Pennsylvania is flush with surplus cash, but it still faces a looming budget problem
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. HARRISBURG — Gov. Josh Shapiro wants to spend $3.5 billion of Pennsylvania’s surplus to stabilize transit systems, fund a court-mandated K-12 education overhaul, and expand...
‘There’s no agenda here’: A look at the judge who is overseeing Trump’s hush money trial
NEW YORK — Judge Juan M. Merchan looked across his high-ceilinged courtroom, facing the defendant in a complicated case. Not the one everyone knows about. Yes, Merchan could become the first judge ever to oversee a former U.S. president’s criminal trial: Donald Trump’s hush money case. But on a recent...
Man faces charges in two states after alleged killings of family members in Pennsylvania
LEVITTOWN, Pa. — A man faces murder charges in Pennsylvania and carjacking and weapons charges in New Jersey after allegedly killing three family members, carjacking vehicles in both states and evading law enforcement for hours as police mobilized in two states, authorities said Sunday. Andre Gordon Jr., 26, is charged...
State Medicaid offices target dead people’s homes to recoup their health care costs
WASHINGTON — As Salvatore LoGrande fought cancer and all the pain that came with it, his daughters promised to keep him in the white, pitched roof house he worked so hard to buy all those decades ago. So, Sandy LoGrande thought it was a mistake when, a year after her...
Wales’ first Black leader is a testament to Britain’s political diversity, but racism persists
LONDON — Vaughan Gething’s election as the next leader of Wales marks a milestone: For the first time, none of the U.K.’s four main governments is led by a white man. It’s a striking moment in a country still grappling with racism and the legacy of empire. Prime Minister Rishi...
Netanyahu snaps back against growing US criticism after being accused of losing his way on Gaza
TEL AVIV, Israel — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu railed Sunday against growing criticism from the United States against his leadership amid the devastating war with Hamas, saying the pressure won’t stop Israel from achieving “total victory.” In recent days, top officials from the U.S., Israel’s staunchest ally which has...
European Union announces an $8 billion aid package for Egypt as concerns mount over migration
CAIRO — The European Union on Sunday announced a 7.4 billion-euro ($8 billion) aid package for cash-strapped Egypt as concerns mount that economic pressure and conflicts in neighboring countries could drive more migrants to European shores. The deal, which drew criticism from rights groups over Egypt’s human rights record, is...
Pa. local governments want long-term state money for cybersecurity as federal grant fills the gap
This story was produced by the State College regional bureau of Spotlight PA, an independent, nonpartisan newsroom dedicated to investigative and public-service journalism for Pennsylvania. Sign up for our north-central Pa. newsletter, Talk of the Town, at spotlightpa.org/newsletters/talkofthetown. STATE COLLEGE — Local governments in Pennsylvania could soon have access to...
Mega Millions jackpot soars to $875 million. Powerball reaches $600 million
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — If you’re feeling some St. Patrick’s Day magic, you might want to buy a lottery ticket. Mega Millions and Powerball have racked up some massive jackpots after weeks of rollovers. The Mega Millions jackpot is already estimated at a whopping $875 million for Tuesday night’s drawing...
Police: Suspect is barricaded in New Jersey home after killing 3 people in Philadelphia suburb
LEVITTOWN, Pa. — A suspect has barricaded himself in a home in New Jersey after allegedly killing three people in a shooting in suburban Philadelphia on Saturday, authorities said. The morning shooting in Falls Township in eastern Pennsylvania forced the cancellation of a St. Patrick’s Day parade and shut down...
Bernie Sanders wants the U.S. to adopt a 32-hour workweek. Could workers and companies benefit?
The 40-hour workweek has been standard in the U.S. for more than eight decades. Now some members of Congress want to give hourly workers an extra day off. Sen. Bernie Sanders, the far-left independent from Vermont, this week introduced a bill that would shorten to 32 hours the amount of...
From clovers to some unexpected history, all you need to know about St. Patrick’s Day
NEW YORK (AP) — If it’s March, and it’s green, it must be St. Patrick’s Day. The day honoring the patron saint of Ireland is a global celebration of Irish heritage. And nowhere is that more so than in the United States, where parades take place in cities around the...
