Northeast

Fetterman’s former progressive backer says he ‘sold us out,’ escalates efforts to primary Democrat senator

Published

1 month ago

January 19, 2026

Fetterman’s former progressive backer says he ‘sold us out,’ escalates efforts to primary Democrat senator

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The Pennsylvania affiliate of the Working Families Party said it has launched a new website as part of its campaign to primary Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., and “defeat him.”

“We supported John Fetterman in 2022. Since then, he’s sold us out. It’s time to replace him,” reads a message on the homepage of PrimaryFetterman.com, which was paid for by the Working Families Party PAC.

“He has supported more of Trump’s nominees than any Democratic Senator. He consistently skips votes and Senate work. We deserve better,” the website adds.

Fox News Digital has reached out to Fetterman’s office for comment. The effort to primary him was announced last November, and at the time, Fetterman told Fox News, “I guarantee whoever they put up, they’re going to make me look the reasonable guy that’s going to work with both sides together and find a way for Pennsylvania.”

SEN. JOHN FETTERMAN CALLS FOR DEMOCRATS TO ‘RESIST’ ADVOCACY OF ‘EXTREME’ STANCES LIKE ABOLISHING ICE

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., arrives for votes on Nov. 10, 2025, on Capitol Hill. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Fetterman was elected to the Senate in 2022. He isn’t up for re-election until November 2028.

When PA Working Families launched their effort to primary him, they said in a post on X, “We’re training potential candidates, recruiting volunteers, and soliciting donations to help us defeat him.”

“If you previously donated to any of Fetterman’s campaigns, you can request a refund of your contributions on the site in just a few clicks,” it added Friday in a post about PrimaryFetterman.com.

On its website, the Working Families Party describes itself as, “a multiracial party that fights for workers over bosses and people over the powerful.”

FETTERMAN BREAKS WITH DEMOCRATS TO BACK TRUMP TAKING MILITARY ACTION IN IRAN IF NECESSARY

Supporters of Pennsylvania Democratic Senatorial candidate John Fetterman react at a watch party in Pittsburgh during the midterm elections on Nov. 8, 2022 (Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images)

While some Democrats advocate for the abolition of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Fetterman pressed his party this week not to advocate for “extreme” ideas.

“Even Mayor Frey of Minneapolis doesn’t support abolishing ICE. The party must resist the destructive tendencies to push extreme positions,” Fetterman noted Thursday in a post on X.

“Secure the border. Deport all the criminals. Stop targeting the hardworking migrants in our nation,” he added.

Fetterman also said Monday that he would surely support President Donald Trump taking military action in Iran if it was deemed necessary.

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., departs following a vote at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 7, 2026. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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“Sure, absolutely,” he said on CNN. “If it continues to make more sense, absolutely. I think I was the only Democrat that fully supported our strike of their Iranian nuclear facilities last year.”

Fox News Digital’s Alex Nitzberg and Alba Cuebas-Fantauzzi contributed to this report.

Greg Norman is a reporter at Fox News Digital.

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Maine

NECEC conservation plan will not protect Maine’s mature forests | Opinion

Published

30 minutes ago

March 5, 2026

Press Room

NECEC conservation plan will not protect Maine’s mature forests | Opinion

Robert Bryan is a licensed forester from Harpswell and author or co-author of numerous publications on managing forests for wildlife. Paul Larrivee is a licensed forester from New Gloucester who manages both private and public lands, and a former Maine Forest Service forester.

In November 2025, the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) approved a conservation plan and forest management plan as mitigation for impacts from the NECEC transmission corridor that runs from the Quebec border 53 miles to central Maine.

As professional foresters, we were astonished by the lack of scientific credibility in the definition of “mature forest habitat” that was approved by DEP, and the business-as-usual commercial forestry proposed for over 80% of the conservation area.

The DEP’s approval requires NECEC to establish and protect 50,000 acres to be managed for mature-forest wildlife species and wildlife travel corridors along riparian areas and between mature forest habitats. The conservation plan will establish an area adjacent to the new transmission corridor to be protected under a conservation easement held by the state. Under this plan, 50% of the area will be managed as mature forest habitat.

Under the forest management plan, a typical even-aged stand will qualify as “mature forest habitat” once 50 feet tall, which is only about 50 years old. These stands will lack large trees that provide wildlife denning and nesting sites, multiple vegetation layers that mature-forest birds use for nesting and feeding habitats and large decaying trees and downed logs that provide habitat for insects, fungi and small mammals, which in turn benefit larger predators.

Another major concern is that contrary to the earlier DEP order, the final approval allows standard sustainable forestry operations on the 84% of the forest located outside the stream buffers and special habitats. These stands may be harvested as soon as they achieve the “mature forest habitat” definition, as long as 50% of the conserved land is maintained as “mature.”

After the mature forest goal is reached, clearcutting or other heavy harvesting could occur on thousands of acres every 10 years. Because the landowner — Weyerhaeuser — owns several hundred thousand acres in the vicinity, any reductions in harvesting within the conservation area can simply be offset by cutting more heavily nearby. As a result, the net
mature-forest benefit of the conservation area will be close to zero.

Third, because some mature stands will be cut before the 50% mature forest goal is reached, it will take 40 years — longer than necessary — to reach the goal.

In the near future the Board of Environmental Protection (BEP) will consider an appeal from environmental organizations of the plan approval. To ensure that ecologically mature forest develops in a manner that meets the intent of the DEP/BEP orders, several things need to change.

First and most important, to ensure that characteristics of mature forest habitat have time to develop it is critical that the definition include clear requirements for the minimum number of large-diameter (hence more mature) trees, adjusted by forest type. At least half the stocking of an area of mature forest habitat should be in trees at least 10 inches in diameter, and at least 20% of stands beyond the riparian buffers should have half the stocking in trees greater than or equal to 16 inches in diameter.

Current research as well as guidelines for defining ecologically mature forests, such as those in Maine Audubon’s Forestry for Maine Birds, should be followed.

Second, limits should be placed on the size and distribution of clearcut or “shelterwood” harvest patches so that even-aged harvests are similar in size to those created by typical natural forest disturbance patterns. These changes will help ensure that the mature-forest block and connectivity requirements of the orders are met.

Third, because the forest impacts have already occurred, no cutting should be allowed in the few stands that meet or exceed the DEP-approved definition — which needs to be revised as described above — until the 50% or greater mature-forest goal is reached.

If allowed to stand, the definitions and management described in the forest management plan would set a terrible precedent for conserving mature forests in Maine. The BEP should uphold the appeal and establish standards for truly mature forest habitat.

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Massachusetts

Foul play suspected after human remains found in water in Shirley

Published

48 minutes ago

March 5, 2026

Press Room

Foul play suspected after human remains found in water in Shirley

Human remains were discovered Wednesday in the water in Shirley, Massachusetts, and authorities suspect foul play.

Police in Shirley said in a social media post at 7:15 p.m. that they responded to “a suspicious object in the water near the Maritime Veterans Memorial Bridge on Shaker Road.” Massachusetts State Police later said the object was believed to be human remains.

The bridge crosses Catacoonamug Brook near Phoenix Pond.

The office of Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan said a group of young people was walking in the area around 5:30 p.m. and “reported seeing what appeared to be something consistent with a body part in the water.”

Foul play is suspected, Ryan’s office said.

Authorities will continue investigating overnight into Thursday, and an increased police presence is expected in the area.

No further information was immediately available.

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