Vice President Kamala Harris listens as President Joe Biden speaks in the Rose Garden of the White House, Thursday, May 13, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

WASHINGTON, DC — Today, Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves participated in the inaugural meeting of the White House Council on Supply Chain Resilience. At the event, he highlighted the vital work of Commerce’s Supply Chain Center along with several other key steps the Department is taking to lower costs for American families, strengthen U.S. economic competitiveness, protect U.S. national security, and create good jobs and broad-based economic opportunity by increasing the resilience of supply chains. This work is about more than preventing shortages like those seen at the height of the pandemic, it is about ensuring U.S. companies lead the industries of the future and that all Americans benefit from the prosperity and security that comes with this leadership and freedom from unsustainable dependencies. The fact sheet on the Biden-Harris Administration efforts to strengthen supply chains is [here].

 

“Increasing U.S. supply chain resilience is, without question, one of the top priorities here at the Department of Commerce,” said Deputy Secretary Graves. “By utilizing a whole-of-Commerce approach, the full force of the Department is working to ensure that we have the tools and resources necessary to create an economy that works for all Americans, starting with resilient supply chains.”

 

Deputy Secretary Graves described the unique contributions to U.S. supply chain work being made by the newly established Supply Chain Center launched by Commerce earlier this year. Housed in Commerce’s Industry and Analysis unit, the Center aims to be the analytic engine for supply chain resilience policy action within the U.S. Government. The Supply Chain Center integrates industry expertise and data analytics to develop innovative supply chain risk assessment tools and coordinate deep-dive analyses on select critical supply chains to drive targeted actions. The Center is proactive in getting ahead of supply chain challenges, strategic in setting priorities for policy focus and action based on data-driven risk analysis, a force multiplier in improving the targeting and effectiveness of U.S. Government investments, and a partner to industry in building resilient supply chains and supporting U.S. businesses to lead the industries of the future.

 

Deputy Secretary Graves made additional announcements and highlighted the wide range of contributions Commerce is making as a leader on U.S. supply chain resiliency, which include the following:

 

• Supply Chain Data Summit: The Department, led by the Supply Chain Center and the Industry and Analysis unit, will convene a diverse array of public and private stakeholders at a Supply Chain Data and Analytics Summit in 2024. The event will gather expert input to inform supply chain risk assessment models and tools and facilitate expanded sharing of data and analytic capabilities.

 

• CHIPS Notice of Funding Opportunity: Commerce, along with CHIPS for America, has driven action on semiconductor supply chains. On September 29, Commerce released a second funding opportunity to strengthen the resilience of the semiconductor supply chain, advance U.S. technology leadership, and support vibrant domestic semiconductor clusters. The funding opportunity seeks applications for commercial semiconductor materials and manufacturing equipment facilities with capital investments less than $300 million. It builds upon the Department’s announcement in June 2023 expanding funding to larger supply chain projects. Supply chain applicants are vital to producing semiconductors in the United States, supporting the domestic manufacturing ecosystem, and creating jobs and opportunities in communities across the country.

 

• Manufacturing Extension Partnerships (MEP): Small and medium-sized manufacturers are vital to U.S. supply chains, and Commerce has been expanding its work to support them. Administered by DOC’s National Institute of Standards and Technology, the network of MEPs works to drive innovation and sustainability in manufacturing and build U.S. manufacturing capacity at all tiers in the supply chain ecosystem. In June, MEP awarded more than $20 million across the MEP National network to create the Supply Chain Optimization and Innovation Network, or S-COIN, which will focus on providing supplier scouting services, establishing new service offerings to improve existing supply chain networks, filling gaps in the supply chain by connecting original equipment manufacturers with small and medium-sized manufacturers, and creating a complete map of U.S. supplier capability and capacity.

 

• Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF): The United States and 13 regional partner nations have substantially concluded negotiations on agreements under IPEF. Commerce has played a leading role in reaching agreement on historic cooperation around supply chains, climate and sustainability, preventing and combatting corruption, and improving tax transparency and tax administration. In particular, the Supply Chain Agreement is a first-of-its-kind, innovative accord that will help build resilience and competitiveness into critical supply chains, and Commerce is kickstarting this effort through pilot projects to enhance the resilience of key supply chains, including those related to semiconductors, critical minerals, and cold chain services.

