Pennsylvania category, Page 165
Federal appeals court must now decide whether to stay court order regarding state’s covid-19 shutdown
It is now up to the Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to decide if a lower court decision ruling Gov. Tom Wolf’s covid-19 shutdown orders unconstitutional ought to be stayed. The plaintiffs in the underlying case — seven business owners who challenged orders to stay-at-home, close non-essential businesses and...
Joe Biden Express rolls into Western Pennsylvania for whistle-stop train tourVideo
An Amtrak passenger train carrying Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and his campaign contingent rolled into Western Pennsylvania from Ohio on Wednesday, a day after a contentious televised debate with President Donald Trump. Campaign organizers said the “Build Back Better” train tour will highlight Biden’s plans to rebuild the economy...
Trump campaign threatens to sue over Philly election offices
HARRISBURG — President Donald Trump’s campaign has threatened a lawsuit by Wednesday afternoon if it does not gain access soon for its campaign officials to observe activity inside newly opened satellite election offices in Philadelphia, where people can register to vote, apply for mail-in ballots and fill them out. A...
Pa. health secretary concerned about lingering effects of covid-19 on ‘recovered’ patients
A person is generally considered recovered from covid-19 about 30 days after they test positive or exhibit symptoms, according to state health officials. But that doesn’t mean the virus-stricken person has returned to normal health, Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Rachel Levine said Wednesday. She called people who have lingering effects...
9 discarded ballots weren’t fraud, Pennsylvania election chief says
HARRISBURG — It appears that an election worker’s decision to throw out nine military ballots in Wilkes-Barre amounted to a mistake and not “intentional fraud,” the state’s top elections official said Wednesday. Workers in the elections office in Luzerne County are getting training on handling mailed-in military and overseas ballots,...
Pennsylvania reports 1,153 new coronavirus cases, 19 new deaths
Pennsylvania had its fifth day in September with more than 1,000 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday. The Pennsylvania Department of Health reported 1,153 new cases, its third-highest day of the month, bringing the total to 158,967. The state also reported 19 new deaths on Wednesday, with one from July and...
Covid Alert PA downloaded more than 165,000 times in 1st week
More than 165,000 Pennsylvania residents have downloaded the state’s new contact tracing app, Covid Alert PA, Gov. Tom Wolf’s office announced Tuesday. The app has been available for about a week. “Thank you to all of the Pennsylvanians who have already downloaded the Covid Alert PA app and added their...
Rally brings gun rights advocates to Pennsylvania Capitol
HARRISBURG — A smaller than usual crowd of a few hundred people rallied for gun rights on the steps of Pennsylvania’s Capitol on Tuesday, an annual event that also was attended by a few dozen state lawmakers. The Rally to Protect Your Right to Keep and Bear Arms constituted a...
Pennsylvania adds 988 new covid-19 cases, continuing recent trend
Pennsylvania has 988 new covid-19 cases Tuesday, according to the state Department of Health. There were also 16 new coronavirus-related deaths reported. Total cases are now 157,814 and total deaths are now 8,123. Of the 16 deaths reported Tuesday, 13 are from September, one from August, one from July and...
Safety Council study: Pennsylvania among 39 states ‘lagging’ in covid response
A study by the National Safety Council has found that only a dozen states are “on track” with their response to the global covid-19 pandemic. Pennsylvania is not one of them. A new National Safety Council report reveals 39 states did not go far enough to protect residents from the...
Businesses that sued Wolf over shutdown orders now seek more than $135K in legal fees
The business owners who filed a federal lawsuit against Gov. Tom Wolf over his covid-19 shutdown orders are asking the court to award them attorney fees. In a motion filed Monday before U.S. District Judge William Stickman IV, the plaintiffs ask for $135,790 in attorneys fees and costs. That amount,...
Lawsuit against gun maker, seller allowed to proceed in Mt. Pleasant shooting case
The Pennsylvania Superior Court, in a strongly worded decision, ruled that a lawsuit filed by the parents of a 13-year-old Mt. Pleasant boy who was killed accidentally when his friend fired a gun at him can move forward. It is the first appeals court in the country to find that...
