Pennsylvania category, Page 167
Pennsylvania reports 2,251 new coronavirus cases, 37 new deaths over past 2 days
Pennsylvania on Sunday reported 2,251 new cases and 37 new deaths attributed to the coronavirus for the past two days. The state Department of Health said a technical issue caused a delay in Saturday’s reporting and the need to report a two-day total Sunday. The state has generally stopped issuing...
Report: Sen. Pat Toomey may not seek reelection
Sen. Pat Toomey, Pennsylvania’s highest-ranking Republican in office, is expected to talk about his future plans Monday. A spokesman for Toomey, R-Lehigh Valley, would not confirm or deny a Sunday report by the Philadelphia Inquirer that he will not seek re-election to the Senate. Toomey will make an announcement at...
Hershey School proposes $350M network of 6 early childhood centers in Pa.
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. The super-rich Milton S. Hershey School for poor children, which has faced criticism over how few students it helps, has...
A changing story by police on a rural Pa. shooting helped fuel white vigilantes and misinformation
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. SCHELLSBURG, Pa. — It was a bit after 11 p.m. in late August when Frank Nitty and a group of...
How Pa. state troopers seize big money from drivers, many of whom are never charged
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. This article is a collaboration with The Appeal. HARRISBURG — Since 2017, Pennsylvania State Police has seized $608,000 in cash...
Trump’s condition spurs new chapter as campaign enters final month
President Donald Trump, diagnosed with covid-19, might dispute the comparison — but it’s been 60 years since a presidential candidate was waylaid by health issues during a campaign. The closest analogy is 1960, when then-Vice President Richard Nixon was facing off against John F. Kennedy, said William A. Galston, a...
How reliable are 2020 polls after they had Clinton leading Trump four years ago?Video
It wasn’t quite “Dewey Beats Truman,” but voters who assumed the polls and predictions of a Hillary Clinton victory had a rude awakening on Nov. 9, 2016. Clinton, who led most state- level polls throughout October, fell short in her quest for the White House. Donald Trump won the race...
Ex-mayor of Scranton sentenced to 7 years for corruption
The former mayor of Scranton was sentenced Friday to seven years in federal prison on charges that he shook down businesses for bribes and campaign contributions. Bill Courtright resigned last year as mayor of the city of 78,000 and pleaded guilty to bribery, extortion and conspiracy. Prosecutors said Courtright took...
Pennsylvania reports 1,161 additional coronavirus cases, 19 new deaths
Pennsylvania on Friday added 1,161 new coronavirus cases to bring the total reported cases to 161,284. Of the new cases, 1,084 are confirmed and 77 are probable, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. The state’s seven-day average is now above 1,000 cases per day for the first time since...
Gov. Wolf unveils health care reform package
Gov. Tom Wolf on Friday announced a health care reform package that will focus on affordability for consumers, accountability for corporations and eliminating inequities in care and coverage, particularly those “resulting from systemic racism.” “True reform means focusing on every aspect of a person that contributes to their health,” Wolf...
Gov. Wolf: Spectator situation ‘confusing’ for schools, no updated guidance yet
The gathering limits ruled unconstitutional two weeks ago are back in place statewide, leaving some high school athletic directors to ask: Now what? “It is confusing, I acknowledge that,” Gov. Tom Wolf said Friday, “and I’m working really hard and as quickly as I possibly can to come up with...
Pa. House lawmaker tests positive for covid-19, delaying legislation on election, rent relief
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 — The state House of Representatives canceled its voting session Thursday after a Republican lawmaker tested positive for the...
Laptop, USB drives stolen from Philly election-staging site
Computer thumb drives used to program Philadelphia voting machines were stolen from a city warehouse along with the laptop of an employee from the machines’ manufacturer. The items were stolen from a warehouse in the city’s East Falls section, city election commission spokesman Nick Custodio said in a brief emailed...
Pa. Republicans want to create and control an ‘election integrity’ panel with subpoena power
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 — One day after President Donald Trump fanned manufactured fears of election fraud in Pennsylvania, Republicans in the state...
Appeals court allows Gov. Tom Wolf, state to restore covid crowd restrictions
The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday granted a request from Gov. Tom Wolf to reinstate crowd gathering restrictions designed to prevent the spread of covid-19. In a two-page order filed just after noon, Judges D. Brooks Smith, Michael Chagares and Patty Shwartz granted the request to stay...
Pa. lawmaker’s positive covid-19 test cancels voting session
HARRISBURG — A Republican lawmaker’s positive test for COVID-19 on Thursday prompted legislative leaders to immediately cancel the day’s Pennsylvania House voting session, and human resources workers were deployed to trace his personal contacts to see if others should be quarantined. Rep. Paul Schemel, R-Franklin, issued a statement saying he...
Pennsylvania reports 1,156 new coronavirus cases, 18 new deaths
Pennsylvania on Thursday reported a second day of more than 1,000 new covid-19 cases, along with 18 new deaths attributed to the coronavirus. The state Department of Health reported 1,156 cases, bringing the total number of cases to 160,123 since March. On Wednesday, the state logged 1,153 cases. The state...
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...
