Voter support for Trump remains a wildcard as Pa. approaches major election for governor
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 — Pennsylvania Democrats feel confident they’ll prevail in next year’s gubernatorial race after recent election wins they believe...
Campaign cash already flowing in Pa. ahead of pivotal 2026 midterms
Republican incumbents in Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation outraised their Democratic counterparts by nearly a 2-to-1 margin, on average, during the first half of the year, according to federal election filings. Chris Borick, a political science professor at Allentown’s Muhlenberg College, said the fundraising gap is less of a reflection of any...
Pennsylvania’s new monitoring stations will better alert residents to floods and other weather events
Pennsylvania is on track to install 30 new weather stations across the state by this time next year, allowing meteorologists and emergency officials the ability to better track severe weather and flooding and provide more timely alerts to the public. The upgrade to the Pennsylvania Integrated Flood Warning and Observation...
Gov. Shapiro joins lawsuit against Trump administration over defunding of Planned Parenthood
Gov. Josh Shapiro has signed onto a lawsuit alleging the federal government is illegally blocking Medicaid funds from going to Planned Parenthood and affiliated healthcare providers. The suit centers on a provision of the recently passed mega bill, which enacts many of President Donald Trump’s domestic policy priorities. It bans...
Sen. John Fetterman to release ‘Unfettered’ memoir this fall — looking at political and health battles
NEW YORK — A long-rumored and “unapologetic” memoir by Sen. John Fetterman will be released this fall, his publisher said. Crown, an imprint of Penguin Random House, announced Wednesday that “Unfettered” is scheduled for Nov. 11. The book’s price is listed at $32. In the memoir, the Democrat will open...
Congressional proposal would target spotted lanternfly
Spotted lanternflies, targeted by stomping feet wherever they’re found, have a new enemy: Congress. U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Butler, and three of his colleagues have introduced legislation that would authorize the nation’s agriculture chief to make grants available for lanternfly research aimed at stopping the spread of the invasive insect....
10 lifeguards on hand when girl drowned at Hersheypark wave pool
Ten lifeguards were watching the wave pool at Hersheypark when a 9-year-old girl drowned, officials said. A spokesperson for the theme park confirmed the incident occurred at the wave pool within the Boardwalk at Hersheypark, on Thursday, as reported by NBC10 Philadelphia. At the time of Sophia Subedi’s death, the...
A mother’s fight to save son shows tragic consequences of Pa.’s failure to build better mental health system
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. Editor’s note: Sue, Robert, and Jonathan are pseudonyms. Their names and some details have been changed to protect their...
Will Doug Mastriano run for governor again? He says the decision will be made on his timeline
Doug Mastriano might run for governor. He also might not. However, two things are certain for Mastriano — he’s not going to stop teasing an entrance into the gubernatorial race on his social media accounts, and he’s not going to listen to Republican magnates telling him not to run. Unless...
The challenges facing Pa.’s huge, old road system, and what it means for the budget
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. HARRISBURG — Public transit is a key issue holding up Pennsylvania’s budget, but top Republicans have said they don’t want to spend more money on...
Child dies after incident in Hersheypark’s water park, CEO says
A 9-year-old died Thursday after an incident at the Boardwalk at Hersheypark, the theme park’s CEO said. Hersheypark lifeguards immediately performed life-saving efforts after finding the child who was in distress, Hershey Entertainment & Resorts Company CEO John Lawn said in a late-night statement Thursday. The child was taken to...
Philly cheesesteak maker challenged by the ever-rising cost of beef
PHILADELPHIA — Ken Silver knows beef because he knows Philly cheesesteak. He hopes that a summer spike in how much he pays for his restaurant’s main product doesn’t cause heartburn for him or his customers. Silver, president of Jim’s South St. in Philadelphia, said he might have to raise prices...
Pharmacies are disappearing across Pa. as operators blame a broken payment system
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. HARRISBURG — Hundreds of pharmacies across Pennsylvania have gone out of business in recent years, data obtained by Spotlight PA show, and pharmacists say legislation...
