Moshannon mystery: Clearfield County ICE detention center steeped in secrecy, drives local economy
Editor’s note: This is Part 1 of a three-part series. PHILIPSBURG — Atop a wooded ridge in Central Pennsylvania, beyond two-lane highways and dense stretches of forest, rises the largest U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in the Northeast — the Moshannon Valley Processing Center. From a distance, it...
Virginia Democrats pass map that could flip 4 U.S. House seats, if courts and voters approve
RICHMOND, Va. — Democrats passed a new congressional map through the Virginia legislature on Friday that aims to help their party win four more seats in the national redistricting battle. It’s a flex of state Democrats’ political power, however hurdles remain before they can benefit from friendlier U.S. House district...
Supreme Court strikes down Trump’s sweeping tariffs, upending central plank of economic agenda
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump’s far-reaching global tariffs on Friday, handing him a stinging loss that sparked a furious attack on the court he helped shape. Trump said he was “absolutely ashamed” of some justices who ruled against him, calling them “disloyal to our Constitution”...
Texas’ Senate primary race between Crockett and Talarico ramps up after pulled Colbert interview
FORT WORTH, Texas — Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Texas on Thursday urged supporters to look at experience in a heated U.S. Senate primary with state Rep. James Talarico, who is riding a burst of wider attention in the race’s pivotal final stretch over his unaired interview with late-night host...
Trump’s refusal to invite all governors to a White House meeting prompts group to back out
WASHINGTON — The National Governors Association is pulling out of an annual meeting at the White House after President Donald Trump declined to invite two Democratic governors, undercutting one of Washington’s few remaining bipartisan gatherings. Trump is still expected to meet with governors at the White House on Friday but...
Deluzio launches reelection campaign
U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio launched his reelection campaign Thursday with a kick-off event at a social hall in Green Tree. Deluzio, 41, of Fox Chapel, is seeking a third term representing a district that includes part of Allegheny County, including much of the Alle-Kiski Valley, and all of Beaver County....
FCC confirms ‘enforcement action’ against ‘The View’ after James Talarico interview
The Federal Communications Commission has confirmed an “enforcement action” is underway against ABC’s “The View” after the talk show featured James Talarico, a Democratic Texas representative running for U.S. Senate. ” We’re taking a look at it,” FCC Chairman Brendan Carr told reporters, without providing specifics. His comments came nearly...
Bernie Sanders and Gavin Newsom become adversaries over push to tax California billionaires
LOS ANGELES — As national Democrats search for a unifying theme ahead of the fall’s midterm elections, a California proposal to levy a hefty tax on billionaires is turning some of the party’s leading figures into adversaries just when Democrats can least afford division from within. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders...
Following Trump’s lead, some GOP states seek to limit environmental regulations
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Some Republican legislators are looking to restrict their state’s ability to set environmental regulations, a move that comes as President Donald Trump ‘s administration pushes to roll back environmental rules on power plants, water and greenhouse gases. The Alabama Legislature on Tuesday approved legislation backed by business...
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...
Many Democrats are still down on the Democratic Party, a new AP-NORC poll finds
WASHINGTON — Democratic candidates have notched a series of wins in recent special elections — but a new AP-NORC poll finds views of the Democratic Party among rank-and-file Democrats have not bounced back since President Donald Trump’s victory in 2024. Only about 7 in 10 Democrats have a positive view...
‘Electric personality’: Jesse Jackson left lasting impressions in Pittsburgh
The Rev. Jesse Jackson, the civil rights icon who died Tuesday, stumped in Pittsburgh during his presidential runs in 1984 and 1988, and returned a generation later to rally the city behind President Barack Obama’s reelection campaign. But one retired city police officer remembered Jackson for a far more humble...
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...
Stephen Colbert says CBS lawyers pulled James Talarico interview as early voting begins in Texas
AUSTIN — Late-night host Stephen Colbert said his interview with Democratic Texas Senate candidate James Talarico was pulled from Monday night’s broadcast over network fears it would violate regulatory guidance from the Trump administration on giving equal time to political candidates. The issue came just hours before early voting opened...
Reschenthaler weds Fox News’ Brooke Singman
Guy Reschenthaler, a Republican congressman from Peters, married Fox News reporter Brooke Singman over the weekend in a ceremony at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Midtown Manhattan. Social media posts show the festivities were attended by luminaries including FBI Director Kash Patel, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt and Mike Waltz,...
New subpoenas issued in inquiry on response to 2016 Russian election interference, AP sources say
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department has issued new subpoenas in a Florida-based investigation into perceived adversaries of President Donald Trump and the U.S. government’s response to Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, according to multiple people familiar with the matter. An initial wave of subpoenas in November asked recipients...
White House orders Homeland Security shutdown as funding lapses
WASHINGTON — The White House ordered the Department of Homeland Security to begin shutdown procedures as its funding from Congress expires at midnight — the third time parts of the U.S. government will have shut down in the past six months. The shutdown will affect DHS functions other than immigration...
A lawsuit seeks to stop Trump’s overhaul of a 100-year-old public golf course in Washington
Two golfers in Washington, D.C., sued the federal government on Friday to try to prevent the Trump administration from overhauling a more than 100-year-old public golf course, accusing the administration of violating environmental laws and polluting a park that is on the National Register of Historic Places. The suit is...
Judge says she’ll rule U.S. cannot force states to provide data on SNAP recipients
President Donald Trump’s administration cannot force states to hand over detailed information on people who have applied for or received aid from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, a judge said in a tentative ruling Friday. San Francisco-based U.S. District Judge Maxine Chesney last year blocked the U.S. Department of Agriculture...
What to know about the Homeland Security shutdown starting this weekend
Another shutdown for parts of the federal government is expected this weekend as lawmakers debate new restrictions on President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement agenda. Funding for the Department of Homeland Security is set to expire Saturday. Democrats say they won’t help approve more funding until new restrictions are placed on...
Trump boasts of over $1.5B in political funds. How he chooses to spend it could rock the midterms
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has bragged about building a political war chest exceeding $1.5 billion — a staggering sum that he can wield at his whim to shape November’s midterms and the 2028 race to succeed him. Trump’s stockpile — which dwarfs any amounts raised by his predecessors in...
Trump pardons 5 former NFL players for crimes ranging from perjury to drug trafficking
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Thursday pardoned five former professional football players — one posthumously — for various crimes ranging from perjury to drug trafficking. The pardons were announced by White House pardon czar Alice Marie Johnson. Ex-NFL players Joe Klecko, Nate Newton, Jamal Lewis, Travis Henry and the...
CBO: Federal deficits and debt to worsen over next decadeVideo
WASHINGTON — The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office’s 10-year outlook projects worsening long-term federal deficits and rising debt, driven largely by increased spending, notably on Social Security, Medicare, and debt service payments. Compared with the CBO’s analysis this time last year, the fiscal outlook has deteriorated modestly. Major developments over the...
Trump’s EPA revokes scientific finding that underpinned U.S. fight against climate change
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration on Thursday revoked a scientific finding that long has been the central basis for U.S. action to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and fight climate change, the most aggressive move by the president to roll back climate regulations. The rule finalized by the Environmental Protection Agency...
Homeland Security shutdown seems certain as funding talks between White House and Democrats stall
WASHINGTON — A shutdown for the Department of Homeland Security appeared certain Thursday as lawmakers in the House and Senate were set to leave Washington for a 10-day break and negotiations with the White House over Democrats’ demands for new restrictions had stalled. Democrats and the White House have traded...
