An angry Gov. Josh Shapiro pledges to block ICE detention centers in Pa.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro met with leaders in Berks and Schuylkill counties Thursday as those communities confront the planned federal conversion of two warehouses into ICE detention centers, pledging to do everything possible to block the Trump administration’s plans in the state. Shapiro, a Democrat who first opposed the potential...
Poll: 4 in 10 Pa. voters think Josh Shapiro would make a good president
Nearly 6 in 10 Pennsylvania voters think Josh Shapiro is doing a good job as governor, but only 4 in 10 think he’d be a good president, according to a new poll. The Quinnipiac University poll released this week showed that 56% of registered voters approve of the job Shapiro...
Surging natural gas prices in Pa. could mean higher utility bills
Wholesale natural gas prices in Pennsylvania surged 71% last year, according to a new report, likely leading to higher residential utility bills. The Independent Fiscal Office, a state agency that supplies lawmakers in Harrisburg with revenue projections and economic analysis, released its quarterly natural gas report Wednesday. It found the...
Lawyers say Pennsylvania student protesters did not know a man who joined scrum was the police chief
PHILADELPHIA — Lawyers for student protesters detained in Pennsylvania for four days after a scuffle with police say their clients had no idea the stocky older man in street clothes who joined the fray and put his arm around a 15-year-old girl’s neck was the local police chief. The attorneys...
Former Pennsylvania officer accused of child rape fatally shot in gunfire exchange with police
A former Pennsylvania police officer charged with sexually assaulting two young girls more than two decades ago was killed early Wednesday during a gunfire exchange with police who recognized his vehicle and confronted him, according to Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele. Francis Connell Collier, 38, who resigned in December...
Town hall about proposed Pennsylvania cellphone ban in schools draws crowd
Momentum is growing for a push to ban cellphones in the state’s public schools. State Reps. Mandy Steele, D-Fox Chapel, and Jill Cooper, R-Murrysville, are among those spearheading House Bill 1814 to restrict cellphones in classrooms. It’s a proposed bell-to-bell ban, meaning students would secure their cellphones in a lockbox...
Officials warn ICE detention centers in Pa. could overwhelm sewer, other critical services
This story was produced by the Berks County bureau of Spotlight PA, an independent, nonpartisan newsroom. Sign up for Good Day, Berks, a daily dose of essential local stories at spotlightpa.org/newsletters/gooddayberks. UPPER BERN — Not enough clean water. Hundreds of thousands of gallons of sewage dumped into systems designed to...
Pennsylvania residents question police response to student ICE protesters after juveniles detained
PHILADELPHIA — Some residents in the Philadelphia suburb of Quakertown are calling for the police chief to resign after a scuffle between police and high school students protesting immigration enforcement policies left several juveniles in custody for four days. Video circulating online shows an older man in street clothes approach...
As antisemitism rises and strife over Israel continues, Josh Shapiro turns toward his Jewish faithVideo
PHILADELPHIA — Thousands of teenagers from more than a dozen countries, many standing on their chairs in a cavernous convention hall, screamed and cheered as Josh Shapiro took the stage. Pennsylvania’s Democratic governor still may be unknown among many Americans outside his home state, but here at BBYO, the world’s...
Penn State breaks THON fundraising record with over $18 million
Penn State’s annual THON fundraising effort surpassed $18 million for the first time ever through this weekend’s dance marathon. THON 2026 raised $18,841,726.53 for Four Diamonds at Penn State Health Golisano Children’s Hospital — breaking last year’s total of $17,737,040.93 by more than $1.1 million, the university announced Sunday. View...
Pennsylvania schools to embrace cursive writing once again
Each of the 15 students in Mollie Sweeney’s third grade class raised their dominant hand. Sweeney, a teacher at Burrell’s Bon Air Elementary, then walked through the motions of how to write a lowercase letter in cursive. Students air-traced the motion. Only after that did the students take pencil to...
Shapiro signs proclamation of disaster emergency ahead of winter storm
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro signed a proclamation of disaster emergency Sunday afternoon as another major snowstorm is headed for the state, he announced in a press conference. Parts of Philadelphia and its suburbs, and north toward Allentown and the Poconos, could see record-breaking snowfall totals of up to 2 feet...
