Tom Fontaine stories, Page 3
Pa. House passes transit funding bill, but critics give it little chance of advancing in Senate
The Democratic-controlled state House voted Monday to pass a transit funding bill, with support from several Republicans, that the legislation’s prime sponsor said could help stave off sweeping service cuts and fare hikes at Pennsylvania’s two largest transit agencies. “If they become reality, these service cuts will hurt real people,...
New set of tariffs on U.S. imports take effect
President Donald Trump’s new set of adjusted tariffs on goods shipped from dozens of countries and the European Union took effect Thursday. The new tariffs range from 10% to 50%. Brazil is facing the stiffest import taxes. In addition to a 10% reciprocal tariff, Trump announced a separate 40% tariff...
Pa. budget impasse reaches 36 days, with sides still at odds on several key issues
As Pennsylvania’s budget impasse reached 36 days Tuesday, the highest-ranking Republican in the state Senate said lawmakers should consider adopting a six-month spending plan that maintains last year’s funding levels for many essential services while negotiations continue on thornier budgetary issues. “If we can’t come to agreement (on an overall...
Trump’s treason claim further erodes political discourse, experts say
President Donald Trump doubled down this week on an accusation that former President Barack Obama and members of his administration committed treason by misleading the public about Russian meddling in the 2016 election. While even Trump acknowledged that such a prosecution is unlikely, political analysts say the president’s explosive rhetoric...
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...
Pittsburgh ‘uniquely positioned’ to lead in physical AI, organizers of upcoming summit say
Pittsburgh will again find itself in the AI economy spotlight in September when it hosts the two-day AI Horizons summit in the East End’s Bakery Square. The summit, in its second year, will focus this year on physical AI — in which artificial intelligence is integrated into physical systems like...
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....
Summer Lee leads push to subpoena Epstein files
U.S. Rep. Summer Lee led an effort Wednesday to subpoena files related to the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking investigation — hours before the House was scheduled to go on break until September. In an 8-2 vote with bipartisan support, a House Oversight subcommittee passed a motion by Lee to subpoena...
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...
Fetterman says deals announced at Pittsburgh summit are ‘huge wins and investments’ in Pa.
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman described the flurry of development deals announced at Tuesday’s Pennsylvania Energy and Innovation Summit in Pittsburgh as “huge wins and investments” in the state. Companies attending the summit at Carnegie Mellon University, organized by U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pittsburgh, announced plans to invest more than $90...
Here are the blockbuster deals unveiled at the Pa. Energy and Innovation Summit
U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick said Tuesday during the Pennsylvania Energy and Innovation Summit in Pittsburgh that companies are planning to invest more than $90 billion in data centers, energy and power infrastructure, and workforce and AI training projects across Pennsylvania. Fifteen of the companies plan to invest at least $1...
Secret Service still reforming after Trump assassination attempt in Butler
After the Secret Service announced the suspension of six staffers over failures that led to the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump last year in Butler, U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly commended the Secret Service’s new leaders for working to reform the agency. “I applaud Director (Sean) Curran and Deputy Director...
GOP congressman opts not to run for Pa. governor, despite backing of Trump
In late May, Republican congressman Dan Meuser’s possible candidacy for governor appeared to get a boost from President Donald Trump. In an appearance at U.S. Steel’s Irvin Works in West Mifflin, Trump promised to support the fourth-term congressman from Luzerne County if he decided to seek the Republican nomination to...
Trump administration looks to ban sale of U.S. farmland to Chinese buyers
The Trump administration is moving to ban the sale of American farmland to buyers from China and other countries deemed adversaries, citing national security concerns. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said during a news conference Tuesday that the administration also would work to “claw back what has already been purchased...
Western Pa. Republicans see hope, Democrats doom in passage of Trump policy bill
Republicans in Western Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation celebrated the passage of President Trump’s domestic policy package Thursday afternoon, touting measures to extend and expand tax relief enacted in 2017, secure the nation’s southern border and expand domestic production of oil, coal and natural gas. Democratic leaders warned the package will be...
Hundreds of thousands in Pa. could lose Medicaid, SNAP benefits under Trump bill, Shapiro says
More than 300,000 Pennsylvanians could lose Medicaid coverage if the Senate-approved version of President Donald Trump’s domestic policy bill passes the House, while nearly 150,000 people who receive SNAP benefits could lose access to food assistance, Gov. Josh Shapiro said Wednesday. “Every member of Congress who votes for this reconciliation...
McCormick says Trump policy bill good for Pa.; Fetterman opposes Medicaid, SNAP cuts, more debt
President Donald Trump’s domestic policy package passed the Senate by the slimmest of margins Tuesday, with Pennsylvania’s two senators voting along party lines as expected. U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pittsburgh, joined 49 other Republicans in supporting Trump’s big tax breaks and spending cuts bill. Three GOP senators — U.S. Sens....
Long day of Senate budget votes no ‘trip to the beach’ for Fetterman
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Braddock, would rather be anywhere than Washington. On Monday, Fetterman and his Senate colleagues began considering a series of proposed amendments to President Donald Trump’s big bill of tax breaks and spending cuts. The process was expected to take all day. “Oh my God, I just...
Pa. lawmakers to miss budget deadline, but don’t expect lengthy impasse
Pennsylvania’s state government is expected to start the new fiscal year Tuesday without a spending plan in place. That’s not unusual. The state budget has been adopted by the statutory June 30 deadline just eight times in the past 21 years. Legislative leaders say they are confident this budget impasse...
Deluzio, Lee support proposal to give Congress control over military action in Iran
U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio supports a proposal that would prevent President Donald Trump from ordering the further use of military force in Iran without authorization from Congress. Deluzio, D-Fox Chapel, and 11 fellow House Democrats — all of them veterans — wrote a letter to the White House indicating their...
Poll: Majority of Democrats want new party leadership
Nearly two out of three Democrats think their party needs new leadership, according to a poll released Thursday. The Reuters/Ipsos poll showed that 62% of Democrats surveyed agreed with the statement that “the leadership of the Democratic Party should be replaced with new people,” while 24% disagreed and 14% weren’t...
‘It’s a scary time in politics,’ state Sen. Kim Ward says following Minnesota shootings
Pennsylvania Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward spent part of her Saturday afternoon installing more security cameras around her Hempfield home. Another act of political violence inspired the home project. And yet, in today’s turbulent political climate, Ward says no amount of home security will be able to put her...
U.S. House votes to pull $1.1B in funding for NPR, PBS
The U.S. House voted Thursday afternoon to slash nearly $1.1 billion in federal funding to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which supports local NPR and PBS stations such as Pittsburgh’s WESA-FM radio and WQED-TV. The Rescissions Act, which also would cancel $8.3 billion in foreign aid spending, passed the Republican-led...
President Aaron Rodgers? Bookmaker gives Steelers QB a 500-to-1 shot
So you’re saying there’s a chance? Newly signed Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has the best odds among current and former professional sports stars to become the next president of the United States, according to betonline.ag. At 500-to-1, he shares the same odds as LeBron James, Peyton Manning, Steve Garvey...
Fetterman: Dems lose ‘moral high ground’ when they don’t condemn protest violence, vandalism
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman slammed fellow Democrats who have not condemned incidents of violence and vandalism that have marred protests in Los Angeles over the Trump administration’s immigration raids there. “I unapologetically stand for free speech, peaceful demonstrations and immigration — but this is not that,” Fetterman, D-Braddock, said in...
