Free Republic

FARRELL — A “good guy with a gun” reportedly came to the aid of a Farrell police officer during a shootout early Friday morning. “He had a valid concealed-carry permit, he had a gun,” Mercer County District Attorney Peter C. Acker said. “He went to where the police officer was and fired on the suspect.” State police and county district attorney’s office detectives are continuing to investigate the incident, which took place about 12:30 a.m. Friday outside a convenience store along Indiana Avenue in Farrell. Acker said the suspect, identified only as a 49-year-old white man, was undergoing treatment Friday...

Being a “purple state,” Pennsylvania has more than its share of Democrats who are self-described moderates. And, because they’re Democrats, many in the mainstream media make sure never to refer to them as “progressives” or “left wing” – let alone “extreme.” But, to paraphrase some old wisdom, if you vote with the left wing of your party almost all the time, and you allow left-wingers to control the legislative agenda, and you never criticize the radicals in your party, then guess what? You’re a left-wing politician. I’m looking at you, Bob Casey, Chrissy Houlahan, Matt Cartwright, Susan Wild, and Chris...

U.S. Sen. John Fetterman’s brashness toward progressives has expanded beyond the topic of Israel. Fetterman was the topic of a lengthy feature article published by the New York Times on Saturday that highlighted how the senator, who had been on thin ice with progressives for his staunch and unconditional support for Israel in its war with Hamas, has shown that his willingness to make waves within his own party doesn’t stop at the Middle East. Fetterman was seen mocking environmentalist Stevie O’Hanlon, who was trying to speak to him about a Chester County pipeline, in a video that circulated online...

Few people were reportedly in attendance at a Joe Biden rally in Philadelphia on Wednesday, despite Pennsylvania being an important swing state for him to win.Photos showing vast spaces of emptiness at the Philadelphia rally began to circulate on Wednesday from New York Post reporter Steven Nelson.“Photos from President Biden’s Philadelphia rally: the school’s gym is only about half full of supporters A good amount of space is empty and spacious press workspace takes up the rest,” Nelson noted on X.Pennsylvania represents one of the many swing states Biden would have to win to defeat former President Trump in November....

Sen. John Fetterman told Yeshiva University graduates Wednesday that he was “profoundly disappointed” in Harvard University’s inability to address antisemitism on campus before removing the ceremonial crimson academic hood representing his alma mater. The Pennsylvania Democrat expressed his disapproval with the Ivy League school during his commencement address for the private Orthodox Jewish university, which bestowed him with its “Hero of Israel” award, the institution’s highest honor. “I have been profoundly disappointed [in] Harvard’s inability to stand up for the Jewish community after Oct. 7,” Fetterman, 54, told the new grads at Louis Armstrong Stadium in Queens. “Personally, I do...

The warning signs surrounding President Joe Biden’s support with Black voters have been flashing for months. On Wednesday, Biden will stand shoulder to shoulder with some of the most influential Black Democrats in the country and debut a coalition that the campaign hopes will help shore up support with the key Democratic constituency. Biden is slated to speak at Girard College, the historic boarding school in Fairmount,

Scientists from the University of Pittsburgh have discovered a large amount of lithium located in Pennsylvania, saying it could eventually supply more than a third of America’s needs for the mineral. Researcher and study lead author Justin Mackey told CBS Pittsburgh in an article published Wednesday that the wastewaters of the Marcellus Shale gas wells could cover “somewhere between 30 and 40 percent of the current U.S. national demand.” “This study estimates that Marcellus Shale related Li yields have potential to make a significant contribution to US domestic consumption with a set of reasonable, conservative assumptions,” says the research, published...

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg attempted to justify the progress on electric vehicle (EV) charging stations, prompting a laugh from CBS’s “Face the Nation” host Margaret Brenna. After $7.5 billion of taxpayers’ money being plowed into the initiative, just a “handful” of charging stations have been built. The interview took a comedic turn when Brennan pointed out the discrepancy between the investment made back in 2021 and the reality of the results. Just seven or eight charging stations have been built despite billions being spent, according to the Federal Highway Administration, “Why isn’t that happening more quickly?” asked Brennan. Buttigieg responded...

Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) is set to receive Yeshiva University’s highest honor for his service and global leadership, with the university proclaiming him as the “Hero of Israel.” Fetterman, a staunch supporter of Israel in its war against militant group Hamas, will be awarded the school’s “Presidential Medallion” during the institution’s 93rd annual commencement ceremony Wednesday, the school said in the news release. “Senator Fetterman is one of the true heroes of our time for his unwavering and courageous commitment to moral clarity, which has fortified our community and been a clarion call for our country,” Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman,...

