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GOP lawmakers vote for subpoena seeking voter info

HARRISBURG (AP) — Republicans in the Pennsylvania Senate prepared Wednesday to test how far they can go in pursuing what the GOP calls a “forensic investigation” of last year’s presidential election, as Democrats accused them of helping perpetuate the “big lie” of baseless claims that former President Donald Trump was cheated out of victory. The Republican-controlled Senate Intergovernmental Operations Committee held a party-line vote to issue a subpoena for detailed state election records, including the names of who voted in last year’s presidential election, their ...

Pa. releases data on ‘breakthrough’ COVID-19 cases

Pennsylvania residents who are unvaccinated against the coronavirus were far more likely to contract COVID-19, become hospitalized and die than those who got the shot, health officials said Tuesday in the first public release of data on so-called “breakthrough” infections in the state. More than 35,000 people who were fully vaccinated have tested positive for the virus since January, representing only 6% of all cases statewide, according to the data released Tuesday. More than 1,800 vaccinated people were hospitalized and 213 died — both representing a tiny fraction of all ...

Free rides take a $104M toll on Pa. Turnpike finances

CARLISLE (AP) — More than $104 million in Pennsylvania Turnpike tolls went uncollected last year as the agency fully converted to all-electronic tolling, with the millions of motorists who don’t use E-ZPass having a nearly 1 in 2 chance of riding without paying under the “toll-by-plate” license plate camera system. An internal turnpike report issued in July and obtained by The Associated Press through a Right-to-Know Law request showed nearly 11 million out of the total of about 170 million turnpike rides generated no revenue for the agency in the year that ended May ...

Prison guards union asks court to review vax-or-test mandate

HARRISBURG (AP) — The union that represents corrections officers in Pennsylvania prisons wants a state court to intervene over the governor’s recent mandate that they all get coronavirus vaccines or submit to weekly testing. The six-page Commonwealth Court complaint over a rule Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf announced last month requests that the court issue a preliminary injunction to end mandatory testing unless inmates, visitors and outside vendors are also subject to the requirement. “The entry of a preliminary injunction is necessary in order to maintain the equity” between ...

Public’s help sought after teen killed at Halloween event

NORTH VERSAILLES (AP) — Authorities are asking for help from the public in their search for a teenage suspect who opened fire at a popular Halloween attraction in western Pennsylvania over the weekend, killing one 15-year-old youth and wounding another. Allegheny County police said 15-year-old Steven Eason of Wilmerding was shot in the chest and stomach and died after the shooting reported at about 8:15 p.m. Saturday at the Haunted Hills Hayride in North Versailles. Detectives said Eason had gone to the attraction with a group of friends and saw the other 15-year-old, whom they ...

Ex-federal prosecutor under Trump joins GOP governor primary

HARRISBURG (AP) — Bill McSwain, the top federal prosecutor in Philadelphia under former President Donald Trump, will run for Pennsylvania governor, he announced Monday, joining a crowded Republican field that may get bigger yet. McSwain’s announcement — his first run for public office — was not a surprise. He had written to Trump in July, seeking the former president’s endorsement for governor and, before that, had told party figures for months that he intended to run in next year’s election. In a campaign video released Monday, McSwain took on Democratic Gov. Tom ...