Free Republic

Former Gov. Ed Rendell on Tuesday declared Pennsylvania "in play" for president, two days before his friend Hillary Clinton is slated to accept the Democratic nomination in Philadelphia. The reason? Republican nominee Donald Trump's rhetoric is resonating with "white, blue-collar workers," Rendell said at breakfast sponsored by Politico. "People have to understand, not withstanding presidential elections, Pennsylvania is not a blue state," Rendell said. "We have a Republican legislature." Rendell noted that Pennsylvania has more than 900,000 more registered Democrats than Republicans, but his party's voters "don't turn out nearly as well" unless the presidency is on the ballot. Pennsylvania...

After a day full of tensions between Bernie Sanders supporters and the Democratic Party, the first few hours of the party's convention on Monday featured plenty of distractions, and things seemed to be moving forward. Then Sarah Silverman showed up. The comedian was a Sanders supporter in the primary, and she came to the stage with Clinton supporter and fellow "Saturday Night Live" alum, Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.). It was a good idea in theory: Two comedians trying to bring some levity to the situation and defuse it with humor. But feelings were still raw. Silverman argued for unity and...

For those who can bear to watch. I am watching on C-SPAN.

With two polls released Monday showing Trump ahead of Clinton, attendees of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia shared their thoughts on Trump’s “post-convention bump.” Last week’s Republican National Convention gave Donald Trump an edge over Hillary Clinton, according to a new CNN poll — and some Democratic delegates at the convention in Philadelphia said they are “terrified” and that the party needs to “do some serious thinking.” In a two-way national matchup — conducted over telephone with over 1,000 random adults — Trump polled at 48% to Clinton’s 45%. Another poll by Morning Consult released on Monday also showed...

Donald Trump isn't giving up the spotlight as Democrats meet in Philadelphia to formally make Hillary Clinton their presidential nominee. Trump will campaign with his vice presidential nominee, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, this week in the crucial battleground states of Virginia, North Carolina, Florida and Pennsylvania, where he'll host a town hall in Scranton on Wednesday. The four-state swing will mark the first time Trump and his vice presidential nominee campaign at each other's side since Trump called on the Indiana governor to join him on the Republican ticket just before the Republican National Convention last week. But while the...

PHILADELPHIA — Hillary Clinton's top two campaign strategists plan to cede no ground to Donald Trump in Pennsylvania. “He is not going to win this state,” Robby Mook, 36, said flatly in Clinton's cheerfully decorated but cramped Philadelphia headquarters on the eve of the Democratic National Convention. “The fundamental reason Donald Trump is going to lose this state is because he doesn't have answers,” Mook said. Former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, the chair of the convention host committee, a longtime supporter of the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee and a tireless campaigner, concurs: “But this time, it is not going to...

Support for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump ticked up across battleground states following the Republican National Convention last week, according to the new CBS News Battleground Tracker Poll. Trump now has 42 percent support across the 11 battleground states surveyed — up from the 40 percent he had last week before the convention. Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton has 41 percent support, unchanged from last week's poll. According to the poll, 55 percent of Republicans said Trump's message at the convention made them feel hopeful, and about 40 percent said it made them feel enthusiastic. Among independents, 32 percent...

As we discussed earlier today, the Democrats have their hands full this week with angry Bernie Sanders supporters at the convention being up in arms over the leaked DNC emails. Security will be tight, but the organizers are still concerned over the possibility of protests and even violence breaking out in the streets. At least they’ll have Philadelphia’s finest on the job, maintaining peace and order, right? But as was revealed this weekend, not all the cops are going to be terribly happy about it. Hillary Clinton’s choice of speakers includes some figures who don’t have a very good opinion...

As the presidential election looms, some 41,000 black voters in Philadelphia who used to be registered to vote are off the books now, and leaders in Philadelphia’s black community are scrambling to get them registered so their voices will be heard come November. “We’re concerned that people may think elections may go a certain way, and too often people think that one vote doesn’t count,” Minister Rodney Muhammad, president of the NAACP’s Philadelphia chapter, told NBC10 this week. “It certainly does.”

WILKES-BARRE — Luzerne County corrections officer Kristopher Moules and inmate Timothy Darnelle Gilliam Jr. smashed through a closed elevator door at the county prison and fell several floors down the elevator shaft to their deaths Monday night, county Manager C. David Pedri said Tuesday. Describing the situation as a “freak accident,” Pedri said at a news conference that “something happened” to cause the door to jump off its track and open. He said the county has retained a state expert to identify the problem, and he promised to publicly release the expert’s findings and implement any recommended corrective action.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on the U.S. Saturday to extradite a Muslim cleric living in Pennsylvania following a failed military coup. In a televised speech Saturday night, Erdogan said Turkey had never refused any request by the U.S. to extradite “terrorists” and invoked Washington and Ankara's relationship as "strategic partners" in an effort to force the return of Fethullah Gulen. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Saturday the Obama administration would entertain an extradition request but Turkey would have to prove wrongdoing by Gulen.

