Zero hour approaches for skill games in Pa.

“Nowhere are [sheriffs] responsible for seizing ballots and taking it upon ourselves to prove baseless claims of election fraud. It is our responsibility to protect elections, to ensure that voters have faith in our electoral system.” — Bucks County Sheriff Danny Ceisler, who signed a pledge not to interfere in the 2026 electoral process.

A good morning to you and happy Friday. I’m rolling to Pittsburgh with a buddy later today for the Johnny Blue Skies show at the Peterson Events Center. I’ll definitely have to do some pre-concert stretches, because it’s expected to last three hours or so. If you’re going as well, give me a shout on one of my social channels.

On this day in 1767, Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon stopped their survey of the boundary between Pennsylvania and Maryland at Dunkard Creek in Greene County. Their work covered more than 233 miles in a little less than four years. The boundary later came to be known as the Mason-Dixon Line.

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Voters in midterm elections identify a culprit for rising cost of living: A growing number of voters are taking their anger about affordability to the polls this midterm election and blaming President Donald Trump’s tariffs as a culprit for rising expenses. Public opinion surveys bear out Myers is far from alone in making the connection.

Urban, rural hospitals closing at similar rates, study finds: Urban hospitals are closing at roughly the same rate as rural ones, and the shuttered hospitals are more likely to have served communities with high poverty rates and fewer transportation options, according to a new study published Thursday in the journal JAMA.

Aging workforce, immigration crackdown are depleting skilled workers: Worker shortages are the top reason for construction project delays, a September survey by the Association of General Contractors of America found. Applicants are there, but half of the contractors who were surveyed said too many job candidates are unqualified and need more training. 

Documents show DHS probed nonprofits in Pennsylvania: The Department of Homeland Security obtained tens of millions of unspecified records as part of a sweeping nationwide effort to find voter fraud, according to internal DHS reports, and weighed using undercover agents to investigate voter registration efforts by nonprofit groups. A June 1 report says 82 “NGOs” — nongovernmental organizations — had been reviewed in Pennsylvania alone.

Dems double down on election protection in the commonwealth: Claims of voter fraud, threats to assert control over state-run elections and efforts to restrict mail-in voting have prompted Democrats in Pennsylvania and elsewhere to double down on measures to ensure eligible voters have unfettered access to the polls next month.

Pa.’s top election official urges voters to plan for upcoming deadlines: As the deadlines to register to vote in the upcoming election and request mail ballots near, Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt is urging Pennsylvanians to make sure they have a plan to cast their ballots by election day.