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🏈 Steelers (8-3) | Cleveland 19-24 | Dec. 1 vs. Cincinnati
🏈 Eagles (8-2) | Sun vs. LA Rams
🏈 Penn State (9-1) | Sat vs. Minnesota
🏈 Pitt (7-3) | Sat vs. Louisville
🏈 Temple (3-7) | Fri vs. UTSA
🏀 Sixers (2-12) | Fri vs. Brooklyn | Sun vs. LA Clippers
🏒 Flyers (8-10-2) | Sat vs. Chicago
🏒 Penguins (7-10-4) | Fri vs. Winnipeg | Sat vs. Utah

🔉 What We’re Hearing. “Senator Bob Casey dedicated his career to bettering our commonwealth. Dina and I want to extend our sincere gratitude to Senator Casey, Terese, and their family for their decades of service, hard work, and personal sacrifice.” – Dave McCormick

🎂 Happy Birthday. Cake and candles for Sen. Tim Kearney.

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🗞️ Good Morning Pennsylvania. Find all the latest news on what’s happening in Keystone State politics with the PoliticsPA Playbook. We’ll deliver all the latest headlines in an easy-to-read format every weekday at 8 AM. And it’s free. Add your name to the list and subscribe now.

Top Story

1. Casey Concedes Race Against McCormick Amid Recount, Ending Senate Career After Three Terms

“U.S. Sen. Bob Casey conceded to Republican Dave McCormick on Thursday, formally ending his reelection bid and acknowledging defeat two weeks after the Associated Press declared McCormick’s victory and after a statewide recount of the race had been triggered.

Casey had resisted conceding, citing thousands of votes that still needed to be counted and entering court fights to maximize the number of ballots included. But as final ballots were adjudicated Thursday, Casey’s roughly 16,500-vote deficit was too large to overcome and so large that a recount would not affect it.” (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Elsewhere

Casey Concedes. McCormick Will Be PA’s Next Senator. “It’s over. Three-term U.S. Senator Bob Casey Jr. has conceded Pennsylvania Senate race to Republican Dave McCormick.” (PoliticsPA)

Trump Tells U.S. Senate Republicans They ‘Must Kill’ Journalism Shield Law. “The measure would limit federal law enforcement surveillance of journalists and the government’s ability to force disclosure of journalists’ sources, codifying regulations the Department of Justice has put in place under President Joe Biden.” (Penn Capital-Star)

• Veteran News Editor Expects Trump ‘To Go After The Press In Every Conceivable Way’. (NPR)

Gov. Josh Shapiro Says He’s Ready to Take On Trump During a Visit to a West Philly Barber Shop: ‘I’ve Got a Job to Do’ “As Pennsylvania’s attorney general during Trump’s first term, he was frequently at odds with the administration, suing several times alongside other Democratic governors and garnering national attention by fighting Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election.” (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Meuser Tapped to Serve on House GOP Policy Committee. “Congressman Dan Meuser (PA-09) has been unanimously selected by his colleagues in the House Republican Conference to serve as the Pennsylvania region’s representative on the Republican Policy Committee (RPC) for the 119th Congress.” (PoliticsPA)

Biden Nominates Halie Craig to U.S. International Trade Commission. “Craig currently serves as the Policy Director, Tech for the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee Republican staff, where she oversees all aspects of technology policy for Ranking Member Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas). Prior to the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee, she held various positions on the staff of former U.S. Senator Pat Toomey (R-Pa.)” (PoliticsPA)

State

2. Inadequate Transit Funding Has Harrisburg Officials Pointing Fingers

“While Pittsburgh Regional Transit may not face a financial crisis like the one at Philadelphia-based SEPTA, that agency’s $240 million budget deficit has led to high-level finger-pointing in Harrisburg over funding all transit agencies in the state, including PRT.

SEPTA’s money problems recently caused the state’s biggest transit agency to propose a 29% fare increase effective Jan. 1, and one of its top executives said it faces a “fiscal cliff.” Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro told an audience this week the situation could be blamed squarely on the Republican-controlled Senate, which Mr. Shapiro said has repeatedly refused to advance transit funding sought by Democrats.

