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Pennsylvania Senate race likely to head to statewide recount as Casey declines to waive it

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Pennsylvania Senate race likely to head to statewide recount as Casey declines to waive it


Pennsylvania’s nationally watched U.S. Senate race is likely headed to a recount as incumbent Sen. Bob Casey did not waive an automatic recount.

The Associated Press called the race last week for Republican Dave McCormick who narrowly leads three-term Democrat Casey by less than 0.5%, the threshold for triggering an automatic recount under state law unless new returns pull it back over half a percent.

As the trailing candidate Casey had until noon Wednesday to waive his right to a recount and he did not do so, the Pennsylvania Department of State confirmed in a statement. Casey still trails McCormick by nearly 30,000 votes.

Secretary of State Al Schmidt is still waiting for unofficial returns from Pennsylvania’s 67 counties, the department said, and will determine based on those returns whether an automatic recount is warranted.

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Schmidt must call for a recount by 5 p.m. Thursday and must alert candidates to the possibility 24 hours in advance, or 5 p.m. Wednesday.

If a recount is called counties are required to start the process by Wednesday, Nov. 20, at the latest. They must complete their recounts by Tuesday, Nov. 26.

Recounts often result in the final tallies of votes changing slightly for each candidate. But those corrections can go in either direction and usually only impact an extremely small fraction of votes. It is exceedingly rare for a recount to change the ultimate outcome of a statewide race, especially one divided by around 30,000 votes.

While Casey held a lead in polls for much of the campaign, the race tightened in the final days, and McCormick was leading as voters were counted in the days after the election. But his advantage shrank and fluctuated over time as some larger counties processed their provisional ballots, as of Wednesday it was within the 0.5% threshold.

Remarkably, this will be the second recount McCormick is involved in – in just his second competitive election. During Pennsylvania’s 2022 Senate race, McCormick fell short to Mehmet Oz in the GOP primary by fewer than 1,000 votes following a recount.

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McCormick has projected confidence that his lead will hold, even as he has pursued challenges to the counting of some ballots.

After Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) initially withheld an invitation, McCormick is attending orientation for incoming senators this week.

“I don’t care who voted for me and didn’t vote for me,” McCormick said Friday in a victory speech. “Today, I turn the page. I am focused on serving every single Pennsylvanian.”

But Casey’s campaign has been holding out hope, releasing daily statements reaffirming that votes are still being counted in Pennsylvania.

“My priority has always been standing up for the people of Pennsylvania. Across our Commonwealth, close to 7 million people cast their votes in a free and fair election,” Casey said Tuesday morning. “Our county election officials will finish counting those votes, just like they do in every election. The American democratic process was born in Pennsylvania and that process will play out.”

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In a statement, Wednesday morning, Casey’s campaign manager Tiernan Donohue criticized McCormick for continuing to pursue litigation that would segregate or throw out ballots.

“David McCormick and his allies are trying to disenfranchise Pennsylvania voters with litigation designed to throw out large tranches of votes that they’ve admitted in legal filings could impact the outcome of the election.,” Casey campaign manager Tiernan Donohue said in a statement.

This is a developing story.



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Pennsylvania

Bacteria In Toothpaste: What PA Customers Need To Know

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Bacteria In Toothpaste: What PA Customers Need To Know


PENNSYLVANIA— Any Pennsylvania residents who use Tom’s of Maine toothpaste and have noticed a strange taste or smell from the product aren’t alone, according to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, which recently detailed how bacteria was found in some of the company’s products and black mold was discovered at a facility.

The agency this month issued a warning letter to Tom’s of Maine Inc. about its “significant violations” of manufacturing regulations for pharmaceuticals, and discussed a May inspection of the facility in Sanford, Maine.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a type of bacteria that can cause blood and lung infections, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, was found from June 2021 to October 2022 in samples of water that was used to make Tom’s Simply White Clean Mint Paste, the letter stated. The water was also used for the final rinse in equipment cleaning.

Gram-negative cocco-bacilli Paracoccus yeei, which is associated with several infections, according to the Hartmann Science Center, was in a batch of the company’s Wicked Cool! Anticavity Toothpaste, the letter stated.

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Ralstonia insidiosa, a waterborne bacteria, according to the Journal of Medical Microbiology, was repeatedly found at water points of use at the facility, the letter stated.

“A black mold-like substance” was discovered within one foot of equipment that came into contact with products, according to the letter, which stated the substance was at the base of a hose reel and behind a water storage tank.

The company received about 400 complaints related to toothpaste odor, color and taste, including in relation to products for children, but the complaints were not investigated, the letter said.

“We have always tested finished goods before they leave our control, and we remain fully confident in the safety and quality of the toothpaste we make,” Tom’s of Maine said, according to News Center Maine. “In addition, we have engaged water specialists to evaluate our systems at Sanford, have implemented additional safeguards to ensure compliance with FDA standards, and our water testing shows no issues.”

In the federal administration’s letter, dated Nov. 5, the agency directed the company to provide multiple risk assessments, reserve sample test results from all unexpired batches, and a water system remediation plan, among other things. The administration requested a written response from Tom’s of Maine within 15 working days.

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With reporting by Anna Schier of Patch.



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How Philadelphia took care of its own through history

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How Philadelphia took care of its own through history


The Orphan Society was formed by a committee of wealthy Philadelphia women, notably Sarah Ralston and Rebecca Gratz, who each took the role of social reformer very seriously.

Gratz, the daughter of a wealthy Jewish merchant, also formed the Female Association for the Relief of Women and Children in Reduced Circumstances, the Female Hebrew Benevolent Society, and the Hebrew Sunday School. Gratz College in Elkins Park is named after her.

“She never married,” Barnes said. “She did things like put her money and her time toward doing that kind of public service.”

Ralston, the daughter of onetime Philadelphia mayor Matthew Clarkson, also formed the Indigent Widows and Single Women’s Society, which ultimately became the Sarah Ralston Foundation supporting elder care in Philadelphia. The historic mansion she built to house indigent widows still stands on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania, which is now its chief occupant.

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Women like Ralston and Gratz were part of the 19th-century Reform Movement that sought to undo some of the inhumane conditions brought about by the rapid industrialization of cities. Huge numbers of people from rural America and foreign countries came into urban cities for factory work, and many fell into poverty, alcoholism, and prostitution.

“These are not new problems, but on a much larger scale than they ever were,” Barnes said. “It was just kind of in the zeitgeist in the mid- and later-1800s to say, ‘We’ve got to address all these problems.”

The reform organizations could be highly selective and impose a heavy dose of 19th-century moralism. The Indigent Widows and Single Women’s Society, for example, only selected white women from upper-class backgrounds whose fortunes had turned, rejecting women who were in poor health, “fiery-tempered,” or in one case, simply “ordinary.”



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How did Pennsylvania’s top-ranked football teams fare on Friday, Nov. 22?

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How did Pennsylvania’s top-ranked football teams fare on Friday, Nov. 22?


St. Joseph Prep’s Khyan Billups (24) runs past Parkland’s Blake Nassry (7) during the PIAA Class 6A football quarterfinals at Pennridge High School on Nov. 22, 2024. (Alan Sylvestre | lehighvalleylive.com)Alan Sylvestre | lehighvalleylive.com contributor



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