Free Republic

President Donald Trump has commuted the prison sentence for longtime Philadelphia union leader John Dougherty. He is set to be released on Friday. Dougherty’s attorney George Bocchetto said the president signed the commutation in “a remarkable show of bipartisanship.” Dougherty was a kingmaker in Democratic city politics, but Bocchetto said his situation — serving time in Lewisburg federal prison, separated from his gravely ill wife Cecilia — cried out for compassion.

Three traditional midwives and an Amish family are suing several Pennsylvania state agencies, alleging that state officials effectively blocked traditional midwives from obtaining the certifications required to practice legally — and that lawmakers then repealed the nearly century-old law governing the profession after the lawsuit was filed. The midwives sued anonymously for fear of retaliation. The lawsuit centers on a striking sequence of events. The petitioners say Pennsylvania failed to comply with a 1929 law that required certification of traditional midwives. After they filed suit on July 2, 2026, ten days later the legislature passed the annual budget that included...

The richest man in the world, who was laser-focused on delivering Pennsylvania for President Donald Trump in 2024, is wielding his wallet in the Keystone State once again to support Republicans in three swing congressional districts ahead of the midterms. America PAC, Musk’s super PAC, has contributed roughly $12,000 apiece in support of U.S. Reps. Ryan Mackenzie, of Lehigh; Rob Bresnahan, of Lackawanna; and Scott Perry, of York — all GOP incumbents facing tough reelection challenges, according to an independent expenditure report filed Wednesday. Though small potatoes in comparison, America PAC’s contributions in Pa. come roughly two years after Musk...

A police officer who shot and killed a New Jersey college student in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, faces criminal charges, officials announced. Upper Pottsgrove Police Corporal Sean Farrell, 58, of Pottstown, Pennsylvania, is charged with voluntary manslaughter in connection to the deadly shooting of 22-year-old Glenwood Earl Pysher IV. The shooting occurred on Sunday, Aug. 23, 2026, around 12:30 a.m. when Cpl. Farrell responded to a report of a man in the back of a home on Snyder Road. According to footage from his body worn camera, Cpl. Farrell walked down the driveway with his department-issued firearm drawn. Farrell positioned himself...

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro is quietly trying to erase women and mothers from his state’s health code. The Democrat’s administration has removed female terminology and replaced it with transgender-inclusive language in a proposed overhaul to Pennsylvania’s health code. The terms “pregnant woman” and “mother of a newborn” have been replaced with “pregnant or postpartum individual” throughout the 502-page proposal, which was announced on August 8. Women who have given birth to a stillborn baby are no longer called a “mother” but are instead referred to as a “postpartum individual” in the proposed regulation changes. Shapiro is pushing to give Pennsylvania’s...

A high school football game in McKeesport, Penn. was halted Friday night when a gunshot rang out just before 11 p.m., and a 17-year-old suspect was quickly apprehended. Liberty Borough police anticipate filing charges of receiving stolen property, possession of a firearm by a minor, possession of a weapon on school property, reckless endangerment and carrying a firearm without a license alleged to have fired, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune Review. The gun was reported stolen. The game between South Allegheny and Elizabeth Forward high schools was late in the fourth quarter when the incident occurred. The unidentified suspect is...

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro is quietly trying to erase women and mothers from his state’s health code. The Democrat’s administration has removed female terminology and replaced it with transgender-inclusive language in a proposed overhaul to Pennsylvania’s health code. The terms “pregnant woman” and “mother of a newborn” have been replaced with “pregnant or postpartum individual” throughout the 502-page proposal, which was announced on August 8. Women who have given birth to a stillborn baby are no longer called a “mother” but are instead referred to as a “postpartum individual” in the proposed regulation changes. Shapiro is pushing to give Pennsylvania’s...

The mainstream media and leftist government bureaucrats are at it again, pushing panic, fear, and unverified headlines to control the public narrative, only to get caught red-handed when local officials demand basic transparency. During a high-profile press conference on Tuesay, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, alongside state health officials and Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health, announced that two “measles-associated deaths” occurred in Lancaster County. The legacy media immediately ran with the headlines. Two people died FROM measles. Case closed. Get the shot. Blame the unvaccinated. Blame RFK Jr. There’s just one major problem: Local authorities have ZERO record of these alleged...

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro delivers remarks at a bill signing event at Cheyney University, an HBCU in Cheyney, Pennsylvania, US, Aug. 2, 2024. Photo: Bastiaan Slabbers via Reuters Connect Pennsylvania voters are broadly comfortable with the pro-Israel positions of two of the state’s most prominent Democratic figures, Gov. Josh Shapiro and US Sen. John Fetterman, according to a new poll that offers a counterpoint to the Democratic Party’s growing divisions over Israel. Nearly half of likely Pennsylvania voters, 47 percent, said Shapiro’s approach to Israel is “about right,” while 43 percent said Fetterman’s outspoken defense of Israel is also “about...

Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. John Fetterman might want to trade in his black hoodie for an elephant badge if he wants to keep his seat in the Senate: New polling suggests that he could find friendlier terrain on the Republican side of the aisle than among the Democrats who elected him. According to a shocking poll from The New York Times, the Philadelphia Inquirer, and Siena College, Fetterman has become a complete outcast in his own party. The survey reveals Fetterman is underwater at a brutal -41 approval rating with Democrats, while boasting a staggering +52 favorability rating with Republicans. The...

