DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ As John Fetterman heals, his Senate staff soldiers on with the help of veteran lawmakers and crisis bonding: 'We all have each other's back'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Warren Rojas | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Sen. John Fetterman has been hospitalized for clinical depression since February 15. Casey is coordinating with Fetterman staff on constituent services issues and legislative priorities, according to recent reports, but doesn't call Fetterman directly so as not to disturb his ongoing recovery. Some of the others working hard to meet that internal standard include legislative assistant Madeleine Marr, a former aide to Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire. Conservative commentator Stephen L. Miller has been more blunt, accusing Fetterman's staff of unduly wielding power in his absence. "John Fetterman's chief of staff is not an elected senator," Miller wrote in an op-ed run by the Delaware Valley Journal.

☆ Sen. John Fetterman will likely be in hospital for a few weeks for clinical depression treatment
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Kevin Breuninger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Senator John Fetterman (D-PA), leaves a classified briefing for U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., will receive inpatient hospital care for "a few weeks" as he seeks treatment for clinical depression, a senior aide to the senator told NBC News. Fetterman suffered a life-threatening stroke on the campaign trail last year, and he has continued to experience health issues in office. Fetterman's return to the Senate will not be a matter of days, the senior aide told NBC on Thursday night. Fetterman's aide told NBC that the senator has struggled to adjust to his current situation, leading him to seek treatment.

☆ Mass Shootings in the U.S.: A Symptom of Despair - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Jillian Peterson | James Densley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +23 min

Seven killed and 46 injured in Highland Park, Ill., on July 4, 2022He suffered from severe back pain. Eight killed and seven injured in Indianapolis on April 15, 2021He was known for being paranoid with a short temper. Five killed and seven injured in Aurora, Ill., on Feb. 15, 2019He had expressed violent thoughts. Nine killed and seven injured in Red Lake, Minn., on March 21, 2005He had been noticeably depressed and angry at church. Seven killed and seven injured in Fort Worth on Sept. 15, 1999He killed his daughter’s cat because he was upset.

At Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC), a set of tire chains and a taxidermy rat landed in lost-and-found. The aptly named Lost and Found Software serves many U.S. and international airports as well as public transportation systems. Despite their differences, each provider promises to help customer service workers not only connect more lost items with their owners but to speed up returns as well. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), Southwest Airlines, JetBlue, Delta Air Lines and others use NetTracer, which has been operating since 2004. Boomerang recently landed two airport customers: Savannah/Hilton Head (SAV) and New York’s Syracuse Hancock International Airport (SYR).

☆ Flood of recount requests delays election certification in Pennsylvania
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

“I think if people are able to come to the courts and delay certification results without any real evidence, that’s a problem, and I see some abuse of that process here,” Deluzio said. Judges authorized at least 19 precinct recounts in six counties. An AP survey of the Pennsylvania precinct recounts found the recount challenges altered vote tallies barely or not at all. Rep. Leanne Krueger, who leads the state House Democratic Campaign Committee, said those who deny the results of the 2020 presidential election have been trying to stop election certification for several years. Lycoming County elections chief Forrest Lehman said defending a single recount petition required making copies of poll books and collecting a variety of records.

☆ Freight railroad service is terrible, even without the threat of a strike
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( Chris Isidore | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

But that doesn’t mean freight railroads are providing good service to their customers. Many of the problems tangling up the supply chain, driving up prices and slowing the economy can be traced to the steady decline in freight rail service in recent years. Some experts who represent rail customers who have complained about service in the past say service has gotten better since earlier this year. “The national freight rail network is broken, and the need for long-term rail reform is clear. Union Pacific (UNP), Norfolk Southern (NSC) and Berkshire Hathaway’s (BRKA) Burlington Northern Santa Fe all reported record earnings in 2021.

☆ 231 nurses denied proper overtime pay will share back wages and damages of just over $500,000
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-19 | by ( Sam Tabahriti | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Two Pennsylvania nursing facilities were found to have denied proper overtime pay to 231 workers. Spring Creek and Franklin Center failed to include the incentives in their pay rate for overtime. A judge ordered two companies to pay 231 nurses $256,684 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages, equating to $513,368, per the Department of Labor. The investigation found that nursing facilities paid non-discretionary bonuses to nursing staff but failed to include incentives in their pay rate when calculating overtime rates. Spring Creek and Franklin Center didn't immediately respond to a request for comment by Insider.

