(The Center Square) - At a rally launching Gov. Josh Shapiro and Lt. Gov. Austin Davis’s re-election campaign Thursday, the stakes were made clear: the 2026 election is about the trajectory of the nation as a whole. Amid swirling rumors about a presidential bid, Shapiro pledged his commitment to act as a servant leader ready for another four years in office. Over the course of the evening, speakers painted two portraits. One was Shapiro the family man guided by faith, humility, and a desire to serve. The other was a man of bravado and ambition, proud of the “sh**” he gets done. Among the victories highlighted were economic investments of more than $32 billion and the improbable twelve-day repair of a collapsed section of I-95 in Philadelphia.

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(The Center Square) – For 67 million people relying on electricity from the regional power grid, PJM, cheaper utility bills in 2026 are little more than a pipe dream. It’s not an unexpected blow, despite moves from the Trump administration and state regulators to keep prices in check. Why? Because there’s simply not enough power generation – from gas and nuclear plants, wind and solar farms and battery storage reserves – to feed the grid.

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(The Center Square) - The most recent Pennsylvania budget was tight, but it did add a few new line items, including $5 million toward research for neurodegenerative diseases like ALS, Parkinson’s, and Alzheimer’s. On Friday, Gov. Josh Shapiro, Secretary of Health Dr. Debra Bogen, and Rep. Kyle Mullins, D-Peckville, joined researchers at the University of Pittsburgh to mark the investment. Mullins lost his father to ALS and has spent his time in the legislature championing the cause alongside Rep. Bryan Cutler, R-Quarryville, who lost both parents to the disease.

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(The Center Square) – Keeping Pennsylvania’s scales tipped into the red ahead of the 2026 midterms was underscored again this week as Vice President J.D. Vance visited Allentown, stumping for his boss’s economic policies and bringing Republican hopefuls into the limelight with him. While there, he told a crowd gathered at Uline Shipping Supplies in Alburtis that “his job every single day is to make it so that you guys can have a safe and prosperous life in this country that all of us love.” 

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(The Center Square) – Genetic testing has drastically changed what we’re able to know about ourselves and our families. It can inform individuals about their bodies and health and connect them to the past through ancestral lines. For the past two decades, consumers have been handing over their genetic information to private industry for the chance to make those connections. Throughout those two decades, both entrepreneurism and technological innovations have outpaced legislation, leading to a landscape in which companies have found lucrative ways to leverage genetic data with third parties. On Tuesday, the Pennsylvania House voted unanimously to grant consumers privacy rights over their information. 

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(The Center Square) - Intense polarization and the alarming rise of partisan political violence has left many Americans wondering about the nation’s trajectory. That’s why Gov. Josh Shapiro and Utah Gov. Spencer Cox joined journalist Savannah Guthrie for a discussion on the topic at the National Cathedral in Washington D.C. Tuesday evening. Cox said the two made each other’s acquaintance within the National Governors Association. He found support from Shapiro in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination in Utah. The Pennsylvania governor, the victim of arson and an assassination attempt in April, has been thrust into expertise on the subject of political violence. 

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(The Center Square) – Questions surrounding taxpayer money spent upgrading the governor's private residence were legally elevated Tuesday. Senate Republicans, eager to curb state spending — and to play the foil to Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro — have long had their eye on excessive spending from the executive office. Tuesday, the Senate Intergovernmental Operations committee announced that they’ve issued three subpoenas to get a better sense of the nature of a $1 million dollar expenditure on the governor’s private residence. 

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(The Center Square) - Health care workers in Altoona held a vigil Monday night to demand increased safety for hospital employees. The event came weeks after UPMC emergency room technician Travis Dunn was brutally attacked by a patient, leaving him with a skull fracture and brain bleed among other injuries. Between the physical demands of their jobs and the volatility of working with patients, health care workers are exposed to more on-the-job injuries than most other professions.

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(The Center Square) - With budget season disappearing into the rearview, advocates for home health care services aren't wasting a minute. Though the programs saw a $21 million investment toward workers within the self-directed care model, those appropriations fell woefully short of the state’s own recommendations to stabilize the industry. On Tuesday, the Pennsylvania Homecare Association said providers submitted formal Program Revision Request filings for the coming fiscal year demanding major investments to correct the deepening shortfalls in the industry.

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(The Center Square) – Rapid expansion of data centers in the mid-Atlantic region leaves its power grid’s operator, PJM, standing at a crossroads: how can electricity supply keep up with exponential growth in demand without spiking bills for ratepayers? After a Wednesday meeting with all of the organizations members – which include utility companies, state regulators, power plants, transmission providers, project developers, and commercial and industrial businesses – there's still no path forward. This, despite 12 proposals put forward for a vote. None earned majority support.

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