Election denialism is costing the Philadelphia suburbs big money. Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties have spent more than $2.6 million fighting election-related lawsuits since 2020. The race for Pennsylvania’s 19 electoral votes in the presidential contest is nearing the home stretch.  Pennsylvanians can vote by mail or vote in-person at a polling place on Election Day. The state doesn’t have early in-person voting, but there is a work around. WITF's Jordan Wilkie recorded himself requesting and returning a mail-in ballot, all in-person and the same day, at his county elections office.  Motorists will have to deal with weekend construction along some of the most heavily traveled roadways in Central Pennsylvania.  President Joe Biden says he will formally apologize for the nation's role in forcing Indigenous children into boarding schools -- including one in Cumberland County -- where for more than 150 years many were physically, emotionally and sexually abused, and more than 950 died.  A school district in Perry County has implemented a new system to detect guns on school property.

The state Supreme Court is affirming protections for mail-in voters in Pennsylvania who make mistakes returning their ballots. Pennsylvania election officials say voters have returned ballots that were ripped, had coffee spilled on them, or even burned.  When that happens, they duplicate the votes onto new, clean ballots to ensure they can be scanned and counted by election equipment.  One of the hallmarks of American elections is that there’s a lot of waiting. Several factors contribute to a relatively slow vote counting process in Pennsylvania. Republican Congressman Scotty Perry is facing a tough reelection race. He is being challenged by Democrat Janelle Stelson, a former WGAL news anchor who is well-known in the 10th congressional district. Governor Josh Shapiro has signed a measure into law -- making the Indian festival of lights Diwali a  state holiday. A set of newly filed lawsuits by people who claim they were sexually abused inside Pennsylvania juvenile detention and treatment facilities makes more than 200 people who have launched such cases since May.  A new surveillance camera system is in place in York's Penn Park.

This year's presidential election could see a historic gender gap as young women line up behind Democrat Kamala Harris' bid to be the first female president. One place where this could be significant is Pittsburgh,  All over the country, people with more education are leaning more Democratic, a shift that's reshaping American politics. One of the places where it could have the most impact this year is Centre County.  In a stretch of what once was Pennsylvania steel country, Democrats and Republicans are looking to test their strength with Latino voters. The commonwealth i happens to have one of the fastest-growing Hispanic communities in the country. The fight is along the 222 Corridor, which connects small cities and communities west and north of Philadelphia.  The Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Dauphin County could restart quickly since all of its essential equipment is in good condition. Several years have passed since the Delaware River's shipping channel was deepened, and now the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority is proposing dredging an additional five feet.  Hundreds of kids in the Allentown area are getting a hands-on lesson in farming.  A bill that would give pension increases to more than 60-thousand retired school and government workers is advancing in the state Legislature.  Teachers in one Adams County school district have a new contract. A rural school district in Central Pennsylvania is hoping to add a resource officer to its staff in the coming months.

Roughly 580,000 eligible Latino voters live in Pennsylvania — a number that could determine who wins the presidential race in the key battleground state. Organizers are working to energize Latino voters in Philadelphia. Voting advocates say thousands of people currently incarcerated in Pennsylvania prisons are eligible to vote. The state issued new guidance ahead of next month's elections for prisoners wishing to cast a ballot .  The two major-party candidates for state Attorney General have traded jabs over their experience and argued over who is best equipped to fight crime. But, the job has more responsibilities than that. In a sharply worded letter to Lancaster County commissioners, Secretary of State Al Schmidt says county election workers had been delivering “an inaccurate description of Pennsylvania law” to voters -- misleading them about their eligibility to cast a ballot in the November election. Vice President Kamala Harris is courting Republican voters uneasy about former president Donald Trump. She held three events in Pennsylvania and two other battleground states  with Liz Cheney, the Republican former Wyoming congresswoman who has vocally opposed Trump since the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

A federal judge in Pennsylvania is considering a Republican request to direct the state's election officials to take additional steps to verify the identification and eligibility of voters living overseas.  Thousands of supporters of Donald Trump have had a chance to hear from the former president at the county Convention Center.  One of the late golf legend Arnold Palmer's daughters calls Donald Trump’s references to her father’s genitalia "a poor choice of approaches” to honoring his memory.  Organizations in communities across Pennsylvania and the nation that suffered from the decline of coal have joined forces in a plea to the Trump and Harris campaigns.  More than $3.4 million is being awarded for projects in Pennsylvania, in an effort to protect agricultural runoff into rivers, lakes and streams. Elon Musk is pledging to give away $1 million a day to voters for signing his political action committee’s petition backing the Constitution. The giveaway by the Donald Trump supporter is raising questions and alarms among some election experts who say it's a violation of the law. A Berks County woman has been sentenced to two life terms on murder convictions in the deaths of her two young children. Authorities say two people are facing charges following the release of about 200 minks from cages at a Northumberland County fur farm. 

