Democratic congressional candidate Ashley Ehasz said on Thursday that she is ready for her second turn taking on four-term incumbent GOP U.S. Rep Brian Fitzpatrick (R-1st District) this November.
At the Neshaminy Federation of Teachers’ (NFT) union office in Middletown Township on Thursday, Ehasz received the endorsement of the American Federation of Teachers Pennsylvania (AFT-PA), which represents more than 36,000 members in the Keystone State. It was her campaign’s first labor union endorsement of the election cycle.
The Ehasz campaign added the education union’s endorsement to a number of others, including from EMILYs List, NewDems Action Fund, and VoteVets.
Ehasz, a U.S. Army veteran and public school graduate, thanked the teachers’ union for their support and said she believes in “greater oversight of the charter school system to real solutions for affordable higher education.”
Ehasz said she supports “high-quality education” in public schools.
While Fitzpatrick, a former FBI special agent, has held back past primary and general election challengers since his first race in 2016, Ehasz’s campaign thinks they have a better shot this year.
Ehasz didn’t talk about whether national Democratic groups were planning to throw their support and funding behind her campaign, but she said she already has a roster of groups behind her and helping support her message.
“For us,” she said, “it’s about talking to voters and making sure we have a plan to do that.”
The campaign and candidate have cited Ehasz’ familiarity with voters due to her second run for the First District Congressional seat, recent election wins for Democrats, and a message they believe will connect with voters. The campaign is putting a focus on protecting access to abortion services and fighting to protect democracy.
Ehasz will have to make that case to voters as she goes against Fitzpatrick, who has strong name recognition.
The Democrat launched her campaign last April in a bid to have more time to fundraise, gain endorsements, and get in front of voters. She remained active in Democratic events since her 2022 loss.
Fitzpatrick has proven to be a skilled fundraiser and entered April with $3.6 million in the bank, while Ehasz campaign had approximately $820,000 on hand. Her campaign has pointed out that it has raised $1.4 million this election cycle and have had strong fundraising cycles.
NFT President Tara Huber, a longtime Neshaminy High School teacher, said Ehasz will support public schools and educators if elected.
“Unfortunately, the incumbent has failed to recognize the invaluable contributions of our teachers. Instead, he has allowed our schools to come under siege from extremist forces, threatening our fundamental freedoms and the very fabric of our education system,” she said.
AFT-PA President Arthur Steinberg noted Ehasz’s support of Democratic school board candidates in the First Congressional District in the past. He said those candidates weren’t focused on culture wars, adding that Fitzpatrick has supported “MAGA extremists” for school board races.
“We had voters stand up and reject the extremists,” Ehasz said.
After speaking with teachers, Ehasz told this news organization that Fitzpatrick, who was endorsed by then-President Donald Trump in 2020 but has worked to brand himself an “independent voice,” wants to “go after our schools and turn them into battlegrounds” for the culture wars. The message, she believes, will work with voters.
Ehasz lost the 2022 general election to Fitzpatrick by 10 percentage points, a gap of close to 36,000 votes.
Fitzpatrick’s recent primary win over Mark Houck was by 23 percentage points. While an overwhelming victory for the congressman, it marks his smallest victory against a primary challenge by percentage of the vote in his political career.
Fitzpatrick and his campaign did not return a request for comment.
Electors take a group photo after the end of proceedings. Pennsylvania’s electors cast their votes for President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance in the chambers of the state House of Representatives at the Capitol in Harrisburg, Pa.
December 17, 2024.
Dan Gleiter | dgleiter@pennlive.comDan Gleiter | dgleiter@pennlive.com
Penn Medicine researchers Katalin Karikó Ph.D., and Dr. Drew Weisman Ph.D., won the 2023 Nobel Prize in Medicine for their work on mRNA technology that contributed to the COVID-19 vaccine research.
Patents typically last about 20 years. The university holds at least four patents for its mRNA technology across the United States and Europe.
Researcher Karikó, an adjunct professor at Penn Medicine for 36 years, worked as a senior vice president for BioNTech between November 2013 and October 2022, according to her LinkedIn profile. She is considered an external consultant for the company as of Jan. 2, according to its website.
