Fetterman, Deluzio part of bipartisan push to strengthen rail safety requirements
Bipartisan bills introduced in Congress over the past week aim to strengthen safety requirements for rail carriers hauling hazardous materials, but the group representing the nation’s freight rail companies says the industry is in its “safest era ever.” U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Braddock, cosponsored the Senate version of the Railway...
White House attributes redness on Trump’s neck to skin cream but doesn’t say what it’s treating
WASHINGTON — The White House on Monday attributed a large red spot on President Donald Trump’s neck to a skin cream he is using, without elaborating on what condition it is treating. The redness drew widespread attention Monday, when news photographers captured close-up images of the president’s neck during a...
Democrats’ newfound unity faces a test after U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran
WASHINGTON — For Democrats demoralized at being shut out of power in Washington, the past several months have offered reason for optimism. A party often beset by ideological division has largely been unified in opposition to President Donald Trump’s hardline immigration tactics, particularly after two U.S. citizens were killed in...
A mess in Texas? What to watch in Tuesday’s primaries
NEW YORK — The 2026 midterm season begins in earnest on Tuesday with two of the nation’s most consequential Senate primaries playing out in Texas, a political behemoth that Democrats have been fighting to flip for decades. Is this the year? Republican leaders in Washington openly fret that a victory...
Lawmakers finally questioned the Clintons about Epstein. They also asked about pizzagate and UFOs
WASHINGTON — A House committee investigating Jeffrey Epstein labored for six months to question former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, but once they finally had a chance to sit down with some of the highest-ranked officials to ever be deposed by Congress, the sessions veered...
Philadelphia on the short list to host the 2028 Democratic National Convention
Philadelphia is one of five cities on a list of finalists to host the 2028 Democratic National Convention, a major gathering that could generate millions of dollars in economic impact for the city. Party officials are also considering Boston, Atlanta, Chicago and Denver, the Democratic National Committee announced Monday. Any...
Jeffrey Epstein Walk of Shame art appears in Washington park
A new art installation appeared Monday in Washington, D.C.’s Farragut Square — a “Jeffrey Epstein Walk of Shame.” Inspired by the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the art installation features replicas of the well-known stars, but instead of those who have impacted the entertainment industry, the stars features names of politicians,...
World leaders react to U.S. and Israeli strikes, death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei
TOKYO — As the war in the Middle East escalated broadly Monday, fear, anger and confusion echoed across the globe as leaders reacted to U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran. President Donald Trump, announcing the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, called the strikes in Iran “the single greatest...
U.S. Senate candidates in Texas make final pitches to voters ahead of Tuesday’s primary
SAN ANTONIO — A heated U.S. Senate race in Texas entered its final stretch on Sunday with candidates on both sides of the aisle making final pitches to voters ahead of Tuesday’s primary, the nation’s first big contest of the 2026 midterm elections. Incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. John Cornyn is...
American farmers see new Trump tariffs as yet another round of instability
U.S. farmers have been looking for some stability after a mercurial year under President Donald Trump’s tariffs. But after new trade upheaval last week, it’s becoming increasingly clear that uncertainty is the only constant. “One of the things in this industry is that there’s always uncertainties,” Krista Swanson, chief economist...
Shapiro vows to block ICE detention centers, warns of devastating impact on local Pa. communities
This story was produced by the Berks County bureau of Spotlight PA, an independent, nonpartisan newsroom. READING — Gov. Josh Shapiro says he will use “every tool at his disposal” to stop planned ICE detention centers in Berks and Schuylkill Counties, though he stopped short of discussing what levers his...
Trump’s ‘America First’ campaign battle cry gives way to military strikes abroad
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump, whose fierce denunciation of military adventurism abroad fueled his unlikely rise to the top of the Republican Party, risks becoming ensnared by that very type of conflict. The U.S. and Israeli attack on Iran Saturday cemented Trump’s decade-long transformation from a candidate who in 2016...
War powers debate intensifies after Trump orders attack on Iran without approval by Congress
WASHINGTON (AP) — Key members of Congress are demanding a swift vote on a war powers resolution that would restrain President Donald Trump’s military attack on Iran unless the administration wins their approval for what they warn is a potentially illegal campaign that risks pulling the United States into a...
