Pennsylvania category, Page 93
Pa. officials call for expansion of syringe service programs
Officials on Thursday advocated for an expansion of syringe service programs in Pennsylvania to provide safe needles to people using drugs. Philadelphia and Pittsburgh are the only places in the commonwealth that have ordinances to allow syringe service programs to operate, said Acting Health Secretary Denise Johnson. She and other...
Police searching for suspect after shooting at Luzerne County WalmartVideo
Pennsylvania state police are searching for a man believed to have fired several shots near a Walmart in Pittston Township, Luzerne County, according to multiple media reports. According to WNEP, police said a man fired shots around 4 p.m. today in a shopping plaza parking lot located along Route 315....
Ex-Philadelphia detective guilty of work-linked sex assault
PHILADELPHIA — A veteran Philadelphia homicide detective was convicted of sexually assaulting or exploiting three male witnesses in a case that has led prosecutors to review dozens of homicide convictions. Former detective Philip Nordo, 56, was taken into custody after the jury verdict Wednesday. A 2019 grand jury report accused...
Gas price-shocked Pennsylvanians looking for relief, but Harrisburg unlikely to provide it any time soon
While a spokesperson for AAA says near-record gasoline prices could rise higher — the Pennsylvania average was $4.76 a gallon on Tuesday — relief seems unlikely to come from Harrisburg any time soon. Initiatives to help consumers from both Gov. Wolf’s office and the state Legislature have failed to gain...
New covid cases drop 15% in Pennsylvania’s latest report; deaths nearly double
In its weekly update on covid-19 Wednesday, the Pennsylvania Department of Health reported 24,862 new cases in the past week. The latest batch of cases are 15% fewer than last week’s report of 29,227. Pennsylvania is now averaging 3,552 new cases per day. Despite the lower number new cases, the...
Gift ban, other good-government changes stall in Pa. despite promises from leadership
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan 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 newsletters. HARRISBURG — Rabbi Michael Pollack stood at a podium in the Capitol, just steps away from where the legislature meets, to...
Supreme Court order could affect Pennsylvania Senate count
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Tuesday temporarily blocked the counting of some mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania, an order that could affect the tight Republican Senate primary between former hedge fund CEO David McCormick and celebrity heart surgeon Dr. Mehmet Oz. An order from Justice Samuel Alito paused a lower-court...
Wolf: Money could be spent to address gun violence but ‘we cannot ignore the elephant in the room’
Gov. Tom Wolf is calling on policymakers to “be open to the things that work” to address gun violence “but we cannot ignore the elephant in the room and that is guns.” During an interview Tuesday morning on KDKA radio, Wolf reacted to last week’s mass shooting at Robb Elementary...
Rising U.S. traffic deaths put focus on 1 Philadelphia road
PHILADELPHIA — Just one more step and the stroller would have been on the curb. The thought haunts Latanya Byrd years after a driver racing down Roosevelt Boulevard in Philadelphia struck and killed her 27-year-old niece, Samara Banks, and three of Banks’ young sons as they crossed the 12-lane road....
Gun sales, permits surged during the pandemic in Philly and Pennsylvania
In Uvalde, Texas, a gunman killed 19 children and two adults at an elementary school, after picking up two powerful, AR-15-style rifles ordered through an online seller shortly after his 18th birthday — something that would have also been perfectly legal in Pennsylvania. Here, over the last two years, more...
Christian nationalism on the rise in some GOP campaigns
PITTSBURGH — The victory party took on the feel of an evangelical worship service after Doug Mastriano won Pennsylvania’s Republican gubernatorial primary this month. As a Christian singer led the crowd in song, some raised their arms toward the heavens in praise. Mastriano opened his remarks by evoking Scripture: “God...
FBI records on search for fabled Pennsylvania gold raise more questions
A scientific analysis commissioned by the FBI shortly before agents went digging for buried treasure suggested that a huge quantity of gold could be below the surface, according to newly released government documents and photos that deepen the mystery of the 2018 excavation in remote western Pennsylvania. The report, by...
