Pennsylvania category, Page 86
2 super PACs are pouring tens of millions into Pennsylvania for Oz and Fetterman ads
Pennsylvania was already expected to have one of the most expensive Senate races in the country. Now two super PACs are spending big bucks booking TV time. The Senate Leadership Fund, a GOP super PAC focused on reclaiming the Senate, will pour an additional $9.5 million into promoting Mehmet Oz’s...
Pa. Rep. Scott Perry says FBI took his cellphone after Trump property search
U.S. Rep. Scott Perry said his cellphone was seized Tuesday morning by FBI agents carrying a search warrant. The circumstances surrounding the seizure were not immediately known. Perry, though, has been a figure in the congressional investigation into President Donald Trump’s actions leading up to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol...
Mastriano cuts short interview with Jan. 6 panel
State Sen. Doug Mastriano, the Republican nominee for governor in Pennsylvania, had a very brief visit Tuesday with the congressional committee investigating the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. His attorney, Timothy Parlatore, confirmed that Mastriano spent fewer than 15 minutes speaking to the Jan. 6 committee...
Attorney general: Pennsylvania defense attorney pressured clients into sex
A defense attorney who used to work as a county prosecutor targeted vulnerable clients for sex, exploiting four women in exchange for legal work he did for them or their family members, the Pennsylvania attorney general’s office said Monday. Corey J. Kolcharno, 47, is charged with four counts of promoting...
Police: Bethlehem woman caring for person with dementia steals $55K in gold coins from home
A 47-year-old Bethlehem woman was charged Monday with burglary and related offenses after stealing 30 ounces of gold coins valued at more than $55,000 from an 86-year-old Bethlehem Township woman for whom the suspect was supposed to be caring, police report. Ivette Robles was arraigned Monday morning before District Judge...
Coroner: Smoke inhalation killed at least 5 of 10 in Luzerne County fire
NESCOPECK — Authorities say at least half of the 10 people found dead after an early morning fire in northeastern Pennsylvania died of smoke inhalation. The Luzerne County coroner’s office said autopsies on the victims of the early Friday blaze in Nescopeck began Saturday. Examinations by Dr. Gary Ross were...
Blaze kills Pa. firefighter’s 10 relatives, 3 of them children; criminal probe underway
NESCOPECK, Pa. — Fire tore quickly through a house in northeastern Pennsylvania early Friday morning, killing seven adults and three children and horrifying a volunteer firefighter who arrived to battle the blaze only to discover the victims were his own family, authorities said. The children who died were ages 5,...
Critics call water quality bill moving through Pa. legislature a back door to privatization
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 — Pennsylvania lawmakers are weighing legislation that would make it easier for private water companies to target municipal authorities for...
How Pennsylvania’s new minimum wage regulations will impact workers
For the first time in 45 years, Pennsylvania workers woke up to updated Minimum Wage Act regulations Friday morning. The new state regulations revise how employers pay tipped employees and process noncash tips, among other changes. They also align Pennsylvania regulations with federal ones. These regulations were proposed by Gov....
4th county adds to ballot dispute as candidate sues to quit
HARRISBURG — A judge deciding if three Pennsylvania counties have to certify May primary vote counts including ballots lacking dates on their return envelopes learned this week that a fourth county is in the same situation — and there may be more. The legal dispute has held up certification of...
Penn State did not prove its legal standing to have public court filing sealed, experts say
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 — Penn State did not prove it had legal standing to request the...
Pa. police department swears in mini horse to its force
A borough in Lancaster County was looking to improve its police-community relations and swore in a new police officer to carry out that mission — a 330-pound miniature horse. On Aug. 2, Officer McGillicuddy was sworn into the Quarryville Police Department as a “community relations specialist.” Quarryville Mayor Anthony Cavallaro...
Pennsylvania continues to fund antiabortion organization in new budget
As it’s done for years, the state of Pennsylvania approved funding in the budget it passed last month to support the antiabortion movement, some of it with money diverted from cash assistance for people in poverty. The allotments — $6.2 million from the state and $1 million from federal TANF,...