In the weeks leading up to the election, some have begun to falsely assert students in Pennsylvania may attempt to vote twice -- once in their hometown, and once in the location of their college or university. But, so far, there’s no evidence that’s the case. The deadline for Pennsylvanians to register to vote in November is Monday. The Cumberland County Elections Bureau has announced additional hours on select days, for residents who plan to vote in the November election using mail-in ballots they plan to deliver by hand.   Governor Josh Shapiro has joined his fellow Democratic governors from Michigan, and Wisconsin on a bus tour through their states to campaign for Vice President Kamala Harris' presidential bid.  Elon Musk has brought his support for Republican Donald Trump to the Philadelphia suburbs for a town hall. A nonprofit is launching a pilot project in Pennsylvania to lease rooftop solar installations to low and moderate-income residents. But, the clean energy project was enabled by legislation which could be in jeopardy if Donald Trump wins in November. Lancaster County prisoners will no longer be handcuffed when receiving medication to treat withdrawal symptoms and opioid addiction. A group of Lancaster County teachers have set a date to take to the picket lines -- amid contentious contract talks. You might remember we brought you the story of how the owners of Washington state's only coal plant made a deal to close -- but also help the community absorb the loss. That kind of approach hasn't happened in Pennsylvania yet. We take you to Homer City to check on how it's adjusting to losing its plant plant a year ago. 

Vice President Kamala Harris is urging Republican voters in Pennsylvania and across the nation to put “country first” and abandon former President Donald Trump.  Some 1.7 million Pennsylvania voters are approved to vote by-mail, and about one-third of them have already returned ballots.  With less than two weeks to go before the deadline to apply for a mail-in ballot, Lancaster County election leaders have flagged clerical errors on 267 ballots out of more than 28,000 returned so far. Governor Josh Shapiro has signed legislation designed to protect federal judges after state lawmakers passed it earlier this month. A teacher's union president has declined to share the outcome of a vote to authorize a strike in one Lancaster County school district. A convicted killer’s escape from a Chester County jail last year has cost him his right to appeal his original life sentence.      A new federal policy requires all mammography centers to notify women if they have dense breasts -- because they may need additional screening to better detect breast cancer - especially in the early stages. But. women want more counseling on what this information means and what to do next…

Democrat Bob Casey and Republican Dave McCormick have squared off for their second and final debate in the race for the U.S. Senate.  The Republican and Democratic candidates for state attorney general have met for a second debate as well. Two men were shot and injured during the first assassination attempt on Donald Trump this summer in Butler. They are speaking publicly about their experience for the first time. The Supreme Court has tossed out a decision in a Pennsylvania case allowing 18-year-olds to legally carry guns in public.  With the U.S. House narrowly divided, contests for Pennsylvania’s seats will be critical to determine who will control the chamber.

The voter registration deadline is quickly approaching in Pennsylvania, considered a battleground state in this Presidential election. We’ll tell you how you can register to vote to cast your ballot this fall. And fracking in Pennsylvania has become a key presidential talking point. We fact-check what is being said, especially when it comes to jobs.

Pennsylvanians in jail may be eligible to vote, if they’re not convicted of a felony. A Pittsburgh legislator wants voting rights to be clear for people behind bars. And new color-correcting viewfinders are in place at nine state parks to help colorblind visitors see fall foliage. Around one million Pennsylvanians are colorblind, including Governor Josh Shapiro. We’ll explain where the new viewfinders are located.

Penn State trustees cannot move forward with a vote to remove an outspoken board member.  Also at Penn State… the “Students for Justice in Palestine” group is hosting a “week of action” on the University Park campus. People who live near last year’s train derailment in East Palestine near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border should be able to receive personal injury payments.

More than a decade after the Flint Michigan water crisis, the federal Environmental Protection Agency is requiring all lead pipes across the country be removed within 10 years.  Fracking in Pennsylvania is an issue that's popped up in the U.S. Senate race between incumbent Democrat Bob Casey and Republican Dave McCormick. Both men support the practice, but polls show Pennsylvania voters are ambivalent on the topic.  A big change is coming to school buses in parts of Pennsylvania. The School District of Philadelphia has joined hundreds of districts nationwide going green.  A York County judge has been suspended without pay -- after he was indicted by a federal grand jury. A Greece-based company is planning to set up its first American manufacturing operation in Central Pennsylvania. Teachers in one Central Pennsylvania community have been working without a contract for about seven weeks. A Christian nationalist preacher named Sean Feucht (FOYKT)is touring state capitols around the country. One is of his latest stops was in Harrisburg. 

