The Morning Agenda

Pennsylvania's hemp business leaders are embracing statewide calls to regulate their products in the face of an upcoming federal ban. State lawmakers expect to consider restrictions sometime this year. And Pennsylvania’s medical marijuana industry is pushing state lawmakers to rein in hemp products that can make users high. The Pennsylvania Game Commission is considering shifting the beginning of...

Pennsylvania farmers and agricultural experts say they’re dealing with a mental health crisis and need more support from the state.  A joint hearing of the state House and Senate Agriculture committees at the Pennsylvania Farm Show included testimony from Penn State researchers.  During this week's Pennsylvania Farm Show, officials announced the awarding of more than $400,000 in state grants to be...

As of this week there are eight counties in northwestern Pennsylvania without a hospital where a person can give birth. Warren County is the latest addition to the region’s expanding maternity care desert. Some public health experts worry the Trump administration's new vaccine guidelines could harm immunity from highly contagious diseases. An analysis of school vaccination data finds that vaccine...

Republican gubernatorial candidate and State Treasurer Stacy Garrity, who hopes to unseat Josh Shapiro as Governor this year, has previously suggested Donald Trump won the 20-20 election. She revised those remarks on Monday. Meantime, Garrity says rural Pennsylvania should embrace the data center boom. Polling shows voters may not be so interested. Facebook's parent company Meta has announced it r...

A Lancaster County man is accused of stealing human remains from 100 graves at Delaware County's Mount Moriah Cemetery. Jonathan Gerlach, a resident of Ephrata, is also being investigated in connection with November’s theft of two bodies from Good Shepherd Memorial Park in Luzerne County.   A new study from Penn State University finds a ‘hot-spot’ of melanoma cases in central Pennsylvania. The stu...

Governor Josh Shapiro has officially launched his reelection campaign, telling supporters in Pittsburgh late last week that he will try to build on his earlier successes -- and defuse rampant partisanship. Democrats in Pennsylvania are hoping Governor Josh Shapiro’s bid for reelection this year will drive wins in other key races. Shapiro is embracing that call to arms. Pennsylvania officials say t...

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is running for a second term. Shapiro made the official announcement Thursday at events in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. Meantime, Republican State Senator Doug Mastriano has announced that he is not running for his party's nomination for governor this year. Pittsburgh is losing its biggest and oldest daily newspaper. The owner of the Post-Gazette announced it will sh...

In Harrisburg, Democratic state lawmakers held a ceremony this week, marking the five year anniversary of the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of Donald Trump. A Pennsylvania lawmaker is pushing new legislation aimed at shoring up local journalism as news deserts expand across the state. Studies estimate that up to 90% of children in foster care have experienced trauma, and...

Democrats nationwide are rejecting President Donald Trump’s seizure of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife. Governor Josh Shapiro is joining the criticism. Meantime, U.S. Senator Dave McCormick of Pennsylvania is commending Donald Trump’s capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife. The former president and CEO of the Sheetz convenience store chain has died at the age...

Jaime Arroyo became the 44th Mayor of Lancaster when he was sworn into office, Monday night. Arroyo, who was Vice President of City Council, won 84 percent of the vote in a 3-way race for mayor last September. During a recent interview on WITF's The Spark, Arroyo talked about the importance of representation as he was set to become the first Hispanic mayor in Lancaster history. You can hear Arroyo...

Concrete production makes up about 8 percent of global carbon emissions each year. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania are trying to develop more sustainable options. Residential solar tax credits expired at the end of 2025, but solar installers say there’s still an affordable way to do rooftop arrays. Women are now producing nearly half of the world’s food. That’s why – when the 2026 Pe...

Just one month after Congress moved to strengthen legislation around the hemp industry, a recent White House executive order supports marijuana research. The Trump administration says the drug may be an underlooked treatment for chronic pain.  Healthcare experts say 2025’s Affordable Care Act open enrollment period was more confusing and stressful than usual.  An estimated 400,000 Pennsylvania sen...