 

• Census Data Collection: Through the Census Open Innovations Lab (COIL), the Census Bureau is currently in phase 2 of the StatVentures Supply Chain Challenge, which seeks innovative data ideas from the public, industry, and academia to improve measurement of supply chains. Census is also developing new data and visualization tools to expand U.S. Government insights into manufacturing, imports/exports, movement of goods, sale of goods, labor supply, and more.

(New Brighton, Pa) The Borough of New Brighton released a statement that Friday, December 1 will be the last scheduled day of street sweeping and leaf collection in New Brighton. Leaf collection will continue as needed and weather permitting, into December, although no parking tickets will be issued for failing to move vehicles during posted street sweeping hours. Street sweeping resumes on April 1, 2024.

Keystone State News Service – Danielle Smith

Clean-energy companies and supporters are calling on federal officials to prioritize the development of charging infrastructure for EV powered medium and heavy duty trucks in Pennsylvania and across the nation.

Trucks transported more than 11 billion tons of freight last year, spewing air pollutants and greenhouse gases along the way.

John Boesel, CEO of CALSTART, a clean-transportation nonprofit group, said the EPA’s “Phase 3” program would greatly reduce greenhouse gas emissions from all commercial vehicles, improving the health and safety of communities.

“Going forward in the future, we can see a society where we have trucks rolling around with zero-emission and zero-noise and really benefiting communities over the decades that have been hard hit by diesel pollution and emission,” Boesel explained.

Pennsylvania has taken a significant step toward electrifying its transportation system with the installation of its first federally funded electric-vehicle charging station in Pittston. Some in the trucking industry have concerns about EV costs, mileage, range, battery safety, charging time and availability.

Boesel emphasized the importance of the Biden administration implementing robust regulations to strengthen the United States’ position as a global leader and drive meaningful progress toward the Paris Agreement’s objectives. He contends the Inflation Reduction Act provides a lot of incentives for investment in U.S. electric battery technology and production.

“The Inflation Reduction Act will really help spur the growth of the zero-emission commercial vehicle industry. And I think this will end up being a real benefit for the United States from an economic perspective, and from an environmental perspective,” Boesel added.

Boesel pointed out the United States is one of 27 nations that have agreed to non-binding targets, which suggests that 30% of all new commercial vehicles sold could be zero emission by 2030.

(AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Harrisburg, PA – Today, Governor Josh Shapiro announced that Fitch Ratings has upgraded Pennsylvania’s credit rating to ‘AA’ from ‘AA-,’ building on positive credit rating outlooks from Moody’s and S&P’s Global Ratings in September. This fiscal progress comes as the result of a growing economy, balanced 2023-24 budget, and responsible financial management by the Shapiro Administration since taking office.

 

Pennsylvania’s credit rating was upgraded as a result of “recent use of revenue surpluses to build its reserves to historical highs” and Fitch’s expectation that substantial reserves will be maintained in the near term. Fitch’s assessment found that Pennsylvania deserved the credit rating upgrade thanks to “improved operating performance, as well as a low long-term liability burden and broad flexibility to manage spending pressures, which offset modest baseline revenue growth and a historically contentious decision-making environment.”

 

“Fitch Ratings becomes the third credit rating agency since September to affirm that our Commonwealth is on sound financial footing thanks to our commonsense investments and responsible budgetary practices – creating opportunity for Pennsylvanians and continuing to set Pennsylvania up for success,” said Governor Josh Shapiro. “My Administration will continue to work with leaders in both parties to make smart investments that responsibly manage taxpayer funds while strengthening Pennsylvania schools and businesses, creating safer communities, and supporting our law enforcement and first responders as we build an economy that works for all.”

 

“With our third positive affirmation in the last three months that Pennsylvania is on the path for economic and financial success, it’s clear that our responsible investments are working to keep the Commonwealth on a sound fiscal trajectory while supporting Pennsylvania families,” said Secretary of the Budget Uri Monson.

 

The announcement is the latest affirmation that that Pennsylvania’s economy is strong under Governor Shapiro’s leadership and that his Administration’s sound fiscal management is setting Pennsylvania up for long-term success. In September, the Governor announced that Moody’s reaffirmed Pennsylvania’s Aa3 issuer credit rating and upgraded the Commonwealth’s rating outlook to positive from stable. Later that month, S&P Global Ratings also improved Pennsylvania’s outlook to ‘positive’ from stable and affirmed its A+ long-term rating.

 

The Commonwealth has also been awarded the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for the Annual Budget for fiscal year 2023-24 and the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting – the highest form of recognition in governmental accounting and financial reporting – from the Government Finance Officers Association.