Voters across Dauphin County and parts of Cumberland and York counties have new information about their 10th congressional district candidates. The positions were laid out by Democratic Party challenger Janelle Stelson and Republican Party incumbent Scott Perry. Control of the 50-member state Senate will likely come down to a handful of races this November More than five years after an explosion and massive fire at the Philadelphia Energy Solutions refinery in southwest Philly, the Environmental Protection Agency has announced a $4.2 million settlement with the bankrupt former operator.  A York County judge has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges he directed employees at his law firm to fraudulently collect unemployment benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic and later tried to cover it up. With cleanup continuing from one hurricane and another on the way, the American Red Cross is looking to replenish its blood supply, and are offering an incentive.  Poll workers are on the front lines across Pennsylvania on election day -- from the time voting begins until well past the deadline for ballots to be cast. Their main responsibilities are to check-in voters and maintain a safe, secure and efficient polling place or precinct. As part of Election 2024 coverage centered around listening to Central Pennsylvanians, we gathered together a group of six poll workers and judges of elections to hear about their experiences.

The nation's highest court has turned away a challenge from Republican state lawmakers in Pennsylvania to a Biden administration executive order that is intended to boost voter registration.  A bill recently passed by the state Senate would provide funding to create “safe exchange zones” for custody exchanges and online marketplace sales. We look at how it's working in some communities where they're already in place. It's been a decade since one party controlled the governor’s mansion and the state legislature. The November elections could pave the way for new state laws, or changes to the state constitution itself. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is working to improve the way it reports firearm injuries. The move comes after President Biden signed an executive order directing federal agencies to do more to reduce gun violence and strengthen prevention programs. The largest regulated water and wastewater utility company in the U.S. that serves more than 2.3 million Pennsylvanians says it was the victim of a cyberattack. A York County school district has reversed course and boarded up window openings it recently installed that allowed people in a middle school hallway to peer into two gender-neutral-designated bathrooms.  The presidential election in Pennsylvania could be decided by a razor-thin margin. So, political canvassers are descending on the state to try and pick up  any votes they can. 

The state Supreme Court has declined to immediately decide questions related to mail-in ballots in the commonwealth with just weeks remaining before Election Day. At least 16 counties do not give voters any notice about a mistake or give them a chance to fix it -- according to a new analysis. More than 20,000 Pennsylvanians living abroad or serving in the military have applied to vote by mail.  Solar energy developers may need to pay more to get projects built under a proposal moving through the state legislature.  Philadelphia’s Jewish museum is one step closer to becoming part of the Smithsonian Institution.

From police officers to Red Cross volunteers to utility repair crews, Pennsylvania is rushing aid to hurricane-ravaged parts of the South.  Democratic U.S. Senator Bob Casey and Republican challenger Dave McCormick have criticized each other's records during a debate. The two major-party candidates for state Attorney General have argued over their qualifications in their first debate.  A Snyder County police chief has resigned -- after receiving a job offer in Delaware County.  WITF's parent company has laid off two dozen employees -- a reduction of 10 percent of its workforce. Among the people let go are 11 members of the combined news team of WITF and LNP | Lancaster online.

Fresh off his debate appearance, Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz is trying to drum up support in predominately Republican parts of Pennsylvania. Deadlines for voters to get their mail-in ballots are coming up fast. The earlier you apply and return your ballot, the better. Thousands of ballots are already cast now that voting has officially begun in Pennsylvania. More and more money is flowing into political campaigns, from races for state judges and lawmakers to president, making elections in the U.S. among the world’s most expensive. We have an explainer on tracking money in Pennsylvania’s state and federal elections.  The remains of nine more Native American children who died at a notorious government-run boarding school in Cumberland County over a century ago have been disinterred from a small Army cemetery and returned to families.  The Republican challenger trying to flip the U.S. Senate seat in Pennsylvania says he'll press for U.S. military action in Mexico to target fentanyl trafficking networks. David McCormick and Democratic U.S. Senator Bob Casey are set to debate tonight. 

Three people in a northeastern Pennsylvania county are suing to overturn a decision to prevent all four of its drop boxes for mail-in ballots from being deployed. Counties are starting to send out by-mail ballots and some voters are discovering a sticky situation. Humidity is causing some return envelopes to come pre-sealed. Fresh off last night's debate, Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz is scheduled to visit York today. But, he will not be joined by Vice President Kamala Harris, as originally announced. Democratic U.S. Senator Bob Casey faces GOP contender Dave McCormick in their first debate tomorrow. The slim Democratic majority in the Senate is on the line this November. Two leaders of the now dissolved Beta Theta Pi fraternity at Penn State will serve jail time in the Centre County Correctional Facility. The sentencing comes seven years after the death of Timothy Piazza, in connection with an alcohol-fueled hazing initiation.  The ports of Philadelphia and Baltimore are among those closed due to a strike by the union representing about 45,000 dockworkers.   A new license plate is available to drivers who want to celebrate hunting and fishing and support outdoor programs for young people.   The co-founders of a central Pennsylvania theater group saw a massive pile of food scraps and cow manure…and decided to write a musical about it. We preview a show that literally sings the praises of turning farm waste into renewable energy.