Government scientists have shown that they can filter the precious metal from the state's shale gas wastewater: pulling tons of lithium per day, with little left behind. They concluded that Pennsylvania alone could produce nearly half of the total US demand for lithium — starting in the first year — supplying this key compound that's needed to power everything from smartphones to electric vehicles to solar panels. A project on this scale could make Pennsylvania a rust-belt Saudi Arabia, ending US dependence on lithium from China, which now controls 90 percent of the market. People compare it to the Gold...

One of the people allegedly connected to multiple incidents of harassment and ethnic intimidation on the North Side is a former Pittsburgh employee who has been receiving payments from the city that may violate city policy and could potentially violate the state ethics act, according to internal correspondence between city leaders obtained by the Post-Gazette. Mario Ashkar, 36, of Perry South, was arrested last week on multiple charges of ethnic intimidation, criminal mischief, theft by unlawful taking and disorderly conduct regarding an alleged antisemitic incident in April in the Mexican War Streets. Ashkar indicated during interviews with other media that...

The American Dream in Pennsylvania has a price tag: $230,464. That’s the cost for a family of four to live “comfortably” in The Keystone State. The tally is based on the “50/30/20 Rule,” which holds that half of a household’s income should be spent on housing and necessities, a third on nonessentials like eating out and entertainment, and the rest on savings and debt. Here’s the problem: the average household income in Pennsylvania is $100,837, which falls short of the American Dream sticker price by more than a factor of two. In fact, only 10% of Pennsylvania households have an...

Top political analysts in Pennsylvania say the state is in the midst of a major demographic and electoral shift, which is likely to prove beneficial for the GOP. According to the latest figures coming out of the commonwealth, Republicans gained more than 10,000 new registrants in the last two months. snip "Republicans have been gaining on the Democrats in Pennsylvania for a number of years, and the gap right now is very narrow," Gerow said, noting how Democrats once outnumbered Republicans by 1 million in the commonwealth. When asked about recent Republican losses in light of Democrats' declining registration advantage,...

Pennsylvania’s State Department issued a directive in 2018 that may allow noncitizens and other ineligible applicants to register to vote in violation of the 2002 Help America Vote Act (HAVA), according to a complaint brought by America First Legal (AFL) and obtained first by The Federalist.HAVA requires a voter to provide a valid driver’s license number — or, if and only if he has no driver’s license, the last four digits of his Social Security number — on his voter registration form. Election officials are then required to confirm whether the numbers provided are valid by checking them against state...

Voters in Biden's hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania, told DailyMail.com they are not backing hometown hero Joe in 2024. President Joe Biden likes to invoke his humble beginnings in the foothills of Pennsylvania when addressing the country and potential voters. He even made a highly-publicized trip to the town last month to gather support. But voters here don't see eye-to-eye with the 81-year-old commander-in-chief, telling DailyMail.com that life was better for them under former President Donald Trump.

The man accused of raping a stranger on a metro Philadelphia train full of bystanders who cops say stood and filmed is a Congolese national present in the US illegally, according to a new report.

Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” that President Joe Biden was trying to have “both sides” on the Israel–Hamas war. Anchor Jake Tapper said, “You’ve become famous or infamous depending on your point of view for your stalwart support of Israel since the October 7 attacks, especially, but before then as well, Israel recovered the body of yet another hostage yesterday. That’s for hostage bodies recovered this week. The U.S. is assessing that Israel has amassed enough troops to launch a full-scale ground operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, despite President Biden’s...

Have changes in the economy impacted you personally this year? I am doing the same financially as I was at this time last year (25 Votes, 19.53%) • I am doing worse financially than I was this time last year (82 Votes, 64.06%) • I am doing better financially than I was at this time last year (21 Votes, 16.41%) Do you support or oppose recent pro-Palestinian protests on US college campuses? Oppose (69 Votes, 71.13%) • Support (11 Votes, 11.34%) • Not sure (17 Votes, 17.53%) In the Middle East Situation, are your sympathies more with the Israelis or...

May 13, 1985 is a day that changed Philadelphia forever. On that day, police dropped a bomb on the MOVE compound on Osage Avenue in West Philadelphia, near Cobbs Creek, leaving 11 people, including children, dead. The ensuing fire destroyed the neighborhood and left decades of scars for everyone involved. The armed confrontation between Philadelphia authorities and the radical group MOVE has boiled for years. The day before it escalated and by Monday morning the shooting had begun and ended as a bomb was dropped from a state police helicopter onto the group's row house at 5:27 p.m., igniting a...

**SNIP** Police initially shut down the carnival in Chester County Saturday night after a group of juveniles created what officials described as an "unsafe environment" for those at the fair. Additional officers from agencies around the county were also called in to help with crowd control. While they didn't specify exactly what happened, police said the large crowd in the outer lot of the Exton Square Mall was creating a disturbance. **SNIP** Police are also investigating a fight that they say occurred inside the mall after the carnival was shut down. The department released surveillance footage captured by a business...