Holiday decorations adorn the Grand Foyer of the White House for the 2023 theme “Magic, Wonder, and Joy,” Monday, Nov. 27, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Jill Biden has chosen a White House holiday décor that she hopes will inspire guests to feel like kids again. “Magic, wonder and joy” is her theme. Guests will walk underneath the branches of a tree to enter. They will stroll along a hallway decorated with oversized holiday candy and other sweets. They will see Santa’s sleigh and reindeer suspended above the grand foyer. The first lady unveiled the décor on Monday. It also celebrates the 200th anniversary of the publication of the poem commonly known as ”’Twas the Night Before Christmas.” She plans Wednesday to unveil a holiday ice rink on the White House lawn.

East Palestine Train Derailment (Curtis Walsh)

Harrisburg, PA – More than nine months after the Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine on February 3^rd, the Shapiro Administration is continuing to conduct precautionary tests of the soil and water in Beaver and Lawrence counties and ensure Pennsylvanians have the resources needed to recover and rebuild.

 

At Governor Shapiro’s direction, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and Department of Agriculture (PDA) continue to conduct environmental testing in Western Pennsylvania to ensure the health and safety of residents, with results posted publicly on DEP’s website. Pennsylvania agencies have not found any long-term contamination in Western PA related to the derailment in East Palestine.

 

Earlier this year, Governor Shapiro directed Norfolk Southern to distribute $1 million to communities in Western Pennsylvania to assist with community relief. The funding was a key part of the multi-million dollar commitment Governor Shapiro secured from Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw. Communities in Western Pennsylvania have put the funding to work, helping first responders, supporting the environment, and supporting local municipalities.

 

“Every step of the way, my Administration has made clear that we are focused on delivering the help our communities need, protecting the health and safety of Pennsylvanians, and holding Norfolk Southern accountable,” said Governor Josh Shapiro. “We organized independent water and soil sampling, and we put the results of that testing online so that our residents could see them for themselves; we delivered more than $1.4 million for first responders to ensure they could afford new equipment after their old equipment was contaminated from the derailment; and we ensured families were made whole for their losses, including Emily from Darlington, who was reimbursed for the eggs she couldn’t use or sell because of the derailment. My Administration will continue to work with our federal and local partners to support the people impacted by the derailment, and to hold Norfolk Southern accountable for any and all impacts on our Commonwealth.”

 

“In the time following the East Palestine train derailment, our state Departments of Agriculture and Environmental Protection have remained steadfast in monitoring soil, air, and water levels for contamination – thankfully we continue to see good results with no long-term contamination present from this tragedy,” said Sen. Elder Vogel. “The health and safety of residents in Beaver and Lawrence counties are a top priority as we continue to move forward and rebuild as a community.”

 

“I want to thank Governor Shapiro and his Administration for the response and support they offered, and continue to offer to the residents of Darlington Township and the surrounding region,” said Rep. Jim Marshall.

 

“The testing is necessary to continue the transparency that residents deserve,” said Rep. Robert Matzie. “The Shapiro Administration from day one included the legislative delegation, local and county officials of all decisions and requests and continued testing is no different and speaks to that commitment.”

 

Darlington Township has placed the $660,000 they received into a high yield savings account to support first responders and be prepared for any future emergencies.

 

Lawrence County sent $120,000 to Little Beaver Township and $115,000 to Enon Valley Borough. Lawrence County also directed $105,000 to the Lawrence County Conservation District, which will be used to fund a mini grant program. Eligible projects include clean water projects, healthy soil projects, and environmental education initiatives. The grant program applications close on December 1.

 

Norfolk Southern has also repaid Western PA fire departments and first responders an additional $400,000 since the Governor’s initial announcement in April, totaling over $1.4 million in reimbursements for equipment losses incurred as a result of the train derailment. Fire companies from Beaver, Lawrence, and Washington Counties responded to the derailment and the controlled vent and burn – and Governor Shapiro is working to ensure they receive any and all funding they need.

 

Governor Shapiro, along with local and federal partners, also secured an additional $544,700 reimbursement for Darlington Township from Norfolk Southern Corporation to repair East Palestine Road, which was damaged as a result of the derailment.

 

Governor Shapiro is making sure Pennsylvanians are not picking up the tab for Norfolk Southern’s derailment, which cost immense state and local resources. At Governor Shapiro’s request, Norfolk Southern will repay state agencies who responded to the derailment more than $1 million.