Data center tax break created to boost economy, add jobs in Pa. could cost state billions
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 — As data centers spread and draw backlash across the state, new figures are emerging about their potential...
Slavery exhibit removed by Trump administration is returning to Independence Mall in Philadelphia
PHILADELPHIA — Workers are restoring an exhibit depicting the history of the nine people once enslaved in Philadelphia amid a legal fight between the city and the Trump Administration. Mayor Cherelle Parker visited the site Thursday morning and saw the work being done, spokesperson Joe Grace said. A federal judge...
Judge gives Trump administration deadline to restore President’s House exhibits
PHILADELPHIA — President Donald Trump’s administration now has a hard deadline to restore slavery exhibits to the President’s House. The Department of Interior and National Park Service must restore the President’s House to its condition before the exhibits were removed by 5 p.m. Friday, according to a new order from...
Shutdown may delay answers about planned ICE facility in Berks County
This story was produced by the Berks County bureau of Spotlight PA, an independent, nonpartisan newsroom. Sign up for Good Day, Berks, a daily dose of essential local stories at spotlightpa.org/newsletters/gooddayberks. Update: Berks County Commissioner Christian Leinbach said Tuesday evening there’s no meeting planned for Feb. 18. He said he...
Treasury officials question legality of taxpayers paying for security upgrades at Shapiro’s family home
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 — Late last year, Pennsylvania’s top law enforcement agency revealed taxpayers would pick up the tab for more...
As electricity costs rise, everyone wants data centers to pick up their tab. But how?
HARRISBURG — As outrage spreads over energy-hungry data centers, politicians from President Donald Trump to local lawmakers have found rare bipartisan agreement over insisting that tech companies — and not regular people — must foot the bill for the exorbitant amount of electricity required for artificial intelligence. But that might...
Western Pa. dairy farmers welcome return of whole milk to school cafeteriasVideo
The recent passage of the federal Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act marks a strategic effort to reverse a decade-long decline in dairy consumption. By rolling back 15-year-old guidelines to let schools put whole and 2% milk back on menus, the law is aimed at providing a long-sought economic boost...
Shapiro unveils plan to address Pa. housing needs
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro unveiled a plan Thursday to boost housing construction and affordability over the next 10 years. “For too many families in Pennsylvania, housing prices are rising faster than their paychecks and the American dream of owning a home no longer feels possible, but it doesn’t have to...
Pa. schools must teach cursive writing under bill signed by ShapiroVideo
Gov. Josh Shapiro on Wednesday signed a bill that will require a cursive handwriting curriculum in all Pennsylvania public schools. “I’m definitely rusty, but I think my penmanship was OK!” Shapiro said in his Wednesday announcement. The bipartisan legislation, House Bill 17, was sponsored by Rep. Dane Watro (R-Luzerne and...
Shapiro, neighbors trade lawsuits over ‘disputed area’ at governor’s private Montgomery County home
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 — For the past six months, Gov. Josh Shapiro has been entangled in an intense but largely behind-the-scenes...
Penn State student on life support after hit-and-run crash in State College, family says
A Penn State student is in critical condition and expected to remain in an intensive care unit for at least a month after she was hit Saturday by a driver in downtown State College. Sophia Ruscillo — a 20-year-old pursuing a career in public relations and social media, according to...
Watchdog projects Pa. will end fiscal year with $3.9B budget deficit, but reserves will grow
Pennsylvania’s Independent Fiscal Office projects the state will end this fiscal year with a $3.9 billion budget deficit but still grow its largest reserve fund to a record $7.8 billion, according to a report released Tuesday. The IFO says the deficit is expected to get bigger, growing to $6.7 billion...
Trump loyalist Sen. Dave McCormick defends controversial White House aide Stephen Miller
Sen. Dave McCormick is among more than a dozen Republican senators who are defending senior White House aide Stephen Miller amid growing calls for his removal. McCormick, a staunch ally of the president, on Sunday told The Hill that Miller has been “instrumental in delivering on the promises President Trump...