Pennsylvania Game Commission proposes 10 additional Sunday hunting dates for 2025
Hunters could get up to 10 additional Sundays to hunt this fall under a proposal going before the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s board of commissioners on Monday. The new dates are being proposed by the agency after Gov. Josh Shapiro signed a law earlier this month fully repealing the longstanding ban...
Gisele Fetterman says she would ‘never’ run for office and doesn’t want her husband, John Fetterman, running for president
Gisele Barreto Fetterman said she does not want her husband, Sen. John Fetterman, D-Braddock, to run for president and dismissed “bizarre” speculation about her own political ambitions in a new interview with Meghan McCain for her podcast “Citizen McCain.” In a clip obtained by Fox News Digital, Barreto Fetterman said...
Legal cannabis in Pa. would be overseen by state board, sold by private dispensaries under new proposal
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. HARRISBURG — Despite a pressing need for lawmakers to find new revenue sources, recreational marijuana won’t be part of this year’s state budget. But the...
Family says Allentown grandfather in Guatemala after ICE arrest, but country says it has no records of him
The granddaughter of Allentown grandfather Luis Leon says he is recovering from pneumonia in a Guatemala hospital, weeks after he was taken in handcuffs from a Philadelphia immigration office and driven two days by bus to a detention center in Minnesota. However, the Guatemalan Institute of Migration, which tracks migrants...
‘Did you see anything happen?’: Audio provides details on moments before fatal plane crash
Tower audio from a fatal plane crash on Sunday morning near Lancaster Airport in Warwick Township, Lancaster County, shows the pilot had communicated with air traffic control minutes before takeoff. Just two and a half minutes after the plane was cleared for takeoff, air traffic control started calling out for...
Is the labor, funding there to see through $90B in energy, tech projects in Pa.?
Announcements are easy. Following through could be the hard part for companies that pledged more than
$90 billion in investments across the state Tuesday during the Pennsylvania Energy and Innovation Summit at Carnegie Mellon University, organized by U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pittsburgh. At least a quarter of that money is...
New report lauds Pittsburgh region for AI talent, innovation
A new report appears to support what many political and business leaders asserted at Tuesday’s Pennsylvania Energy and Innovation Summit: The state is well-positioned to be a key player in the growing artificial intelligence economy. The Brookings Institution report, released Wednesday, rated Pittsburgh as one of 14 “emerging centers” in...
Immigration activists protest ICE arrests at Philly courthouse
PHILADELPHIA — Crowds stood outside the Juanita Kidd Stout Center for Criminal Justice chanting “say it loud, say it clear, immigrants are welcome here.” The Friday morning rally organized by Juntos, a community-led immigrant organization in South Philadelphia, follows a string of Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainments outside courthouses, including...
$5,000-per-plate dinner with McCormick at Carnegie museum spurs backlash
A private event billed as a dinner and fireside chat featuring U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick and his wife at the Carnegie Museum of Art has generated backlash and raised concerns about the propriety of the museum offering space for such a gathering, which cost $5,000 to attend. The dinner occurred...
Some Pennsylvania lawmakers want to ban fluoride in public drinking water. Here’s what to know
A bill recently introduced to the state Senate would ban fluoride in Pennsylvania’s public drinking water, part of growing skepticism toward the naturally-occurring mineral that dental health experts have considered essential for decades. The Fluoride Choice Act, introduced by Sen. Dawn Keefer, R-York, would prevent fluoride from being added to...
Man who sent Facebook message about committing a 2013 campus sexual assault pleads guilty
GETTYSBURG — An American extradited from France to face charges that he sexually assaulted a fellow Pennsylvania college student in 2013 — and later sent her a Facebook message that said “So I raped you” — pleaded guilty Thursday. Ian Cleary, 32, pleaded guilty to second-degree sexual assault more than...
Tuition increase approved for state-owned universities for 1st time in 7 years
Tuition for state universities is set to increase by 3.6% for students this fall, but that figure could decrease if state funding increases, the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education said Thursday. In-state undergraduate tuition for this academic year will increase by $139 per semester, to $3,997 per semester, according...