The COVID-19 vaccine, also known as Comirnaty, generated about $5 billion in sales in 2024.
As part of the deal, pharmaceutical giant Pfizer is expected to chip in $170 million for the Penn royalties and $364 million towards the NIH royalties owed.
As a company, BioNTech generated about $3.9 billion in revenue during 2023, down from $17.7 billion in 2022. BioNTech estimated 2024 revenue to be between $2.7 billion and $3.3 billion.
The university licensed its mRNA patents to several companies between April 2010 and August 2020, including Epicentre Technologies Corp., mRNA Biotherapeutics Inc. and Cellscript.
In 2017, BioNTech sublicensed the university mRNA technology from Cellscript and expects to keep developing more pharmaceutical medications, such as cancer treatments and flu vaccines, using the university patented technology.
Licensing revenue at the University of Pennsylvania has been a substantial revenue stream for the Philadelphia institution since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
In fiscal 2021, the university collected $300 million in license revenue. In fiscal years 2022 and 2023, the university garnered $1 billion each year. During fiscal year 2024, it reported $466 million in licensing revenue.
In May 2024, Penn Medicine researchers developed an mRNA vaccine for the H5N1 avian flu, leveraging prior COVID-19 vaccine research. The research was funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health and the Department of Health and Human Services.
The Duke University Human Vaccine Institute was awarded $7 million from the federal health agencies to conduct clinical trials in early 2025.
But for the commercialization of such research, the university relies on pharmaceutical manufacturers to license such patents and take the drug to market.
It was not immediately clear which companies, if any, have licensed the experimental avian flu technology.
Jan. 2 (UPI) — A Pennsylvania man has been indicted on charges of attempting to support the foreign terrorist organization Hezbollah, the Justice Department reported Thursday.
Jack Danaher Molloy, 24, a former resident of Pittsburgh, attempted to provide material support and resources to the terrorist group from August 2024 through December 2024, in Lebanon, Syria, the Western District of Pennsylvania, and elsewhere, the Justice Department said in a statement.
Molloy undertook these actions “knowing that the organization was a designated terrorist organization and that the organization had engaged in and was engaging in terrorist activity and terrorism, ” a release from the Justice Department said in a criminal complaint.
Molloy, a citizen of both the United States and Ireland, previously served on active duty status in the U.S Army, traveled to Lebanon in August 2024 and attempted to join Hezbollah but was told by “multiple individuals that the time was not right, and that he needed to take other steps before he could join the terrorist organization,” the Justice Department release said.
Molloy continued to try to join Hezbollah while living in Upper St. Clair, Pa. and allegedly continued to communicate with members of the organization online and in Lebanon. He also expressed his hatred toward, and promoted violence against, Jewish people,” documents show.
“Molloy’s alleged animus toward Jews was also evidenced by multiple images and videos on his electronic devices and the usernames he chose for his social media and email accounts, including the username “KIKEKILLER313″ on the social media platform X. In one alleged WhatsApp exchange with a family member, Molloy agreed that his ‘master plan was to join Hezbollah and kill Jews,’” Justice Department documents show.
He is also alleged to have visited a website that showed the possible incarceration location of Robert Bowers, the man who carried out the 2018 Pittsburgh Tree of Life Synagogue shooting during which he murdered 11 Jewish worshippers. It is thought that Molloy was a Bowers sympathizer.
The indictment also says Molloy lied to FBI investigators at the Pittsburgh International Airport in October, 2024 about his contact with members of Hezbollah. He said had no current or future plans to become involved with the organization and that he had no business in, nor was he meeting with anyone, in Syria.
“These statements and representations were false because Molloy knew at that time that (1) he did have current and future plans to become involved with Hizballah and (2) Molloy travelled to Syria in furtherance of his attempts to join Hezbollah, and while in Syria, set up a meeting with an individual there,” the Justice Department release said.
Molloy faces up to 28 years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted on the material support and false statement charges.
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