People who want to put solar panels on their roofs in the midstate could get a better price if they work together.  State House Republicans say they’ll introduce a package of bills to curb crime.  A court fight in Philadelphia centers on the University of the Arts' $63 million endowment.  Democrats are regaining their majority in the state House as they return for voting sessions for the first time since July.  Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz, will speak at the York Fairgrounds tomorrow.

Despite pushback from some community members, Centre County’s board of elections is moving forward with creating a satellite election office on the Penn State University Park campus. Even with bipartisan support to increase the state's minimum wage to $15 lawmakers don't expect much movement on the issue any time soon. The president and CEO of Visit Hershey & Harrisburg is stepping down -- just days after the FBI visited her office. Researchers have found that a drug being developed for cancer treatment could also lead to a new treatment for Alzheimer’s and other diseases.  A Northumberland County school district is hoping to avoid a planned teachers strike tomorrow.. Elizabethtown College is cutting back on full-time faculty to reduce costs. Students at Shippensburg University, like others at central Pennsylvania colleges, are among those with a big stake in who the next U.S. president will be.  And they have questions for the candidates.   We recently sat down with eight students at the Franklin County school and focused on two simple questions.

Citing security concerns, Luzerne County is not allowing ballot drop boxes for the November election.  Counties are testing their voting machines in preparation for Election Day. The tests - combined with post-election audits - make sure the machines count votes correctly.  Pennsylvania gas drillers slowed production earlier this year. Philadelphia's district attorney is celebrating a legal victory over GOP state lawmakers who impeached him in 2022. A Lancaster County Bible study leader is accused of molesting a girl dozens of times over several months. A man who assaulted a West York Councilman at a York rally for Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris has been taken into custody. But, police say they don't believe the attack was politically motivated

Voting rights advocates are asking Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court to stop counties from throwing out what could be thousands of mail-in ballots in November’s election in the presidential battleground state.  Some energy experts are hailing the planned restart of the Three Mile Island nuclear plant as good for the climate. Nuclear facilities don’t emit the planet-warming pollution that fossil fuel plants do.  In a change of course, the  Cumberland Valley School District will participate in a state-funded program to give student teachers thousands of extra dollars. Scores of other schools still have not sent in their participation agreements. A federal judge has approved a $600 million settlement between Norfolk Southern and people who live near East Palestine, Ohio, where a train derailed last year, contaminating the community.   An arbitration board is allowing U.S. Steel to proceed with its proposed acquisition by Nippon Steel.   Investigators in Philadelphia are exhuming eight bodies buried in a potter's field this week in the hope that advances in DNA-based testing can help them identify the long-ago victims. A Montgomery County bakery’s cookie “poll” that started during the 2008 presidential campaign as a joke between the owners and their customers has grown into much more. 

A panel of judges is requiring a Western Pennsylvania county to give voters a chance to fix problems with mail-in ballots and allow them to vote by provisional ballot if needed.  With a little more than a month before the election, Kamala Harris' presidential campaign is working to get Republicans to vote for Democrats in Pennsylvania. Pittsburgh has effectively banned rodeos for more than 30 years. But a provision inserted in this year's state budget requires municipalities to allow those events.  A Berks County woman faces a life sentence for hanging her two children in the basement of their home in 2019.  Lebanon County voters should get their mail-in ballots early next month. Police are investigating a former Lancaster Country Day student for creating AI-generated nude images of female classmates.

Republicans are stepping up scrutiny of the state's system for registering people to vote through its driver’s licensing centers.  The Ukrainian community in Lackawanna County is thrilled Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy personally visited an ammunition plant to   thank Pennsylvania workers.  Anti-abortion activists have flocked to the state Capitol for the annual March for Life. Leaders in Congress say they’ve reached a deal on a spending bill that will head off a government shutdown - for now. GOP Pennsylvania Congressman Glenn “GT” Thompson is supportive of the extension. The candidates for the 10th Congressional District, which represents much of central Pennsylvania, are squaring off in a debate at seven p.m. on October 8th. A Reading man faces thousands of dollars in fines after a security team at Lancaster Airport found a loaded nine millimeter handgun in his carry-on bag. The Philadelphia Phillies have clinched the National League East.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has visited the Lackawanna County ammunition factory that is producing one of the most critically needed munitions for his country’s fight to fend off Russian ground forces.  Republican Vice Presidential candidate JD Vance has campaigned at the Berks County Fairgrounds. Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz has also campaigned in Pennsylvania. The owner of the shuttered Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Dauphin County plans to restart the reactor. In some places across Pennsylvania, distress calls to 211 or 988 link callers with support professionals - who in some cases, are too far away to act. Chester County has a solution. Central Pennsylvania is recovering from an intense storm that blasted parts of the region Saturday night.   Penn State has removed nearly three dozen racks containing its independent student-produced newspaper from on-campus this week because politics-related ads on the racks violated school policy.  A defense attorney is dismissing as “conjecture” the prosecution’s case against a Berks County woman charged with killing her two young children.   Former president Donald Trump has baselessly called out Haitian migrants in the small town of Charleroi in western Pennsylvania. Oliver Morrison is with our friends at WESA in Pittsburgh and spent some time in the Washington County community.

