Pennsylvania category, Page 59
Freight train derails in southeast Pennsylvania, but no known injuries or hazards
WHITEMARSH TOWNSHIP — A freight train derailment in southeast Pennsylvania early Monday spurred precautionary evacuations, but officials said no injuries were reported and there was no known hazard to the public. The 40-car CSX train, which was operating on tracks owned by Norfolk Southern, derailed around 4:50 a.m. in a...
Couple checking out barking dog leads to encounter with escapee, his recapture
YOUNGSVILLE — A couple checking out a barking dog on their northwestern Pennsylvania property led to the capture of a homicide suspect who had used bed sheets to escape from jail, authorities said. Michael Burham, 34, was captured nine days after he fled the Warren County jail in the late...
Heavy rain swamps Northeast again as flash flooding claims at least 5 lives in Pennsylvania
WASHINGTON CROSSING, Pa. — Heavy rain pounded an already saturated Northeast on Sunday for the second time in a week, spurring another round of flash flooding, cancelled airline flights and power outages. In Pennsylvania, a sudden flash flood late Saturday afternoon claimed at least five lives. Officials in Bucks County’s...
Pennsylvania jail escapee Michael Burham captured
YOUNGSVILLE — Looking dirty, wet and “worn out” from living in the wilderness to evade arrest, a homicide suspect who used bedsheets to escape a northern Pennsylvania jail has been captured, authorities said. Michael Burham, 34, fled the Warren County jail in the late evening hours of July 6 by...
Pennsylvania budget still in turmoil over school vouchers and equity funding case
HARRISBURG — A court’s ruling earlier this year that the way Pennsylvania funds public schools is unconstitutional helped make education spending one of the thorniest issues in state budget negotiations. Along with a partisan divide over spending taxpayer money to help students attend private and religious schools, education funding has...
Police: Items believed connected to Pa. jail escapee still being found; reward increasesVideo
WARREN — Authorities searching for a homicide suspect who used bedsheets to escape from a northwestern Pennsylvania jail last week say items found in the last 24 hours lead them to believe he is still in the area. Authorities added that reward money in the case has more than doubled....
How Gov. Josh Shapiro’s budget breakdown over school vouchers was a rare misstep
PHILADELPHIA — In the span of a week, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro managed to agitate everybody. His Democratic allies and labor supporters initially felt burned by his pursuit of a private-school voucher program. When he agreed to veto it, top Republicans cried foul. The budget controversy feels like a rare...
Pennsylvania police searching for escaped homicide suspect find possible campsites near jail
WARREN — A homicide suspect who used bed sheets to escape from a northwestern Pennsylvania jail is likely still in the area and someone may be helping him to evade capture, police said after discovering possible campsites in nearby woods. Michael Burham, 34, fled the Warren County Prison late Thursday...
Funding for Pitt, Penn State, other state-related schools caught in Pa. budget impasse
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. HARRISBURG — After repeated legislative failures, Pennsylvania state House members left Harrisburg indefinitely without passing funding for the commonwealth’s state-related universities. Appropriations for Lincoln University, Penn State...
Electrical issue sparks fire that severely damages historic market building in Pennsylvania
HARRISBURG — An electrical malfunction in a ceiling fan sparked a fast-moving fire that severely damaged an historic market building in Pennsylvania’s capital city early Monday, authorities said. No injuries were reported in the fire at the Broad Street Market in Harrisburg was reported about 1 a.m. but was brought...
Accused Philadelphia shooter may have begun his spree nearly two days earlier than police thought
PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia authorities investigating a Fourth of July holiday shooting spree that left five people dead now say the gunman killed one of the victims almost two full days before the mass shooting. Kimbrady Carriker, 40, was arraigned Wednesday morning on five counts of murder, attempted murder, aggravated assault...
Inmate suspected of homicide escapes from a Pennsylvania jail using bed sheetsVideo
WARREN — Authorities from local, state and federal agencies were searching Saturday for an inmate described by police as “very dangerous” who escaped from a jail in northwestern Pennsylvania using bed sheets, officials said. Michael Burham, 34, escaped from a jail in Warren by climbing on exercise equipment and using...
Authorities charge 5 more in probe of child sexual abuse among Jehovah’s Witnesses in PennsylvaniaVideo
PHILADELPHIA — A Pennsylvania grand jury investigating child sexual abuse in the Jehovah’s Witnesses community has charged another five people with raping or molesting children as young as 4, the latest developments in an ongoing probe that has identified 14 suspects. Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry, at a Friday news...