Trump’s push for election power raises fears he will ‘subvert’ midterms
Ahead of the midterm elections, an emboldened President Donald Trump has shown an increased eagerness to leverage the full investigative, prosecutorial and legislative powers of the federal government to bend election mechanics to his will. With his words and deeds, the president — who pushed to overturn his 2020 defeat...
QAnon faithful see validation in the Epstein files
The theory at the heart of the QAnon conspiracy theory was simple, even if the details were not: A global cabal of elites was running a child sex-trafficking ring. The latest release of files about Jeffrey Epstein has the QAnon faithful crowing that they were right. The documents revealed that...
A Supreme Court case over whether marijuana users can own guns is creating unusual alliances
WASHINGTON — Gun rights and cannabis legalization are usually on opposite ends of the political spectrum, but both movements have brought about seismic shifts in the United States in recent decades. Now those forces are lining up for a rare overlap in a case coming before the Supreme Court on...
Trump orders U.S. agencies to stop using Anthropic technology in clash over AI safety
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration on Friday ordered all U.S. agencies to stop using Anthropic’s artificial intelligence technology and imposed other major penalties, culminating an unusually public clash between the government and the company over AI safety. President Donald Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other officials took to social...
Trump’s ‘pretty much’ decided whom to endorse in Texas’ Senate primary but isn’t yet saying a name
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump — who has long seemed like he just can’t seem to choose among friends in the Texas Senate Republican primary — says he’s “pretty much” decided whom to endorse in the critical March 3 contest. But as the showman president is wont to do, he...
McCormick visit to Pittsburgh spotlights driverless trucking leader Aurora, liquefied natural gas industry
Aurora Innovation, a Pittsburgh company leading the charge on autonomous trucking in the U.S., is looking for cheerleaders in government to shape regulation of the emerging industry. They may have just found one in U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick, who said Friday on a tour of an Aurora manufacturing facility in...
ICE facilities are planned for Pa. Will the Shapiro admin sue to stop them?
This story was produced by the Berks County bureau of Spotlight PA, an independent, nonpartisan newsroom. Sign up for Good Day, Berks, a daily dose of essential local stories at spotlightpa.org/newsletters/gooddayberks. READING — Maryland’s attorney general is suing the federal government to prevent ICE from converting a warehouse into an...
Bill Clinton says he ‘did nothing wrong’ with Epstein as he faced grilling over their relationship
WASHINGTON — Former President Bill Clinton told members of Congress on Friday that he “did nothing wrong” in his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and saw no signs of Epstein’s sexual abuse as he faced hours of grilling from lawmakers over his connections to the disgraced financier from more than two...
U.S. hockey player Brady Tkachuk slams White House TikTok as ‘clearly fake’ after anti-Canada slur
OTTAWA, Ontario — American hockey player Brady Tkachuk said Thursday that he did not appreciate a doctored TikTok video shared by the White House that made it look like he was disparaging Canadians after winning Olympic gold, calling it fake and something he would never say. The video includes fabricated...
Challengers test Summer Lee’s grip on congressional seat in Trump-era midterms
A popular and polarizing Democratic congresswoman is staking her reelection bid on her record in a midterm election seen by many as a referendum on President Donald Trump. While Beltway experts say this year’s race in Pennsylvania’s 12th District is Rep. Summer Lee’s to lose, the progressive firebrand from Swissvale...
Poll: 4 in 10 Pa. voters think Josh Shapiro would make a good president
Nearly 6 in 10 Pennsylvania voters think Josh Shapiro is doing a good job as governor, but only 4 in 10 think he’d be a good president, according to a new poll. The Quinnipiac University poll released this week showed that 56% of registered voters approve of the job Shapiro...
JD Vance says administration pausing some Medicaid funding to Minnesota because of fraud concernsVideo
WASHINGTON — Vice President JD Vance announced Wednesday that the Trump administration would “temporarily halt” some Medicaid funding to the state of Minnesota over fraud concerns, as part of what he described as an aggressive crackdown on misuse of public funds. Vance, who made the announcement with Dr. Mehmet Oz,...