Pennsylvania aims to fight robocalls by joining task force that would sue scammers
Tired of annoying robocalls? Pennsylvania is joining a new task force that aims to help reduce the number that you receive. State attorney general Josh Shapiro announced this week that Pennsylvania has joined an Anti-Robocall Litigation Task Force. The task force, made up of 50 attorneys general, aims to investigate...
Pa. Supreme Court upholds no-excuse mail voting ahead of midterms
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 state Supreme Court has upheld Pennsylvania’s mail ballot law, preserving for the time being a popular voting method...
Penn State avoids questions over handling of sex extortion of student athletes
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 — More than two weeks after unsealed search warrants revealed at least one...
Inflation is hitting ACA health insurance plans in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvanians who plan to shop later this year on the state’s Affordable Care Act exchange are unlikely to find shelter from the inflation that has engulfed other areas of the economy, according to a preview offered Monday by the Pennsylvania Insurance Department. The insurance department said health insurers requested a...
Bonus property tax and rent rebate arriving soon for eligible Pennsylvanians
Older and disabled Pennsylvanians who qualify for the state’s property tax and rent rebate program have been waiting for word on when they can expect their one-time bonus rebate to arrive. On Tuesday, the state Department of Revenue announced it anticipates the extra rebates will begin being mailed or sent...
8 Pa. congress members endorse GOP’s Doug Mastriano for governor
HARRISBURG — Eight of Pennsylvania’s representatives to the U.S. House, all Republicans who voted against certifying the state’s electoral results in the 2020 presidential election, formally endorsed state Sen. Doug Mastriano in the gubernatorial election. U.S. Reps. Glenn “G.T.” Thompson, Mike Kelly, Lloyd Smucker, John Joyce, Fred Keller, Dan Meuser,...
Third-party candidates file to run for Pennsylvania governor, Senate
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania third-party candidates for governor and U.S. Senate have filed paperwork ahead of a Monday deadline to get on the Nov. 8 general election ballot, potentially making a crucial difference in the high-stakes races. Three parties — the Keystone Party, the Libertarian Party and the Green Party —...
Pennsylvania’s Bob Casey urges Senate to pass burn pit bill
U.S. Sen. Bob Casey is blaming Senate Republicans for holding up a bill that he said would provide health care funding to help veterans suffering from illnesses related to toxic exposure from burn pits. Burn pits were common at military sites outside the United States, particularly in Iraq and Afghanistan....
Racehorse deaths drop sharply in Pa. following new rules to protect thoroughbreds
Pennsylvania recorded 17 thoroughbred racehorse deaths in April, May and June, down from 30 during the same period a year ago. The decline in deaths comes as the commonwealth on March 1 began implementing a batch of new measures intended to reduce fatal breakdowns of thoroughbreds and increase safety for...
Woman gets 2.5 years in police car fires amid 2020 protest
PHILADELPHIA — A woman who pleaded guilty to setting fire to police cars amid the 2020 racial justice protests in Philadelphia has been sentenced to 2 1/2 years in federal prison. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that since 35-year-old Lore-Elizabeth Blumenthal of Jenkintown has been in custody since her arrest two...
Fetterman harnesses power of social media in Senate campaign
In one of this year’s most competitive U.S. Senate races, the biggest moments aren’t playing out on the campaign trail. They’re unfolding on social media. For one stunt, Democrat John Fetterman of Pennsylvania rolled out an online petition to get his Republican rival, celebrity heart surgeon Dr. Mehmet Oz, enshrined...
States reach deal over marketing, safety of generic opioids
HARRISBURG — A former opioid manufacturer has agreed in principle to pay up to $2.4 billion in a deal with a dozen states over its marketing and product safety practices, state attorneys general announced Friday. The company, Allergan, is now part of AbbVie but sold its generics division Actavis, including...
