News & Brews July 16, 2026
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Poll: Shapiro leads Garrity 53-40
A new Quinnipiac poll of registered Pennsylvania voters shows that in the race for governor, Josh Shapiro leads Stacy Garrity 53-40, a slight shift (but within the margin of error) from February, when Shapiro led 55-37. Meanwhile, 44 percent of Pennsylvanians “say they are worse off financially than they were a year ago, 36 percent say they are better off financially … and 19 percent volunteer they are the same financially.” And on the hot button issue of data centers, “Seventy-four percent of voters say they would oppose building an AI data center in their community, while 16 percent say they would support it, with 10 percent not offering an opinion.”
More than 100 Dems vote against Israel
In what’s being described as a “seismic shift,” more than 100 Democrat members of Congress voted yesterday to end U.S. aid to Israel. The vote on the amendment offered by Rep. Thomas Massie (the only Republican to support it), failed 104-314-10, but the opposition to Israel from so many Democrats underscores the Left’s about-face on our longtime ally. Every House Democrat from Pennsylvania except U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle voted against Israel.
Fetterman: Turning on Israel is red line
Related to the previous story, The Hill reports that U.S. Sen. John Fetterman “has said he has ‘no plans’ to leave the Democratic Party, but he warned on Wednesday that if Democrats completely turn their backs on U.S. support for Israel, that would cross a red line that could push him out of the party.” Speaking at a Washington summit, Fetterman said, “If our party ever becomes — and just makes it official — the anti-Israel party, that’s when I would leave because that’s been a moral clarity for me.”
Defense summit offers investment announcements
PennLive reports that going along with U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick’s Defense and Innovation Summit, which concluded yesterday, “a press release from McCormick’s office is promising investments totaling nearly $10 billion and more than 4,000 jobs across the Commonwealth. Many of the … announcements involved specific contracts, facility expansions and research partnerships that are already moving forward rather than speculative future projects. At the center of it all is a growing effort to position Pennsylvania as a major hub for both the traditional defense industry and the next generation of military technology. The largest commitments … were rooted in shipbuilding and manufacturing.”
U.S. House committee subpoenas Krasner
The U.S. House Judiciary Committee has issued a subpoena to Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, “ordering him to turn over documents related to his office’s handling of immigration matters and criticizing what it called the prosecutor’s ‘pro-illegal-alien policies,’” the Inquirer reports. The subpoena comes after Krasner “promised but failed to provide materials that were requested in May.” Krasner shot back and claimed his office follows the law while President Trump does not.