Democrats in Pennsylvania are at their weakest voter registration advantage in more than two decades. Former president Donald Trump has been telling one lie consistently since 2016 to justify his popular vote losses. The Republican presidential candidate and his allies are again pushing false claims that noncitizens vote. A new  $10 million grant program aims to fund efficient and sustainable farming technologies in Pennsylvania.  State Senator Doug Mastriano, a former Republican gubernatorial candidate whose support for Donald Trump drew him to the U.S. Capitol on January 6th, is suing a Canadian university and nearly two dozen academics.   Two Gettysburg College students are suspended from the swim team amid allegations they scratched a racial slur into the skin of a fellow student.   Penn State will pay more than $700,000 in back wages and interest to resolve alleged gender pay discrimination against women employees at the University Park campus. As  part of our commitment to transparency in our journalism, Scott Blanchard, WITF’s director of journalism, joins me each week to take you behind the scenes on our editorial decisions, discussions or approaches. In this week’s email newsletter The Purple Buck,  Scott wrote about how we’re approaching covering presidential candidate appearances in central PA and mentioned a term that you might have heard of in relation to election news coverage, and that’s “sane-washing.”  Scott talks with Tim Lambert about the approach.

An online tool designed to help Pennsylvanians find their polling places is riddled with misspelled and duplicate community names. Every other year, Pennsylvania surveys students about everything from drug use to personal safety. The latest survey offers insights about what helps young people stay out of trouble.    The familiar towers at Three Mile Island will come down in the next several years as the nuclear plant is decommissioned. But, pieces of the site will be preserved for history.  The Philadelphia 76ers have a new teammate in their bid to build a new $1.3 billion  arena downtown -- the city. Girls flag football is now an officially sanctioned state championship sport.  Governor Josh Shapiro has learned to carry his ID with him.

With about seven weeks until the election, the Trump and Harris campaigns are scrambling to get as many voters on their side as possible. The slim margins of victory in recent presidential elections has the candidates taking nothing for granted.  Vice president Kamala Harris has joined a panel discussion in Philadelphia -- hosted by the National Association of Black Journalists. Part of the discussion focused on Gaza. The state Senate is trying again to overturn a regulation that would make power plants pay for pollution. The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative is still tied up in court cases.  Pennsylvania is set to honor an iconic artist from the 1980s in his Berks County hometown. Election leaders in Luzerne County are spending about 40 percent  of their time on security and working with law enforcement on election plans.    A new parent company is being formed to solidify the partnerships of WITF, LNP | Lancaster Online and the Steinman Institute for Civic Engagement. 

Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court has upheld a lower ruling that rejected a bid to get independent presidential candidate Cornel West on the battleground state's ballot for the November election.  Commonwealth Secretary Al Schmidt is answering voter concerns ahead of the November 5th election. The state’s top election leader is working overtime to ensure the election is free, fair, safe and secure. After voters go to the polls or send in their mail-in ballots, what is the best way to count up all the votes accurately? President Joe Biden says his administration plans to invest an additional $1.3 billion  in federal funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).  A midstate teacher’s aide and wrestling coach is accused of sexual misconduct involving one student and sending nude photos to another.   Philadelphia voters are filling two vacant seats in the state House.

Mail-in voters in Pennsylvania must write the correct date on their return envelopes or risk having their ballots rejected.  Due to high levels of voter excitement and confusion in news reports and social media channels, counties are getting lots of questions about when voters will actually get ballots in-hand. That won’t be until early October, as is normal in Pennsylvania.  Governor Josh Shapiro is taking steps to address affordable housing and homelessness. Dauphin County is absolving inmates of nearly 66 million dollars in room and board debts. Democrats are pumping $25 million into expanded voter outreach across Pennsylvania and nine other states as part of their effort to protect their narrow Senate majority.  A York County man has entered no contest pleas to charges that he killed his father and stepmother with a sword in their home almost five years ago.

