A new study quantifies how many people die in the Pittsburgh region as a result of air pollution. The study finds air pollution was responsible for between 11 and 12 and a half percent of all deaths in southwestern Pennsylvania in 2019.

Meantime, Philadelphia has rolled out a new website dedicated to air quality. Scores of monitors across the city are keeping tabs on pollution in many neighborhoods. 

The State Treasurer’s Office hit a record-breaking return of unclaimed property in 2025.

Did you know that if every one of WITF’s sustaining circle members gives as little as $12 more a month, we'd close the gap caused by federal funding cuts? Increase your gift at https://witf.org/increase or become a new sustaining member at www.witf.org/givenow.

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The Trump administration is announcing it will rollback a Biden-era rule on power plant emissions of mercury, a neurotoxin that impairs cognitive development in young children. The rule mainly affects pollution from plants that burn coal.  

Unionized Penn Graduate students have reached a tentative agreement with the university, narrowly averting a strike. The agreement comes after more than a year of negotiations.  

Pennsylvania Hospital is considered the nation’s oldest hospital, opening in Philadelphia in 1751. Now, the hospital’s original site at the Pine Building will become a museum and mark the country’s 250th anniversary celebrations. 

An Amtrak employee was killed Monday morning after being struck by a train in Lancaster County. 

Pennsylvania's rape crisis centers say Governor Josh Shapiro's budget - which maintains their funding at flat levels - will worsen staffing and service challenges. 

If you're already a member of WITF's Sustaining Circle, you know how convenient it is to support programs like this. By increasing your monthly gift, you can help WITF close the budget gap left by the loss of federal funding. Visit us online at witf.org/increase or become a new Sustaining Circle member at www.witf.org/givenow to help build a sustainable future for WITF and public media. Thank you. 

 

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The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board is reporting a significant increase in revenue from all forms of gaming during January 2026. Central Pa.-area casinos helped contribute to the gains.

Pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson recently announced plans to build a new cell therapy manufacturing plant in the greater Philadelphia region.

The state will contribute more than $41 million towards the project in tax credits and grants.

More than a dozen Harrisburg residents are displaced after fire swept through six rowhomes early Sunday morning.

A York County woman is dead after driving the wrong way on Route 283 in Lancaster County Saturday night.

State and local officials say they're worried about the impact an ICE detention center could have upon Schuylkill and Berks counties' rural infrastructure, such as its water and sewer systems, as well as EMS departments.

And a deep dive: Electric bills in Pennsylvania and elsewhere have been rising faster than the rate of inflation. In his recent budget address, Governor Josh Shapiro blamed the sudden increase on an organization called P-J-M. What is it, and how does it affect your bills?

Did you know that if every sustaining circle member gives as little as $12 more a month, we'd close the gap caused by federal funding cuts? Increase your gift at https://witf.org/increase or become a new sustaining member at www.witf.org/givenow.

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Lancaster County’s sheriff is facing public pressure to end his office’s cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. In a city widely known as America’s refugee capital, residents want ICE out. 

State agriculture officials are trying to stem a spike in avian flu cases among Pennsylvania poultry flocks. State agriculture secretary Rusell Redding said the devastation is unprecedented.

Crowds were buzzing at the President's House on Philadelphia's Independence Mall late last week, as National Park Service employees reinstalled an exhibit on slavery.

The Pine Creek Rail Trail is named Pennsylvania’s 2026 Trail of the Year. The 62-mile trail through Lycoming and Tioga counties stretches from Jersey Shore to Wellsboro.

Sunday marked one year since a shooting at York's UPMC Memorial Hospital that killed West York Police Officer Andrew Duarte.

Following news of the Trump administration's planned ICE processing facility in Berks County, a meeting is in the works connecting local elected officials with Department of Homeland Security officials.

Much of Pennsylvania is experiencing extremely dry or drought conditions, despite recent rain and snow. 83% of the state is classified as abnormally dry or within moderate to severe drought conditions.

In uncertain times, our community counts on facts, not noise. Support the journalism and programming that keep you informed. Donate now at www.witf.org/givenow. And thank you.

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Pennsylvania is working with the USDA to try and control the spread of Avian Flu across the Commonwealth's poultry industry.

Many state employees’ conversations with artificial intelligence will likely remain shielded from public view — following a ruling this month from Pennsylvania’s open records agency.

A new hospital is preparing to open in Northern York County.

Meantime, a hospital in northern Pennsylvania, Bradford Regional Medical Center, will close its inpatient, emergency and long-term care services by mid-2026. The closures mark a continuing downward trend for Pennsylvania’s rural hospitals.

A Juniata County hunter is being charged in connection with the shooting death of another hunter within his deer hunting party on December 2nd.

As data centers are proposed and built across the state - and drawing backlash - new figures are emerging about their potential long-term costs. The Shapiro administration’s latest budget estimates show Pennsylvania could lose out on about $2 billion in revenue by mid-2031 due to a tax break that some lawmakers want to repeal.

Did you know that if every sustaining circle member gives as little as $12 more a month, we'd close the gap caused by federal funding cuts? Increase your gift at https://witf.org/increase or become a new sustaining member at www.witf.org/givenow.

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Questions about data centers are growing as dozens of the facilities are proposed across Pennsylvania. These huge facilities could impact local water supplies in the region where they're built.

