Tom Fontaine stories, Page 4
Fetterman says deals announced at Pittsburgh summit are ‘huge wins and investments’ in Pa.
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman described the flurry of development deals announced at Tuesday’s Pennsylvania Energy and Innovation Summit in Pittsburgh as “huge wins and investments” in the state. Companies attending the summit at Carnegie Mellon University, organized by U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pittsburgh, announced plans to invest more than $90...
Here are the blockbuster deals unveiled at the Pa. Energy and Innovation Summit
U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick said Tuesday during the Pennsylvania Energy and Innovation Summit in Pittsburgh that companies are planning to invest more than $90 billion in data centers, energy and power infrastructure, and workforce and AI training projects across Pennsylvania. Fifteen of the companies plan to invest at least $1...
Secret Service still reforming after Trump assassination attempt in Butler
After the Secret Service announced the suspension of six staffers over failures that led to the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump last year in Butler, U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly commended the Secret Service’s new leaders for working to reform the agency. “I applaud Director (Sean) Curran and Deputy Director...
GOP congressman opts not to run for Pa. governor, despite backing of Trump
In late May, Republican congressman Dan Meuser’s possible candidacy for governor appeared to get a boost from President Donald Trump. In an appearance at U.S. Steel’s Irvin Works in West Mifflin, Trump promised to support the fourth-term congressman from Luzerne County if he decided to seek the Republican nomination to...
Trump administration looks to ban sale of U.S. farmland to Chinese buyers
The Trump administration is moving to ban the sale of American farmland to buyers from China and other countries deemed adversaries, citing national security concerns. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said during a news conference Tuesday that the administration also would work to “claw back what has already been purchased...
Western Pa. Republicans see hope, Democrats doom in passage of Trump policy bill
Republicans in Western Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation celebrated the passage of President Trump’s domestic policy package Thursday afternoon, touting measures to extend and expand tax relief enacted in 2017, secure the nation’s southern border and expand domestic production of oil, coal and natural gas. Democratic leaders warned the package will be...
Hundreds of thousands in Pa. could lose Medicaid, SNAP benefits under Trump bill, Shapiro says
More than 300,000 Pennsylvanians could lose Medicaid coverage if the Senate-approved version of President Donald Trump’s domestic policy bill passes the House, while nearly 150,000 people who receive SNAP benefits could lose access to food assistance, Gov. Josh Shapiro said Wednesday. “Every member of Congress who votes for this reconciliation...
McCormick says Trump policy bill good for Pa.; Fetterman opposes Medicaid, SNAP cuts, more debt
President Donald Trump’s domestic policy package passed the Senate by the slimmest of margins Tuesday, with Pennsylvania’s two senators voting along party lines as expected. U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pittsburgh, joined 49 other Republicans in supporting Trump’s big tax breaks and spending cuts bill. Three GOP senators — U.S. Sens....
Long day of Senate budget votes no ‘trip to the beach’ for Fetterman
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Braddock, would rather be anywhere than Washington. On Monday, Fetterman and his Senate colleagues began considering a series of proposed amendments to President Donald Trump’s big bill of tax breaks and spending cuts. The process was expected to take all day. “Oh my God, I just...
Pa. lawmakers to miss budget deadline, but don’t expect lengthy impasse
Pennsylvania’s state government is expected to start the new fiscal year Tuesday without a spending plan in place. That’s not unusual. The state budget has been adopted by the statutory June 30 deadline just eight times in the past 21 years. Legislative leaders say they are confident this budget impasse...
Deluzio, Lee support proposal to give Congress control over military action in Iran
U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio supports a proposal that would prevent President Donald Trump from ordering the further use of military force in Iran without authorization from Congress. Deluzio, D-Fox Chapel, and 11 fellow House Democrats — all of them veterans — wrote a letter to the White House indicating their...
Poll: Majority of Democrats want new party leadership
Nearly two out of three Democrats think their party needs new leadership, according to a poll released Thursday. The Reuters/Ipsos poll showed that 62% of Democrats surveyed agreed with the statement that “the leadership of the Democratic Party should be replaced with new people,” while 24% disagreed and 14% weren’t...
‘It’s a scary time in politics,’ state Sen. Kim Ward says following Minnesota shootings
Pennsylvania Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward spent part of her Saturday afternoon installing more security cameras around her Hempfield home. Another act of political violence inspired the home project. And yet, in today’s turbulent political climate, Ward says no amount of home security will be able to put her...
