Pennsylvania’s top prosecutor is touting Pennsylvania's share of a nationwide legal settlement with the owner of Facebook and Instagram.

Central Pennsylvania’s food banks are seeing increased demand. Eligibility changes to SNAP are kicking people off the program and causing confusion.

Meet WITF reporter and Weekend Edition host Katie Knol, in conversation with the Morning Agenda’s Karen Hendricks.

The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources is recognizing two rangers and a civilian for saving a mountain biker's life at Swatara State Park this spring.

And now it’s time for our weekly segment called The Bright Spot. 

Every Friday, I’ll share a positive news story that may have gotten lost amid this week's news cycle.  

Today’s bright spot is this:

A new Hershey area nonprofit is creating opportunities for new mothers to learn a skill, do something for themselves and connect with other moms. The initiative promotes the benefits of dance and removes barriers mothers face.

It’s been one year since public media's federal funding was revoked. Thanks to our community, we're still here for you and looking toward the future. Join the thousands of members who are building a stronger WITF. Go to  www.witf.org/givenow. And thank you.

Governor Josh Shapiro has a 16-point advantage over state Treasurer Stacy Garrity, the Republican candidate in the run for Pennsylvania governor. Shapiro is hoping to boost other Democrats on the ballot.

Pennsylvania health officials announce that two unvaccinated people from Lancaster County have died after contracting measles. They are the first measles-related fatalities this year in the United States. State leaders blame vaccine misinformation from the Trump administration in waning immunization rates.

Health officials are holding pop-up vaccination clinics across the commonwealth to offer measles, mumps and rubella shots.

The nation’s transportation secretary visited Luzerne County on Tuesday to get a first-hand look at a closed Susquehanna River bridge near Wilkes-Barre. Sean Duffy made some promises about getting that and another bridge crossing the Susquehanna River reopened.

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright is on what he calls the Great American Energy Comeback Tour. That included a recent stop in Schuylkill County, where he toured a power station fueled by coal waste.

With privacy and safety concerns mounting around automatic license plate reader systems, state lawmakers are considering guardrails on their use. The move comes as a major purveyor of the equipment, Flock Safety, responded by tightening its own controls.

Governor Josh Shapiro is leaning on an unconventional hire: a former Trump administration official.

The investigation which led to this month's arrests of over a dozen current and former students at Penn State on drug trafficking charges dates back almost two years.

 Train travelers in Pennsylvania will benefit from a recently announced infusion of federal funds. Amtrak is receiving an additional $2 billion, which will be used to purchase new train cars to replace the current fleet which dates back to the 1970s.

Kinley Rasmus is making history at the Little League World Series. The 12-year-old pitcher and shortstop from Phenix City, Alabama, has set a record with five hits, the most ever by a girl in the tournament. 

It’s been one year since public media's federal funding was revoked. Thanks to our community, we're still here for you and looking toward the future. Join the thousands of members who are building a stronger WITF. Go to  www.witf.org/givenow. And thank you.

Today we take a deep dive into lawmakers’ business disclosures, or (in some cases) lack thereof.

Pennsylvania businesses have to register with the state and update their filings annually, as of 2025 – when the law changed from just once per decade.

But some of the same legislators who helped to enact the rule have not been following it.

It’s been one year since public media's federal funding was revoked. Thanks to our community, we're still here for you and looking toward the future. Join the thousands of members who are building a stronger WITF. Go to  www.witf.org/givenow. And thank you.

As we ramp up for the new school year, you may be wondering: How many kids are vaccinated against diseases like measles in any specific Pennsylvania county? A new dashboard created by the state Department of Health makes immunization rates publicly available.

Many communities are ramping up their back-to-school vaccination campaigns.

Meantime, Pennsylvania pediatricians are pushing back against Donald Trump’s recent executive order that calls for separating the combination measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine into individual shots.

Pennsylvania's Farmland Preservation Program continues, with the state investing more than $9.1 million dollars to purchase and preserve 34 farms across the Commonwealth.

State officials are asking for the public's input on a draft Pennsylvania Wildlife Plan. 

And now a deep dive.

Petitioners want to repeal an anti-discrimination ordinance in one northeastern Pennsylvania County. They recently presented more than 15,000 signatures to Luzerne County Council's clerk.

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Small businesses and nonprofits have come to rely on skill games, with each machine bringing in an estimated tens of thousands of dollars a year. But they will become illegal this fall if Pennsylvania doesn’t regulate the industry. Advocates are rallying for a solution.

A group of U.S. Navy sailors stationed on the USS Gettysburg visited the borough in Adams County this week. They connected with and honored past military members.

A MAGA activist violated Pennsylvania campaign finance laws last year, according to a Washington-based watchdog group. Public Citizen wants voter registration activist Scott Presler to disclose how much his organization spent trying to remove three Pennsylvania Supreme Court justices last year.

Communities in Lancaster and York counties are in cleanup and assessment mode following severe storms and a tornado that swept through the region on Thursday.

The U.S. Department of Justice is dropping its appeal of a federal court ruling that quashed a subpoena the DOJ  issued to UPMC just over a year ago.

It’s been one year since public media's federal funding was revoked. Thanks to our community, we're still here for you and looking toward the future. Join the thousands of members who are building a stronger WITF. Go to www.witf.org/givenow. And thank you. 

Harrisburg’s Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts is facing financial headwinds. Leadership says the science and arts center has 10 years of financial runway left, worst-case scenario.

One person is dead and two Pennsylvania State Police officers are injured following a plane crash Wednesday night in Cumberland County. Corporal Bryce Corman and Trooper Jason Mills are in stable condition and expected to be okay. We have an update on this violent crash.