Sen. Joe Pittman of Indiana County, the Republican majority leader in the chamber, put the onus back on Mr. Shapiro.” (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

Elsewhere

Inside Josh Shapiro’s Covert Push For Influence at Penn. “Documents obtained by The Daily Pennsylvanian reveal the governor’s extensive involvement in Penn’s affairs, including its response to antisemitism and the pro-Palestinian encampment.” (The Daily Pennsylvanian)

State Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward Looks Ahead. ““This election spoke volumes,” said Ward. “People don’t want to hear about social issues. Obviously, the Democrats ran full speed on abortion. [People] don’t want to hear about boys in women’s sports. They want to hear about how you will help them put food on the table and pay their utility bills.”” (Broad + Liberty)

The Red Wave Didn’t Hit Statehouses in This Election. “State-level Democrats largely held their ground, even scoring key victories in battleground states—and under Trump, that’s going to matter.” (The Nation)

Around The Commonwealth

3. Steelworkers Union Boss Rips PR Blitz Pushing U.S. Steel-Nippon Deal

“United Steelworkers International President David McCall is well aware of the cracks forming in his union’s opposition to a sale of U.S. Steel to Japan-based Nippon Steel as the companies press their advertising blitz, but he is not backing down.

McCall denounced the television advertisements that have hit the Pittsburgh region showing Mon Valley mayors and some of his union members championing the proposed sale as “the future of American steel.” He said both companies are more interested in public relations efforts than convincing the United Steelworkers.” (Greensburg Tribune-Review)

Elsewhere

Pittsburgh Efforts to Regulate Firearms Likely Dead After State Supreme Court Ruling. “The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Wednesday shot down an attempt by Philadelphia officials to overturn state laws barring the city from enacting its own gun laws. Officials say that could affect Pittsburgh’s own attempts to regulate gun violence, and have sweeping ramifications for gun laws across the state.” (WESA)

Philly School Board OK’s Tax Changes For a New Sixers Arena Over Objections: Board Meeting Takeaways. “In tax increment financing districts, the city can use a portion of tax revenue to support development and job growth. But if the arena goes through, it will sit on land owned by the city and won’t be taxed, though the Sixers will contribute a payment in lieu of taxes.” (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Residents Demand Resignation of Democratic Commissioners Over Ballot Controversy. “The meeting had one of the highest attendances in recent history and came after Commissioner Chairperson Diane Ellis-Marseglia stated she would vote to accept hundreds of mail-in and absentee ballots that had been incorrectly filled out, which went against recent court rulings.” (LevittownNow.com)

‘The City of Erie Can’t Wait’: Democrat Daria Devlin Kicks Off Mayoral Campaign. “Devlin, an Erie native, officially launched her mayoral campaign Wednesday morning, promising to aggressively pursue positive, population-growing change for the city while also managing Erie’s fiscal challenges.” (Erie Times-News)

Editorial

4. What’s On Your Mind

• The Senate Must Reject Trump’s Dangerous, Unqualified Cabinet Nominees. (Philadelphia Inquirer)
• Shapiro’s New Permitting System Gives a Green Light to Economic Development. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
• Biden or Trump, a Nippon–U.S. Steel Deal is a Must for America. (Charlie Dent)
• Blame the Democratic Party for Trump. (Garry Kasparov)
• Raging Against the Machine. (Larry Platt)
• Pennsylvania is Now the Bellwether on Democrats’ Future. (Andrew Lewis)

1 Thing

5. Doctor, My Eyes

There’s a new frontier in cosmetic surgery — changing the color of your eyes.

• Doctors who perform the procedure use a laser to cut into patients’ corneas, then widen those incisions and fill them with dye, The Wall Street Journal reports.
• 🎨 Some people want to subtly alter their appearance. Others told the Journal they wanted intentionally unnatural-looking, attention-getting eyes. One patient only had the color of one eye changed, so he’d have the same mismatched eyes as his dog.
• The controversial procedure costs about $12,000. The effects are permanent and cannot be reversed. Only a few doctors will do it, but demand is growing.

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