Pi Day is March 14.

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Sixers (36-29) | Thu vs. Milwaukee


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Penguins (28-28-8) | Thu vs. San Jose

What’s Happening Today
Abc27 is hosting a debate between the two candidates for the GOP nomination for Attorney General tonight at 7 p.m.

Happy Birthday
Cake and candles for Rep. Jason Ortitay.

Pennsylvania Political Headlines In Your Inbox Daily
The PoliticsPA Playbook gives you all today’s PA political headlines in an easy-to-read email format. All by 8 AM. And it’s free. Subscribe now.

Top Story

1. A Ban On Tiktok Would Be A Blow To Local Billionaire Investor and GOP Megadonor Jeff Yass

“Congress’ move toward potentially banning TikTok is likely to disappoint millions of Americans who enjoy using the video-sharing app — and also a billionaire investor in the Philadelphia suburbs who’s one of the biggest GOP donors in the country.

The Republican-led House’s vote Wednesday in favor of legislation that could shut down TikTok in the United States came not only despite pleas from TikTok users who flooded congressional offices with complaints but also from opposition from the Club for Growth, a conservative group that has received tens of millions of dollars in recent years from Jeff Yass, cofounder of the Bala Cynwyd-based trading and investment firm Susquehanna International Group.” (Philadelphia Inquirer)

• Trump’s TikTok Flip Raises Concerns Over Billionaire Clout. (POLITICO)

Related

How Did The PA Delegation Vote On House TikTok Ban? “The U.S. House of Representatives approved a bill Wednesday that calls for China tech giant ByteDance to divest TikTok or the popular social video app will effectively be banned in the U.S.” (PoliticsPA)

Biden Is Coming Out In Opposition To Plans To Sell U.S. Steel To A Japanese Company. “President Joe Biden is coming out in opposition to the planned sale of U.S. Steel to Nippon Steel of Japan, saying in a statement to be released Thursday that the U.S. needs to “maintain strong American steel companies powered by American steel workers.”” (AP)

Five Things to Know About Discharge Petitions. “A discharge petition is a little-known and rarely used legislative maneuver that is in front of members of the House of Representatives in an effort to force a vote on sending aid to Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan.” (PoliticsPA)

New Polling Numbers

• Pennsylvania Looks Headed For Another Tight Race In 2024. (Fox News)
• Casey Leads GOP Rival McCormick in Pennsylvania Senate Race.  (The Hill)
• Biden Has A Marginal 1-Point Lead Over Trump, Reuters/Ipsos Poll Shows. (Reuters)

Washington Notebook: Israel, Antisemitism Continue To Be Flashpoints In Pennsylvania’s Senate Race. “Also, farmers fear the loss of conservation funding and Rep. Kelly pushes telehealth in rural area.” (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

State

2. Shapiro Unveils Plan on Pennsylvania’s Energy Future

“In the never-ending balancing act that is energy production versus reducing climate emissions, Gov. Josh Shapiro says he has an answer to satisfy Pennsylvania’s industries, as well as consumers.

Shapiro unveiled an energy plan on Wednesday in Scranton that aims to protect and create nearly 15,000 energy jobs, lower utility bills for Pennsylvania households, and take action to address carbon pollution.” (PoliticsPA)

Related

Governor Unveils Plan To Cut Greenhouse Gases, Boost Renewables In Big Energy Producer. “Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro unveiled a plan Wednesday to fight climate change, saying he will back legislation to make power plant owners in the nation’s third-biggest energy-producing state pay for their greenhouse gas emissions and require utilities to buy more electricity from renewable sources.” (AP)

Main Street, Not Mafia: How Gaming In Pennsylvania Entered A New Era, And What’s Next. “The days when underworld interests warred for gambling turf in Pennsylvania are over. Today those battles are fought openly with campaign cash from casinos, game machine manufacturers and their proxies in the halls of the Capitol in Harrisburg.” (Erie Times-News)

