News & Brews May 27, 2026
Get News & Brews in your inbox each day: Subscribe here!
New info blows holes in Shapiro’s Vereb defense
Even as Gov. Shapiro refuses to answer critical questions regarding the Mike Vereb sexual harassment scandal, Broad + Liberty reports that Right to Know requests submitted to five separate government agencies “undermine the governor’s own claim that his administration followed document retention policies regarding the accuser’s account.” Those requests yielded emails from the accuser that should be kept under retention policies, but which Shapiro’s office deleted.
Shapiro talks antisemitism, avoids other questions
In an interview with POLITICO, Gov. Josh Shapiro talked extensively about antisemitism, but when asked several questions about 2028 and the future of the Democrat party, he dodged answering them. Even when pressed, he avoided taking positions. Even the interviewer observed Shapiro was being “mousey,” which, of course, he denied, then continued to avoid answering the question.
Supreme Court to weigh in on skill games
PennLive reports, “Despite heavy spending, the skill games industry failed to unseat several key Republican incumbents backed by party leadership in last week’s primary election.” But a case pending before the state Supreme Court could impact the skill games industry even more than last week’s results. “Skill games have thus far skirted being classified as slot machines, despite efforts by law enforcement to treat them as such. The Supreme Court opinion could overturn lower courts’ rulings and find that the machines are gambling devices, or at least provide a clearer interpretation as to how skill games are or are not allowed to operate under current law.”
Op-Ed: When political conviction still matters
In an op-ed in Jewish News Syndicate, Steve Rosenberg of Team GSD, reflects on the recent announcement by Pa. Supreme Court Justice David Wecht that he has left the Democrat party over antisemitism. “Too often today, public figures adjust their values according to political weather patterns,” Rosenberg writes. “They test every sentence against polling, donor pressure, activist outrage or social-media backlash. Very few people in public life are willing to risk alienating their own ‘side’ to say something uncomfortable…. What I admire about Wecht is not simply that he took a position. It’s that he was willing to do so publicly, clearly and without hedging.” He adds, “Hopefully, Gov. Josh Shapiro takes notice of this and begins to focus on the antisemitism running rampant in K-12 schools across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.”
Rollins signs disaster declaration for Pa. counties
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced yesterday that “she has signed a disaster declaration for 17 counties impacted by damages and losses caused by below-freezing temperatures occurring between April 19 through April 21,” the Center Square reports. “This designation allows USDA’s Farm Service Agency, or FSA, to extend emergency credit to producers recovering from natural disasters through emergency loans.”