Pennsylvania category, Page 17

Philadelphia’s mass transit system has reached a tentative contract deal with its largest workers union, averting a potential strike that could have seen thousands of employees walk off the job. The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority and Transport Workers Union Local 234 announced the one-year agreement Wednesday. It calls for union...

HARRISBURG — The recount underway in Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate race marks the end of a chaotic post-election period that has become the latest example of how disputed election rules can expose weak points in a core function of American democracy. The ballot-counting process in the race between incumbent Democratic Sen....

Images that depict the faces of girls with nude bodies have led to the departure of leaders from a private school in Pennsylvania, prompted a student protest and triggered a criminal investigation. A juvenile suspect was “removed from” Lancaster Country Day School and his cellphone was seized by investigators in...

PHILADELPHIA — Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro on Tuesday defended U.S. Sen. Bob Casey’s decision to move forward with a recount, pointing to Republican Dave McCormick ‘s own unsuccessful recount in 2022 in a much closer election. Shapiro has been under pressure from state and national Republicans to intervene in the...

DOYLESTOWN — Two people were taken to hospitals after a small plane struck an unoccupied plane at an eastern Pennsylvania airport, authorities said. Police in Bucks County’s Buckingham Township said first responders were sent to Doylestown Airport shortly before 12:30 p.m. Monday on a report of a single-engine plane crash...

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled Monday that mail-in ballots in the Nov. 5 election that lacked handwritten dates or were improperly dated on their outer envelopes as required under state law cannot be counted. The ruling comes as several counties have been tallying those votes. In a four-page order, the...

HARRISBURG — A first-of-its-kind database from Spotlight PA will make it easier for the public to track how Pennsylvania counties decided to spend tens of millions of dollars from their first rounds of opioid settlement payments — and whether a powerful state oversight board ultimately approved those decisions. Pennsylvania expects...

HARRISBURG — The 2024 presidential election is over. And after months at the center of the political universe, Pennsylvania voters have shown the nation how they feel politically: Most picked Donald Trump. Trump beat Kamala Harris in the commonwealth by a little less than 2 percentage points. It was a...

The Pennsylvania Senate race is headed to a recount. Republican businessman Dave McCormick led by about 24,000 votes over Democratic incumbent Bob Casey as of Thursday afternoon. McCormick has secured 48.9% to Casey’s 48.5%. The Associated Press and Decision Desk have called the race for McCormick. But because the race...

PHILADELPHIA — Additional human remains from a 1985 police bombing on the headquarters of a Black liberation group in Philadelphia have been found at the University of Pennsylvania. The remains are believed to be those of 12-year-old Delisha Africa, one of five children and six adults killed when police bombed...

PHILADELPHIA — The $1 million voter sweepstakes linked to billionaire Elon Musk was allowed to continue through Election Day because Philadelphia’s top prosecutor failed to show that it was an illegal lottery, a judge said in a new opinion. District Attorney Larry Krasner had filed suit last month to try...

Gov, Josh Shapiro said Wednesday he will hold off until hearing President-elect Donald Trump’s plan on mass deportations before determining how he will respond. “Let’s wait and see,” Shapiro said after remarks at an economic development event at a machine construction company in Dillsburg. Shapiro’s comments come as post-Trump election...

Pennsylvania’s hard-fought U.S. Senate race is being extended potentially another two weeks. With the contest between Democratic incumbent Bob Casey and Republican businessman Dave McCormick within 0.5 percentage point, the race is legally required to go to automatic recount under Pennsylvania law, Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt announced Wednesday....

PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia’s mass transit system has proposed an across-the-board 21.5% fare increase that would start New Year’s Day as well as severe service cuts that would take effect next summer. The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority announced its plans on Tuesday and scheduled a Dec. 13 public hearing on them....

The Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission is seeking feedback as it develops guidelines to address bullying and harassment in schools. The commission released an initial draft of proposed guidelines on Aug. 8. “In August we received more than 70 public comments on our harassment in education guidance,” said commission Executive Director...

The Republican Party is calling on the state Supreme Court to discount mail-in ballots that arrive on time but lack written dates. On Tuesday, the Republican National Committee and Republican Party of Pennsylvania filed a petition asking the court to reverse a decision last month by the state’s Commonwealth Court....

A Pennsylvania member of Congress may be in line for a Cabinet post in the new Trump administration. House Agriculture Chair Glenn Thompson is among the candidates under consideration as Trump’s agriculture secretary, according to a report in E&E News/Politico. Thompson has served in the House since 2009, most recently...

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has reversed course and invited Pennsylvania Republican Dave McCormick to the chamber’s orientation for new senators following an initial snub because of uncounted ballots in McCormick’s race. McCormick was declared the winner Friday by The Associated Press in an upset victory, but Democratic incumbent...

This story first appeared in How We Care, a weekly newsletter by Spotlight PA featuring original reporting and perspectives on how we care for one another at all stages of life. Sign up for free here. Cindy’s home has so much stuff that she can’t use certain areas. Boxes form...

A competitive cheer team from a Pennsylvania high school was staying in a Florida hotel to compete in a national competition when a freshman cheerleader received a knock on her door. It was a teammate telling her to come to another room where other members had gathered during the February...

Republican Dave McCormick said Monday he is off to Washington, D.C. for freshman orientation at the U.S. Senate, even as the chamber’s Democratic leaders are withholding an invitation while waiting for the remaining votes to be counted in Pennsylvania. The Associated Press Friday declared McCormick the winner in an upset...

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 — Pennsylvania House Democrats have clung to their one-vote majority despite a statewide wave of GOP wins that...

Republican David McCormick appeared Friday morning in Downtown Pittsburgh to declare victory in his tight U.S. Senate race against incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, who has yet to concede. The Associated Press called the race Thursday in McCormick’s favor, and the Republican claimed there’s no path for Casey to...

PHILADELPHIA — The union that represents thousands of Philadelphia mass transit system workers has agreed to delay a strike that could have started Friday, saying progress was being made in ongoing contract talks. Transport Workers Union Local 234 members had voted last week to authorize a strike once their one-year...

HARRISBURG — Republicans landed historic victories in Pennsylvania this week, winning the battleground state’s valuable presidential electoral votes, posting a two-seat gain in its U.S. House delegation and sweeping all four statewide offices on the ballot, including a U.S. Senate seat. The strong performance means Donald Trump has won Pennsylvania...