(WHTM) - Pennsylvania lawmakers are "progressing" on the state budget with less than a month until its due date, says State Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa (D-Allegheny). Costa says he believes the state is "well-positioned resource-wise" heading toward the June 30 deadline. During his appearance on This Week in Pennsylvania, Costa told Dennis Owens that the state will likely have more than $800 million in excess surplus just for this fiscal year. He hopes some of that money can be returned to residents through the budget process. Senate Republicans have called for an income tax cut from 3.07 ..read more

(WHTM) - Political leaders across Pennsylvania are reacting Thursday after former President Donald Trump was found guilty on 34 felony charges in New York connected to hush money payments made to a porn star. Dave McCormick, Republican U.S. Senate nominee - "This is a terrible day for America and for trust in our justice system. As CNN’s Fareed Zakaria said, "I doubt the New York indictment would have been brought against a defendant whose name was not Donald Trump." This case should never have been brought in the first place, and this miscarriage of justice is despicable. I look forward to th ..read more

HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM)-- There is a "big" election in about five months and Pennsylvania lawmakers have "big" fears about artificial intelligence (AI) impacting it. Candidates you think you are seeing and hearing may actually be computer-generated and intended to deceive voters. It's already happened to President Biden. PA lawmakers are working to stop it from happening here. "A bunch of malarky," a voice on the phone said, which sounds like something Joe Biden would say. Even sounded like the president. But this robocall to New Hampshire primary voters wasn't the commander in chief. "Joe Bide ..read more

(WHTM) - U.S. Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) says he would copy the tactics of Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville to "jam" the Farm Bill over attempts to cut Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits in the Senate. During an interview on MSNBC's Morning Joe, Fetterman said the nation can't stand to cut federal food benefits like SNAP for those who need food assistance. "If you’re going to go after hungry people, you know, I’ve said it's like, well, I’m willing to be the Democratic version of Tuberville to jam that up, the Farm Bill, until we just deliver the critical -- that we ..read more

Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) said Wednesday he thinks former President Trump is a strong candidate in his home state, but he is confident the presumptive GOP nominee will not defeat President Biden in a rematch this fall. “I fundamentally believe that it's going to be a close race,” Fetterman said in an interview on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” Fetterman pledges to emulate Tuberville, “jam” Farm Bill over SNAP cut attempts Fetterman, who enjoys strong approval ratings in purple Pennsylvania, declined to provide specific advice to Biden when prompted to do so, saying instead about Biden, “He’s already ..read more

(WHTM) - Democrat Janelle Stelson has been named to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's "Red to Blue" list as national Democrats seek to unseat incumbent Republican Congressman Scott Perry. The DCCC says their list of 25 Democrats "is a highly competitive and tested program at the DCCC that equips top-tier candidates with organizational and fundraising support to help them continue to run strong campaigns." Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now This Week in Pennsylvania SIGN UP NOW Stelson, a former news anchor in the region, defeated a cro ..read more

(WHTM) - White House Senior Advisor Tom Perez visited new affordable housing in Harrisburg on Tuesday touting funding from the American Rescue Plan as the driving force behind the new homes. Perez, who served as Labor Secretary under President Barack Obama and Chair of the Democratic National Committee, visited the homes with Mayor Wanda Williams. Located on both Hummel and Swatara Streets, the affordable 1,600-square-foot, three-bedroom homes were rehabbed and sold in a once-blighted neighborhood. The homes, completed by Tri-County Housing Development, were completed using federal funding, in ..read more

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A new lawsuit filed Tuesday by a constellation of left-leaning groups in Pennsylvania is trying to prevent thousands of mail-in ballots from being thrown out in November’s election in a battleground state that is expected to play a critical role in selecting a new president. The lawsuit, filed in a state court, is the latest of perhaps a half-dozen cases to challenge a provision in Pennsylvania law that voters must write the date when they sign their mail-in ballot envelope. Voters not understanding that provision has meant that tens of thousands of ballots have been thr ..read more

(WHTM) - On this Memorial Day weekend edition of This Week in Pennsylvania, Jay Ostrich, the Director of the Berks County Veterans Affairs office, shares his story of coming home from the battlefront and the issues he and other veterans are experiencing on the homefront. Also this week our analysts Brittany Crampsie of Brit Crampsie Communications and Christopher Nicholas of Eagle Consulting discuss recent topics including John Fetterman's reaction to a recent outburst by members of the U.S. House and the issue of school vouchers in the Pennsylvania Treasurer's race. Game Commission in House c ..read more

(WHTM) - Erin McClelland, the Pennsylvania Democratic Party's nominee for Treasurer, says if elected she'll "fight" against school vouchers all the way to the state's highest court. McClelland's comments came as part of an endorsement announcement from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees on Thursday. McClelland described herself as "aggressively against school vouchers" which many Republicans and Democrat Governor Josh Shapiro have fought for. "If vouchers are passed, it is the Treasurer that writes the voucher, and I can assure you that if that goes through, we're ..read more