FLORIDA: Trump 42 - Clinton 39 OHIO: Clinton 41 - Trump 41 PENNSYLVANIA: Trump 43 - Clinton 41 With a drop in grades on honesty and moral standards, Democrat Hillary Clinton loses an 8-point lead over Republican Donald Trump in Florida, and finds herself in too-close-to-call races in the three critical swing states of Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania, according to a Quinnipiac University Swing State Poll released today. Clinton loses ground on almost every measure from a June 21 survey by the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University. The Swing State Poll focuses on Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania because since 1960 no...

FLORIDA: Trump 42 - Clinton 39 OHIO: Clinton 41 - Trump 41 PENNSYLVANIA: Trump 43 - Clinton 41 With a drop in grades on honesty and moral standards, Democrat Hillary Clinton loses an 8-point lead over Republican Donald Trump in Florida, and finds herself in too-close-to-call races in the three critical swing states of Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania, according to a Quinnipiac University Swing State Poll released today. Clinton loses ground on almost every measure from a June 21 survey by the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University. The Swing State Poll focuses on Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania because since 1960 no...

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Presumptive Democratic Presidential Nominee Hillary Clinton will address thousands attending the African Methodist Episcopal conference in Philadelphia on Friday. The Black Church a familiar stumping ground for Hillary Clinton, and leaders expect Clinton to tackle tough Black issues straight on. Rev. Mark Tyler said she will be addressing many current events. “Not only will she speak about the shootings in Baton Rouge and Minneapolis, but she will be able to speak to it in a way that will certainly surprise a number of people.” Rev. Tyler is pastor of Mother Bethel AME Church in Philadelphia. His church...

After 35 radiation treatments and seven chemotherapy sessions to reduce a cancerous lump in his throat from the human papillomavirus HPV, John Rhodes had trouble eating, swallowing and communicating. For a time, he needed a feeding tube, and he has yet to put on the 80 pounds he lost as a result. As assistant coach for the Duquesne men’s basketball team, he had to use other tactics to get his players attention so he could teach them without the booming voice he used to have. Mr. Rhodes, 50, expressed his support for the HPV vaccine at the Allegheny County Health...

In a city awash in violence, where a homicide or two is reported every few days, Maj Toure believes more guns – in the hands of the right people – could help stem the bloodshed. “The good guys -- the people that want to be more informed, more responsible, that want to be card-carrying good guys and girls -- those are the people that we’re talking to,” said Toure, a North Philly native and rapper. It's a similar message to the one espoused by the powerful lobbyist the National Rifle Association, which responded to calls for stricter gun control laws...

Donald Trump’s private meeting Thursday with Senate Republicans — designed to foster greater party unity ahead of the national convention in Cleveland — grew combative as the presumptive presidential nominee admonished three senators who have been critical of his candidacy and predicted they would lose their reelection bids, according to two Republican officials with direct knowledge of the exchanges. Trump’s most tense exchange was with Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), who has been vocal in his concerns about the business mogul’s candidacy, especially his rhetoric and policies on immigration that the senator argues alienate many Latino voters and others in Arizona....

Western Pennsylvania has been the driving force in the state becoming more Republican said Henry Olsen, a Senior Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. Olsen said voting patterns of former union Democrats displaced by trade deals and environmental regulations that impacted the coal industry contributed to the rightward push. “If you look at the coal county of Greene, the person who is not looking closely says, ‘Oh well, Romney carried it by huge margins, so how can that make a difference for Trump?' Well he did, except potential turnout was down by 10 percentage points,” Olson said. “If...

Republicans may not be committing political hyperbole this year when they say their presidential candidate can win Pennsylvania, experts say. Every election since Pennsylvania went for Bill Clinton in 1992, Republicans have declared “this time” the Keystone State will turn red. And every cycle they fail. This year might be different, according to experts in electoral math. “Republicans don't need Pennsylvania to win the electoral vote, but Democrats do, and a loss here for Hillary Clinton on election night would likely mean she loses the White House by the morning,” said Lara Brown, director of George Washington University's political management...

The Democratic Party’s plan to crash this month’s Republican National Convention is heavy on gimmicks and stunts meant to highlight a possible “Trumpocalypse,” as well as to ridicule the presumptive GOP candidate.... ....Democratic National Committee’s “Counter Convention Plan Sketch” covers 22 pages and outlines the party’s activities in Cleveland, where the Republican convention begins July 18. ...A copy of the plan was obtained by the hacker “Guccifer 2.0,” who breached party servers and made off with DNC financial records... ....The DNC plan notes that the party’s efforts in Cleveland will cost in excess of $800,000. In addition to 16 staffers...