Free Republic

Planned investment will establish multiple innovation campuses, create 1,250 jobs, and support new workforce development training programs and local community projects. Key takeaways Amazon plans to invest at least $20 billion in Pennsylvania to expand its AI infrastructure, creating 1,250 new high-skilled jobs and supporting thousands more in the AWS data center supply chain. Since 2010, Amazon has invested $26 billion in Pennsylvania, contributing more than $26 billion to the Commonwealth’s GDP and supporting 27,000 full and part-time jobs, as well as 37,100 indirect jobs across various facilities. Amazon will bring training and education programs, including data center technician programs,...

President Jiang Zemin gets an update on China´s Terfenol-D project. The U.S. Navy spent millions of dollars to develop Terfenol-D in the early 1980s, and intelligence experts estimate that the People's Republic of China (PRC) has devoted extensive resources to try to steal it. Insight has learned that these PRC efforts have paid off. The spy target is an exotic material made up of two types of rare-earth metals called lanthanides, terbium and dysprosium, plus iron (FE). The NOL stands for Naval Ordnance Laboratory. Hence the name Terfenol-D. Those who have worked with this exotic material call it almost magical....

Official White House photos by Emily HigginsWEST MIFFLIN, Pennsylvania -- Flanked by a sea of steelworkers dressed in their orange safety jackets and hard hats, President Donald Trump was given a hero's welcome at the Mon Valley Irvin Works to mark the signing of the U.S. Steel-Nippon Steel deal, the largest investment in state history. "With the help from patriots like you, we are going to produce our own metal, make our own energy, secure our own future, build our country, control our own destiny, and we are once again going to put Pennsylvania steel into the backbone of America,"...

Bucks County Sheriff Fred Harran is facing legal action for his partnership with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Harran applied to take part in a federal program known as 287(g), which would give officers the authority to detain illegal immigrants while performing routine police duties. But, the American Civil Liberties Union and Community Justice Project says what he's doing is illegal in Pennsylvania. Steve Loney, the lead attorney representing the ACLU, said, "The sheriff is breaking the law by unilaterally and illegally over the objection of his county commissioners entered into an agreement with federal immigration enforcement to essentially appoint...

After a huge fire broke out at SEPTA’s largest bus depot in Nicetown on Thursday, officials have determined a cause for the fire. What we know: A spokesperson for SEPTA stated that the Philadelphia Fire Department said a battery in one of the electric buses set off the massive fire Thursday at their largest bus depot, in Philly’s Nicetown neighborhood.

Investigators are working to uncover what caused a fleet of decommissioned SEPTA buses to catch fire at a Philadelphia bus depot on Thursday morning. SEPTA GM Scott Sauer said over a dozen of the torched buses were Protera-manufactured electric buses that he said have not been used in several years. A total of 40 buses were damaged in the fire, sparking air quality concerns that the city's health department says are still unhealthy for nearby residents. No one was injured in the fire at SEPTA's largest bus depot that runs 24-hours a day.

Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) criticized his own party for failing to “handle the border appropriately” and said that thousands of illegal aliens allowed in under the Biden administration was “unacceptable.” During a discussion with Sen. Dave McCormick (R-PA) at the Senate Project, which was co-hosted by the Edward M. Kennedy Institute and the Orrin G. Hatch Foundation, Fetterman cast support behind President Donald Trump’s One, Big, Beautiful Bill and the “roughly $150 billion” that would be go towards securing the United States southern border, focusing on illegal immigration, the Hill reported. “If I had to find something in that, the...

The U.S. Department of Energy has ordered another power plant, this time an oil and gas plant in Pennsylvania, to keep its turbines running through the hottest summer months as a precaution against electricity shortfalls in the 13-state mid-Atlantic grid. The department’s order to the grid operator, PJM Interconnection, regarding the Eddystone power plant just south of Philadelphia on the Delaware River, is the department’s second use of federal power under President Donald Trump to require a power plant to keep operating on the mainland United States. Constellation Energy had planned to shut down Eddystone’s units 3 and 4 on...

Sen. John Fetterman acknowledged Monday that “parts” of the Democratic Party’s base have turned their backs on Israel, an issue he described as one of “moral clarity” for him. Fetterman (D-Pa.) argued during a bipartisan “The Senate Project” event with Sen. Dave McCormick (R-Pa.) that those who lament the “tragedy in Gaza” should blame Hamas and its benefactor, Iran. “The Jewish community must feel constantly under assault,” said Fetterman, 55, during the event, which was streamed on Fox Nation and moderated by “Fox News Sunday” host Shannon Bream. “I visited Penn, and I said hello with 300 [Jewish] students, and...

The suit alleges a coordinated effort to block medical care for those exposed to toxic chemicals. Also named are Vanguard, Mercy Health, and Quest Diagnostics, with the CDC accused of instructing healthcare providers not to test for dioxins or other hazardous substances. Plaintiffs claim this led to widespread misdiagnoses, delayed treatment, and that a letter was circulated telling providers to dismiss patient health concerns. ...

