Legislature
Pa. Senate election probe contract doesn’t say if the public will see the results | 90.5 WESA
Gov. Wolf Visits Tree of Life Synagogue – ABC23
Alvernia secures $1 million grant for Reading CollegeTowne | Alvernia University
Sen. Muth Hosts Virtual Healthcare Enrollment Town Hall Zoom | Lower Providence, PA Patch
Nearly $7M in redevelopment grants headed to Luzerne County | Pennsylvania | thecentersquare.com
Mullery bill would eliminate automatic pay raises for elected officials | Times Leader
Millions in RACP grants awarded for three Hazleton Area projects | News | standardspeaker.com
Baby formula manufacturer ByHeart awarded $1.75 million in grant funding (berksweekly.com)
Fightin Phils celebrate bright future for FirstEnergy Stadium (readingeagle.com)
Fightin Phils unwrap plans for $16.5M ballpark project | Berks Regional News | wfmz.com
Alvernia awarded $1M for CollegeTowne expansion | Berks Regional News | wfmz.com
Pa. House GOP lawmaker proposes Santa tax credit – Pennsylvania Capital-Star (penncapital-star.com)
Councilmember Kenyatta Johnson to host one week of giving | Local News | phillytrib.com
Community Briefs: State officials tour DCCC locations to highlight career training – Delco Times
Coronavirus – COVID-19
PA surpasses 34,000 new COVID-19 deaths | Coronavirus | thetimes-tribune.com
People over 70 make up well over half of Pa.’s latest COVID-19 deaths: update – pennlive.com
Poll shows Pennsylvanians less concerned about COVID pandemic | Pennsylvania | thecentersquare.com
Omicron could overtake delta within weeks, experts say | TribLIVE.com
Medicago’s COVID vaccine prevents serious illness in study : Shots – Health News : NPR
Pfizer says early tests found its COVID-19 booster protects against omicron (abc27.com)
Pa. switches to weekly COVID-19 updates to give ‘a clearer picture’ | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
As omicron threat looms, inflation limits Fed’s room to maneuver | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
‘Fully vaccinated’ definition doesn’t need to change, experts say | TribLIVE.com
Luzerne County passes 1,000 COVID-related deaths | coronavirus | citizensvoice.com
LVHN reports major success with COVID-19 vaccine mandate – The Morning Call (mcall.com)
Average number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients ‘highest it’s been’ at Mount Nittany | WITF
UPMC doctors issue new warnings as omicron spreads in Pa. What to know (theintell.com)
Dems begin souring on vaccine mandates – POLITICO
Business/Jobs
Starbucks workers finish voting on whether to unionize : NPR
Kellogg to replace striking employees as workers reject new contracts : NPR
Kellogg’s workers overwhelmingly vote against latest proposal, strike rolls on (abc27.com)
Gasoline and natural gas prices are falling — finally | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
AmEx sees holiday spending soaring | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Lehigh Valley Coke workers go on strike over benefits – The Morning Call (mcall.com)
Crime/Punishment
Temple parents rally for action after student’s shooting death – WHYY
Philadelphia Latino-owned businesses see armed robbery string (inquirer.com)
Greensburg doctor gets nearly 5 years in prison for painkiller scheme | TribLIVE.com
Education
President Biden hasn’t yet kept his student loan forgiveness promise : NPR
Harrisburg School District preparing for potential return to remote learning (abc27.com)
Schools Are Closing Classrooms on Fridays. Parents Are Furious. – The New York Times (nytimes.com)
‘Abbott Elementary’ debuts on 6abc with nods to West Philadelphia – NewsBreak
Elections/Politics
Meet The Other Doctor in PA’s U.S. Senate Race – DV Journal (delawarevalleyjournal.com)
GIORDANO: A House Call With Dr. Oz – DV Journal (delawarevalleyjournal.com)
Dr. Oz’s Pa. Senate race could be skewed by his doctor brand | The Grammarian (inquirer.com)
Replacing Al Schmidt demands integrity and experience | Opinion (inquirer.com)
First debate announced for Republicans running for governor in Pa. – pennlive.com
Judge gives split decision on contested ballots in Downingtown school board race – Daily Local
Pa. Senate and governor’s races – WHYY
Environment
Warmer weather predicted to change Poconos tourism industry (poconorecord.com)
Transportation
Drivers comment on plan to put tolls on Interstate 80 bridges | News | standardspeaker.com
Health
Philadelphia HIV detection and treatment dropped because of COVID-19 (inquirer.com)
Biden’s big decision on the opioid crisis – POLITICO
State News
Pa. Supreme Court set to start hearing over school mask mandate on Wednesday (abc27.com)
‘Business as usual’ after $1.8 billion transaction involving Westmoreland casino | TribLIVE.com
Pa. Supreme Court to take up deadly force rules for cops – pennlive.com
State Supreme Court justices take up Pennsylvania’s deadly force rules for cops | WITF
National News
Supreme Court weighs mandating public funds for religious schools in Maine : NPR
Opening statements in Daunte Wright manslaughter case expected today : NPR
Amazon announces progress after an outage disrupted sites across the internet : NPR
Hawaii remains under flood warnings as a ‘kona low’ storm continues to dump rain : NPR
U.S. Route 15 is focus of human trafficking | Smart Talk (witf.org)
Harris marks Maternal Health Day of Action at White House summit | News | phillytrib.com
Hoping Diversity, Equity and Inclusion makes a comeback in 2022 (theintell.com)
Local News
Doylestown Health breaks ground for new Children’s Village – thereporteronline
Public Defender’s Office Hosting Expungement Event In Bristol Twp. – LevittownNow.com
Grand opening held for Bergey’s Showroom (thereporteronline.com)
Why Russia-Ukraine tensions have again reached a boiling point : NPR
Luzerne County Council rejects proposed cut of new IT staffers | Times Leader
Wilkes-Barre council adopts final 2022 budget after kerfuffle | News | citizensvoice.com
Reading residents will see garbage rates increase next year (readingeagle.com)
2021 Christmas Emergency Fund benefits local victims of Hurricane Ida (ydr.com)
Erie County district attorney Jack Daneri resigning Dec. 31 (goerie.com)
Phoenixville hire new full-time fire chief (dailylocal.com)
Pitt
Spending plan for Pittsburgh’s $10.8M parks tax fund unveiled | TribLIVE.com
City Council moves to combat lead poisoning | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Pittsburgh bans parking in bike lanes, with exceptions | TribLIVE.com
Pittsburgh considers extending contract with nonprofit animal shelter for over $1M | TribLIVE.com
Philly
Larry Krasner’s crime comments spark big backlash | Morning Newsletter (inquirer.com)
Board of Education announces members of superintendent search panel | Local News | phillytrib.com
Playing loud music could soon cost you a ticket in Philly | Local News | phillytrib.com
Philly H.S. among honorees of the GSK IMPACT awards | Local News | phillytrib.com
Palestine Solidarity Day officially recognized in Philadelphia – Workers World
Washington
Debt ceiling: House OKs first step after Senate deal is brokered : NPR
Democrats lean on Pelosi, Hoyer over holiday supply chain worries | California | thecentersquare.com
Riots at US Capitol cause cancellation of Pearl Harbor remembrance at Pa. state capitol (abc27.com)
Provision requiring women to register for draft stripped from defense bill (abc27.com)
Biden administration talks diplomacy as Russian troops mass at Ukraine border | ABC27
Congressional leaders reach deal to allow debt ceiling increase | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
House Passes $768 Billion Defense Policy Bill – The New York Times (nytimes.com)
House Passes Legislation to Pave Way for Debt Ceiling Increase – The New York Times (nytimes.com)