Pennsylvania category, Page 161
Pa. proves pivotal, propelling Joe Biden to White House
The Keystone State proved to be the key for Joe Biden after all. The Associated Press called the race in Pennsylvania for Biden shortly after 11 a.m. Saturday, propelling the former vice president to the White House as the 46th president of the United States. Biden has received 3,345,906 votes...
Presidential concession speech ‘critical’ to reconciliation, democracy
After hard fought games, win or lose, even if they feel the officials made bad calls, football coaches walk across fields, shake the other coach’s hand and say “good game.” Should it hold that President Trump loses his bid for reelection to Democratic challenger Joe Biden, Joe DiSarro, a professor...
U.S. Supreme Court justice orders Pa. counties to separate, but keep counting, late-arriving mail ballots
PHILADELPHIA — In a move that could signal the U.S. Supreme Court is one step closer to intervening in a fight over Pennsylvania’s grace-period for late-arriving mail ballots, Justice Samuel Alito on Friday ordered all counties to keep separate any ballots that came in after Nov. 3 and instructed state...
State Attorney General Josh Shapiro fires back at Ted Cruz after his shot at Pa.’s vote counting
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro responded to U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz after the Texas Republican criticized election vote counting in largely Democratic-run cities, including Philadelphia, while on Fox News “The Sean Hannity Show” Thursday night. “What we’re seeing tonight, what we’ve been seeing the last three days, is outrageous,” Cruz...
Postal Service finds 1,700 ballots in sweep of Pennsylvania post offices
Postal inspectors found more than 1,700 ballots in sweeps of Pennsylvania post office facilities, according to a court filing by the agency Friday. A federal judge in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, ordered the U.S. Postal Service to make sweeps of postal sorting and delivery centers across the country and report...
Pennsylvania vote counters’ work to extend into next week
HARRISBURG — Democrat Joe Biden’s narrow but growing margin in the presidential race drew him closer to winning Pennsylvania’s cache of 20 electoral votes Friday as county-by-county teams of ballot counters continued to toil. The canvassing that in a normal year would be wrapping up on Friday will carry into...
Wallace family calls for firing of officers, police reforms
PHILADELPHIA — The family of Walter Wallace Jr. called Friday for the officers who fatally shot the young Black man to be fired and asked that some of the city’s more than $700 million police budget be diverted to mental health services. However, on the eve of his funeral, they...
AP declares Josh Shapiro winner in reelection bid for Pa. attorney general
The Associated Press on Friday declared Attorney General Josh Shapiro the winner in his bid for reelection over Allegheny County Republican Heather Heidelbaugh. Shapiro, 47, a Democrat from Montgomery County, took the lead in the race Thursday morning. At the time the race was called, Shapiro had won 50.5% of...
Armed men arrested near Philadelphia vote counting location
PHILADELPHIA — Two armed men were arrested Thursday near the Philadelphia convention center where an ongoing vote count could decide the presidential election, police said. The men traveled to the city in a Hummer and did not have permits to carry the weapons in Pennsylvania, police said. They were arrested...
Pennsylvania’s daily coronavirus cases soar to record 3,384
Pennsylvania on Friday set a record for covid-19 cases reported on a single day with 3,384. Of those, 2,910 are confirmed. The state recorded 20,414 new test results with 17,030 of those negative. The state’s total is now 223,950 cases since March with 212,258 of those confirmed while 2,408,366 residents...
Republican DeFoor elected Pennsylvania’s auditor general
HARRISBURG — Timothy DeFoor has been elected to become auditor general, Pennsylvania’s elected fiscal watchdog. The Republican controller in Dauphin County outpaced Democrat Nina Ahmad for the statewide position. DeFoor campaigned on his record of spending three decades conducting governmental audits and fraud investigations. Democrat Eugene DePasquale is finishing up...
Slow march to Pa. victory? Joe Biden methodically builds lead over Donald TrumpVideo
HARRISBURG — Joe Biden looks poised to pull away for good from President Donald Trump in Pennsylvania. Biden, the former vice president and Democratic challenger, expanded his lead in the latest figures from the Pennsylvania Department of State. Biden led 3,335,345 (49.64%) to 3,307,167 (49.22%) — by about 28,000 votes....
