Even as Republican state senators passed a second attempt to restrict transgender female athlete participation in Pennsylvania schools, leadership acknowledged that it was unlikely to pass in the Democrat-controlled state House. “Due to Democrat’s political tricks and parliamentary games in…

A typical day for Suzanne Ott starts by getting her children ready for school, like many parents. But then she becomes a caregiver in the greater Erie area, cooking, bathing and dressing someone with a disability that prevents them from…

Following in the footsteps of more than two dozen other states, Pennsylvania Republicans in the state Senate are again trying to push a bill that would ban transgender female athletes from playing for a team aligned with their gender. Sponsored…

On April 16, 2024, 17-year-old Damien Hocker was walking home from the gym when a car hit and killed him just three blocks from his home outside of Philadelphia. He was one of 1,127 people who died in a car…

In an industry that used to have two dozen independent companies, options for buying firetrucks have dwindled as private equity firms consolidate factories and grow their profits. Prices have outpaced inflation on fire equipment, emergency response leaders told state lawmakers…

Across thousands of cities nationwide, including dozens in Pennsylvania, millions of Americans rallied against the Trump administration Saturday in the third “No Kings” protests since President Donald Trump returned to office. Outside of massive demonstrations in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, commonwealth…

A judge sentenced two teenagers in Lancaster County to probation and community service — along with restitution — after they used artificial intelligence to generate nude images of female classmates and their friends. County President Judge Leonard G. Brown III…

Letters from 70 Democratic lawmakers earlier this year urged Gov. Josh Shapiro to raise reimbursement rates for home health care workers in his proposed budget — which he declined to do. State House Speaker Joanna McClinton (D-Philadelphia) also made her…

Each year in March, the Pennsylvania Capital-Star joins news media organizations across the country to highlight the importance of transparency in our government during Sunshine Week. . In the commonwealth, anyone has the right to request public records from government…

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission filed a formal complaint against UGI Utilities, Inc. following an investigation into the March 2023 explosion at a chocolate factory that killed seven workers and injured ten others in Berks County. The PUC’s Investigation and…

A newly enacted state law expanded Pennsylvania’s Workers’ Compensation Act to include Post-Traumatic Stress Injury coverage for first responders, but some worry that it won’t be comprehensive enough during disasters. Act 121 of 2024 allows firefighters, police, EMTs and paramedics…

A year after two Lancaster County teenagers were charged with using artificial intelligence to create nude images of their classmates, both admitted Thursday to 59 felonies in court for manufacturing child sexual abuse material. Creating the images counts as felony…

Pennsylvania’s higher education institutions largely got a flat budget under Gov. Josh Shapiro’s spending plan released last month — but school leaders urged state House lawmakers to bump up their appropriations Wednesday, arguing that the commonwealth needs the investment. The…

After a three-mile hike carrying a 275-pound hunter with a broken ankle across rugged terrain, Blain Volunteer Fire Company Chief Nick Campbell and his team decided it was time to purchase an off-road vehicle. Covering 130 square miles in Perry…