 Governor Josh Shapiro is bringing back the Office of Gun Violence Prevention.  A stretch of heat waves in July is taking its toll on some midstate farmers. Nearly 40 acres is burning and smoke can be seen for miles around Fort Indiantown Gap, the nation’s busiest National Guard training center. It’s a planned burn. A truck driver has been found guilty of trying to run over a fire police lieutenant in Lancaster County last year.   A midstate county is taking steps to ensure voters who send in a mail ballot with a mistake will have a chance to fix the problem.   A central Pennsylvania cookie maker is spending a lot of dough to expand operations.  

For the first time in a year and a half, the street that runs in front of a West Reading chocolate factory that exploded is now open.   New measurements show climate pollution is escaping oil and gas production hubs at an estimated 4 times the amount companies report to regulators.  Climate change is taking front and center stage before the Philadelphia Gas Commission.   A section of Clear Creek State Forest in western Pennsylvania has been inducted into the Old Growth Forest Network, which tallies these rare ecosystems across the country. Two Cumberland County police departments are investigating the threat of a school shooting. A Philadelphia police officer is dead nearly three months after being shot in the neck during a traffic stop.  That bright light you might have seen streaking across the sky early Tuesday was the launch of SpaceX’s latest rocket -– the Polaris Dawn -- that blasted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida. 

Bells of remembrance are ringing today as families commemorate the crash of Flight 93 in Somerset County on the 23rd anniversary of the September 11, 2001, attacks. Puerto Rico and other parts of the Caribbean are experiencing serious outbreaks of dengue fever - and cases are showing up in Pennsylvania as travelers return from vacations.  Free period products are now available at bathrooms in all Montgomery county buildings.  A new trail project in Carbon County will connect Weatherly to nearby public lands  -- while preserving water quality and natural habitats.   A Lancaster woman has pleaded guilty to defrauding two non-profit veteran organizations.  An historically Black cemetery is being closed to the public after vandals once again knocked over tombstones.

With tonight's presidential debate taking place in Philadelphia, city police are working with state and federal law enforcement to ensure the high profile event is secure . Classes are set to resume at a Perry County school district today -- one day after they were canceled due to threats of violence on social media. Schools in Central Pennsylvania could soon be tapping into solar energy. Environmental groups in Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Alabama are suing the EPA over a new federal rule regulating coke ovens.  A judge has agreed to move the trial of a Pennsylvania man charged in the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students to a different city.  Lancaster City police will be reducing its force. A study by a consulting firm finds it should be cut to 128 -- based on staffing levels, call volume and other operations. The University of Pittsburgh has fired athletic director Heather Lyke, a somewhat surprising move that came a few months before her contract expired.  Much like Central Pennsylvania, the Lehigh Valley has experienced a warehouse boom. One community underscores the conflicts that come with this development.

When Donald Trump and Kamala Harris meet onstage in Philadelphia tomorrow night, they’ll both know there’s little debate that Pennsylvania is critical to their chances of winning the presidency.   More than 330 religious leaders representing more than 3 million Pennsylvanians are calling for peace during the election cycle.  Weather patterns in the Pacific and the Atlantic oceans are setting up a dry fall and a winter with little snow in central Pennsylvania.   The Altoona Area School District is one of nine districts examined in a new report on lead in Pennsylvania school drinking water. The non-profit group, PennEnvironment Research & Policy Center, says those districts are ignoring best practices. It's the only district to fail *every* category in their report. New investments that seek to help low-income Pennsylvanians have been announced.  The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia is on the hunt for a new leader to start next year. Former Vice President Mike Pence is now teaching at a Pennsylvania college. People in one Central Pennsylvania county now have the ability to reach their 911 center by text. The Gettysburg Times has named a new publisher.The media organization reports Kelly Luvison stepped into the role days after Harry Hartman was suspended in the face of imminent indictment on federal mail theft charges. 

A court decision means Pennsylvania voters can cast a provisional ballot in place of a mail-in ballot that is rejected for a garden-variety mistake they made when they returned it.  Former President Donald Trump remains devoted to targeting his messaging to the Republican base in his third campaign for president. He's doubling down on language that experts say is both highly partisan and dangerous for U.S. democracy.  Pennsylvania’s law on testing school drinking water for lead allows districts to avoid protecting students. Hear the conclusion of a new analysis. Leaders in York and Lancaster counties are concerned about the impact on downtown businesses and emergency responders when planned repairs shut down a nearly century-old bridge for three years.  An Amish woman who was wounded as a child in the 2006 mass shooting at West Nickel Mines School in Lancaster County has died. A midstate judge is appointing a permanent receiver to oversee the company that operated the shuttered Retreat Behavioral Health operations. The Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers will play the first NFL regular-season game in South America when they open the season against each other tonight in Sao Paulo, Brazil. 

