances of “minecraft,” over 8,000 instances of “mercedes,” and, somehow, over 11,000 cases of “mamamia78,” demonstrate that malicious hackers have some easy first guesses if they know a target’s particular interest.” (IT Brew)

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