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Pennsylvania lawsuit asks Commonwealth Court to remove RFK Jr. from presidential ballot • Pennsylvania Capital-Star

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Pennsylvania lawsuit asks Commonwealth Court to remove RFK Jr. from presidential ballot • Pennsylvania Capital-Star


A lawsuit filed Thursday seeks to have independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. removed from the Pennsylvania ballot for the Nov. 5 election alleging fraud and other problems with his nominating papers.

The suit in Commonwealth Court filed on behalf of two voters from Dauphin County and Philadelphia claims the nominating papers Kennedy and running mate Nicole Shanahan filed with the Pennsylvania Department of State for placement on the ballot “demonstrate, at best, a fundamental disregard of the circulation process and Pennsylvania law.”

Kennedy, the son of U.S. attorney general and senator Robert F. Kennedy and nephew of President John F. Kennedy, is running as the nominee of the We the People Party. His campaign claims that unlike other independent candidates, Kennedy and Shanahan will appear on the ballots of all 50 states. 

The Pennsylvania suit claims, however, that Kennedy’s nominating petitions list a New York address that is not his home. Kennedy has made his primary residence in California since marrying his wife, actress Cheryl Hines, in 2014, the suit claims.

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A trial in New York state court over Kennedy’s legal residence concluded Thursday and a judge is expected to soon decide whether Kennedy’s name should remain on the ballot there. A Democratic super PAC is backing the lawsuit. 

The New York suit makes a similar claim that although Kennedy’s New York nominating petitions bear an address in the New York City suburbs, his actual residence is in California.

Kennedy’s campaign said in a statement Thursday that his voter registration, falconry license, and law practice are all in New York, where he also pays taxes. Kennedy said he plans to move back to New York when “Curb Your Enthusiasm” star Hines retires from acting.

The residency issue presents an insurmountable problem for the Kennedy campaign because vice presidential nominee Shanahan also lives in California. The U.S. Constitution bars a state’s presidential electors from casting their votes for presidential and vice presidential candidates if both are from that state, meaning Kennedy could not receive California’s Electoral College votes.

“For these reasons, Candidate Kennedy listed his New York address with the intent to deceive Pennsylvania voters. Providing a California address would contradict his campaign and its goals,” the lawsuit claims, adding that because he allegedly acted with the intent to deceive voters, he is not entitled to amend the documents.

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The suit also claims that Kennedy’s nomination papers fall short of the 33,043 signatures required by the Pennsylvania Election Code for non-major party candidates. 

Although federal courts have held that the requirement can be unconstitutional, and the secretary of the commonwealth will accept nomination petitions containing 5,000 signatures, Kennedy has not established that the requirement of a greater number of signatures is unconstitutional in his case, the suit says.

The original nominating petitions filed with the Department of State also show evidence of fraud, the suit alleges.

It says an inspection of the papers revealed “a startling concern.” Nearly 300 of the sheets submitted have a different circulator statement that is taped over the original document. Because the new statement cannot be removed without damaging the paper, this prevents examination of the original statement.

The suit also lists other defects with the documents including torn pages, “handwriting patterns and corrections” that suggest the voters whose names appear did not sign the petition, and that, based on the campaign’s practices in other states, some circulators whose names appear on the petitions were not the people who solicited voters’ signatures.

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The suit was filed by attorney Timothy Ford of the Dilworth Paxson law firm in Philadelphia.

The Kennedy campaign did not immediately reply to a request for comment from the Capital-Star on Thursday. 

 



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Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania Lauds State Health Funding Alongside Counties’ Success

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Pennsylvania Lauds State Health Funding Alongside Counties’ Success


Pennsylvania’s health secretary on Thursday touted the success of two counties in the state that landed in the top 100 of the Healthiest Communities rankings from U.S. News, along with funding in lawmakers’ recently approved budget for 2024-2025 that aims to create “a healthy Pennsylvania for all.”



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Harrisburg-area flooding possible as Pa. gets up to 8″ of rain from Debby

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Harrisburg-area flooding possible as Pa. gets up to 8″ of rain from Debby


Tropical Storm Debby has been lingering over Georgia and the Carolinas all week, but it’s still affecting the weather much further north.

Parts of central Pennsylvania are under a flood watch, with rain and thunderstorms expected on and off Thursday and all day Friday.

AccuWeather models predict most of Pennsylvania will receive between 4 and 8 inches of rain by 8 p.m. Friday.

Debby has already affected the weather here: AccuWeather meteorologists explained this week that storms in the Harrisburg area on Tuesday were, in part, exacerbated by tropical air from Debby pushing into the region, adding moisture to the air.

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Live radar over Pennsylvania:

Heavy rain from the slow-moving storm is coming next, and that could lead to floods in parts of central Pennsylvania, the National Weather Service warns.