Earlier this week, Governor Josh Shapiro signed an executive order to force data center developers to comply with his standards for the industry. Ahead of the signing, Shapiro mentioned his visit to the borough of Archbald in Lackawanna County, which is facing the most data center proposals of any location in the state. Now, one Archbald advocate says Shapiro’s order doesn’t go far enough.

Schools in southcentral Pennsylvania will receive more than $420,000 in state funding to continue providing free period products to students.

The Hershey community is invited to Milton Hershey's 169th birthday party.

And we have a deep dive, in our weekly segment called The Bright Spot. Every Friday, we share a positive news story that may have gotten lost amid this week's news cycle. Today’s bright spot is this: Little League World Series play is getting underway in Lycoming County. But the wider community turned out in droves on Tuesday to greet players and families during the annual Grand Slam parade in downtown Williamsport. 

It’s been one year since public media's federal funding was revoked. Thanks to our community, we're still here for you and looking toward the future. Join the thousands of members who are building a stronger WITF. Go to  www.witf.org/givenow. And thank you.

One person is dead and two Pennsylvania State Police officers were injured following a Wednesday evening crash at an airport in Cumberland County. It was a violent collision between a state police helicopter and a small airplane.

Gov. Josh Shapiro on Tuesday signed an executive order to impose stricter regulations on data center development. Shapiro is the latest in a string of governors across the county shifting their stances or taking steps to crack down on data center development, as public opinion sours.

The State Inspector General and Dauphin County DA are charging dozens of people in a SNAP trafficking operation.

Democrats are declaring victory in a state House special election in Butler County, though the margin is razor-thin.

With three months to go until midterms, Pennsylvania Secretary of State Al Schmidt joined other officials last week to push back on election misinformation.

In one of the most competitive congressional districts in the country, the 7th in northeastern PA, a strange fight is brewing between the Pennsylvania Green Party and a candidate who is petitioning to appear on the ballot under their label.

Police say one of the three people found inside a burning Dauphin County home Monday morning killed the other two and used an accelerant to set the home on fire.

State Ag Secretary Russell Redding recently honored a dozen Pennsylvania farms that have been in the same family for 100 years. The "century farms" include two in Perry County.

It’s been one year since public media's federal funding was revoked. Thanks to our community, we're still here for you and looking toward the future. Join the thousands of members who are building a stronger WITF. Go to  www.witf.org/givenow. And thank you.

The Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence, along with 21 other nonprofit organizations, has won a federal lawsuit against the Trump Administration. PCADV says new guidelines would have made them choose between its funding and its mission.

More than a dozen current or former Penn State students are facing drug trafficking charges.

PennDOT is finalizing plans for a project designed to improve safety for drivers, pedestrians and cyclists on one of Harrisburg’s oldest bridges. PennDOT is asking the public to provide feedback.

The Pennsylvania Turnpike is seeing improving finances, but debt management and unpaid toll collection continue as challenges. That's according to an audit of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission is ending its Deputy Warden Program. A spokesperson with the Pennsylvania Game Commission says the program is ending effective September 1st.

Hope House of Cumberland Valley will break ground on the county's first transitional home this Thursday, August 20th. It will be dedicated to survivors of domestic abuse.

Five school districts in the state's 100th House District will receive grant funding for school safety and mental health.

Some Pennsylvania schools are cutting off charter students' access to yellow school buses after a court ruling.

Triple-A is reminding parents and college students to prepare for their return to campus by making sure car maintenance and insurance are up-to-date.

It’s been one year since public media's federal funding was revoked. Thanks to our community, we're still here for you and looking toward the future. Join the thousands of members who are building a stronger WITF. Go to  www.witf.org/givenow. And thank you.

A sharp increase in fertilizer prices is one of the challenges American farmers, including here in Pennsylvania, have been facing this year. The fertilizer shortage -- and a possible long-term solution -- were the focus of a session last week at Penn State’s Ag Progress Days.

More than 31 thousand Pennsylvanians lost 538 million dollars last year to elder exploitation and scams. And some officials believe it’s time to update the commonwealth’s Older Adult Protective Services Act.

To keep in compliance with the federal Clean Water Act, states are required to complete what's known as an Integrated Water Quality Report every two years.

Spooky season is coming this fall. Haunted attraction operators now need to submit safety plans before hiring performers under 18 years old.

And now a deeper dive:

Northeastern Pennsylvania’s Triple-A baseball team will soon have a new name for the first time in over a dozen years.

It’s been one year since public media's federal funding was revoked. Thanks to our community, we're still here for you and looking toward the future. Join the thousands of members who are building a stronger WITF. Go to  www.witf.org/givenow. And thank you.

State Sen. James Malone and Lancaster County officials are asking the Pennsylvania Senate to pass legislation that would allow a pause on data center development. 

A recent survey from the University of Pennsylvania finds opposition to data centers has jumped significantly among both Democrats and Republicans.

Why is the Green Party trying to have a candidate for the US House from the Green Party removed from the ballot?

Even though Labor Day weekend is three weeks away, a national crackdown on impaired driving is kicking off now - and stretching through Labor Day on September 7th. PennDOT and Pennsylvania State Police are taking part.

A new law in Pennsylvania aims to resolve a long-standing legal battle over natural gas rights, but it might have sparked more complications. 

The NFL Draft generated $177 million in economic impact across the Pittsburgh region, according to reports released last week.

Today we take a deep dive into one of today’s most pressing chronic health issues, obesity. How doctors talk about weight gain with patients can mean difficult conversations.

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