Is Pa. primed to legalize weed? 2 lawmakers introduce bill to allow recreational use
Two Senate lawmakers are making a new run at legalizing marijuana in Pennsylvania. Sens. Dan Laughlin (R-Erie County) and Sharif Street (D-Philadelphia) introduced a bill Thursday that would allow those 21 and older to use recreational marijuana in the state. The measure would include provisions for enforcement of DUI and...
Pennsylvania governor calls on divided Legislature to finalize budget past deadline
HARRISBURG — Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro called on the Republican-controlled Senate on Thursday to return to the Pennsylvania Capitol to finalize a state spending plan, as the state government neared a week without full spending authority. He disputed Republican accusations that he went back on his word about the $45...
U.S. Sen. Bob Casey’s campaign says incumbent raised $4M in second quarter
U.S. Sen. Bob Casey’s campaign raised more than $4 million during the second quarter of this year, a quarterly fundraising record for the incumbent Democrat who plans to seek reelection next year. Casey, a Democrat from Scranton, announced April 10 that he is seeking a fourth term in Washington. Casey’s...
With lawsuit dismissed, Pa. Republicans file appeal to try and overturn mail-in voting law
Unhappy with their latest legal setback in trying to have Pennsylvania’s mail-in voting law thrown out, Republicans are now appealing to the state Supreme Court. On June 27, a state Commonwealth Court judge denied the request of 14 current and former GOP legislators to invalidate Act 77, which 11 of...
Father of the bride and teen who tried to save friend among 5 killed in Philadelphia shooting
PHILADELPHIA — A father preparing to walk his eldest daughter down the aisle. An aspiring actor who appeared as an extra in the “Creed” movie franchise. A teenager who tried to help a wounded friend. These are the stories of those killed in the all-too-familiar thrum of another mass shooting....
Pennsylvania House approves state budget after Gov. Shapiro backs off voucher plan
HARRISBURG — Late Wednesday night, the Democratic-controlled Pennsylvania House approved a new state spending plan after a days-long stalemate in Pennsylvania’s politically divided Legislature. The chamber approved the main bill in a $45 billion spending plan, 117-86, as the state government plowed through its fifth day without full spending authority....
Pennsylvania governor backs off $100M private schools program in budget stalemate
HARRISBURG — Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro on Wednesday backed off his insistence on money for a new private-school funding program after it became a sticking point in a budget stalemate between Pennsylvania’s politically divided Legislature. Shapiro’s shift in position came as state government plowed through its fifth day without full...
Explosion destroys Lancaster County road crew’s building, equipment
A Wednesday morning explosion destroyed a Lancaster County government building, spewed black smoke and sent earthquake-like shakes through homes miles away. The explosion stemming from a propane leak also led emergency responders to evacuate six homes on the 900 block of North Colebrook Road in Rapho Township, where the explosion...
Philadelphia suspect left a will and was acting agitated days before shootings, prosecutors sayVideo
PHILADELPHIA — The man accused in the fatal shooting spree in Philadelphia that left five people dead and four others wounded Monday night left a will at his house, and according to a roommate had acted agitated and wore a tactical vest around his house in the days before the...
Poll: Taxes, cost of living driving away young residents from Pennsylvania
A new survey suggests the price residents pay to live in Pennsylvania tempts younger generations to move. Results from the Commonwealth Foundation poll conducted last month show more than half of respondents between the ages of 18 and 44 have considered moving to another state – or know someone who...
5 dead in Philadelphia-area shooting spree that’s nation’s worst violence yet around July 4Video
PHILADELPHIA — A 40-year-old man with a rifle, a pistol, a bulletproof vest, extra magazines and a police scanner fatally shot four men in a Philadelphia neighborhood and chased and killed a fifth man inside a house, police said. A 2-year-old boy and a 13-year-old were also wounded in the...
Any progress made toward settling Pa.’s state budget dispute? It’s hard to tell
Pennsylvania enters the Fourth of July holiday with a budget agreement still a work in progress — if there is even any progress. The state Capitol was a near-ghost town on Monday, the third day of the new fiscal year. Neither spokeswomen for the Democratic-controlled House nor Republican-controlled Senate offered...
