Pennsylvania category, Page 4
Search for Kada Scott leads investigators to shallow grave in Philadelphia
Police in Philadelphia discovered human remains in their search for Kada Scott, a missing woman who was last seen leaving the nursing home where she worked about two weeks ago. John Stanford, deputy commissioner of the Philadelphia Police Department, said at a news conference that investigators discovered human remains in...
Financial pain for many Pa. service providers will continue after budget impasse ends
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 — Schools and nonprofits that provide critical services to Pennsylvania’s most vulnerable have not received billions in payments...
Sticker shock: Pennie expects Obamacare premiums to soar even more than first feared
The end of enhanced Obamacare subsidies could be even more costly than initially feared for Pennsylvanians who use the health insurance program. Pennie, the state’s Affordable Care Act health insurance exchange, now estimates the average enrollee will see premiums climb 102% if Congress lets the subsidies expire at the end...
Sen. McCormick voices support for tax credit program that would further school choice movement
Supporters of a new federal program that would grant tax credits to donors funding private school scholarships say it would expand Pennsylvania’s school choice options and give parents greater control over their children’s education. Detractors say it would favor high-income families, lacks oversight and could hurt people who live in...
Pennsylvania man pleads guilty in arson attack at governor’s mansion while Shapiro’s family slept
HARRISBURG — A man who scaled an iron security fence in the middle of the night, eluded police and used beer bottles filled with gasoline to ignite the occupied Pennsylvania governor’s mansion pleaded guilty Tuesday to attempted murder and other charges. Cody Balmer, 38, also entered pleas to terrorism, 22...
Scientists to explore bottom of Lake Erie off eastern Erie County
Do treasure chests full of gold and jewels rest beneath the Pennsylvania waters of Lake Erie off eastern Erie County? Probably not. But scientists, who are using an uncrewed surface vehicle to explore and map nearly 100 square miles of lakebed along the Pennsylvania, New York and Canadian borders, are...
Truck driver killed, traffic diverted after crash on Pennsylvania Turnpike
A 47-year-old man died early Tuesday after his truck struck a concrete barrier and bridge pier, then burst into flames on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, shutting down the highway for hours between Bedford County and New Stanton, according to Pennsylvania State Police. The man, who authorities have not named, was driving...
Thousands of Pa. college students wait for key financial aid due to state budget impasse
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 — Financial aid for thousands of Pennsylvania college students is on hold as a result of the state...
Pennsylvania State Police trooper shot in Franklin County out of hospital
The second Pennsylvania State Police trooper shot last week in Franklin County was released from WellSpan York Hospital on Monday. Lucas Amarose, 31, is one of two troopers injured in the incident that began with the pursuit of retail theft suspects near Chambersburg and ended with a shootout at Exit...
Killing of man who shot 2 troopers ‘100% justified,’ Franklin County DA says
The commissioner of Pennsylvania State Police said it was “fierce gunfight” that left two Pennsylvania State Police troopers injured and a suspect dead in Franklin County on Wednesday. The shooting that followed a retail theft report and pursuit from outside Chambersburg to south of Greencastle on Interstate 81 was detailed...
Shapiro joins states in legal action against Trump’s National Guard deployments
Pennsylvania has joined nearly two dozen states in taking legal action in an attempt to stop President Donald Trump from deploying National Guard troops to U.S. cities. The multistate amicus brief argues that the deployment of National Guard troops in Oregon was “unlawful, unconstitutional and undemocratic,” according to Gov. Josh...
Fetterman breaks with Dems on reining in Trump’s strikes on alleged drug boats; approval rating up among Republicans
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman went against the Democratic grain again. Fetterman on Wednesday was the lone Democrat in the Senate to vote against a measure to prevent President Donald Trump from using military force against suspected drug traffickers in the Caribbean without congressional authorization. Even with the support of two...
2 state troopers in critical condition, suspect dead after shootout in Franklin County
Two Pennsylvania State Police troopers are in critical condition and a suspect is dead after a retail theft in Franklin County led to a 15-mile car chase on I-81 that ended in a shootout Wednesday evening, according to officials. Around 6:15 p.m., state police were dispatched to the Dicks Sporting...
