Pennsylvania category, Page 9
Gisele Fetterman says she would ‘never’ run for office and doesn’t want her husband, John Fetterman, running for presidentVideo
Gisele Barreto Fetterman said she does not want her husband, Sen. John Fetterman, D-Braddock, to run for president and dismissed “bizarre” speculation about her own political ambitions in a new interview with Meghan McCain for her podcast “Citizen McCain.” In a clip obtained by Fox News Digital, Barreto Fetterman said...
Legal cannabis in Pa. would be overseen by state board, sold by private dispensaries under new proposal
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 — Despite a pressing need for lawmakers to find new revenue sources, recreational marijuana won’t be part of this year’s state budget. But the...
Family says Allentown grandfather in Guatemala after ICE arrest, but country says it has no records of him
The granddaughter of Allentown grandfather Luis Leon says he is recovering from pneumonia in a Guatemala hospital, weeks after he was taken in handcuffs from a Philadelphia immigration office and driven two days by bus to a detention center in Minnesota. However, the Guatemalan Institute of Migration, which tracks migrants...
‘Did you see anything happen?’: Audio provides details on moments before fatal plane crash
Tower audio from a fatal plane crash on Sunday morning near Lancaster Airport in Warwick Township, Lancaster County, shows the pilot had communicated with air traffic control minutes before takeoff. Just two and a half minutes after the plane was cleared for takeoff, air traffic control started calling out for...
Is the labor, funding there to see through $90B in energy, tech projects in Pa.?
Announcements are easy. Following through could be the hard part for companies that pledged more than $90 billion in investments across the state Tuesday during the Pennsylvania Energy and Innovation Summit at Carnegie Mellon University, organized by U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pittsburgh. At least a quarter of that money is...
New report lauds Pittsburgh region for AI talent, innovation
A new report appears to support what many political and business leaders asserted at Tuesday’s Pennsylvania Energy and Innovation Summit: The state is well-positioned to be a key player in the growing artificial intelligence economy. The Brookings Institution report, released Wednesday, rated Pittsburgh as one of 14 “emerging centers” in...
Immigration activists protest ICE arrests at Philly courthouse
PHILADELPHIA — Crowds stood outside the Juanita Kidd Stout Center for Criminal Justice chanting “say it loud, say it clear, immigrants are welcome here.” The Friday morning rally organized by Juntos, a community-led immigrant organization in South Philadelphia, follows a string of Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainments outside courthouses, including...
$5,000-per-plate dinner with McCormick at Carnegie museum spurs backlash
A private event billed as a dinner and fireside chat featuring U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick and his wife at the Carnegie Museum of Art has generated backlash and raised concerns about the propriety of the museum offering space for such a gathering, which cost $5,000 to attend. The dinner occurred...
Some Pennsylvania lawmakers want to ban fluoride in public drinking water. Here’s what to know
A bill recently introduced to the state Senate would ban fluoride in Pennsylvania’s public drinking water, part of growing skepticism toward the naturally-occurring mineral that dental health experts have considered essential for decades. The Fluoride Choice Act, introduced by Sen. Dawn Keefer, R-York, would prevent fluoride from being added to...
Man who sent Facebook message about committing a 2013 campus sexual assault pleads guilty
GETTYSBURG — An American extradited from France to face charges that he sexually assaulted a fellow Pennsylvania college student in 2013 — and later sent her a Facebook message that said “So I raped you” — pleaded guilty Thursday. Ian Cleary, 32, pleaded guilty to second-degree sexual assault more than...
Tuition increase approved for state-owned universities for 1st time in 7 years
Tuition for state universities is set to increase by 3.6% for students this fall, but that figure could decrease if state funding increases, the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education said Thursday. In-state undergraduate tuition for this academic year will increase by $139 per semester, to $3,997 per semester, according...
Fetterman says deals announced at Pittsburgh summit are ‘huge wins and investments’ in Pa.
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman described the flurry of development deals announced at Tuesday’s Pennsylvania Energy and Innovation Summit in Pittsburgh as “huge wins and investments” in the state. Companies attending the summit at Carnegie Mellon University, organized by U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pittsburgh, announced plans to invest more than $90...
