John Fetterman’s chief of staff resigns before new report on the senator’s relationship with Israel ally
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman’s chief of staff resigned this week, the latest departure in the office of a controversial Pennsylvania Democrat who has struggled at times to retain staff. The resignation of Cabelle St. John, who held the top position in Fetterman’s office since June, came before a report that...
Pa. joins lawsuit to block looming federal loan caps for some healthcare degreesVideo
Pennsylvania is one of 25 states suing to block limits on federal loans for students pursuing certain advanced degrees in healthcare. President Donald Trump’s July megabill capped annual loans at $20,500 for graduate students and $50,000 for professional students. Total limits were set at $100,000 and $200,000, respectively. The exact...
Democrats settling House primaries in Pennsylvania swing districts, with Shapiro’s clout on the line
WARMINSTER — Democrats in Pennsylvania settled primary fights Tuesday to shape their congressional slate for the fall election, in which they hope — with Gov. Josh Shapiro’s help — to capture the state’s four swing districts and ultimately a U.S. House majority. Janelle Stelson, Bob Harvie and Bob Brooks won...
Jason Richey secures primary victory over John Ventre for GOP lieutenant governor nomination
Republican Jason Richey cruised to a landslide victory over retired UPS executive John Ventre on Tuesday night in the primary election for lieutenant governor. Richey, 54, of Sewickley, declared victory shortly after 10 p.m. as he held a commanding lead to serve as the running mate to GOP gubernatorial candidate...
DA Larry Krasner blasts House committee over Philly immigration inquiries
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner has formally — and harshly — answered the House Judiciary Committee, telling the GOP leadership that its inquiries into the city’s handling of immigration issues lack any legal or factual basis. The Republican-led committee had set a Monday deadline for a reply to letters that...
Attorney General Dave Sunday appeals Pennsylvania court ruling that recognized abortion access as a right
Attorney General Dave Sunday appealed a Commonwealth Court ruling that struck down Pennsylvania’s ban on public funding for abortion and recognized “a fundamental right to reproductive autonomy” in the state constitution. The case now heads back to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, where three justices previously signaled their willingness to rule...
As electric bills rise, some states are focusing on the growing profits of utilities
HARRISBURG, Pa. — The artificial intelligence boom is leading to fights in some states over growing utility profits, as governors, attorneys general and others protesting rising electricity bills say cash-strapped residents are stuck in a broken system. Officials and lawmakers in at least six states — including Arizona, Indiana, Maryland,...
Senate Democrats rally around Fetterman, say critics need to ‘show some respect’
Some of Sen. John Fetterman’s Democratic colleagues defended his standing in the party amid reports that Republicans are recruiting him, insisting that he is a “good human” and that detractors should “show some respect.” According to an article by NOTUS, the lawmakers said his critics should back off and the...
Pennsylvania State Police will create a new unit for threats against elected officials after communication ‘breakdown’ with legislators
The Pennsylvania State Police is creating a new unit to investigate threats against elected officials after a communication failure surrounding violent threats against Pennsylvania legislators. Adam Berryhill, 42, was arrested on May 6 after making “politically violent” threats on social media, including an alleged “hit list” targeting 20 Democratic state...
Fetterman casts deciding vote against limiting Trump’s war in Iran
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Braddock, on Wednesday cast the deciding vote against the latest effort to limit President Donald Trump’s ability to attack Iran — the seventh such time he’s broken with his party since the war began but the first time that Republican deflections made his vote decisive. The...
$600M in delayed covid-19 reimbursements coming to Pennsylvania hospitals
Pennsylvania hospitals will soon get $572 million in long-awaited covid-19 response reimbursements from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania told TribLive on Wednesday. Several members of the Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation have sent letters to the Department of Homeland Security this year urging the release...
Man arrested for making ‘politically violent’ threats to Pa. lawmakers online, police say
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 — Twenty Pennsylvania legislators were allegedly threatened online by a Lebanon County man who police say posted a...
‘She doesn’t believe she’s guilty of anything’: Pa. teen will head to trial after arrest in ICE protest, attorney says
A Bucks County judge on Tuesday denied a request to dismiss the case against a 15-year-old girl charged during an anti-ICE protest in Quakertown, setting the case on course for a possible trial in June, according to her attorney. The girl is the only one of five teenagers arrested in...
