Pennsylvania

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. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s 500 school districts will each receive a slice of $565 million that lawmakers put in this...

The state budget passed last week signals flat appropriations to the University of Pittsburgh and Penn State, but officials at those colleges are encouraged by an approved plan that establishes and outlines the state’s first performance-based funding formula. General support funding for Penn State holds at $242.1 million — the...

Six Democratic members of Congress who served in the military or intelligence community, including U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio of Fox Chapel, are telling current servicemembers and intelligence officials they have a right — and obligation — to refuse illegal orders. In response, President Donald Trump described the message from Democrats...

A bill banning discrimination based on hair texture and style is headed to Gov. Josh Shapiro’s desk after sailing through the state Senate this week, hailed as a victory for Black women in Pennsylvania who have faced prejudice toward the way they wear their hair. The measure amends the commonwealth’s...

A new tax credit for lower-income workers in Pennsylvania will be ready for tax time this spring, Gov. Josh Shapiro ‘s administration said, calling it the most significant tax change for the state’s working class in over half a century. The new program — called the Working Pennsylvanians Tax Credit...

More than 100 people rallied Monday inside the Capitol rotunda, demanding a ban on gifts and outside employment for state lawmakers, protesting what they called legislators’ unchecked private interests. Activists with March on Harrisburg delivered speeches criticizing Pennsylvania’s lax campaign finance laws, with one speaker noting that 35 fundraisers are...

Sen. John Fetterman is back to work after recovering from a fall that required hospitalization. Fetterman, D-Braddock, was hospitalized last week following a fall after he experienced a heart issue, an unnamed spokesperson announced Thursday. On Saturday, Fetterman shared a selfie after being released from the hospital with a coffee...

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. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania Democrats feel confident they’ll prevail in next year’s gubernatorial race after recent election wins they believe...

E-bikes have been nothing but a pain in Arnold, says Mayor Shannon Santucci. With e-bike riders zipping down the middle of the street, or not following road rules, Arnold is at a crossroads of what it can and can’t do to enforce rules for the motorized bikes. “There’s so many...

Sen. John Fetterman was hospitalized Thursday after suffering injuries to his face in a fall due to a serious heart condition, ventricular fibrillation. This life-threatening condition is the 56-year-old’s latest health issue in recent years, following a 2022 stroke on the campaign trail that nearly killed him. Like atrial fibrillation,...

Pennsylvania is one of 12 states included in an outbreak of infant botulism — linked to ByHeart Whole Nutrition Infant Formula. Parents and caregivers should stop using any ByHeart infant formula products “immediately,” Allegheny County said Friday in an announcement, as all of its products have been recalled. The recall...

The wealthiest households in Pennsylvania are carrying over a third of the state’s personal income tax burden, according to a new study. The top 1% now pay 35.09% of all personal income taxes collected in the Keystone State, the study by finance company SmartAsset found, which examined the latest IRS...

HARRISBURG — Environmental advocates and a handful of Democratic lawmakers are lambasting legislative leaders for agreeing to pull Pennsylvania out of an interstate cap-and-trade program as a part of the state’s long-awaited $50.1 billion budget. The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) would have capped the amount of carbon that companies...

HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania lawmakers have passed a $50.1 billion budget that makes additional investments in public schools, creates a new tax credit for lower-income people, and ends the state’s participation in a climate program. The bills that made up the final package won bipartisan approval in the state House and...

Pennsylvania’s top health care union launched a petition drive Wednesday for improved workplace safety after the beating of a worker at UPMC Altoona hospital last week. Service Employees International Union Healthcare Pennsylvania argues the assault of Travis Dunn should be the catalyst for UPMC and other health systems to invest...

Costco wants to break into the beer and wine business in Pennsylvania, starting with its Cranberry location. The bulk goods retailer has a pending application with the Pa. Liquor Control Board that, if successful, would enable it to sell limited amounts of alcohol. In states and stores where allowed, Costco...

HARRISBURG — Billions of dollars for Pennsylvania’s public schools and social services could soon start flowing after months of delay, as lawmakers on Wednesday took up a roughly $50 billion spending plan to break the state’s budget impasse. Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro was expected to sign key budget bills by...

Pennsylvania residents who rely on SNAP benefits and did not receive the monthly infusion of funds this month should be seeing their benefits cards replenished as early as Friday. That was the message an emphatic Gov. Josh Shapiro delivered during a press conference in Philadelphia on Friday. Shapiro said his...

Carol Ann Dougherty was on her way to meet friends at the library in her small Pennsylvania hometown on an October day in 1962. The 9-year-old never made it there. She stopped, apparently to say a short prayer at St. Mark Roman Catholic Church, parking her bicycle outside. When she...

Democrats racked up victories in high-profile races across the country Tuesday night, prompting many on the left to view the wins as a repudiation of President Donald Trump and something to build on going into next year’s pivotal midterm elections. Some top Republicans downplayed the results, while others said Tuesday’s...

HARRISBURG — Two Pennsylvania counties had to replace poll books at all polling places in the middle of in-person voting during Tuesday’s election because of what officials described as mistakes made in creating the voter data. Affected voters deciding local races and whether to give three Democratic justices another term...

Voters overwhelmingly chose to retain three Democratic justices on Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court on Tuesday, according to results posted just an hour after polls closed. Both the Democratic National Committee and NBC called the race by 9:15 p.m. in the justices’ favor, and the Associated Press later confirmed the projection. The...

President Donald Trump took to social media Sunday night to urge Pennsylvanians to vote against retaining three Democratic justices on the state Supreme Court. In separate posts on Truth Social, Trump also endorsed numerous members of Congress, including U.S. Reps. Mike Kelly and Guy Reschenthaler of Western Pennsylvania, although they...

Jewish and Catholic faith leaders condemned a Halloween parade float that carried a replica of the gate to the Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz as the designer behind it apologized, saying he made it “with no ill intent.” The replica gate, topped with the sign, “Arbeit macht frei” (work will...

PHILADELPHIA — Two separate courts have ordered immigration officials not to deport a Pennsylvania man who spent four decades in prison before his murder conviction was overturned. Subramanyam Vedam, 64, is currently detained at a short-term holding center in Alexandria, Louisiana, that’s equipped with an airstrip for deportations. Vedam, known...