High-profile GOP primary losses could make Pitt funding a target in Pa. budget process
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan 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 newsletters. HARRISBURG — The primary defeat of one of Harrisburg’s top budget negotiators and the potential loss of another could embolden a...
Oz declares ‘presumptive win’ in Pa. GOP’s U.S. Senate primary
Dr. Mehmet Oz has seen enough, and he isn’t waiting for a recount. Sitting on a 910-vote lead in preliminary, unofficial tallies from Pennsylvania’s Republican Senate primary race as of Friday morning, Oz declared himself the presumptive winner in a new video release in which he took a definitive turn...
Pa. Turnpike could see Memorial Day traffic exceed pre-pandemic volume
Officials expect to see this year’s Memorial Day holiday traffic on the Pennsylvania Turnpike exceed pre-pandemic levels. They’re projecting more than 2.2 million travelers will take to the toll road during the four days from Friday through Monday. That represents an increase of nearly 300,000, or 15%, from the same...
Police: Video captures man shooting 4 walking to Philadelphia prom party
PHILADELPHIA — Four people were shot Wednesday night as they walked to a prom party in the Mantua neighborhood, according to Philadelphia police. WPVI-TV reports that just after 7 p.m. surveillance video captured a gunman who was reportedly on a bike when he fired the gunshots. The suspect is described...
Medical marijuana card companies push access in Pa., while doctors are silenced
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan 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 newsletters. HARRISBURG — When Pennsylvania lawmakers legalized medical cannabis in 2016, they struck an unusual deal: Physicians can approve patients for the...
Pennsylvania House votes against taking up gun bill after Texas killings
HARRISBURG — An effort by Democratic lawmakers in Pennsylvania to ban owning, selling or making high-capacity, semi-automatic firearms went nowhere Wednesday as state House Republicans again displayed their firm opposition to gun restriction proposals. The state House of Representatives voted 111-87 against the effort by Democratic Rep. Danielle Friel Otten...
Oz, McCormick race heads into recount in Pa. Senate primary
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s top election official said Wednesday that the margin between the top two candidates in last week’s Republican primary for U.S. Senate is tight enough to trigger a statewide recount, dragging the outcome into June as the candidates fight in court. The state’s acting secretary of state, Leigh...
Pennsylvania reports 29K new covid cases in past week; deaths at same rate as last month
On Wednesday, the Pennsylvania Department of Health released its weekly update on covid-19, reporting 29,227 new cases in the past week. While the overall number of cases rose 4.8% from May 18 to 24, the growth of new cases week over week dropped significantly. From May 11 to 18, the...
Last known survivor of WWII POW massacre dead at 99
MOUNT JOY — Harold Billow, 99, the last known survivor of a World War II POW massacre during the Battle of the Bulge, will be laid to rest Thursday in Pennsylvania. Billow, who died May 17, was attached to the Army’s 285th Field Artillery Observation Battalion when his unit surrendered...
New study urges Pennsylvania to improve recycling efforts
A report released Wednesday said Pennsylvania should require curbside pickup for common recyclables such as glass and plastic and recommit itself to educating the public about the importance of recycling. The goal is to “get Pennsylvania back on track as a leader in recycling and waste reduction,” said Sarah Alessio...
How a mail ballot ruling in Pa. could affect 2022 primary election results
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan 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 newsletters. HARRISBURG — A federal appeals court ruled Friday that election officials in one Pennsylvania county must count legally cast mail ballots...
Student stabbed at Pa. high school, prompting lockdown
COATESVILLE — A student at a high school near Philadelphia was taken to a hospital after a stabbing that prompted a lockdown at the school, authorities said. Police were called to Coatesville Area Senior High School just before 7:30 a.m. Tuesday after a student was reported with a slash-type wound...
GOP to intervene in lawsuit over Pa. Senate race vote-count
HARRISBURG — The national Republican Party is stepping in on the neck-and-neck GOP primary contest for U.S. Senate and opposing a lawsuit that could help former hedge fund CEO David McCormick close the vote gap between him and celebrity heart surgeon Dr. Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania’s votes. McCormick’s lawsuit was...
