Pennsylvania category, Page 17

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Capitol buildings are almost always an imposing presence. The seat of government, they tend to be elegant and stately — and frequently capped by a dome. Visitors to Pennsylvania ‘s Capitol are drawn to its priceless artwork, polished marble and intricate carvings, but hidden behind the doors...

A battle for election transparency is being waged across Pennsylvania’s court system. Against a backdrop of the “stop the steal” movement and persistent accusations of a broken electoral system, an unlikely alliance of GOP lawyers and grassroots democracy advocates is pushing to open elections to greater public scrutiny. Their goal:...

This article is made possible through Spotlight PA’s collaboration with Votebeat, a nonpartisan news organization covering local election administration and voting. Sign up for Votebeat’s free newsletters here. After Donald Trump lost Pennsylvania in 2020, he used Twitter to direct his fury straight at Al Schmidt, then a Philadelphia city...

HOLLIDAYSBURG — The man accused of killing UnitedHealthcare’s CEO was whisked back to New York by plane and helicopter Thursday to face new federal charges of stalking and murder, which could bring the death penalty if he’s convicted. Luigi Mangione was held without bail following a Manhattan federal court appearance,...

HARRISBURG — The 2024 presidential election formally closed Tuesday in Pennsylvania with the Republican Party’s 19 certified electors casting their respective ballots in the Electoral College for President-elect Donald J. Trump. The official action, mirrored in statehouses across the U.S., precedes the scheduled joint session of Congress on Jan. 6...

A Pennsylvania jail retaliated against inmates suspected of smoking synthetic marijuana by punishing entire cell blocks — confiscating legal paperwork, withholding necessities like toilet paper, soap and warm clothing, and cutting power and heat, inmates allege in a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday. Top jail officials waged an escalating, monthlong campaign...

A man was shot Monday morning after he attacked security guards with a knife at the federal courthouse in Harrisburg, authorities told PennLIve. District Attorney Fran Chardo said a guard shot the man between 8:45 and 9 a.m. at the Sylvia H. Rambo U.S. Courthouse on the 1500 block of...

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. HARRISBURG — At first, things were going smoothly. Filmmaker Nate Kresge said he was receiving grants through a little-known state program to promote Pennsylvania’s beer...

Recreational marijuana remains illegal in Pennsylvania. But lawmakers, advocates and even opponents who have spent countless hours debating the topic in Harrisburg say that likely will change soon. Money, specifically the promise of jobs and new tax revenue, has come to dominate the conversation in the General Assembly. Like the...

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. HARRISBURG — In his first two years as governor, Josh Shapiro has signed about 50 percent of the clemency applications recommended to him by the...

You never forget your first time seeing a giant salamander, according to Andy Hill. He was a teenager, standing thigh-high in the Watauga River outside Boone, North Carolina, casting a line on an early fall day when he saw his first eastern hellbender. The salamander stretched 2 feet long and...

President Joe Biden has commuted the sentence of a former judge in Northeast Pennsylvania who gained notoriety for a scheme to send children to for-profit jails in exchange for kickbacks. That commutation was part of a larger move from Biden, who commuted sentences for about 1,500 people who were released...

PHILADELPHIA — More than 400 tips were called into the New York Police Department’s Crime Stoppers tip line during the five-day search for a masked gunman who ambushed and fatally shot UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson last week. NYPD officials said about 30 of those tips were useful as information about...

In February 2023, Sardis Volunteer Fire Company Chief Joe Paiano Jr. entered a burning house in Salem Township to rescue an 11-year-old boy. The boy was among three people pulled from the fire, but he died of his injuries a few days later. The incident affected Paiano in a way...

PHILADELPHIA — The suspect in the killing of the UnitedHealthcare CEO plans to fight extradition to New York to face murder charges, but officials hope to get him back with what’s called a governor’s warrant. The process could happen quickly or take more than a month. New York Gov. Kathy...

Cascading failures involving a corroded steam pipe and a defective natural gas fitting caused a powerful explosion in 2023 at a Pennsylvania chocolate factory, killing seven workers when the company failed to evacuate, a federal safety board said Tuesday. About 70 production workers and 35 office staff at R.M. Palmer...

Coal mining’s roots in the Pittsburgh area run deeper than the foundations of American democracy. Since the mid-1700s, years before the Declaration of Independence, Pennsylvanians have mined 250,000 acres of land for coal, pulling more than 15 billion tons of the fossil fuel from the earth, according to the state...

This story was produced by the State College regional bureau of Spotlight PA, an independent, nonpartisan newsroom dedicated to investigative and public-service journalism for Pennsylvania. Sign up for Talk of the Town, a weekly newsletter of local stories that dig deep, events, and more from north-central PA, at spotlightpa.org/newsletters/talkofthetown. When...

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation spends roughly $171 million preparing major roads for winter weather each season, and plows play a large role in keeping the commonwealth’s bridges and highways clear of snow and ice. According to agency estimates, PennDOT used 2,238 plow trucks, 396 rental trucks and 235 anti-icing...

U.S. Sen. John Fetterman said Thursday while appearing on TV talk show “The View” that recent criminal cases against President-elect Donald Trump and Hunter Biden were politically motivated, and that since Biden received a pardon from his father, President Joe Biden, then Trump also deserves one. Fetterman, a Democrat from...

Despite widespread claims on social media from conservative activists, Amish voters cannot be credited with winning Pennsylvania for President-elect Donald Trump, according to vote returns. While there looks to be marginal increase in the number of Amish people who voted this year, experts said they do not expect major shifts...

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. HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has dealt a blow to Philadelphia and other municipalities’ efforts to pass stricter gun laws, but advocates say their...

Despite being hunted each fall, deer find ways to survive. The months of dry weather likely will not affect hunting, according to state game officials. But processor Melinda Weimer has noticed a difference in the size and quality of antlers and the amount of quality meat Weimer Meats in Loyalhanna...

This story first appeared in PA Local, a weekly newsletter by Spotlight PA taking a fresh, positive look at the incredible people, beautiful places, and delicious food of Pennsylvania. Linda Then and her wife Sandy have a lot of mouths to feed. There’s the Jersey steer, the burly Clydesdale, the...