Edison Research projected that incumbent Republican Senators Tim Scott in South Carolina and Todd Young in Indiana would win re-election. Fox News projected Republican Rand Paul would win re-election in Kentucky and Democrat Peter Welch would win an open Senate seat in Vermont. I blame the current administration for that," said Bethany Hadelman, who said she voted for Republican candidates in Alpharetta, Georgia. A Republican Senate would hold sway over Biden's judicial nominations, including any Supreme Court vacancy, intensifying the spotlight on the increasingly conservative court. Those concerns swayed even some Republican leaning voters like Henry Bowden, 36, an Atlanta lawyer who said he voted for a mix of Republican and Democratic candidates.

[1/8] Voters fill out ballots at a polling station during the 2022 U.S. midterm election in downtown Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, U.S., November 8, 2022. With voting underway, U.S. officials said they did not see a "specific or credible threat" to disrupt election infrastructure. I blame the current administration for that," said Bethany Hadelman, who said she voted for Republican candidates in Alpharetta, Georgia. A Republican Senate would hold sway over Biden's judicial nominations, including any Supreme Court vacancy, intensifying the spotlight on the increasingly conservative court. Reuters GraphicsINFLATION AND ABORTIONThe Supreme Court's June decision to overturn the nationwide right to abortion had galvanized Democratic voters around the country, temporarily raising the party's hopes they could defy history.

[1/10] Voters fill out ballots at a polling station during the 2022 U.S. midterm election in downtown Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, U.S., November 8, 2022. With voting underway, U.S. officials said they did not see a "specific or credible threat" to disrupt election infrastructure. A Republican Senate would hold sway over Biden's judicial nominations, including any Supreme Court vacancy, intensifying the spotlight on the increasingly conservative court. The Supreme Court's June decision to overturn the nationwide right to abortion had galvanized Democratic voters around the country, temporarily raising the party's hopes they could defy history. The prevalence of election deniers among Republican candidates has elevated down-ballot races that typically receive little attention.

[1/10] Voters fill out ballots at a polling station during the 2022 U.S. midterm election in downtown Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, U.S., November 8, 2022. Even before the midterm elections were completed, the 2024 presidential election was taking shape. In Congress, a Republican-controlled House would be able to block bills addressing Democratic priorities such as abortion rights and climate change. The Supreme Court's June decision to overturn the nationwide right to abortion had galvanized Democratic voters around the country, temporarily raising the party's hopes they could defy history. Those concerns swayed even some Republican leaning voters like Henry Bowden, 36, an Atlanta lawyer who said he voted for a mix of Republican and Democratic voters.

☆ U.S. voters decide control of Congress, and Biden's agenda, in midterms
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Joseph Ax | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

[1/10] Voters fill out ballots at a polling station during the 2022 U.S. midterm election in downtown Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, U.S., November 8, 2022. The party that controls the White House typically loses seats in midterm elections. Thirty-five Senate seats and all 435 House of Representatives seats are on the ballot. In Congress, a Republican-controlled House would be able to block bills addressing Democratic priorities such as abortion rights and climate change. A Republican Senate would hold sway over Biden's judicial nominations, including any Supreme Court vacancy, intensifying the spotlight on the increasingly conservative court.

☆ Biden and Obama to campaign together for the first time during midterm-election push
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-05 | by ( Ashley Capoot | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

President Joe Biden and former President Barack Obama will appear on the campaign trail together Saturday for the first time since Biden took office. Democratic Senate hopeful John Fetterman and gubernatorial candidate Josh Shapiro will join the presidents at the event. Trump has endorsed the celebrity doctor and Republican Senate candidate Mehmet Oz as well as Republican candidate Doug Mastriano for governor. Oz's campaign launched attacks on Fetterman's health and questioned whether he is physically fit to take office. In turn, Fetterman's campaign has blasted Oz, a wealthy TV star, as an out-of-touch carpetbagger from New Jersey who got rich by promoting sometimes-dubious health information to his audiences.