A central Pennsylvania bio-lab is planning its largest expansion yet. Eurofins Lancaster Laboratories will build a new three-hundred-thousand-square-foot facility at its New Holland campus in Lancaster County.  Pennsylvania communities lost millions in expected federal funding this year after Congress passed a short-term spending bill that wiped out Community Project Funding grants for fiscal year...

Aerial photographs, weather observation and even food delivery are a few of the uses for drones. What about getting emergency medical equipment to rural areas where it’s needed, quickly? There’s now a public-private partnership aiming to use drones to do just that in central Pennsylvania. The U-S Department of Justice says it won’t require names of minors who received gender-affirming care at hosp...

The US Environmental Protection Agency heard testimony in Pittsburgh last week regarding proposed changes to the Clean Water Act. The Trump administration has proposed limiting which waterways can receive federal protection. Pennsylvania is joining a lawsuit against Uber, accusing the rideshare app of deceptive and unfair practices related to its subscription service. A former Lancaster County pol...

The Trump administration is pushing new nuclear energy projects to power the ongoing race to advance artificial intelligence. Dauphin County’s Three Mile Island is at the center of that goal. The Commissioner of the Pennsylvania State Police is leaving Harrisburg for the national stage. Avian Influenza may be making a comeback among poultry flocks in Pennsylvania. About 400 snow geese likely died...

The White House is touting the strength of the nation’s economy; despite data showing Americans remain concerned about inflation and job security. Vice President JD Vance is the latest Trump administration official to tout a rosy economic outlook, during a rally in Pennsylvania. Harrisburg lawmakers are expected to send a bill to Governor Josh Shapiro’s desk that changes the way workers access une...

Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday says he’ll defend the state’s artificial intelligence laws in court — even if that means challenging Donald Trump’s administration. Sunday’s threat is a rare push back against Trump from the first-term Republican. Across Pennsylvania, our roadways, parking lots and driveways are already seeing tons of salt being spread to alleviate icy, snowy conditions. B...

The recently passed Pennsylvania state budget includes more money for tuberculosis prevention efforts in the Commonwealth. Federal data show cases of TB steadily rising nationally after nearly three decades of decline. The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center is establishing a rural residency program in an effort to bolster the rural doctor workforce. Here’s how it works: Residents start at UPM...

New recommendations from a CDC advisory committee to give the first dose of the Hepatitis B vaccine to infants no earlier than 2 months old is upending standard medical practices. Pediatricians here in Pennsylvania say this could undo decades of progress in preventing the disease in young kids. Many healthcare providers are now using generative AI tools to take notes during visits. Health systems...

The Trump administration has announced plans to roll back fuel efficiency standards for cars and trucks – citing affordability. It’s the latest move toward dismantling former President Biden’s climate initiatives. Public health advocates say the rules have helped clean up Philly’s air quality. Federal authorities arrested an Uzbek terror suspect with a Pennsylvania-issued driver’s license several...

Gov. Josh Shapiro called on all political leaders to condemn all political violence, during a discussion on political violence Tuesday night in Washington, D.C. The event took place at the National cathedral and was moderated by Savannah Guthrie, co- anchor of NBC's Today Show. State lawmakers' meantime are digging into Gov. Josh Shapiro's use of the state plane, and the one million dollars in sec...

Housing and medication assistance are at risk for dozens of people living with HIV in southcentral Pennsylvania. Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration ordered a mid-year 25% budget cut to the state’s regional HIV service providers. Mehmet Oz, the former TV personality and US Senate candidate from Pennsylvania, is now Administrator of the federal program which oversees Medicare and Medicaid. Last Frid...

Pennsylvania election officials are calling for reform to voter registration drives. Some advocacy groups parachute in during presidential election years and cause headaches for elections offices and voters alike. The Chester County Board of Elections voted Friday to certify the results of the 2025 General Election. the vote comes amid an investigation into how third-party voters were left out of...

Midstate Congressman Lloyd Smucker is emerging as an early favorite to be elected the next leader of the influential House Budget Committee. Without fanfare, Pennsylvania has decided to limit access to popular weight-loss drugs like Ozempic for residents covered by the state's Medicaid plans. A federal judge in Boston has ordered the government to restore Medicaid funding to health care centers th...