With Party Nominations Clinched, Pennsylvania Could Decide Who Wins The Presidency In 2024. “As KDKA political editor Jon Delano explains, this presidential election may come down to just a very few states, including Pennsylvania. Forget the popular vote. In 2020, Biden beat Trump by more than 7 million votes in that category. But in the Electoral College, it’s the states that count.” (KDKA)

State’s Chief Transformation Officer Aims to Simplify How Pennsylvania Does Business, Unravel Red Tape. “Pennsylvania is known as a notoriously tough place to start or run a business, but its new Chief Transformation Officer Ben Kirshner is working on changing that, writes Don Steinberg for the Philadelphia Magazine.” (Delco Today)

Around The Commonwealth

3. Pennsylvania Is Flush With Surplus Cash, But It Still Faces a Looming Budget Problem

“Gov. Josh Shapiro wants to spend $3.5 billion of Pennsylvania’s surplus to stabilize transit systems, fund a court-mandated K-12 education overhaul, and expand the state’s economic development programs as part of his second budget proposal.

The state can afford such an expense. It has built up roughly $14 billion in financial reserves over the past four years, thanks to stimulus dollars and strong tax returns.

But if Pennsylvania had to rely solely on the tax revenue the Shapiro administration projects to bring in over the next few years, it wouldn’t be able to cover the tab.” (Spotlight PA)

Related

Parker Releases First Budget With Spending For Public Safety, Street Repaving, And Code Enforcement. “Mayor Cherelle L. Parker is proposing a $6.29 billion city budget that keeps tax rates flat, adds resources for law enforcement, and boosts funding for priorities such as commercial corridor cleaning, according to administration documents viewed by The Inquirer.” (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Philadelphia Voting Commission Shakeup Creates Bad Optics During Big Election Year. “A power shift and restructuring within the Philadelphia Board of City Commissioners is causing strife among its three elected members, which observers warn could create the appearance of dysfunction in the office as it enters a high-pressure year overseeing the city’s elections.” (Votebeat)

This Trump PAC Is Trying To Appeal To Black Voters In Philly With Anti-Transgender Messaging. “A pro-Trump group’s radio spots attack Biden for calling transgender equality a civil rights issue. “It’s meant to be divisive,” an analyst said.” (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Police Release Video Of Easton Councilwoman’s Arrest Amid Son’s Assault Allegations. “The city’s police chief displayed body cam footage of Councilwoman Taiba Sultana’s July 2023 arrest Wednesday night in an attempt to dispel allegations of misconduct by the councilwoman.” (LehighValleyNews.com)

Editorial

4. What’s On Your Mind

• Primer on the PA Primary. (Cathy Morano)
• Mayor Cherelle Parker’s Leadership After Recent Shootings Is A Hopeful Glimmer Of What The City Needs. Now, Do More. (Helen Ubiñas)
• A Defense Of Student Borrowers. (John M. Crisp)
• The Thin Line Between Leftist Antizionism And Antisemitism. (Michelle Goldberg)
• What We Worry About Depends Largely On Whether We’re A Republican Or Democrat. (John Baer)
• Budget Hearings Highlight Shapiro Budget’s Threats To Our Fiscal Stability. (Sen. Scott Martin)
• Shapiro Plan Destructive Energy Tax on All Pennsylvanians. (David Taylor)
• How I Became An Advocate For School Choice. (Rachel Langan)
• Does Political Party Mean What It Used To In Pennsylvania? (Tribune-Review)

1 Thing

5. Pi Day

Each Pi Day, Morning Brew reminds us about Akira Haraguchi, who in 2016 set the unofficial world record for reciting the most digits of pi: 100,000 over more than 16 hours. He did it by mentally linking each digit with a syllable and creating a collection of epic stories from the words those syllables formed.

For Haraguchi, pi is more than just a number—it’s a spiritual calling. He told The Guardian: “All things in this world, including ourselves, are aggregate sums of atoms, which are made up of rotating electrons. The ultimate history of mankind is moving toward a happy ending for people of all races. The Earth, the galaxy, and the universe all rotate. In other words, I think rotation is the absolute truth. So as long as I’m thinking about pi, I think I can live a life according to truth.”

Happy Pi Day!

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