U.S. House votes to pull $1.1B in funding for NPR, PBS
The U.S. House voted Thursday afternoon to slash nearly $1.1 billion in federal funding to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which supports local NPR and PBS stations such as Pittsburgh’s WESA-FM radio and WQED-TV. The Rescissions Act, which also would cancel $8.3 billion in foreign aid spending, passed the Republican-led...
President Aaron Rodgers? Bookmaker gives Steelers QB a 500-to-1 shot
So you’re saying there’s a chance? Newly signed Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has the best odds among current and former professional sports stars to become the next president of the United States, according to betonline.ag. At 500-to-1, he shares the same odds as LeBron James, Peyton Manning, Steve Garvey...
Fetterman: Dems lose ‘moral high ground’ when they don’t condemn protest violence, vandalism
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman slammed fellow Democrats who have not condemned incidents of violence and vandalism that have marred protests in Los Angeles over the Trump administration’s immigration raids there. “I unapologetically stand for free speech, peaceful demonstrations and immigration — but this is not that,” Fetterman, D-Braddock, said in...
Trump looks to sell Tesla after feud with Musk
It was a costly spat. As President Donald Trump and Elon Musk feuded on social media Thursday afternoon, shares of Musk’s Tesla Inc. plummeted more than 14% — erasing $150 billion of the electric vehicle maker’s value. Investors weren’t the only ones looking to dump Tesla. Trump is looking to...
U.S. Rep. Deluzio hopes Trump-Musk rift sinks Trump’s budget
U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio, D-Fox Chapel, said he hopes Thursday’s social media spat between President Trump and his former senior adviser Elon Musk prompts senators to rethink Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act. “Folks might be surprised that Elon Musk agrees with me: this is a bad bill,” Deluzio said...
Summer Lee grills U.S. Education secretary on DEI policiesVideo
U.S. Rep. Summer Lee, D-Swissvale, grilled Education Secretary Linda McMahon over her department’s DEI policies and accused the Trump administration of trying to rewrite history on Wednesday during a congressional hearing. During a tense exchange, McMahon refused to give a “yes” or “no” answer when asked if teaching students that...
John Fetterman loses another top staffer in Senate office
Another top aide is leaving U.S. Sen. John Fetterman’s staff. The departure of chief of staff Krysta Sinclair Juris, first reported by Axios, is the latest in a string of departures from the Braddock Democrat’s office staff. “I’m grateful for Krysta’s work. She’s been an invaluable member of the team...
Fetterman, McCormick find common ground on many issues, split on budget plan
U.S. Sens. John Fetterman and Dave McCormick have found common ground on a number of key issues during their first five months working together in Washington, but they acknowledge it’s unlikely they’ll agree on President Trump’s budget plan. Fetterman, D-Braddock, and McCormick, R-Pittsburgh, appeared together Monday at a forum in...
Rocky Bleier names Trump ‘honorary Steeler’ during West Mifflin event
President Donald Trump called an audible early in his speech Friday night in West Mifflin, temporarily shifting focus away from a $14 billion agreement between U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel to recognize a trio of Pittsburgh Steelers. Former Steelers legend Rocky Bleier, who was joined on stage by current Steelers...
Madonna-Emmerling, Adams earn Democratic nominations for Allegheny County Council
A pair of Democrats looking to replace incumbents on Allegheny County Council won convincingly Tuesday night in the only two contested primary races for council. In District 1, Moon’s Kathleen Madonna-Emmerling collected 76.1% of the votes counted as of 11 p.m. compared to 23.5% for Carl Villella of Moon, according...
What you need to know for the primary election in Western Pa.
Six months ago, more than three-quarters of Pennsylvania’s registered voters cast ballots in the general election after being bombarded for months by campaign ads and seemingly nonstop news coverage of the presidential race. This year’s primary election, culminating Tuesday with in-person voting across the state, has been low-key by comparison....
Turnout for Western Pa. primaries gets bump from mail-ins, but still draw fewer than 1 in 3 voters
Fewer than one in three registered voters in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties are expected to cast a ballot in this year’s primary. That may seem paltry, particularly compared with November’s hotly contested presidential election when voter turnouts in the two counties approached or exceeded 80%. But this year’s projected turnouts...