Two Pennsylvania residents have died due to measles, health officials said ​on Tuesday, the first such deaths in the ​state in 35 years, with 393 cases of ⁠the disease reported across 28 counties so far in ​2026. Both people were unvaccinated residents of Lancaster County, according to ​the Pennsylvania Department of Health, which did not release additional details, citing privacy concerns. “Because measles was largely eliminated in the Commonwealth for ​more than three decades, people are not familiar with ​this disease and don’t fully understand the potential severity of the ‌illness,” ⁠said Secretary of Health Debra Bogen. Measles has surged...

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro is pushing to radically rewrite his state’s health code to give his administration authoritarian police powers as he seeks re-election. The Democrat’s proposed change would give Pennsylvania’s Department of Health centralized police powers under the guise of “disease control measures,” including the ability to enter homes and schools without a warrant, access confidential medical records, and impose statewide school mask mandates for disease prevention. The Department of Health reports to the governor’s office, meaning this change would give Shapiro — and his successors — the ability to single-handedly implement draconian policies across the state. “The administration’s...

A Pennsylvania college soccer star was allegedly stabbed to death by her boyfriend, who claimed “demons” told him to do it — and got his mom to help him dispose of the body, according to police. Karoline Heintz was found dead in the back hatch of her Jeep Cherokee at around 12:30 a.m. Thursday, just outside the Pennsylvania Western University campus in California, Pa. Heintz, an incoming freshman on the university’s women’s soccer team, had met up with her boyfriend, Royce Mosher, after she attended a family party earlier in the evening, Pennsylvania State Trooper Rocco Gagliardi told reporters.

Mike Bramich (in camo hat), Dole Heffley, 122nd Legislative district, and Andrew Nierner on the right.By Dean Weingarten | Contributing writerOn Jan. 19, 2025, a black bear became too familiar with people in Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, a community located about 20 miles northwest from Allentown.An armed Samaritan with a .45-caliber pistol, Mike Bramich, stopped the attack. It is unusual for people to see black bears out and about in January in Pennsylvania. Most of them are denned up, sleeping through the winter, but on this particular morning, visitors to the Jim Thorpe Market encountered a black bear intent on...

With all precincts reported but still some ballots left to count, Democrats appear to have flipped a conservative state House district north of Pittsburgh. The latest: Democrat Brandon Dukes led by 88 votes against Republican Scott Timko on Tuesday night with over 99% of the votes counted, according to the Associated Press. Provisional and overseas ballots still need to be counted. AP had not called the race as of early Wednesday morning. Why it matters: The apparent flip doesn’t impact Democrats' narrow majority in the state House, but it boosts the party’s momentum heading into the midterms, where Dems are...

Federal and state officials are racing to address an assault on the nation’s water supply that they believe is the work of Iranian hackers.In 2023, the Environmental Protection Agency under the Biden administration proposed creating stronger cybersecurity guidelines to better safeguard the nation’s water supply from hackers.The steps were modest, but necessary, officials said at the time: Many municipalities lacked even basic protections, and the computers that monitor and adjust water quality, including chemical-treatment levels, were easy-to-find targets for a would-be intruder.The E.P.A. rescinded the order, however, after Republican-led states and industry groups sued to block its enforcement. They argued...

The Walt Disney Company has dramatically escalated its showdown with the Federal Communications Commission, accusing the agency of carrying out a politically motivated campaign on behalf of President Donald Trump that could strip broadcast licenses from some of Disney-owned network ABC’s biggest television stations. In a 109-page filing, Disney argued the federal agency’s actions amount to retaliation over the entertainment company’s programming, including criticism of the president by late-night host Jimmy Kimmel and scrutiny surrounding Disney’s diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. “The retaliation against ABC is a signal to every media company in the country: accommodate the Administration’s view of...

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate in Michigan, Abdul El-Sayed, declined to apologize Monday night for his "ogre on a pike" metaphor after critics from both parties condemned the leaked remark as violent and, in some cases, sexist."Ideally, you put one ogre on a pike, and then everyone else gets the message," El-Sayed said, according to audio obtained by Politico. While El-Sayed did not name Stevens in the recording, some Democrats interpreted the remark as referring to her. Rep. Hillary Scholten, D-Mich., who has endorsed Stevens, called the remark a "violent, vulgar" threat and said candidates should be working to lower the...

President Donald Trump insisted Russia and China are “not participating” in the Iran war. The president made the declaration Friday in a Truth Social post. The post included Trump claimed he is doing “very big favors” for Chinese President Xi Jingping: "President Xi, at our recent meeting in Beijing, China, told me that he would not, under any circumstances, give or sell Weapons to the Islamic Republic of Iran — And that statement included Chinese Companies. Considering our relationship, I take him at his word and, besides, l am doing him very big favors, also. Likewise, President [Vladimir] Putin, despite...

A Philadelphia community activist is accused of stabbing another woman with a box cutter during a fight on a SEPTA train. Rosalind "Roz" Pichardo, 48, is charged with aggravated assault, possession of an instrument of crime with intent, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person, harassment, and disorderly conduct. --SNIP-- She (victim) ultimately received 40 stitches on the left side of her face, 30 stiches on the right side of her face, three stitches on her upper lip and three stitches to the upper right side of her chest, according to investigators. The woman’s muscles on the left side of her...