Pennsylvania category, Page 3
Democrats feared Republican efforts to oust Pa. Supreme Court justices. They spent significantly more on the race
The three Pennsylvania Supreme Court justices on the ballot this year, and the Democratic-leaning groups supporting them, appear to have raised and spent exponentially more money than the Republican-backed groups working to oust them. As of Oct. 20, more than $14 million had been raised in the retention race by...
Sen. Fetterman: ‘I’m representing 13 million Pennsylvanians, not just Democrats’Video
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman noted Saturday night on Fox News Channel’s “My View with Lara Trump,” hosted by the president’s daughter-in-law, that he’ll “get grief” for sitting down with her. Still, he said, having conversations is “really important.” “We can’t ever collectively turn our back to others and people are...
Pennsylvania criminal case highlights problems with 3rd-party voter registration drives
This article was originally published by Votebeat, a nonprofit news organization covering local election administration and voting access. In the lead-up to the 2024 presidential election, workers with an Arizona-based consulting firm conducting a voter registration drive tried to submit fake registrations in Pennsylvania in an effort to earn more...
Why tracking spending in this year’s critical Pa. Supreme Court retention races is so difficult
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds power to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — How much are state and national groups spending to flood the airwaves, fill mailboxes, and buy up...
5 things to know about Obamacare open enrollment
Steep discounts for millions of Americans on Obamacare won’t expire until Dec. 31, but an exodus from the government health insurance program is expected to start Saturday when open enrollment kicks off for 2026. Nearly all people browsing Affordable Care Act plans will see higher prices than last year because...
A man who spent 43 years in prison before his conviction was overturned now faces deportation
PHILADELPHIA — After waiting more than four decades to clear his name in a friend’s 1980 killing, Subramanyam Vedam was set to walk free from a Pennsylvania prison this month. Vedam and Thomas Kinser were the 19-year-old children of Penn State University faculty. Vedam was the last person seen with...
Who are the 3 Pa. Supreme Court justices running for retention?
When the three state Supreme Court justices on November’s ballot initially ran for a spot on the bench 10 years ago, it was highly partisan and the most expensive judicial race in American history. Running for retention 10 years later, they hoped, would be different. It is not. Justices Christine...
1 dead, 6 injured in shooting at HBCU Lincoln University’s homecomingVideo
At least one person was killed and six others were injured Oct. 25 when gunfire erupted during late-night homecoming festivities at Lincoln University, a historically Black college in Pennsylvania. The shooting occurred just before 9:30 p.m. in the parking lot of the university’s International Cultural Center, where students and alumni...
Pa. Supreme Court retention races erupt into high-stakes battle between Dems, GOP for control
Judicial retention races in Pennsylvania typically register barely a blip on the electoral radar. Not this year. With three Democratic state Supreme Court justices on November’s ballot, millions of dollars have poured in from both sides of the aisle in a furious battle for control that will have far-reaching consequences....
U.S. warns it could force some Pennsylvania rail cars out of service
WASHINGTON — Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy late Thursday warned that the department could soon force a Pennsylvania transit agency to stop using a fleet of railcars due to fire risks as he raised broad safety and financial concerns. The Federal Railroad Administration on October 1 issued an emergency order requiring...
Harrisburg mayor fined by Ethics Commission for using city dumpster for personal trash
The state Ethics Commission ordered Harrisburg Mayor Wanda Williams to pay a $912.70 fine for instructing city employees to deliver a city-owned dumpster to her home in 2022 for her personal use. Williams agreed to pay the fine instead of going through a hearing, which the commission said would have...
Cause of death released for Kada Scott, who was reported missing in Philadelphia
A Philadelphia woman last seen nearly three weeks ago was shot to death, health officials have confirmed. Kada Scott, 23, died of a gunshot wound to the head, and her death has been declared a homicide, the Philadelphia Department of Public Health told USA Today on Thursday. Human remains, later...
As vaccine policies shift under Trump admin, Pa. pediatricians focus on keeping patients informed
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds power to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania. Sign up for our free newsletters. As federal vaccine policies and messaging shift under the Trump administration, pediatricians across Pennsylvania are working to maintain proven...
