Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump was scheduled to return to Pennsylvania for a rally in Wilkes-Barre on Saturday as both he and Democratic opponent Kamala Harris focus on the key swing state this weekend. File Photo by Allison Dinner/EPA-EFE
Aug. 17 (UPI) — Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and Democratic opponent Kamala Harris will be focusing their attention on Pennsylvania with weekend visits to the vital swing state.
Trump is scheduled to attend a rally at 4 p.m. EDT Saturday in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., targeting the northeastern section of the Keystone State, while Harris is set to kick off a bus tour of western Pennsylvania in Pittsburgh on Sunday, a day before the start of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
Trump on Monday is scheduled to be in York, Pa., at a machining manufacturer to address the economy.
Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, is scheduled to appear Saturday at a 2 p.m. EDT rally in his native state of Nebraska. The event is planned for the Astro Theater in Omaha.
Trump is a frequent visitor to Pennsylvania — Saturday’s scheduled rally will mark his seventh visit to the state this year and at least the fifth time he’s appeared in Wilkes-Barre since 2016, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. President Joe Biden won that state in 2020 but Trump beat Hillary Clinton in 2016.
With a pair of recent polls showing Harris edging past him in Pennsylvania, Trump has used his recent appearances to paint her and Walz as “extreme liberals” and “communists” while hurling personal insults at the Democratic nominee.
He excoriated Harris during a Wednesday rally in Ashville, N.C., as a “radical-left person from San Francisco,” claiming she and Walz are “beyond socialists,” while insulting her personally as “not intelligent.” He doubled down on the personal insult later in the week and claimed he is “entitled” to do so.
Trump also said this week he believes Harris is vulnerable in Pennsylvania due to her past support for a ban on natural gas produced by hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking.”
Over the past decade, advances in fracking and horizontal drilling have led to a boom in the state’s oil and gas production. In 2022, Pennsylvania accounted for 19% of U.S. marketed natural gas production, with more natural gas produced than in any other state except Texas, according to the U.S. Energy Information Agency.
While running for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020, Harris along with most of her competitors aligned themselves with the progressive wing of the party in supporting a ban on fracking as an environmental danger. Harris has since altered her position and now claims Trump is misrepresenting it.
During an appearance at his New Jersey country club on Thursday, Trump again highlighted the vice president’s one-time opposition to fracking, saying, “I think she will do very badly in Pennsylvania. You have to frack.”
Demonstrating the importance the Trump campaign places on Pennsylvania, it proposed that two debates between the GOP nominee and Harris be held in the state. One of them so far has been approved by both sides — a live televised debate in Philadelphia on Sept. 10 to be broadcast on ABC.
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is currently investigating an outbreak of salmonella across multiple states, including Pennsylvania.
According to the CDC, the outbreak is linked to small turtles with shells less than four inches long. They said that turtles with shells of that size are known sources of illness, although turtles of any size can carry salmonella germs.
While federal law bans the sale and distribution of turtles with shells less than four inches, they are still believed to be sold illegally online, in stores, at flea markets, and from roadside stands.
As of Friday, the CDC has reported 51 illnesses and 23 hospitalizations in 21 states, including two of those in Pennsylvania.
Symptoms of salmonella include diarrhea, a high fever of 102°, vomiting, an inability to keep liquids down, and dehydration.
For turtle owners, it’s recommended to wash your hands right after touching, feeding the turtle, or touching or cleaning the area where the turtle lives. They also do not recommend kissing or snuggling a turtle as well as not eating or drinking around the turtle as the salmonella germs could spread to your mouth and make you sick.
They also are telling turtle owners that if they decide that turtles aren’t a good fit for them or their families, they should not just release the turtle outside. Call a local reptile rescue, animal shelter, or pet store and find ways to safely give up the turtle. Releasing the turtle outside can disrupt wildlife and could also be prohibited by law.
You can learn more about the outbreak and safety tips for turtle owners at this link.
Will Punxsutawney Phil see his shadow Friday morning during a Groundhog Day celebration at the Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania? FOX Weather has a look at the shadow cast forecast for the state.
DUNCANSVILLE, Penn. – Recent photos show a groundhog blending into a pile of stuffed animals inside a Duncansville claw machine game.
Located in southern Pennsylvania, Duncansville is home to the Meadows Family Fun Center, where employees discovered the stealthy groundhog. They reported the animal, leading to a state game warden to respond.
The Pennsylvania Game Commission-Southcentral Region said, when the warden arrived, he saw the stuffed animals inside the claw machine game move in a wave-like fashion as the groundhog moved underneath.
The animal then popped its head out above the toys.
To retrieve the groundhog, the vending machine company was contacted to unlock the claw machine game. This allowed the warden to safely capture the groundhog and then release it unharmed, the game commission said.
The groundhog inside the claw machine.
(Pennsylvania Game Commission-Southcentral Region / FOX Weather)
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Also known as woodchucks, groundhogs are the largest member of the squirrel family in Pennsylvania, according to the state’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.
Perhaps the most famous of the Pennsylvania rodents is Punxsutawny Phil, who folklore says can predict the start of spring.
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