News & Brews May 6, 2024
Get News & Brews in your inbox each day: Subscribe here!
Anti-Israel protestors financed by big Biden donors
POLITICO (hardly a far-right outlet, by the way) reports that some of the groups backing the anti-Israel protests are funded by donors who are also “the biggest names in Democratic circles: Gates, Soros, Rockefeller and Pritzker.” The story continues, “Two of the main organizers behind protests at Columbia University and on other campuses are Jewish Voice for Peace and IfNotNow. Both are supported by the Tides Foundation, which is seeded by Democratic megadonor George Soros as well as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation….” Per Pa. campaign finance reports, George Soros also gave Shapiro $250,000 during his 2022 gubernatorial campaign.
Shapiro dodges key questions on campus protests
Gov. Shapiro has been clear and unequivocal in speaking out against antisemitism. But there are a few questions that he’s apparently less eager to take a position on. The Inquirer reports that regarding the anti-Israel campus protest at Penn, Shapiro declined to say whether he thought it fit the definition of a “peaceful protest.” He also would not say whether he thought the encampment should be disbanded. “I don’t think it’s my judgment on that that matters,” he said. “I think it’s the university’s judgment that matters. They’re closer to it, they see it.”
U.S. House Republicans take aim at Krasner
At a U.S. House Judiciary subcommittee hearing in Philly on Friday, Republican lawmakers took aim at progressive Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, contending that “his ’soft-on-crime’ approach has emboldened criminals and turned the city into one of ‘lawlessness,’” the Inquirer reports. Per Judiciary Committee chair Rep. Jim Jordan (OH-4), “Manhattan, Chicago, Washington, and Philadelphia have violent crime problems. But this is not the only thing they have in common. They all have soft-on-crime prosecutors who favor the criminals over the victims and their families.” Democrats, meanwhile, criticized the hearing and blamed Republicans for the violence.
Luzerne County House GOP primary still undecided
WVIA reports that after Friday’s meeting of the Luzerne County elections board, the close primary race between incumbent GOP state Rep. Mike Cabell and challenger Jamie Walsh is still not decided, with Walsh leading by only four votes. The outcome will remain unknown at least until tomorrow, and possibly longer, as questions surround 13 as-of-yet unopened and uncounted provisional ballots.
Nippon Steel (slightly) delays U.S. Steel takeover
Nippon Steel’s said it’s delaying by three months its $14.1B takeover of Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel, following a request for more info from the U.S. Department of Justice. PennLive reports that per Nippon, the takeover is still expected to happen.