  • More: Statewide weather alerts

A flood watch is in effect from Thursday night through Friday night for a large part of Pennsylvania, including Cumberland, Franklin and Perry counties. It notes that heavy rain and runoff may result in flooding of rivers, creeks, streams and other low-lying and flood-prone locations.

Waterways including the Swatara, Conodoguinet and Yellow Breeches creeks and the Susquehanna River could see minor flooding. People in typically flood-prone and low-lying areas should watch for high water.

On Thursday, the Harrisburg area will see mostly cloudy skies and rain on and off, the National Weather Service in State College says. Thunderstorms are likely after noon. The Weather Channel says steady rain will move in after 5 p.m. Thursday and stay until Friday night.

There’s a 100% chance of rain Friday, the weather service says, and it’ll be breezy and warm, with a high temperature around 81. Most of central Pennsylvania is expected to get 2 to 4 inches of rain Friday, but some areas could see as much as 6 to 8 inches, forecasters say.

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According to Accuweather, Debby is expected to track inland over North Carolina on Thursday, then curve along the Appalachians through the Northeast from Friday to Saturday. How much rain each state, from Virginia to New England, gets depends on how fast or slow Debby moves.

  • More: Tropical Storm Debby tornado threat increases for N.J.
Tropical Storm Debby

Rebecca Fanning, right, who works for the town of Sullivan’s Island, inspects flood waters as Charles Drayton, also an employee of Sullivan’s Island and his son McKain, 8, walk behind on Atlantic Ave. as Tropical Storm Debby approaches, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, in Sullivan’s Island, S.C. (AP Photo/Mic Smith)AP

Debby first made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane early Monday on the Gulf Coast of Florida. It is now a tropical storm with maximum sustained winds at 50 mph. It has spawned tornados and excessive flooding in the South all week.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.



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4 suspects arrested for allegedly trafficking $5M in narcotics from California to Pennsylvania

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4 suspects arrested for allegedly trafficking M in narcotics from California to Pennsylvania


DOYLESTOWN, Pennsylvania (WPVI) — The Bucks County District Attorney’s Office announced the arrest of four men who allegedly trafficked millions of dollars worth of cocaine and methamphetamine from California to Pennsylvania.

At a press conference, District Attorney Jen Schorn named Matthew James Byrne, 43, of Broomall; Joseph Byrne, 47, of Levittown; Khalik Kemp, 34, of Philadelphia; and Christian Garwood, 55 of Flourtown, as members of the “Byrne Drug Trafficking Organization.”

According to police, the group — allegedly led by Matthew Byrne — shipped more than $5 million worth of narcotics from coast to coast.

Investigators say they used objects like speakers to conceal the drugs as they were shipped through the postal service.

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“The drug trafficking organization would ship roughly in each shipment approximately 25 to 30 pounds of methamphetamine and cocaine by hiding them inside of large karaoke style Bluetooth speakers,” Schorn said Wednesday.

Investigators said Matthew Byrne traveled to Southern California at least twice a month since January, where he would spend two to three days buying cocaine and methamphetamine from drug brokers with connections in Mexico.

He would then allegedly ship the drugs to his brother’s home on Gable Hill Road in Bristol, Bucks County, and another home in Flourtown, Montgomery County.

“Those shipments would be received by their counterparts in Bucks and Montgomery counties and would later be prepared for distribution to individuals in our community,” Schorn said.

During the course of the investigation, three shipments were intercepted at a United States Postal Service facility in Louisville, Kentucky.

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Authorities said nearly $1.2 million worth of drugs were found stashed away in speakers.

In total, investigators said they tracked 12 shipments to locations in Bristol Township and Montgomery County allegedly containing hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of drugs meant to be distributed on the streets.

“We can connect the dots,” Schorn said. “These drugs were getting into the hands of users shortly after being prepped for distribution in Bucks County and Montgomery County.”

On Monday, all four of the accused who reside in Pennsylvania were hit with several charges, including corrupt organizations and possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance.

Two other men in California — Ralph Brooks, 42, of Los Angeles, and Chaz Harness-Walker, 40, of Inglewood — were also charged.

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However, they have not yet been arrested.

Authorities said the investigation, which involved both state, local, and federal authorities across multiple jurisdictions, was still active as investigators worked to determine the full scope of the operation.

Assistant Special Agent in Charge for Homeland Security Investigations Philadelphia, Spiros Karabinas, said the results of the investigation were a reminder to bad actors that drug enforcement is indeed a priority.

“We will continue to work vigorously to prevent them from being trafficked, distributed and ultimately sold throughout our communities,” said Karabinas.

All four Pennsylvania defendants were committed to Bucks County Correctional Facility on bail ranging from $1 million to $5 million.

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