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s base wants to hear about immigration and the economy. That’s what he delivered at his latest Harrisburg event. The former president stuck to topics that appeal to his already committed voters in his live-to-tape interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity last night.  Minnesota Governor Tim Walz is campaigning in Republican-dominated parts of the state, spending about two hours in Lancaster County drumming up support for the Democratic ticket. Removing dams to help fish move freely. Reducing stormwater pollution. Restoring habitat for horseshoe crabs. These are just some initiatives getting federal dollars from the Delaware Watershed Conservation Fund this year.   A Lebanon-based home care agency must pay more than $1 million in back wages and liquidated damages after failing to pay workers required minimum and overtime wages.  A Central Pennsylvania county plans to open its elections office on the the two Saturdays prior to election day. An envelope manufacturing plant is set to close in Schuylkill County. The Pittsburgh Pirates were no-hit in a 12-0 loss to the Cubs.

Anti-nuclear activists are calling for the state legislature to halt any plans to restart Three Mile Island.  In vitro fertilization, or IVF, has become a hot-button issue in the 2024 presidential race. Pennsylvanians are reacting to recent comments by Republican candidate Donald Trump. Whether it's for hiking, swimming or tubing, summer-lovers are sneaking in a final few days of playing in their favorite waterways. But researchers say they might be floating in a soup of chemicals.  A program to bring remote workers to Pennsylvania is wrapping up. Hear the experiences of participants in St. Marys, Elk County.  The body of a man found frozen in a small Berks County cave nearly a half century ago has finally been identified.  Police say a man arrested last week at a Johnstown rally for presidential candidate Donald Trump does not believe in Trump’s policies and hoped to hang a banner in protest. 

President Joe Biden is no stranger to Pittsburgh's Labor Day activities. But this year, he was campaigning for Vice President Kamala Harris. She used the joint campaign appearance to say U.S. Steel should remain domestically owned.   Distracted driving is one of the leading causes of car accidents and deaths nationally.  So, researchers and physicians at the University of Pennsylvania wanted to find a way to reduce distracted driving by getting people to change their risky behaviors in the car. High levels of carbon monoxide gas are being blamed for the evacuation of a dinner theater in Lancaster County on Friday. More than 50 firefighters have battled a blaze in one Dauphin County community that displaced three people.    

Enforcing the date requirement on mail ballots violates the state constitution, according to a ruling from Commonwealth Court.  Pennsylvania is trying to help more people with substance use disorder find peace in nature. Telephone and Internet scams seem to be constantly popping up with law enforcement issuing frequent warnings to consumers not to be fooled. The Federal Trade Commission is trying to stop the practice and warn people of the latest scams. Vice President Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden are co-headlining a campaign event in Pennsylvania for Labor Day. Police say a man will face misdemeanor charges after he stormed into the press area on Friday night at former president Donald Trump’s rally in Johnstown. A man has been charged with aggravated assault in an alleged glass bottle attack on two Jewish students on the University of Pittsburgh campus.     

Gas prices are cooling heading into the Labor Day weekend.  Some strong thunderstorms could hit the region tomorrow. But after that, cooler, drier air and clear skies should make for a great Labor Day weekend.  With housing costs reaching new highs, Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris is campaigning to build more affordable housing Nippon Steel says if federal regulators approve its plans to buy U.S. Steel, it will invest an additional $1 billion in the Pittsburgh region.  A six-year-old from Luzerne County has claimed first place for his age group in the USA Mullet Championships.  A convicted killer is due in court in Chester County on escape charges -- nearly a year after his daring two weeks as a fugitive began.  Police and prosecutors are dealing with an incident that uses AI technology so new there might not be a law on the books that can be used to prosecute anyone. In this week’s email newsletter The Purple Buck, WITF's Director of Journalism Scott Blanchard wrote about something coming up on our air that is, let’s say, very unusual for us. As part of our weekly chat about our editorial decisions, discussions or approaches, he discusses why it was a different approach for a media organization.

The FBI is offering details in its investigation into the attempted assassination of former president Donald Trump in western Pennsylvania. The agency says it is confronting a difficult obstacle -- misinformation. State Auditor General Tim DeFoor is accusing the Department of Human Services of improper spread-pricing in the Medicaid program. Diabetes and obesity drugs like Wegovy and Ozempic have ushered in a new era of medically-assisted weight loss for millions  of Americans. But these kinds of drugs can come with challenging side effects, like nausea. Now, researchers in Philadelphia have gotten one step closer in trying to change that.  York County is paying $135,000 to current and former inmates who say they suffered from unconstitutional conditions.  In their first appearance together since he quit the campaign, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are scheduled to speak in Pittsburgh on Labor Day. 