☆ In Pennsylvania, Democrats' strategy to win voters on abortion rights is tested: 'It's still a powerful part of this election season'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Oma Seddiq | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Democrats are pinning their hopes on abortion rights galvanizing enough voters to support them. John Fetterman has pledged to enshrine abortion rights into federal law if he's elected to the US Senate, as his Republican challenger Mehmet Oz opposes abortion rights. In tight races, Democrats in the state like Rep. Susan Wild have argued that Republicans could pass a national abortion ban if they take back Congress. Pennsylvania represents a test of whether Democrats' incessant messaging on abortion will drive turnout and keep them in power. Democrats declared a shift in the political landscape – abortion rights were now on the ballot.

Kathy O’Neil, 68, told NBC News at a campaign stop in Erie that she felt Shapiro has "done so much for us." His support from law enforcement, including the Pennsylvania State Troopers Association and Philadelphia Fraternal Order of Police — two groups that have endorsed Oz in the Senate race — stood out to her, too. (Mastriano, 58, has said Shapiro has a “grudge” against the church, while some Catholic organizations believe Shapiro went too far). To take on Shapiro, Mastriano has struggled greatly to raise money and draw financial support from outside Republican groups to boost his campaign. During a campaign stop in Clarion, Shapiro pledged to advocate for "forgotten" parts of the state.

☆ Prayers, the pledge of allegiance and culture wars: Inside a Doug Mastriano rally in the final days of his long-shot bid for governor of Pennsylvania
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Oma Seddiq | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

A Doug Mastriano rally in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, featured praying and wading into culture wars. National and state Republican donors and groups have offered little support to his candidacy. "He's just been there the whole time," a Mastriano voter in Bucks County who only identified himself as Jeremy, told Insider. "You can't get your message out one-on-one to voters," Josh Novotney, a Pennsylvania GOP strategist, told Insider. "It's a different tactic and I pray it works," Joe Vichot, chairman of Lehigh County's GOP, told Insider.

☆ Stroke survivors speak out about John Fetterman's debate struggles
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( Benjamin Ryan | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

For stroke survivors interviewed by NBC News, the test Fetterman faced was not just political, but deeply personal. Sheth differentiated between the intellectual and cognitive capacities of stroke survivors and their ability to process language and communicate. Some stroke survivors said that just as people with learning disabilities are given extra time on standardized tests, the debate rules should have allotted Fetterman longer periods to speak. Accordingly, some stroke survivors said that at the end of the hourlong debate, Fetterman seemed worn out. Others said they hoped that the attention focused on Fetterman’s recovery might inspire greater empathy and understanding of what stroke survivors go through.

Anyone on his team who agreed to a debate should be fired, or never work again, because that debate may have tanked his campaign,” said Chris Kofinis, a veteran Democratic campaign strategist. John Fetterman, the Democratic Senate nominee in Pennsylvania, debates Republican challenger Mehmet Oz on Tuesday. And Fetterman’s campaign, eager to project strength, said Wednesday that it had raised $2 million since the debate ended“There’s always second-guessing,” Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., said on MSNBC Wednesday. Fetterman’s debate performance took some Republicans by surprise, too. But another top Pennsylvania Democrat, who believes Fetterman’s debate performance was devastating and requested anonymity to offer candid thoughts on the party’s nominee, fears the race is over.

WASHINGTON — Pennsylvania Republicans announced Wednesday plans to impeach and potentially remove from office Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, a national leader among progressive prosecutors who was overwhelmingly re-elected last year. It also comes as progressive prosecutors and recent criminal justice reforms have faced blowback due to rising crime. Republicans control both chambers of the Legislature, but White is the only GOP member from Philadelphia, which is on pace to break last year’s record-setting homicide rate. Pennsylvania’s Constitution gives the Legislature broad power to impeach “all civil officers” for “any misbehavior in office,” though it has almost never exercised that authority. As with the federal impeachment process, a simple majority vote of the state House is needed to impeach.

