Pennsylvania category, Page 29
Ex-Centre County journalist accused of sex crimes to plead guilty, faces decade in prison
A former Centre County journalist accused of soliciting sex with underage girls intends to plead guilty to a federal charge that carries a lengthy prison sentence. Christopher Z. Morelli, 54, of Spring Township, is expected to formally plead guilty to one count of attempted enticement of a minor, according to...
Grove City College president to retire
Paul J. McNulty, whose tenure as Grove City College president has seen campus growth on multiple fronts, will retire after the 2024-25 academic year, school officials announced Tuesday. McNulty, a 1980 graduate of the Christian liberal arts and sciences college, returned to his alma mater after a 30-year law career...
Gov. Josh Shapiro delivers rousing speech at Kamala Harris rally after VP snub
PHILADELPHIA — Anticipation grew over the past several weeks that Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro would join Vice President Kamala Harris onstage in Philadelphia for Tuesday’s announcement of the new Democratic ticket running this fall for the White House. As expected, Shapiro was onstage, but not in the role many envisioned...
Why Walz won the Democrat veepstakes over Shapiro
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s centrist profile might have cost him a spot on the Democratic presidential ticket this November in favor of a more progressive politician, experts said Tuesday. Shapiro, considered a top contender to be Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate during a compressed vetting process, was passed over...
Kamala Harris, VP pick Tim Walz debut at Philadelphia rally
Vice President Kamala Harris ended weeks of speculation Tuesday by announcing Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate in the presidential race, choosing him over a short list of Democratic candidates that included Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro. Harris announced on social media just before 10:30 a.m. that she had...
Experts break down Shapiro’s pros, cons as VP candidate
Some Democrats think Gov. Josh Shapiro could be the key to unlocking the Keystone State in November. If Vice President Kamala Harris selects Shapiro as her running mate, it would place Pennsylvania front and center in the presidential election against Republican nominee Donald Trump and his vice presidential pick, U.S....
Critics including Fetterman, UAW put Shapiro on hot seat amid VP speculation
As Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro generates national buzz as a top contender to be Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate, naysayers have been increasingly vocal in their opposition. In recent days, the first-term Democratic governor has been hailed by some as a promising vice-presidential choice who may be able to...
Here’s how a pro-Trump, Elon Musk-backed super PAC is getting Pa. voters’ personal info
A pro-Donald Trump super PAC funded by billionaire Elon Musk is collecting battleground state voters’ personal information through an ad pretending to help them register to vote. CNBC.com reported Friday that Musk’s America PAC is running an online ad that shows a young man scrolling through his cellphone while lying...
Third-party candidates file to run for president, U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania
HARRISBURG — More than a dozen third-party candidates for president, U.S. Senate and three statewide offices filed paperwork ahead of Thursday’s deadline to get on November’s general election ballot in Pennsylvania, raising the possibility that they could play spoiler in high-stakes and close races in the battleground state. Pennsylvania is...
Former Pennsylvania Gov. Mark Schweiker sees no justice in 9/11 prisoner plea deal
For more than 20 years, former Pennsylvania Gov. Mark Schweiker has been a conduit for information and healing for the families of the 33 passengers of United Flight 93, all of whom were killed on Sept. 11, 2001 in the worst terrorist attack on U.S. soil. In many ways, Schweiker...
Pennsylvania man accused of beheading father in their home is competent to stand trial, judge rules
DOYLESTOWN — The man accused of beheading his father in their suburban Philadelphia home early this year and posting a video of the severed head online is competent to stand trial, a judge ruled Thursday. The decision by Judge Stephen Corr came after a five-hour hearing in which prosecutors and...
Trump draws thousands to Harrisburg rally only weeks after Western Pa. shooting: ‘I’m thrilled to be back’
Former President Donald Trump returned to Pennsylvania on Wednesday for a campaign rally in Harrisburg, unleashing a stream of attacks on the presumptive Democratic candidate, Vice President Kamala Harris. It marked the first time since the July 13 attempt on his life during a rally at a fairgrounds in Butler...