People in Harrisburg and elected leaders are supporting equity and condemning hate this week, following a self-identified neo-Nazi group’s march past the Capitol on Saturday.  Both candidates in the 10th Congressional District seat are condemning racism, antisemitism and Nazism in response to the demonstration. New Title Nine regulations offering protection against certain kinds of discrimination went into effect this month. But more than 100 schools in Pennsylvania -- including several in Adams, Berks Cumberland, Franklin, Lancaster, and York counties -- will not be implementing the rule. .  Some Pennsylvania Democrats are putting forth a new framework to expand American manufacturing.  A judge is ordering Washington County to notify any voter whose mail-in ballot is rejected because of an error so the voter can challenge the decision or vote by provisional ballot.  A Pennsylvania ammunition plant that makes a key artillery shell in Ukraine’s fight against Russia has managed to boost production by 50 percent to meet surging demand, with more capacity set to come on line.  Climate change is putting Pennsylvania’s forests and trails at risk as the weather gets warmer and wetter. Now, one Lancaster County group is working to make trails climate resilient.

New EPA money will help schools mitigate lead pipe risks. U.S. Steel sale could be good for the Pittsburgh region.  The Shapiro Administration is asking insurers to be flexible in helping people affected by the remnants of Tropical Storm Debby.  A judge rules Washington County must tell voters if there is an error with their mail ballot.  Lancaster County drinking water systems test positive for forever chemicals.  A voter registration text scam. A regional retail theft ring steals medications and beauty products from big box stores.  An art museum agrees to auction a painting claimed by the heirs of a Jewish family forced to flee Nazi Germany. 

Voting rights groups hope Commonwealth Court adds protections to mail-in voting  How does RFK Jr.’s decision to quit the race affect the PA vote?  Kids are heading back to the classroom soon. Here are tips for their mental health.  Florida wins Little League World Series in Williamsport Schuylkill County coal company gears up for new boom Red Lion teen accused of shooting friend to death can be released on bail Reading’ Knight’s Keep supports homeless students

Secretary of State Al Schmidt to appear at a Sept. 16 event in Gettysburg put on by the Eisenhower Institute at Gettysburg College and WITF A project to prevent invasive carp from spreading in the Great Lakes has received federal support to get started.  More than one hundred schools in Pennsylvania will not be implementing the new Title IX rule. Public school officials in Philadelphia are warning that services for students experiencing homelessness could shrink as federal pandemic relief money dries up.  A federal judge denied a request from some people in East Palestine, Ohio to give them more time to decide whether they want to accept their share of a 600 million dollar class-action settlement over last year's train derailment.  A federal jury says a Pennsylvania school district violated a teacher’s constitutional rights by falsely suggesting he took part in the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6th, 2021. Drivers on Interstate 83 this weekend should plan for delays and detours in Dauphin County as crews remove an overpass bridge. The annual Kipona festival in Harrisburg is adding a Giant Puppet Parade, and inviting the public to join in. 

Independent candidate for U-S President Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is criticizing the Democratic party and the Commonwealth Court amid a lawsuit seeking to bar him from the November ballot. A new poll shows that the number of Hispanic voters in Pennsylvania has significantly increased in recent years. The Forward Party will have names on the ballot for two Pennsylvania offices. The man whose crimes prompted Lancaster County to create a task force on child sexual abuse in Amish communities is back in prison. The former treasurer of the Reading School District teachers union will serve six to 23 months in prison for stealing more than $400,000 from the group. One woman is dead and a man is injured after an explosion destroyed a home outside Scranton. The reptile found in a Lancaster County storage unit was a caiman – not an alligator or a crocodile.

Health insurance companies are asking the state to approve price increases for what they offer on the Affordable Care Act marketplace. Proposals for large solar energy projects can raise concerns over stormwater runoff, but a new study points to possible solutions.  The State College Regional Airport is adding more flights and bigger planes to its fall schedule.  A father and son from Luzerne County are using their hairstyles to raise money for a cause that’s important to them.  The only Pennsylvania team in the Little League World Series is out of the competition. Harley-Davidson is dropping efforts to diversify its workforce and suppliers. A fire police officer who was struck and killed directing traffic in York County last week died from blunt force injuries. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. won't testify in defense of his effort to appear on Pennsylvania's presidential ballot. 

As the Democratic National Convention kicked off in Chicago, GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump returned to Pennsylvania for a stop at a factory in York. We talked with people about mail-in voting. Officials from an Appalachian hydrogen hub and the Department of Energy said at a public meeting that plans are moving ahead for billions of dollars in clean hydrogen projects throughout the region.

We're in the middle of another surge in COVID-19, and an infectious disease expert talks about the risk we're facing, and how best to protect yourself. Pennsylvania is awarding more than 7 million dollars to ten projects to build more electric vehicle chargers in key areas of the state. An exhibit of historic Islamic art postponed last year by the Frick Art Museum in Pittsburgh opens this week.