Pennsylvania Capital-Star

12/26/2025

As the year ends, our staff is taking an opportunity to highlight their favorite stories of 2025.

Today, Ian Karbal offers is top picks.

The past year saw bitter fights over Pennsylvania’s state budget, drastic changes to federal programs the state relies on, consequential off-year elections, economic turbulence, data centers driving historic demands on the power grid, and history-making lawsuits.

12/25/2025

The Christmas season seems to start earlier and earlier each year.

Some retailers start selling decorations around Halloween, while radio stations switch over to an all Christmas music format well before Thanksgiving

But for Brandon Mytrysak Christmas is a year-round focus. He’s the owner of Mytrysak Family Tree Farm and Growhouse in Indiana County, which sold around 1,000 Christmas trees this year. The day after Thanksgiving is when they open their doors for people looking for the perfect tree, tours and family activities. Then right before the holiday, the doors close.

Signs welcome visitors entering Indiana County to the Christmas Tree Capital of the World. More than two dozen retail and wholesale farms grow Frasier Firs, White Pines, Colorado Spruces, Canaan Firs, Douglas Firs and more for the holiday.

12/24/2025

Our staff will be taking a break over the holidays.

But, we'll be posting stories through the New Year -- including our reporters' picks for their favorite stories.

Peter Hall kicks it all off.

As the year ends, we’re taking an opportunity to highlight our favorite stories of 2025.

12/19/2025

The Week in Focus is a recap of our top stories, with a new video posting every Friday.

1. Three GOP House members from Pennsylvania joined Democrats to force a vote on extending health care subsidies.

2. The U.S. energy secretary pays a visit to the former Three Mile Island nuclear plant, which is expected to restart by 2027 to power Microsoft data centers.

3. State House lawmakers unanimously passed a bill requiring lodging operators to train workers to recognize and report human trafficking.

The Week in Focus is a recap of our top stories, with a new video posting every Friday.

12/12/2025

The Week in Focus is a recap of our top stories, with a new video posting every Friday.

1. President Trump hits Pa. to talk affordability.

2. Pennsylvania joins Washington D.C., and 20 states to press for tougher SNAP data protections.

3. Independent voters sue in Commonwealth Court to end Pennsylvania’s closed primaries.

Pennsylvania joins Washington D.C., and 20 states to press for tougher SNAP data protections.

12/11/2025

Jamie and Carrie Wright rattle off the numbers with ease.

It’s $36,000 for a single dose of Jamie’s cancer-suppressing shot, which he needs every 28 days. A patient support program will cover the $1,400 copay, but that means it doesn’t count toward their $15,000 in out-of-pocket costs. Neither did the $1,167 Carrie needed for a copay before her nerve ablation last month.

Then, there’s Jamie’s scans every six months and her thyroid medication…

The Wrights juggle the above costs with the assistance of Ipsencares (which pays for the shot’s copay) and credit cards. But there’s one number that they haven’t squared away: $1,792. That’s their projected monthly insurance premium in 2026 if Congress doesn’t extend enhanced marketplace tax credits.

That’s 265% more than their current $490 monthly premium, which is significantly reduced by federal tax credits.

Congress can't decide how to help Pennsylvanias like the Wrights, who rely on the Pennie marketplace for their insurance coverage.

12/10/2025

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Republican Gov. Spencer Cox of Utah belong to different parties.

But the two sat down for a conversation moderated by NBC News anchor Savannah Guthrie at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. Tuesday to discuss partisanship, political violence, and how to respectfully engage with political opponents.

Both agreed that Americans need to find ways to recognize one another’s humanity, and disagree civilly. And both agreed the stakes were high.

The discussion was interrupted four times by shouting from audience members – some of whom were removed.

12/10/2025

President Donald Trump kicked off his midterm campaign to retain Republican control of the U.S. House with a rally Tuesday in one of Pennsylvania’s most competitive congressional districts.

The rally, Trump's first since July, was billed as focusing on affordability, a topic that Trump dismissed as a Democratic hoax.

12/08/2025

A federal judge in Philadelphia became the fourth in the nation last month to rule against the Trump administration by blocking its demand for the identities and medical records of transgender children being treated at one the nation’s preeminent pediatric hospitals.

Transgender health advocates and an attorney in the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia case said the favorable decision is encouraging for the patients and the broader transgender community. But it’s only one battle won against the Trump administration’s campaign to end transgender health care.

And, they warn, the administration’s tactics could be applied to other types of politically-charged areas of health care, such as reproductive care.

The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) sued to quash a subpoena from the U.S. Department of Justice in June.

12/05/2025

The Week in Focus is a recap of our top stories, with a new video posting every Friday.

1. Democrats eye flipping Pennsylvania’s Senate.

2. Dozens of cities and states raise the minimum wage, but not in Pa.

3. Pa.'s home care workers are pushing to be included in the next state budget.

The Week in Focus is a recap of our top stories, with a new video posting every Friday.

12/02/2025

When we think about what we’re thankful for, the first thing that comes to mind is readers like you. After all, the Pennsylvania Capital-Star wouldn’t exist without your support.

Today is Giving Tuesday, an annual movement that encourages people to give back to their communities. It’s a crucial fundraising day for nonprofit news.

If we’ve succeeded in keeping you informed throughout new state policies, the months-long state budget impasse, the impact of federal job and funding cuts in the commonwealth, and the federal government shutdown, we hope you’ll consider making a donation today.

This Giving Tuesday, can we count on you?

(The link to make a gift now is in the comments below.)

12/01/2025

“Our housing stock is old. That’s not to say it’s deteriorated, but it’s old,” said Cliff Clark, director of Cameron County Community and Economic Development. “One of our goals is to try to improve the housing stock … we’re doing, I think, a very good job making houses that aren’t otherwise marketable, desirable.”

The Whole Home Repair Program doesn't yet have a state-funded successor, dubbed PA Home Preservation Program, despite its popularity.