Pennsylvania category, Page 79
Fetterman, Oz face off in chaotic debate
In the only debate of Pennsylvania’s Senate race, Democrat John Fetterman and Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz battled in a chaotic event where the candidates lobbed countless attacks at each other in between answering questions from the moderators. Fetterman and Oz squared off for an hour Tuesday night on the WHTM-TV...
Penn State the latest university to grapple with controversial speech
After violent protests erupted Monday night on Penn State’s main campus, the university became the latest to allow a controversial event and bet wrongly that civil discourse would trump unrest. The situation at Penn State unraveled quickly before a scheduled appearance by Proud Boys founder Gavin McInnes, with police —...
Retiring Senate leader Jake Corman urges colleagues to ‘keep the faith’ in farewell remarks
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman, known for wearing his heart on his sleeve, fought back tears as he delivered his farewell speech Tuesday on the Senate floor. He urged his fellow senators to respect the institution they serve and to remember when they walk into the...
Justices to sort out if mail-in ballot envelopes need dates
HARRISBURG — Senior Pennsylvania elections officials argued in a new court filing Tuesday that handwritten dates on the envelopes that many state voters use to mail in ballots should not be deemed mandatory, in part because of a half-century-old legislative ruling deemphasizing their importance. The filing, made under a compressed...
As Election Day approaches, Wolf and Pa. lawmakers look to push through massive tax incentives for natural gas
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 — Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf and top state lawmakers are hurriedly negotiating a massive economic development package that would encourage...
Penn State protests lead to last-minute cancellation of Proud Boys founder’s appearance
Penn State University officials canceled a Monday evening appearance by Proud Boys founder Gavin McInnes as protests gained steam outside of the event. “Due to the threat of escalating violence associated with tonight’s event, Penn State University Police determined that it was necessary to cancel the speaking event in the...
How to watch Pa.’s highly anticipated Senate debate between Fetterman, Oz
Pennsylvania’s hotly contested U.S. Senate race will have its only televised debate Tuesday in a highly anticipated event that could play an important role in deciding the outcome. Democrat John Fetterman and Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz will square off for an hour starting at 8 p.m. in a live debate...
Pa. acting secretary of state deals with threats as election approaches
Pennsylvania Acting Secretary of State Leigh M. Chapman said Monday that her office has received threats over the upcoming election. “It is the misinformation that is really fueling these threats,” said Chapman in a press call. She said the Department of State has been in communication with the FBI and...
Experts: Fetterman’s health unlikely to impact the Pa. Senate race
Tuesday night’s debate between Democratic Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman and Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz will be the first and only meeting of the two candidates before the Nov. 8 election. Its outcome could go a long way in deciding who wins a seat that political pundits say could determine...
Dismissal of DUI case against ex-attorney general Kathleen Kane sought
SCRANTON — The attorney for Pennsylvania’s former top law enforcement officer is arguing that a drunken-driving case against her should be dismissed because prosecutors did not present sufficient evidence. The (Scranton) Times-Tribune reports that defense attorney Jason Mattioli also seeks to bar prosecutors from presenting results of a field sobriety...
Where governor candidates Mastriano, Shapiro stand on rural health care, broadband and agriculture
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 — People who live in rural Pennsylvania face unique barriers to health care, broadband, and economic opportunities. About 3.4 million...
Jail officials across Pa. sound alarm as mental health crisis puts people at risk, survey finds
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. County jails across Pennsylvania lack the resources to address a growing mental health crisis, putting some of the most vulnerable incarcerated...
Most outside spending on Pa. governor’s race has one aim: to defeat Doug Mastriano
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 — In the nationally watched race for Pennsylvania governor, Democrat Josh Shapiro has outspent Republican rival Doug Mastriano by tens...
Justice Kagan at UPenn: ‘Time will tell’ if court finds common ground
WASHINGTON — Justice Elena Kagan on Friday waded into the issue of divisiveness on the Supreme Court, saying that “time will tell” whether the court can get back to “finding common ground” after a term in which its six conservatives and three liberals split over contentious issues like abortion and...
Pa. Supreme Court rejects appeal seeking parole eligibility for 2nd-degree murder on jurisdictional grounds
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court said this week that a challenge to the constitutionality of sentencing people to a mandatory life-without-parole prison term for second-degree murder must be handled through individual appellate proceedings, not Commonwealth Court. Six people serving life without parole for what is known as felony murder — the...
Biden stumps for Pa.’s Fetterman, says ‘world is looking’
PHILADELPHIA — President Joe Biden said Thursday that the “rest of the world is looking” to see who holds control of Congress after the upcoming midterm elections, warning that Republican victories would jeopardize the nation’s standing abroad as he tried to deliver a boost to Pennsylvania Democrat John Fetterman’s campaign...
Dr. Oz made reputation as a surgeon, a fortune as a salesman
HARRISBURG — Dr. Mehmet Oz rolled onstage inside of an inflatable orb, put on a hydrating face mask and proceeded to pitch a new line of skin care products to a convention of supplement distributors at Salt Lake City’s Vivint Arena in 2018. The crowd roared in applause. The celebrity...
Prison escapee accused of sending threatening letter, powder
SCRANTON — Federal prosecutors have accused a Pennsylvania prison escapee of sending a letter with threats to kill President Biden and the chairman of the Jan. 6 committee, among others, and containing a white powder with an allusion to anthrax. Robert Maverick Vargo, 25, of Berwick is charged with making...
Police: 3-year-old shoots baby in the face in Lancaster County home
Police have confirmed that a 3-year-old child fatally shot an infant in the head on Tuesday night. Lancaster Bureau of Police said the shooting was reported around 7 p.m., at a home on Woodward Street. A baby had been shot in the face and was unable to be saved by...
Breast cancer screening bills pass Pa. Senate that would remove cost as a deterrent
HARRISBURG — Legislation aimed at helping Pennsylvanians detect breast cancer earlier and remove cost as a barrier to women having breast cancer screenings advanced in the state Senate on Wednesday. The two bills that accomplish these goals now move to the House of Representatives for consideration although the two-year legislative...
How well a death in Pennsylvania will be investigated depends largely on where someone dies
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 our regional newsletter, Talk of the Town. STATE COLLEGE — In one Pennsylvania county, the coroner’s office relies on an autopsy facility...
Report: Pa. priest carjacked while unloading wheelchair
A priest and his passenger were carjacked in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia on Sunday, according to a story from CBS Philadelphia. The incident happened along the 2100 block East Somerset Street at around 8:45 p.m., the news station reported. According to police, four men approached the priest while he...
Fetterman’s doctor says he’s recovering well from stroke
John Fetterman, the Democratic nominee for Senate in Pennsylvania, released a doctor’s note Wednesday saying he is recovering well from a May stroke as he vies for an open seat in a bare-knuckle campaign against Republican rival Dr. Mehmet Oz, who has questioned Fetterman’s fitness to serve. Five months after...
Philly has spent $205 million on salaries for injured police since 2017. An audit found little is done to prevent fraud
For nearly two decades, top city officials have argued that a generous but loosely-controlled state disability benefit meant for injured Philadelphia police officers has been an easy target for abuse. But an audit of police spending, released Tuesday by City Controller Rebecca Rhynhart, has found that the cost to taxpayers...
Woman who faked her kidnapping and went to Disney now faces fraud charges
PHILADELPHIA — A former Pennsylvania woman who made national headlines more than a decade ago by falsely claiming she had been kidnapped when she had actually gone to Walt Disney World is facing new charges in an alleged attempt to steal from an employer. Federal authorities have charged 51-year-old Bonnie...