Sen. Pat Toomey: Trump claims ‘very disturbing,’ no sign of widespread election fraud
Republican Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania criticized President Donald Trump’s baseless allegations of election fraud in an interview with “CBS This Morning” on Friday, saying that there is no evidence of widespread wrongdoing in his state. “The president’s speech last night was very disturbing to me because he made very,...
Armed men arrested near Philadelphia vote counting location
PHILADELPHIA — Two men armed with loaded handguns were arrested Thursday near the Philadelphia convention center where an ongoing vote count could decide the presidential election, police said. Joshua Macias, 42, and Antonio LaMotta, 61, traveled from the Virginia Beach, Virginia, area in a Hummer and did not have permits...
Federal judge denies Trump campaign bid to halt vote count in Philadelphia
A bid by the Trump campaign to stop the vote count in Philadelphia over observer access has been denied by a federal judge. According to the Associated Press, U.S. District Judge Paul S. Diamond has urged the sides to develop an agreement that allows the final ballots to be tallied...
Shapiro takes lead in tight race in attorney general race; contenders still battling for treasurer; DeFoor wins auditor general
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro was poised to claim a second term in office Friday morning as the mail-in ballot count continued, while Timothy DeFoor of Dauphin County became the first Republican to serve as state auditor general in more than 20 years. Shapiro, 47, a Democrat from Montgomery County,...
Covid vaccine will not be a panacea, says Pa. health secretary
Pennsylvania’s top health official said Thursday the state is ready to distribute a covid-19 vaccine in a manner that prioritizes health care workers and vulnerable populations but stressed that a vaccine – whenever one becomes available – will not be a panacea. There are six drug manufacturers working on covid-19...
Joe Biden pulls with 42,000 votes of President Donald Trump
Joe Biden is closing quickly in Pennsylvania. The former vice president and Democratic challenger pulled to within 42,000 votes of President Trump as of 9:35 p.m. Thursday. Trump led 3,277,521 (49.74%) to 3,235,482 (49.11%), but the lead consistently dropped throughout the day as mail ballots continued to be tallied. As of...
Pennsylvania sees 2,900 new coronavirus cases, highest daily increase since pandemic began
Pennsylvania’s Department of Health reported 2,900 new positive cases of coronavirus on Thursday, following a day where the state saw over 2,700 cases. There were also 47 new deaths announced. The first days of November are continuing a spike in coronavirus cases that started in October. The state has seen...
Report: Pa. liquor profits up despite pandemic challenges
The covid-19 pandemic was as big a driver of alcohol sales as Christmas in Pennsylvania, according to the latest report from the state Liquor Control Board. Allegheny County reported the top sales figures, with more that $288 million in 2019-20, according to the report. Westmoreland County ranked 9th with sales...
Waiting for Pa.: Biden closing quickly on Trump as counting continues
HARRISBURG — Joe Biden is closing quickly in Pennsylvania. The former vice president and Democratic challenger pulled to within about 22,000 votes of President Donald Trump as of 6 a.m. Friday. Trump leads 3,285,048 (49.6%) to 3,262,575 (49.26%), but the lead precipitously dropped throughout the day Thursday as mail ballots...
The monthslong political saga that guaranteed a long vote count in Pennsylvania
Spotlight PA is an independent, non-partisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — It didn’t have to be this way in Pennsylvania. Yes, the state’s universal mail voting law is only a...
Shapiro takes lead in attorney general race, but row office contests still up for grabs
Democratic incumbent Josh Shapiro took the lead over Republican challenger Heather Heidelbaugh in the race for Pennsylvania attorney general Thursday morning, reversing the lead held by Heidelbaugh the day before. Republican candidates continue to lead in the races for auditor general and state treasurer. But with mail-in votes, which tend...
‘You killed my son!’ Philly releases bodycam footage and 911 calls in police killing of Walter Wallace Jr.
PHILADELPHIA — In the moments before two Philadelphia police officers fatally shot Walter Wallace Jr. outside his family’s West Philadelphia home last week, the officers repeatedly told Wallace to put down a knife he was holding, while people on the street yelled that Wallace was “mental” and screamed “no” as...
Pennsylvania’s presidential vote could be moot before it is even finished
After more than five dozen campaign visits to Pennsylvania by President Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden and an estimated $100 million in campaign and PAC spending, the final count in the Keystone State’s election could be insignificant in determining Tuesday’s national outcome. The state — with 20 Electoral College...