Next stop could be White House for ‘dynamic’ Shapiro
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro told graduates at his college alma mater last year he might not have ventured into politics if he hadn’t failed a science test and been cut from the basketball team during his freshman year. “I planned to be the first doctor to get drafted by the...
By the dozen, accusers tell of rampant sexual abuse at Pennsylvania juvenile detention facilities
A group of nearly 70 people alleged Wednesday they were sexually abused as children while housed in detention centers in Pennsylvania, adding to earlier lawsuits targeting what the accusers’ lawyers say is the state’s broken juvenile justice system. The latest group of plaintiffs filed suit in state or federal court...
Man shot to death outside mosque as he headed to pray was a 43-year-old Philadelphia resident
PHILADELPHIA — A man shot and killed outside the Philadelphia mosque where he was headed for a prayer service was identified by police on Wednesday as a 43-year-old resident of the city. Police and the district attorney’s office said they had no new information about what motivated a man in...
Have a gripe about your flight? Pa. AG launches online aviation complaint form
Pennsylvania travelers facing issues such as flight delays, cancellations or boarding problems now can file complaints through an online form launched Wednesday by the state Attorney General’s Office. Attorney General Michelle Henry said a national uptick in consumer complaints prompted her to act. State residents and travelers who experience airline...
Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman recovering from covid-19 in Braddock
HARRISBURG, Pa. — U.S. Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania said he is recovering from covid-19 at home. Fetterman said in a statement Tuesday that he was at his home in Braddock, just outside Pittsburgh, recovering and missed the day’s votes in the Senate. That included the Senate’s 91-3 passage of...
Former President Donald Trump campaigns in Harrisburg
Just over two weeks ago, former President Donald Trump, the Republican candidate for president, survived an assassination attempt while campaigning in Pennsylvania. Trump will be back in the state today, his first campaign visit here since the shooting. People were camped out at the rainy Farm Show Complex overnight ahead...
Pennsylvania casinos ask court to force state to tax skill games found in stores equally to slots
HARRISBURG — The owners of 12 Pennsylvania casinos have asked the state’s highest court to declare that a tax on slot machine revenue is unconstitutional because the state doesn’t impose it broadly on cash-paying electronic game terminals known as skill games that can be found in many bars and stores....
Harris campaign said she would not ban fracking, reversing past pledge
Vice President Kamala Harris will not seek a ban on natural gas drilling, or fracking, if elected, according to a statement from her campaign. “She would not ban fracking,” the Harris campaign said in a statement to TribLive. The statement comes as a reversal of Harris’ past comments on fracking....
Shapiro was set to endorse Harris for president in 2019. Will she want him on her ticket now?
When Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for president last week, it wasn’t the first time. A little-known political fact of Harris’s first run for the Democratic nomination in the 2020 campaign cycle is that then-Pennsylvania Attorney General Shapiro offered his endorsement of Harris’s first presidential bid...
National GOP to spend $1 million toward Ryan Mackenzie in race vs. Susan Wild
State Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, who is running to unseat U.S. Rep. Susan Wild in the Lehigh Valley’s hotly contested 7th District congressional race, is one of a handful of Republican candidates selected to a National Republican Congressional Committee program, which will spend upward of $1 million to elect him. Mackenzie,...
Pennsylvania congressman chosen to lead House task force investigating Trump assassination attempt
WASHINGTON — A Pennsylvania congressman who witnessed the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump firsthand will lead the House task force charged with investigating what went wrong and recommending solutions to help ensure such an attack doesn’t happen again. Republican Rep. Mike Kelly represents Butler County, where the July...
Bill adds free-speech protection against frivolous ‘SLAPP’ lawsuits
A new state law provides some additional free-speech protection to Pennsylvania citizens and groups who find themselves in court after criticizing powerful interests, such as real estate developers or political figures. House Bill 1466 was signed into law July 17 by Gov. Josh Shapiro, protecting free speech on public-sector issues...
Court tells governor’s office to reveal more details about why it hired private law firms
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 — A three-judge Commonwealth Court panel has directed the governor’s office to reveal key details about why it spent tens of thousands in public...