“Obviously I wasn’t clear enough for you to understand this,” Oz, a heart surgeon, said in a comment directed at Fetterman. Calvello asserted that Fetterman did “pretty damn well.” Oz spokesperson Barney Keller pronounced it a “disaster” for Fetterman. “After months of trying to hide his extreme abortion position, Oz let it slip on the debate stage on Tuesday. I support fracking, and I stand and I do support fracking,” Fetterman responded when he was confronted with the answer from four years ago. “Why haven’t you apologized to that unarmed innocent Black man?” Oz asked Fetterman.

☆ Fetterman, Oz face off on crime, inflation in Pennsylvania Senate debate
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Jarrett Renshaw | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

HARRISBURG, Penn., Oct 25 (Reuters) - U.S. Senate candidates Democrat John Fetterman and Republican Mehmet Oz traded attacks on issues from crime to inflation in the lone debate of a Pennsylvania race that will help decide whether Democrats retain control of the Senate. The debate hall included two closed-caption monitors posted above the moderators that relayed dialogue to Fetterman. Oz and Republicans have sought to tie Democrats' big-spending bills combating issues including COVID-19 and climate change to rising consumer prices. He called inflation a tax on working families, saying, "Dr. Oz can't possibly understand what that is like." Oz went on the offensive in recent weeks, flooding the airwaves with ads painting Fetterman as a far-left liberal who is indifferent to rising crime.

☆ Fetterman campaign says it raised $1 million in 3 hours after rough Pennsylvania Senate debate with Oz
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Kevin Breuninger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

John Fetterman's campaign said Wednesday it raised more than $1 million in just three hours following the Democratic Senate candidate's debate with his Republican rival, Dr. Mehmet Oz. The "unprecedented" haul demonstrates "deep grassroots enthusiasm" for Fetterman, his campaign said. "It's clear that the people of Pennsylvania have John's back in this race," Fetterman campaign manager Brendan McPhillips said in a press release announcing the post-debate fundraising windfall. Each candidate also repeatedly accused the other of lying, echoing the aggressively rancorous tone that has defined the pivotal Pennsylvania Senate race for months. Fetterman and Oz are competing to succeed GOP Sen. Pat Toomey, who is retiring at the end of the term.

☆ 4 key takeaways from the Pennsylvania Senate debate between John Fetterman and Mehmet Oz
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Oma Seddiq | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

John Fetterman and Mehmet Oz faced off in their first and only debate on Tuesday evening. The Fetterman campaign lauded his performance shortly after the debate ended. "I do support fracking," Fetterman repeatedly said. Oz attacked Fetterman over crime, while Fetterman hit Oz on his wealth. In their final statements, Fetterman said he's fighting for the "forgotten communities" of Pennsylvania, and Oz declared himself a "candidate for change."

☆ Pennsylvania voters show their support for John Fetterman and Mehmet Oz shortly before the candidates take the debate stage
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Oma Seddiq | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A small gathering of Pennsylvania voters lined the street outside the news studio where John Fetterman and Mehmet Oz were set to debate. Voters expressed their support for their preferred candidates on Tuesday evening. John Fetterman and Republican celebrity TV doctor Mehmet Oz outside a news studio in the state capital, Harrisburg, where the two opponents for US Senate would soon take the debate stage. Tuesday night is the first and only debate that Fetterman and Oz will participate in ahead of Election Day, now two weeks away. "I'm happy to support Dr. Oz," Laurie, a 55-year-old Republican voter from nearby Cumberland County, told Insider.

☆ Pennsylvania Democrats try to do damage control after shaky Fetterman debate
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Jarrett Renshaw | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

HARRISBURG, Penn., Oct 26 (Reuters) - Pennsylvania Democrats tried to do damage control on John Fetterman's U.S. Senate campaign on Wednesday, the morning after a shaky debate performance against Republican TV doctor Mehmet Oz that showed the struggle Fetterman faces in recovering from a May stroke. "I don’t know anyone, even the most staunch Fetterman supporters, who think that went well last night," a senior Pennsylvania Democrat told Reuters on Wednesday. Democrats interviewed said the Fetterman campaign is surely doing quick polls to gauge how to repair any damage caused by the performance. The Oz campaign defended his abortion stance on Wednesday, and did not comment on Fetterman's health. Retiring Republican Senator Toomey told CNN on Tuesday night that "It's sad to see John Fetterman struggling so much.

Search resuls for: "HARRISBURG"

25 mentions found