 

This funding will cover personnel costs for the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA), PA Department of Health (DOH) services including the Health Resource Center (HRC) which served hundreds of Western PA residents, and the PA Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) work in Western PA, including independent testing and air monitoring.

 

The Shapiro Administration continues to conduct environmental testing in the area impacted by the train derailment to ensure the safety of the people, plants, and animals in the region. PDA sampled crops in Beaver and Washington Counties and found no contamination stemming from the train derailment. DEP is completing a third round of private well sampling within 2 miles of the derailment on the Pennsylvania side. DEP has also completed all of its soil sampling and surface water sampling. Pennsylvania agencies continue to see no contamination in Western PA related to the February train derailment in East Palestine.

 

Complete plant tissue test results appear along with final sample results from DEP’s soil and water testing on the interactive map launched in April on DEP’s website.

 

DOH is working with physicians and toxicology experts in Beaver and surrounding counties to convene a monthly online forum where health care providers discuss best practices to meet the complex social, emotional and physical health care needs of people with environmental health concerns primarily related to the train derailment.

 

DOH also continues to engage with federal partners and public health leaders —through a recent National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) workshop — to ensure that the public health concerns of impacted residents are being heard and addressed.

 

Visit the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency’s (PEMA) dashboard for more information about resources available to Pennsylvania residents.

PITTSBURGH (November 28, 2023) – A multi-institution research team that included Pittsburgh-based Allegheny General Hospital (AGH), the academic flagship of Allegheny Health Network (AHN), has published a groundbreaking clinical study demonstrating that avoidance of aspirin in patients with left ventricular devices (LVADs) results in better health outcomes and fewer adverse cardiovascular events.

Heart failure specialists within the AHN Cardiovascular Institute enrolled more than 20 patients of 628 who participated in the international ARIES-HM3 randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial, which was published in The Journal of the American Medical Association in November (doi:10.1001/jama.2023.23204).

Use of aspirin, in addition to warfarin (blood thinner) is considered the standard of care following LVAD implant procedures. However, many patients develop bleeding complications following surgery, requiring blood transfusions and hospitalizations.

The Abbott-sponsored study determined that LVAD patients who didn’t take aspirin daily following their heart pump implant experienced fewer bleeding complications and had fewer hospital visits, compared to patients who did follow a daily aspiring regimen.

Ventricular assist devices are mechanical implants that aid in cardiac circulation, supporting the function of a failing heart. It can be used as a temporary recovery aid, a long-term standalone therapy, or as a bridge therapy that supports heart-failure patients awaiting heart transplantation.

The implantation of the device is a significant procedure, typically requiring four to six hours of open-heart surgery. As with any significant surgery, LVAD implantation carries the risk of post-procedure adverse events.

The results of the trial have the potential to alter the standard course of treatment for patients living with heart pumps, according to Manreet Kanwar, MD, principal investigative lead of the trial at AGH and co-director of AHN’s heart failure division.

“The primary goal of the clinical trial was to understand if the exclusion of aspirin for heart failure patients with an LVAD would be safe, effective and even prove beneficial,” Dr. Kanwar said. “Our findings demonstrated that there was a notable decrease in adverse events including major, nonsurgical bleeding within the placebo group.”

As part of the clinical trial, 456 men and 133 women with a HM3 LVAD (heart pump) in advanced-stage heart failure were enrolled; half were placed on an aspirin regimen while the remaining patients received a placebo. All participants were also given warfarin, referred to as a vitamin K antagonist (VKA), throughout the study.

LVADs can enhance the quality and duration of life in advanced heart failure by taking over the work of the heart’s left ventricle. The heart’s left ventricle pumps blood full of oxygen out to all tissues of the body and is considered the “workhorse” of the heart. The LVAD device at the center of the study was the HeartMate 3 by Abbott Laboratories, which is currently the only commercially available LVAD device in the United States.

Nonsurgical bleeding events are a leading cause of death in LVAD patients. Aspirin as an antiplatelet agent is a mandated component of treatment along with vitamin K antagonists for LVADs, despite a lack of conclusive evidence of aspirin efficacy and safety under this scenario.

Trial researchers estimated that for every 100 patients implanted with LVAD, aspirin avoidance prevented 14.5 major bleeding events in the first year, resulting in a 47% decrease in days spent in the hospital and a 41% reduction in the cost of care for bleeding events. These findings suggest that avoidance of aspirin provides meaningful improvement in clinical outcomes in patients with advanced heart failure. Overall, there was a 6% improvement in cardiac event-free survival within the placebo group.