Pa. House again passes bill to give unemployment benefits to striking workers
The state House has again passed a bill that would give unemployment benefits to striking workers in Pennsylvania, a wedge issue that has seen effectively no movement over the past two years. The bill cleared the House of Representatives on Tuesday on a 106-to-97 vote, with all Democrats and four...
Erie Coke fined $700,000 in sentence that ends environmental case, divides courtroom
The environmental fraud prosecution of the Erie Coke Corp. ended with the neighbors upset and even the judge and the prosecutor saying they wish they could have done more. U.S. District Judge Susan Paradise Baxter adhered to Erie Coke’s plea agreement and fined the Buffalo-area corporation $700,000 on Oct. 7...
More than 215,000 pheasants to take flight across Pennsylvania this fall and winter
Pennsylvania hunters will be able to pursue close to a quarter million pheasants this fall and winter, including some that have a special marking. Staff members of the Pennsylvania Game Commission are preparing to release birds at least nine times over the various hunting seasons. Pheasant hunting begins with a...
Beaver County’s Shell plastics plant falling short on promises, report says
A new report found Shell’s petrochemical complex in western Pennsylvania has fallen far short of expectations. The Beaver County plant was once projected to bring in $1.5 billion a year, but its cost has exceeded more than double its original $6 billion estimate. Todd Leahy, North America regional director for...
Pa. election 2025: How to serve as a poll worker on Nov. 4
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 — When Pennsylvania holds its 2025 municipal election on Nov. 4, thousands of poll workers will ensure that...
Pennsylvania apple growers more concerned with weather than tariffs
Thousands of people are descending on the Delmont area this weekend for the annual Apple ’n Arts Festival, drinking cider, eating apple pie or just enjoying the crispy crunch of a fresh apple in autumn. And while there is no shortage of apples to go around, the larger industry has...
Pittsburgh native Larry Hailsham Jr. named executive director of Pa. Democratic Party
Pittsburgh native Larry Hailsham Jr., a top aide to Gov. Josh Shapiro, has been named executive director of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party. State Democrats also announced this week that Shapiro donated $250,000 to the party as it gears up for pivotal elections in November and next year. Hailsham was appointed...
Jerry Sandusky claims prosecutors gained financially from his sex abuse case
In a new appeal, convicted child molester Jerry Sandusky alleges the lead prosecutors in his case gained financially from a post-conviction relationship with one of the eight victims who testified at trial. The once-lionized Penn State football coach also presents a sworn statement from a second victim who, according to...
Pa. House gun bill vote debate leads to expletive-fueled shouting match among lawmakers in Capitol
HARRISBURG — A fiery state House debate on a gun bill turned into a ugly shouting match on the floor Wednesday, that included expletives and a comment taken as a threatening racial epithet, according to lawmakers who witnessed the events. The fight over gun legislation was the most raucous in...
NTSB calls for urgent action to address Pennsylvania railcar fire risks
WASHINGTON — The National Transportation Safety Board on Wednesday urged the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority to immediately move to eliminate fire risks in its fleet of Silverliner IV railcars. The safety board said the outdated design of the railcars and the agency’s maintenance and operating practices represent “an immediate and...
Not quite Jurassic Park: Gettysburg vandal tries, and fails, to nab dinosaur track fossil
An attempted theft of a Jurassic dinosaur fossil from a battlefield may sound like the plot of a Nicolas Cage movie, but one such incident has led park officials in Gettysburg to ask for the public’s help in solving the crime. In the second act of vandalism in two weeks...
Pa. Senate Republicans look to forgive interest on state loans to help counties, Head Starts
Republican leaders in the state Senate said Tuesday they plan to introduce legislation to forgive the interest payments on Treasury loans designed to help county governments and Head Start providers weather Pennsylvania’s budget impasse. “They should not be penalized because of what is happening here in Harrisburg,” state Senate President...