Lawsuit claims Pennsylvania’s outdated tax assessment system hurts low-income homeowners
A lawsuit filed in Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Court alleges the state’s property tax assessment process is unconstitutional, harming low- income homeowners who are typically overassessed. Filed by Mon Valley Unemployed Committee Inc., the complaint names as defendants the commonwealth, Gov. Josh Shapiro and Attorney General David Sunday. “The General Assembly’s failure...
JD Vance touts tax breaks in Pennsylvania as he makes White House’s 1st big pitch on Trump’s new law
WEST PITTSTON — Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday made the Trump administration’s first big pitch to sell the public on President Donald Trump’s sweeping budget-and-policy package in the swing political turf of northeastern Pennsylvania. The vice president, whose tiebreaking vote got the bill through the Senate, touted the legislation’s...
Penn State fraternity charged under hazing law named for victim
A Penn State University fraternity is facing criminal charges after police said its members subjected its pledges to physical and emotional abuse. The Lambda Lambda chapter of Phi Beta Sigma was charged last week with conspiracy organizational hazing by Ferguson Township police, according to StateCollege.com. The charge is a misdemeanor...
Independents who want to vote in Pennsylvania’s closed primaries seek help from state’s high court
HARRISBURG — Voters hoping to open up Pennsylvania’s closed primary system to independents asked the state Supreme Court on Tuesday to declare the current system violates the state constitution’s right to free and fair elections. Four independent voters asked the justices to take up the case directly, arguing that in...
Gov. Josh Shapiro, DNC chair Ken Martin say Sharif Street should step down as state party leader while running for Congress
Gov. Josh Shapiro and Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin said this week they think State Sen. Sharif Street should consider stepping down as Pennsylvania’s Democratic Party chair as he runs for U.S. Congress. The comments from the two top Democratic heavyweights come as Street this month announced his campaign...
Janelle Stelson, who narrowly lost to GOP Rep. Scott Perry, wants another chance to beat him in 2026
HARRISBURG — Democrat Janelle Stelson, who lost to Republican U.S. Rep. Scott Perry by barely a percentage point in 2024, will run again in the right-leaning congressional district in Pennsylvania. Stelson, a one-time local TV anchor and personality, mounted a challenge to Perry, the former leader of the hardline House...
Pa. joins lawsuit against Trump over frozen funds for after-school, summer programs
EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. — More than 20 states, including Pennsylvania, have sued President Donald Trump’s administration over billions of dollars in frozen funding for after-school and summer programs and other programs. About 1.4 million children and teenagers around the country have been attending after-school and summer programming at a Boys...
There’s hope again for Pennsylvanians who want recreational marijuana legalized in the state. Maybe
HARRISBURG — Recreational marijuana is back on the table for state lawmakers. But it’s still a long way away from being legally sold in Pennsylvania. Adult-use cannabis came the closest it’s ever gotten to being legalized in Pennsylvania in May, after the state House passed a proposal to allow state-owned...
Unexploded firework prompts safety warning at Gettysburg park
Officials with the Gettysburg National Military Park are warning the public about an unexploded commercial grade firework potentially located near Gettysburg Area Recreation Park. The unexploded firework is possibly located in wooded areas and fields west of Gettysburg Area Recreation Park and east of West Confederate Avenue. If you happen...
Pennsylvania man who posted video of father’s severed head online is found guilty of murder
DOYLESTOWN — A Pennsylvania man who posted a video of his father’s severed head on YouTube was convicted of murder Friday and sentenced to life without parole. Bucks County Judge Stephen A. Corr found Justin D. Mohn, 33, guilty in the January 2024 shooting death of his father at their...
Trump praises Fetterman for saying calls to abolish ICE are ‘inappropriate and outrageous’
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D.-Braddock, is still tweeting about ICE after earning President Donald Trump’s praise Wednesday for slamming calls to abolish Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. Fetterman said “ICE performs an important job for our country” in the first of a pair of posts uploaded to X on Thursday. “Any...
Pa. man who blamed ‘wokeness’ for troubles says he beheaded dad to spur a revolution
DOYLESTOWN — A 33-year-old Pennsylvania man told a county judge Wednesday he tried to arrest his father for committing treason, fatally shot him in self-defense, and later beheaded him for “practicality” reasons to rally a revolution against the federal government. Testifying in his own defense, Justin Mohn, of Levittown, went...
Prices on certain goods, services could rise as Pa. lawmakers consider axing some sales tax exemptions
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 — Sales tax exemptions for everything from newspapers to legal services to candy cost the commonwealth billions every year, and at least one top...