“On behalf of the entire Cardiovascular Institute at Allegheny Health Network, I would like to congratulate our VAD team for their tireless commitment to improving the health of our patients. This was the first medical therapy assessed in a LVAD randomized clinical trial, and we’re confident it will alter the practice of medication management for LVAD patients moving forward,” concluded Dr. Kanwar.

In October 2023, AHN Cardiovascular Institute at AGH also announced it was the first hospital in western Pennsylvania to participate in an international clinical trial for a new, first-of-its-kind heart failure treatment device, AccuCinch. The device aims to reduce the size of the heart’s left ventricle, improving the heart’s strength and blood-pumping function therefore mitigating heart failure symptoms.

TSA officers at Pittsburgh International Airport detected this firearm at the checkpoint on Nov. 25. (TSA photo)

PITTSBURGH – Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers at Pittsburgh International Airport prevented Gibsonia, Pa., man from carrying his loaded gun onto a flight on Saturday, Nov. 25. The .380 caliber handgun was loaded with seven bullets, including one in the chamber.

The good catch by TSA officers brings the total number of guns caught at the airport’s checkpoints to 40 so far this year, five more than the previous record of 35 firearms caught in 2019.

“There is no excuse for bringing a gun to the checkpoint,” said Karen Keys-Turner, TSA’s Federal Security Director for the airport. “Responsible gun owners do not bring their guns to a checkpoint. This was irresponsible on the part of this traveler during one of the busiest holiday travel periods of the year. Incidents such as this are dangerous, they disrupt our security screening operations and cause delays for other law-abiding travelers who just want to get on their flight to travel during the Thanksgiving holiday period. This man now faces a Federal civil penalty that could cost him thousands of dollars.”

The TSA officers at Pittsburgh “are good at their jobs and are very vigilant when it comes to helping ensure that no illegal or prohibited items are carried onto a flight,” Keys-Turner added.

Passengers are permitted to travel with firearms only in checked baggage if they are unloaded and packed in a hard-sided locked case. Then the locked case should be taken to the airline check-in counter to be declared. TSA has details on how to properly travel with a firearm posted on its website.

Bringing a gun to an airport checkpoint carries a federal civil penalty because TSA reserves the right to issue a civil penalty to travelers who have guns and gun parts with them at a checkpoint. Civil penalties for bringing a weapon into a checkpoint can reach up to $15,000, depending on the specific weapon and the circumstances. This applies to travelers with or without concealed gun carry permits because even though an individual may have a concealed carry permit, it does not allow for a firearm to be carried onto an airplane. This also applies to travelers who are enrolled in the TSA PreCheck® program, who will lose their TSA PreCheck privileges if they bring a gun to a checkpoint.

The complete list of civil penalties is posted online.

When a gun is detected in the checkpoint X-ray unit, the conveyor belt is stopped and the police are notified. Police remove the carry-on bag from the X-ray unit because TSA does not want its officers handling firearms. Police determine whether a traveler is arrested or issued a criminal citation. Meanwhile the remaining passengers in the checkpoint lane either wait for the issue to be resolved or they are shifted to another checkpoint lane, thus delaying dozens of passengers from getting to their gates.

FILE – Attendees visit the Meta booth at the Game Developers Conference 2023 in San Francisco on March 22, 2023. Facebook parent Meta Platforms deliberately engineered its social platforms to hook kids and knew — but never disclosed — that it had received millions of complaints about underage users on Instagram but only disabled a fraction of those accounts, according to a newly unsealed legal complaint described in reports from the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A newly unsealed legal complaint claims Facebook parent Meta Platforms deliberately engineered its social platforms to hook kids. The complaint also alleges the company knew, but never disclosed, it had received millions of complaints about underage users on Instagram but only acted on a fraction of those accounts. The complaint has been described in Wall Street Journal and New York Times reports. The document, originally made public a month earlier in redacted form, was the opening salvo in a lawsuit filed by the attorneys general of 33 states. Meta maintains the complaint misrepresents its work.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A new Pennsylvania law will require doctors to get a patient’s verbal and written consent before medical students can perform pelvic exams on someone who receives anesthesia. Gov. Josh Shapiro signed the legislation into law last week, and a press conference commemorated it on Monday. The measure is part of a broader national effort to require informed consent for the examinations. At least 20 states have enacted similar measures. The Pennsylvania act will require health care providers to receive a patient’s verbal and written consent for a pelvic, rectal or prostate exam to be conducted under anesthesia. The law takes effect in January.