The Morning Agenda

Immigration advocates and union representatives rallied in downtown Pittsburgh this week. Demonstrators were showing solidarity with those in Los Angeles, by protesting the deportation of immigrants. 

The Pennsylvania state House has voted to raise the minimum wage on a county-by-county basis. We explain how the plan would work.

More than 400 young people in Pittsburgh are being dropped from a federal program that provides fre...

Pennsylvania is making its election data available to the public in new ways, with more updates to come. The Department of State’s new data dashboard makes information about elections easier to access and understand.  

State Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding was in Perry County this week, as the Shapiro Administration continues to highlight how SNAP funding cuts will affect Pennsylvania farmers and families.  

P...

It’s being hailed as the largest private sector investment in state history. Tech giant Amazon has announced it will spend $20 billion on two data center complexes in Pennsylvania. 

President Donald Trump has posted on social media about the proposed sale of US Steel of Pittsburgh to Japan-based Nippon. But details are still vague, and a deadline to complete the deal is a week away. 

A proposal to fund mass transit ...

The Pennsylvania state House has passed new limits on funding for cyber charter schools. The legislation would set a cap of $8,000 per student on reimbursements paid to the charters.  

Fewer recipients will get farmers market vouchers this summer and their distribution has been delayed. The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture says that’s because the federal government is holding back money appropriated for the voucher...

The lawsuit filed last week by Governor Josh Shapiro against the US Department of Agriculture deals with the termination of a three-year, $13 million dollar food assistance contract. That funding also affects food assistance programs for needy Pennsylvanians. And a PA food bank advocate speaks out against the cuts.

Solar energy companies across the region are reeling at the prospects of rollbacks to the green energy tax credits, wi...

Gov. Josh Shapiro is suing the U.S. Department of Agriculture over its attempt to cancel a federally funded food purchasing program.  

Fewer recipients will get farmers market vouchers this summer and their distribution has been delayed. The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture says that’s because the federal government is holding back money appropriated for the vouchers.  

State Senators on both sides of the...

Interest in public records, especially for school boards and elections offices, has increased in recent years. But some lawmakers say there are bad actors using the right to access as a way to harass government officials. In response, the Senate is advancing a bill to allow government agencies to ignore records requests from so-called vexatious requesters for a year.  

Two Pennsylvania lawmakers hope to rejuvenate a state...

The U.S. Senate is considering a budget bill to slash taxes and federal spending. WITF's Jordan Wilkie explains Pennsylvania’s senators are split on support for President Donald Trump’s budget bill due to its reduction in social safety net programs. We hear from both Sen. Dave McCormick and Sen. John Fetterman.

State Democratic leaders are urging their Republican colleagues to oppose Donald Trump’s federal sp...

Fifteen colleges and universities in Pennsylvania, including HACC, are receiving special designation thanks to a recently created initiative to improve student mental health. 

A new report calls Pennsylvania's teacher shortage a crisis. About 45 counties are experiencing teacher shortages defined as severe or extremely severe, according to the report, by the group Teach Plus Pennsylvania. 

A pair of Native American tribes...

Northeastern PA Congressman Dan Meuser is defending proposed Medicaid cuts and tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump. He also told the Schuylkill Chamber of Commerce he's considering a run for Governor in 2026.

Health providers hope a new blood test for Alzheimer’s disease will lead to quicker and earlier diagnoses of the progressive form of dementia.

Top Republican and Democratic officials in Pennsylvania are decrying a ...

A state House member from western PA wants the state to help keep tabs on the owners of blighted properties, and to levy fines against them.

Five of the 12 Pennsylvania Educators in the running for the Commonwealth's 2026 Teacher of the Year are from the Central PA region.

Former magisterial district judge Sonya McKnight will spend at least 13 years in prison for attempted murder, per a judge's order issued in court Wednesday.

U.S....

Long range forecasts are predicting an especially hot summer, and that could mean higher demand for electricity. Federal regulators are warning the margins between electricity supply and demand are shrinking. 

Recipients of government assistance are increasingly falling victim to electronic thefts. Bipartisan legislation in Pennsylvania would require a report to detail how the state could make the leap to chip cards. 

Ren...

Pennsylvania’s Governor’s Residence underwent extensive security upgrades in the three years before last month’s arson attack. Jaxon White, with our sister newsroom LNP/Lancaster Online, reports that few details about the enhancements were provided in a response to a public records request. 

State and local officials are celebrating the opening of a new campground loop at Bald Eagle State Park in Centre ...

The new Older Adult Advocacy Center in Scranton is the first of its kind in the state.      It’ll serve older adults who are victims of abuse or neglect in parts of Northeast Pennsylvania.

The Public Utility Commission has announced a series of six public hearings in early June regarding Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania's proposed rate increase, which could rise more than 10-percent.

A progressive Pennsylvania grou...

More than 770,000 Pennsylvanians cast ballots on Tuesday for state-wide judicial and local county and municipal primary races. Secretary of State Al Schmidt said the process of casting ballots in every county and more than 9,000 precincts went smoothly. 

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro wants bills safeguarding hospitals to reach his desk this legislative session- especially in the aftermath of the abrupt closure of Crozier ...

A proposed class action lawsuit recently filed in Pennsylvania is targeting tech billionaire Elon Musk and his pro-Trump America PAC. Jaxon White with our sister newsroom LNP | Lancaster Online explains one of the three lead plaintiffs lives in Lancaster.

A federal program that helps low-income families heat their homes in the winter could be on the chopping block, after the Trump Administration proposed cutting it from next year&r...

Tomorrow is Pennsylvania's Primary Election Day. But this fall, three incumbent justices on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court are facing opposition in what’s usually a quiet retention vote. Carmen Russell-Sluchansky from our friends at WHYY reports on how this year is shaping up to be different. 

And The Pennsylvania Supreme Court heard arguments last week over the state’s participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas ...

Gov. Josh Shapiro is warning that cuts to Medicaid health care that Congress is considering would mean billions of dollars in lost federal aid to Pennsylvania, hundreds of thousands of people losing access to the program and more rural hospitals shutting their doors. 

In Harrisburg, legislation designed to improve access to hospital financial-aid programs in Pennsylvania has been approved by the state House. Allegheny County D...