At a campaign rally in Pittsburgh, former President Donald Trump was presented with a custom Pittsburgh Steelers jersey by quarterback Mason Rudolph, safety Miles Killebrew, and franchise legend Rocky Bleier. --SNIP-- The high-profile exchange added a layer of celebrity and spectacle to Trump’s Pennsylvania stop, reflecting how athletes and political figures continue to cross paths in battleground states. The jersey handoff also served as a symbolic nod to the cultural and electoral significance of football in the region

Washington’s Reagan National Airport (DCA) has announced its celebration of 50 Years of Pride amid recent safety concerns following a deadly crash and other incidents. In the wake of a fatal January crash that killed 67 people and multiple collisions and other incidents, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) and DCA both made an announcement to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Pride in Washington, D.C. “Join the momentous celebrations as the nation’s capital is painted with pride, featuring a variety of events to inspire, empower and connect the international LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning) community and their allies,” the...

Pennsylvania voters went to the polls last week to help carry on a centuries-old practice that no other state does: elections to choose their election workers. “It was a great idea in the 1800s that they never got rid of,” said Thad Hall, Mercer County’s election director, who just oversaw a primary to select the Democratic and Republican candidates for more than 150 poll worker positions. Counties are still finalizing the results from the May 20 election. The counting includes the slow process of tabulating write-in votes, as many races don’t have candidates listed on the ballot. In Mercer County,...

…Students outsourcing their assignments to AI and cheating their way through college has become so rampant, so quickly, that it has created a market for a product that helps professors ChatGPT-proof school. As it turns out, that product already exists. In fact, you’ve probably used it. You might even dread it. It’s called a blue book. … All of which explains how a paper company in Pennsylvania has unexpectedly found itself on the front lines of the classroom AI wars. Most blue books for sale in campus bookstores and on Amazon for 23 cents apiece are made by Roaring Spring...

3 in 4 parents of college-age students also oppose men in women’s spaces A majority of parents with college-age students want universities to stop prioritizing race in hiring and scholarship decisions ... The results showed a majority of parents “are at odds with our country’s higher education institutions on several contentious issues that are consistently in today’s political dialogue,” according to a news release. Defending Education works to rid education of ideological agendas. In the poll, which involved parents of 15- to 21-year-old students, 54 percent said universities should not prioritize a student’s race when awarding scholarships, and 57 percent...

DHS has officially revoked Harvard's Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification, meaning that they can no longer enroll international students at the university and any of Harvard's existing foreign students must transfer out or lose their legal status. ... This administration is holding Harvard accountable for fostering violence, antisemitism, and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party on its campus. It is a privilege, not a right, for universities to enroll foreign students and benefit from their higher tuition payments to help pad their multibillion-dollar endowments. Harvard had plenty of opportunity to do the right thing. It refused. They have lost...

The University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) has come under federal investigation for “inaccurate and incomplete disclosures” of foreign funding. The probe was launched by the U.S. Department of Education on May 8 after concerns that the school may be unduly influenced by foreign actors and follows a review of the school’s foreign reports, the department explained in a press release. According to Section 117 of the Higher Education Act of 1965, universities that receive federal funding are required to disclose foreign donations valuing more than $250,000. Acting General Counsel Tom Wheeler described UPenn’s compliance history with federal law as “troubling,” saying...

Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman (D) says former aides who voiced their concerns about his mental health have a “bizarre grudge” against him. Fetterman, who was hospitalized in 2023 for clinical depression, nine months after he suffered a stroke, says he’s doing well and plans to serve out the rest of his Senate term, despite a warning from his former chief of staff that he’s acting erratically and could pose a danger to himself. “For me, it’s like in the ‘Goodfellas’: everyone takes a beating sometimes,” he told video journalist Nicholas Ballasy when asked about allegations of erratic behavior made by...

Incumbent Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner won his re-election campaign against former judge Pat Dugan in the primary election on Tuesday, according to the Associated Press. The win should secure victory for Krasner in the coming general elections as no Republican candidate has announced a bid for the office. Krasner, a former civil rights attorney who was elected in 2017, has been something of a polarizing figure in Philadelphia's political sphere. His ongoing push for social justice reform has been criticized. And, legislators in Harrisburg have moved to limit Krasner's influence by installing a "Special Prosecutor" to handle prosecuting crimes...

Pennsylvania voters headed to the polls Tuesday to cast their ballots in the municipal primary election. FULL PRIMARY RESULTS: STATE RACES | COUNTY RACES | MAYORS, COUNCILS | JUDGES, DAs, SHERIFF | SCHOOL DISTRICTS | SMALL GAMES OF CHANCE REFERENDUM. Results at Article Links.