Heating bill help delayed for low-income Pennsylvanians amid federal shutdown
A program that helps low-income Pennsylvania residents pay heating bills will be delayed because of the federal government shutdown. The commonwealth’s Department of Human Services on Wednesday announced the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) will begin Dec. 3, a month later than usual. The start date was pushed back...
Fetterman, McCormick back Senate-rejected plan to pay some federal workers during shutdown
Pennsylvania’s two U.S. senators — Republican Dave McCormick and Democrat John Fetterman — voted Thursday to pay some federal workers during the government shutdown, but the GOP measure failed to get enough support in the Senate. Democrats tried to push through a measure of their own that would have paid...
Pa. Senate passes bill to allow Pennsylvania lottery winners to remain anonymous
The state Senate passed a bill on Monday that would allow Pennsylvania lottery winners to remain anonymous when collecting a prize of $100,000 or more. The bill, introduced by Sen. Lisa Baker (R-Luzerne) with a bipartisan group of co-sponsors, cleared the state Senate unanimously shortly after its unopposed approval by...
Pa.’s new Democratic chairman focused on pivotal upcoming races, growing the party
Pennsylvania’s new Democratic chairman is pulling a page from Ronald Reagan’s playbook in an effort to unify and grow his party. “We’ve got to get back to politics being a game of addition, trying to add to our coalitions and becoming a bigger tent,” Pennsylvania Democratic Chairman Eugene DePasquale said...
Pa. Sen. Dave McCormick joins fellow Senate Republicans urging RFK Jr. to rescind approval for an abortion pill
U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pittsburgh, has joined fellow Senate Republicans in signing on to a letter urging top health officials in the Trump administration to rescind approval for a drug used in one of the most common methods of abortion. In a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert...
Trump’s $100K visa fee could worsen doctor shortages in rural Pa.
Rural Pennsylvania could face new challenges in filling critical healthcare staffing as a result of a new $100,000 fee on new H-1B visas, a program that allows educated foreign workers to fill labor shortages in the United States. President Donald Trump announced the proposal in a recent proclamation, part of...
Eos Energy announces $350M expansion including Pittsburgh HQ for zinc battery operation
Economic development officials have pledged $24 million in public money toward a major expansion of zinc battery company Eos Energy, which plans to add hundreds of jobs and relocate its headquarters to Pittsburgh. The investment from Pennsylvania and Allegheny County is on top of a $400 million federal loan made...
Man who sent ‘So I raped you’ message sentenced to 2 to 4 years for 2013 campus assault
GETTYSBURG — A man who sent a Facebook message that said, “So I raped you,” to a woman he later pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting on a Pennsylvania college campus was sentenced to two to four years in prison on Monday. The judge took into account Ian Cleary’s guilty plea,...
Authorities say remains found in Philadelphia are of missing woman Kada Scott
Remains found buried in a wooded area behind an abandoned school are those of Kada Scott, a 23-year-old woman who had been missing for about two weeks, prosecutors in Philadelphia said Monday. Authorities said an anonymous tip led police back to the area they previously searched and they found the...
Pennsylvanians losing SNAP benefits amid federal shutdown
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits are on hold for Pennsylvanians because of the federal government shutdown. A message posted to the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services webpage announced that SNAP benefits were halted Oct. 16 and will not be paid until the federal government shutdown ends and funds...
Pa. bill would require high schools to stock naloxone
A bill introduced last week in the Pennsylvania Senate would require all high schools in the state to have opioid reversal drugs on hand. Under the measure, school personnel would volunteer to complete training on the use of naloxone, which goes by brand names including Narcan, and to store it...
Glamping coming to some Pennsylvania state parks next year
Those looking to enjoy Pennsylvania’s state parks will no longer have to choose between comfort and roughing it. The commonwealth next year will offer glamping — glamorous camping — at eight state parks. The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources will offer “glampsites” at Poe Valley, Hills Creek, Laurel Hill,...