1st Amendment rights at center of clash between Pa. schools, students over ICE walkouts
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 — Do students have the right to leave school as a protest tactic? Nationwide, including in Pennsylvania, communities...
David Wecht’s decision to leave Democratic Party is symbolic, experts say
The announcement this week by Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice David Wecht that he was renouncing his Democratic Party affiliation amid what he feels is growing antisemitism in the party likely will have a limited impact on him politically. That’s because Wecht, who won another 10-year term on the bench in...
Trump nominates Doug Mastriano for ambassador to Slovakia
President Donald Trump has nominated Pennsylvania state Sen. Doug Mastriano to fill a vacant ambassadorship to the Slovak Republic. The White House announced the pick Monday along with a series of nominations. Mastriano, a Trump loyalist from Franklin County, has been a Republican state senator since 2019. He ran unsuccessfully...
Pa.’s home healthcare crisis: Low Medicaid rates drive nursing shortage
Zayva McCachren is one of the oldest living children in the world with a rare terminal condition known as sphingomyelin phosphodiesterase-4, or SMPD4. She is 7. SMPD4 is a gene in the human body, and deficiencies cause severe neurodevelopmental disorders, including a significantly smaller head and stiff or fixed joints....
Pa. Gov. Josh Shapiro endorses Bob Harvie’s campaign to oust Brian Fitzpatrick in Bucks County congressional seat
Gov. Josh Shapiro has officially thrown his support behind Bucks County Commissioner Bob Harvie’s campaign to unseat U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick. The Democratic governor’s endorsement comes a little more than a week ahead of the May 19 primary, when Harvie will face grassroots candidate Lucia Simonelli for the party’s nomination...
Fetterman says he has no plans to switch parties: ‘I’d be a terrible Republican’
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman says he’d make a terrible Republican. Fetterman, a Democrat from Braddock, has drawn the ire of many in his party for breaking with them on issues like border security and Israel and for occasionally aligning with President Donald Trump and other Republicans. While Politico reported this...
Pa. Senate votes to end auto emission inspections
The state Senate this week passed a bill that would end Pennsylvania’s emissions inspection program for non-commercial vehicles, splitting the legislative body along regional lines. The program — well-known to motorists as the second inspection sticker that goes on their windshields every year — has been around since the federal...
Trump administration moves to drop its appeal in legal fight against Children’s Hospital to get medical records of transgender children
In an unexpected twist, President Donald Trump’s administration moved to abandon its legal fight to obtain private medical records of youth who received gender-affirming care at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Late Wednesday, a U.S. Department of Justice lawyer filed a two-sentence motion to “voluntarily dismiss” its appeal of a...
Pennsylvania health officials report 11 measles cases in Lebanon County
Eleven people have been diagnosed with measles in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania health officials said Wednesday. After three people with measles were hospitalized in the central Pennsylvania county, state Department of Health staff conducted contact tracing in the area, located east of Harrisburg and north of Lancaster. They identified several more...
Shapiro denies asking union to back GOP candidate over fellow Democrat Erin McClelland
HARRISBURG — Gov. Josh Shapiro is facing questions about whether he tried to help elect a Republican candidate over a member of his own party who had publicly criticized him, after an audio recording of a top labor leader leaked this week alleging that the first-term Democratic governor pushed his...
Pa. ban on phone use while driving to be enforced soon. Here’s when, what penalties to expect
Enforcement of Pennsylvania law banning handheld cell phone use behind the wheel will begin June 6. Dubbed Paul Miller’s Law, the ban has been in effect for the past year, though police could only issue warnings. Starting next month, drivers convicted of distracted driving will be subject to a $50...
Republican Stacy Garrity would veto recreational marijuana bill if elected Pennsylvania governor
State Treasurer Stacy Garrity, a Republican running for Pennsylvania governor, said she would veto any bill favoring the legalization of recreational marijuana if she wins the election in November. “I don’t support legalizing recreational marijuana,” Garrity told NBC10 last week, placing her at odds with incumbent Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro,...