Hunger soars and aid dwindles as gangs in Haiti suffocate the country
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — A crowd of about 100 people tried to shove through a metal gate in Haiti’s capital as a guard with a baton pushed them back, threatening to hit them. Undeterred, children and adults alike, some of them carrying babies, kept elbowing each other trying to enter. “Let...
With Navalny dead, his allies keep fighting to undermine Putin’s grip on power
TALLINN, Estonia — Alexei Navalny’s team is used to working independently. The most potent foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin was frequently absent for long stretches after being arrested, assaulted, poisoned, or imprisoned. But when Navalny died suddenly in February at age 47 in a remote Arctic prison, his team...
Cease-fire talks with Israel and Hamas are expected to resume Sunday in Qatar
CAIRO — Stalled talks aimed at securing a cease-fire in the war between Israel and Hamas are expected to resume in earnest in Qatar as soon as Sunday, according to Egyptian officials. The talks would mark the first time both Israeli officials and Hamas leaders join the indirect negotiations since...
Husband of slain pregnant Amish woman: Young children told him of killing
MEADVILLE — The husband of a pregnant Amish woman killed inside her rural Pennsylvania home late last month testified Friday that his two young children told him about the crime when he got back from looking at potential roofing jobs. “I didn’t really believe it,” Andy Byler said at a...
Tornadoes kill 3, leave trails of destruction in the central U.S.
LAKEVIEW, Ohio — Blaine Schmidt sifted through the broken glass and splintered wood throughout his Ohio home Friday, salvaging a guitar and a bundle of diapers. His couch and a crib had been ripped apart by one of many tornadoes that tore through the central U.S., killing three people and...
Home sellers cut list prices as spring buying season starts with higher mortgage rates
LOS ANGELES — More homeowners eager to sell their home are lowering their initial asking price in a bid to entice prospective buyers as the spring homebuying season gets going. Some 14.6% of U.S. homes listed for sale last month had their price lowered, according to Realtor.com. That’s up from...
Fast-moving fire damages commercial freighter at Ohio port
ASHTABULA, Ohio — A fast-moving fire damaged a commercial freighter at a port in eastern Ohio on Friday, but no injuries were reported. It wasn’t immediately clear what sparked the blaze on the Cuyahoga, according to the Coast Guard. The agency said it deployed boats and a helicopter to the...
Judge delays Trump’s hush-money criminal trial until mid-April, citing last-minute evidence dump
NEW YORK — Donald Trump’s New York hush-money criminal trial was delayed Friday until at least mid-April as the judge seeks answers about a last-minute evidence dump the former president’s lawyers said has hampered their ability to prepare their defense. Manhattan Judge Juan Manuel Merchan agreed to a 30-day delay...
Rep. Matt Gaetz subpoenaed in lawsuit regarding Joel Greenberg sex scandal
ORLANDO, Fla. — Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz must testify under oath as part of a civil lawsuit that involves his past friendship with disgraced Seminole County Tax Collector Joel Greenberg and allegations Gaetz had sex with a teenage girl. A subpoena was issued to Gaetz on Thursday by attorneys representing...
Authorities seize ailing alligator in New York home’s swimming pool
HAMBURG, N.Y. — An ailing alligator was seized from an upstate New York home where it was being kept illegally, state officials said. Environmental conservation police officers seized the 750-pound, 11-foot-long alligator Wednesday from a home in Hamburg, south of Buffalo. The home’s owner built an addition and installed an...
FAFSA data finally starts flowing to colleges to develop financial aid offers to students
Some colleges and universities are beginning to receive long-delayed information they need from the U.S. Department of Education to develop financial aid offers to college-bound students. Word that data is flowing from the troubled rollout of the revised Free Application for Federal Student Aid form (FAFSA) is welcome news. But...
A new $16,000 postpartum depression drug is here. How will insurers handle it?
A much-awaited treatment for postpartum depression, zuranolone, hit the market in December, promising an accessible and fast-acting medication for a debilitating illness. But most private health insurers have yet to publish criteria for when they will cover it, according to a new analysis of insurance policies. The lack of guidance...
Prosecutor leaves Georgia election case against Trump after relationship with district attorney
ATLANTA — A special prosecutor who had a romantic relationship with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis formally withdrew Friday from the Georgia election interference case against Donald Trump after a judge ruled one of them had to leave for the case to move forward. Attorney Nathan Wade’s resignation allows...
