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A daily newsletter by  |
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| Today: Shapiro speculation, home repairs, Comperatore funeral, security review, election hotline, and our favorite summer reads. Welcome to Monday. |
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Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is the subject of intense national scrutiny and speculation in the wake of President Joe Biden’s announcement that he’s dropping out of the 2024 race.
In a letter released Sunday, Biden wrote, “I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term.”
Biden announced he is endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris. So is Shapiro.
“I’ve known Kamala Harris for nearly two decades — we’ve both been prosecutors, we’ve both stood up for the rule of law, we’ve both fought for the people and delivered results,” Shapiro said in a statement.
Before Biden dropped out, the Washington Post reported that Democratic donors had started funding a vetting process for possible vice president picks including Shapiro.
Now, Pennsylvania politicians including state House Speaker Joanna McClinton are endorsing Shapiro as a VP pick.
You can find all of Spotlight PA’s Shapiro coverage here. |
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NOTABLE / QUOTABLE
“It’s been surprising and it’s been interesting. I think this is a world event — not just United States, a world event.”
—Bethel Park resident Janet Gonzales reflects on the attention her community is receiving following the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump. |
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| The crowd at the annual Picklesburgh festival in Pittsburgh by Postmaster Tanisha Thomas. Send us your photos by email, use #PAGems on Instagram, or tag us @spotlightpennsylvania. |
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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 former President Donald Trump or current 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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 LEFT OUT: Pennsylvania's Whole-Home Repairs Program did not receive additional funding in this year's state budget, Spotlight PA reports. An estimated 18,200 homeowners who applied for help were waitlisted because of a lack of available funding, according to a spring survey. The immediate impact will vary as some counties have given out all the available funding, while others opened applications more recently and have money left.
 VICTIM HONOR: Hundreds of people gathered Friday for the funeral of Corey Comperatore, who was fatally shot during an assassination attempt on Donald Trump in Butler County. The former president honored Comperatore during his Republican National Convention speech in Milwaukee.
 ELECTION THREATS: Lancaster Online | LNP (paywall) has a deep dive into the group PA Fair Elections, which invited attorneys John Eastman and Cleta Mitchell to speak at recent meetings. Both were involved in Trump's 2020 efforts to overturn the election results.
 SECURITY REVIEW: Pennsylvania House Minority Leader Bryan Cutler (R., Lancaster) wants to establish a select committee to investigate the security coordination at the Butler County Trump rally, Capital-Star reports. “It is imperative we identify what happened from a state and local perspective on July 13,” Cutler wrote in a memo seeking support.
 SALE PUSH: Japanese company Nippon Steel Corp. has hired former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to help push the proposed sale of Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel, TribLIVE reports citing reporting by Bloomberg. Both Biden and Trump are opposed to the sale. |
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ELECTION HOTLINE: The Shapiro admin is promoting a hotline Pennsylvanians can use to report suspected election-related crimes like voter intimidation or fraud, WPXI reports.
RESIGNATION CALL: U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle (D., Pa.) is calling for the director of the Secret Service to resign, saying “the evidence coming to light has shown unacceptable operational failures,” 6abc reports.
SUMMER READS: Looking for some Pennsylvania-based books to read? The Spotlight PA staff compiled a list of must-reads.
OLYMPIC TRAINING: The Olympics kick off this week, and Pennsylvania is home to a training ground that produces many elite action athletes for the world stage, via Standard-Journal (paywall). |
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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. T V N E R L O I E A
Friday's answer: Nebulize
Congrats to our weekly winner: Brandie K.
Congrats to our daily winners: Eric F., Stacy S., Richard A., Mike B., Don H., Jon W., Janice H., Daniel M., Tracy S., Bruce B., Starr B., William Z., Timothy A., Fran C., Beth H., Vicki U., Paul K., Perry H., Jody A., Cynthia B., Elaine C., Annette I., Marie B., Dan E., Kimberly D., Susan N., Jeffrey F., Jane R., Jeff F., Becky C., Tom M., Bob C., Stanley J., Edward S. and David W.
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