Mother, daughter get life terms in slayings of 5 relatives
DOYLESTOWN — A mother and her adult daughter were sentenced Monday to life in prison in the slayings of five close relatives, including three children, outside Philadelphia last year. Shana Decree, 47, and Dominique Decree, 21, were sentenced in Bucks County Court after entering guilty but mentally ill pleas to...
Pandemic delays revamp of Pennsylvania’s unemployment benefits claim system
Pennsylvania’s unemployed eventually will submit compensation claims on a weekly basis instead of every other week. But that planned shift, and arrival of online dashboard access to unemployment compensation account information, are on hold while the state Department of Labor & Industry catches up with a backlog of pandemic-related claims...
Federal judge orders stop to Postal Service cuts, echoing other edicts
PHILADELPHIA — A federal judge in Philadelphia joined others Monday in ordering a halt to recent Postal Service cuts that critics say are causing mail delays and threatening the integrity of the presidential election. Six states and the District of Columbia presented “compelling evidence” from the U.S. Postal Service itself...
Could the Pa. GOP bypass the popular vote regardless of who wins? Here’s what we know.
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 weekly newsletter. HARRISBURG — It is the nightmare scenario Pennsylvania election officials have fretted over for months: a knock-down, drag-out fight over...
Pennsylvania adds more than 1,500 new covid cases in past 2 days
Pennsylvania’s coronavirus cases increased by 1,594 over the past two days, according to a report Monday from the state’s Department of Health. The department said 918 cases were added Sunday and 676 were announced Monday. The state has seen 156,826 covid-19 cases since the pandemic began in March. From Sept....
Feds target predatory lenders to small business, but Pennsylvania remains a haven for the industry
Last summer, Philadelphia lawyer Shane Heskin told Congress that Pennsylvania has robust laws to prevent consumers from being gouged on loans — but none protecting business owners. “Consumers have laws protecting them from usurious interest rates,” he said. “But for small businesses, those protection laws don’t apply at all.” Heskin...
Pennsylvania posts 1,000-plus new covid-19 cases, third highest this month
Pennsylvania has 1,029 new coronavirus cases Saturday, according to the state Department of Health. In addition, 22 new deaths were reported. The new cases and deaths bring their totals to 155,232 and 8,103, respectively. The positivity rate for new cases is 6.8% from 14,924 tests. Saturday’s new cases represent the...
Trump shifts focus to Pennsylvania to shore up reelection
HARRISBURG — President Donald Trump’s campaign has grown increasingly focused on making inroads in Pennsylvania to offset potential vulnerabilities in other battlegrounds. The president will travel to the state for the second time in a week on Saturday, hoping to attract the same rural and white working-class voters who delivered...
Gov. Wolf blasts Trump campaign rallies as public health threat
A day ahead of President Trump’s scheduled campaign rally at Harrisburg International Airport, Gov. Tom Wolf on Friday blasted the president for disregarding public health advisories on masking and social distancing at a series of rallies across Pennsylvania over the past month. Trump, who held rallies that attracted thousands of...
Pennsylvania adds 806 new covid cases, 2 new deaths
Pennsylvania added 806 new cases of coronavirus to its tally Friday, according to the state’s Department of Health. It marks the sixth day in a row new cases have been under 1,000. In the past week, there have been 5,520 cases, a nearly 5% decline from the previous seven days...
Pa.’s failure to mandate quicker death reporting before the coronavirus fueled wild data fluctuations, mistrust
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 weekly newsletter. For years, Pennsylvania has had a hard time counting its dead. A new analysis shows that in 2017, Pennsylvania had...
Fraud, frustration continue to plague Pennsylvania unemployment claimants
As historically high unemployment compensation claims continue to inundate the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry, Labor Secretary Jerry Oleksiak said he knows people are struggling. Presiding over a virtual town hall Thursday afternoon, Oleksiak acknowledged that fraud is plaguing the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program that temporarily expands unemployment insurance...
Federal probe focuses on discarded Trump ballots in Luzerne County
A federal investigation into irregularities with mail-in ballots at the Luzerne County Bureau of Elections has turned up discarded ballots that were cast for President Donald Trump, U.S. Attorney David J. Freed said Thursday. In a prepared statement, Freed said FBI agents and Pennsylvania State Police who began investigating “potential...