If you’re watching the winter Olympics and getting an urge to dust off your skates or hiking boots for your own snowy adventure, you may want to take some precautions. Learn how to safely enjoy the great outdoors in the coldest months of the year.

We're learning more about Monday's shooting death of a 15-year-old Franklin County boy. Police say the shooting happened over an attempted robbery of marijuana.

An inmate at the Camp Hill prison died after being found unresponsive inside his cell Monday.

There's a new development in the controversy focused on Governor Shapiro's use of taxpayer dollars to fund security upgrades at his personal residence in suburban Philadelphia.

The Trump administration will appeal a federal judge’s order to restore a Philadelphia exhibit on slavery.

In uncertain times, our community counts on facts, not noise. Support the journalism and programming that keep you informed. Donate now at www.witf.org/givenow. And thank you.

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About 1 in 5 Pennsylvanians dropped their Affordable Care Act health insurance due to the expiration of federal subsidies that covered monthly premium costs. Enrollees who purchase their insurance of the state's ACA Marketplace Pennie, have had to make difficult decisions.

A federal judge is ordering an exhibit on slavery to be restored on Philadelphia's Independence Mall. The exhibit about nine people enslaved by George Washington is to be restored at his former home after President Donald Trump's administration took it down last month.

Two teens are being charged in connection with the deadly shooting of a 15-year-old boy in Franklin County early Monday morning. 

Three Central PA counties are among the 10 Pennsylvania counties with the highest percentages for underage drinking offenses file from 2020-2024.

AND A DEEP DIVE:

Pittsburgh International Airport is discharging high levels of so-called 'forever chemicals' into nearby streams, according to recently released data. The chemicals are concentrated around a firefighting training facility.

In uncertain times, our community counts on facts, not noise. Support the journalism and programming that keep you informed. Donate now at www.witf.org/givenow and Thank you!

Support WITF: https://www.witf.org/support/give-now/

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Governor Josh Shapiro has unveiled his Housing Action Plan, a proposal aimed at lowering costs and building more homes across Pennsylvania. 

ICE and Border Patrol agents raided a Montgomery County home last week, detaining Jose Manuel Cordova Lopez. His family is now calling for an independent investigation into what they say was a disproportionate and traumatic show of force. 

A group of Blair County volunteers is asking for help to restore a nearby abandoned town. An area historian is leading the charge and wants to turn the now-wooded area into a historical attraction. 

The outlook for Pennsylvania's rural hospitals is grim, in the face of decreasing federal dollars and budgetary challenges.

An outbreak of avian influenza - or bird flu - is affecting 2.4 million birds in seven commercial poultry flocks in Lancaster County. 

Nearly 2,000 acres of Pennsylvania farmland is being preserved, in the state's latest round of ag preservation efforts. 

If you're already a member of WITF's Sustaining Circle, you know how convenient it is to support programs like this. By increasing your monthly gift, you can help WITF close the budget gap left by the loss of federal funding. Visit us online at witf.org/increase or become a new Sustaining Circle member at www.witf.org/givenow to help build a sustainable future for WITF and public media. Thank you. 

 

Support WITF: https://www.witf.org/support/give-now/

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Governor Josh Shapiro explains why he's not attending an upcoming White House gathering of governors.

Governor Shapiro is also pushing back after President Trump said he wants the federal government to take control of elections nationwide. Shapiro says Pennsylvania is ready to handle the midterms the way it always has -- at the local level.

Republicans in the U.S. House are pushing major election reforms as we approach the midterms. Pennsylvania Republicans passed a restrictive voting bill in the U.S. House, with Reps. Lloyd Smucker and Scott Perry supporting the bill, which now heads to the Senate. WITF’s Jordan Wilkie talks with Votebeat editor Nathaniel Rakich, who is following this story.

If you're already a member of WITF's Sustaining Circle, you know how convenient it is to support programs like this. By increasing your monthly gift, you can help WITF close the budget gap left by the loss of federal funding. Visit us online at witf.org/increase or become a new Sustaining Circle member at www.witf.org/givenow to help build a sustainable future for WITF and public media. Thank you.

Support WITF: https://www.witf.org/support/give-now/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Governor Josh Shapiro and other Democratic governors say they're boycotting an annual bipartisan White House event next week.

Hundreds of protesters called for the restoration of a slavery exhibit at the President’s House in Philadelphia as the city battles the Trump administration in federal court.

Elected officials gathered to condemn immigration enforcement agents’ operations in the Greater Philadelphia region Wednesday – a day after federal ICE agents detained a man and reportedly broke down the door of a Montgomery County home.

The State Department of Health is encouraging students in grades one through six to submit a poster or short video for their Student Lyme Disease Prevention Art Competition.

We are headed into Valentine’s Day weekend – and maybe you’re looking for something fun to do. The Pennsylvania Tourism Office has launched an automated telephone hotline to recommend things to do in the Keystone State during the winter. The voices on the hotline even speak in Pennsylvania’s regional accents.

And we take a deep dive with WITF Music: Meet Harrisburg singer/songwriter Olivia Elizabeth Basar.

Harrisburg singer songwriter Olivia Elizabeth Basar | WITF Music

In uncertain times, our community counts on facts, not noise. Support the journalism and programming that keep you informed. Donate now at www.witf.org/givenow. And thank you.

Support WITF: https://www.witf.org/support/give-now/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.