April 10, 2026Marc Levy / APVulnerable midterm Republicans focus on tax cuts as opponents spotlight rising gas pricesby Avani Kalra of NOTUSOne of Republican Rep. Scott Perry’s Democratic opponents highlighted his support for Trump and the Iran war.
April 9, 2026Steve Helber / APProtesters rally against planned Maryland immigration detention facility that's now pausedby Associated PressDHS' plan for the Washington County building is paused — mired in a court battle like some of the other warehouse-to-detention projects across the U.S.
April 7, 2026Trump admin terminates agreements to protect transgender students with Pa. district, other schoolsby Associated PressSchools are no longer obligated to train faculty on using preferred pronouns and allow students to use bathrooms that align with their gender identity.
April 6, 2026Joed Viera / For Spotlight PAPa. county jails earn millions of dollars detaining immigrants for ICEby Kate Huangpu and Danielle Ohl of Spotlight PAPartnerships between Pennsylvania counties and ICE are receiving new attention as the president executes a mass deportation campaign.
April 1, 2026Pablo Martinez Monsivais / APTrump administration halts $1 billion immigration warehouse expansion amid backlashby Associated PressThe Department of Homeland Security is pausing the purchase of new warehouses intended to house immigrants as it scrutinizes all contracts signed under Kristi Noem.
March 31, 2026Matt Rourke / APPenn must give Trump admin information on Jewish employees, judge ordersby Associated PressA federal judge has ordered the University of Pennsylvania to hand over records about Jewish employees on campus to a federal agency as part of an investigation into antisemitic discrimination.
March 31, 2026Yuki Iwamura/APCiting PA crash, federal safety regulators say hands-free driving doesn’t improve safetyby Associated PressThe NTSB cited two fatal crashes, including one in Philadelphia, and took issue with claims by some car companies.
March 31, 2026Commonwealth Media ServicesAs Shapiro opposes ICE detention centers, his GOP opponent for Pa. governor stays vagueby Jaxon White of Spotlight PAGarrity’s campaign for Pa. governor notes she commanded an Iraq internment camp, accuses Shapiro of “grandstanding” in opposing ICE detention
March 30, 2026Matt Smith / For Spotlight PATrump administration remains open to placing federal agents at polls during midtermsby Adora Brown and Manuela Silva of NOTUSElection officials and lawmakers are alarmed that the administration hasn’t been clear about the circumstances under which it would send federal agents to the polls in November.
March 28, 2026Andrew Medichini / AP'No Kings' rallies draw crowds across Europe, US, including in Pennsylvaniaby Associated PressTens of thousands of people joined “No Kings” protests across the U.S. and in Europe Saturday, including in Pennsylvania’s electorally competitive suburbs.
March 26, 2026Sarah Anne Hughes / Spotlight PAICE wants to return to Berks County. The fight against it will look very different.by Gabriela Martínez of Spotlight PAIt took nearly a decade for a coalition of advocates, attorneys and members of the faith community to shut down a small immigration detention facility in Berks County. Now, as Berks is once again at the center of a debate over detention and deportation on a much larger scale, members of the Shut Down Berks coalition are rethinking their strategy.
March 23, 2026Gene J. Puskar / APCongress makes big push to improve rail safety 3 years after East Palestine disasterby Tyler Spence of NOTUSThe bipartisan Railway Safety Act of 2026 would establish additional safety checks and require two crewmembers to operate a train, among other rules.
March 20, 2026Marc Levy / APDemocrats think they can finally defeat Scott Perry in 2026by Avani Kalra of NOTUSDemocrats plan to nominate Janelle Stelson, a former local news anchor who ran against Perry in 2024 and lost by about 1 percentage point.
March 19, 2026Mariam Zuhaib / APFetterman joins committee vote to narrowly advance Mullin closer to becoming Homeland Security headby Associated PressFollowing the 8-7 committee vote, the full Senate could act to confirm the Oklahoma Republican next week.
March 18, 2026Margo Reed / For Spotlight PABerks officials grappling with ICE's warehouse plans want assurances from the fedsby Amanda Fries of Spotlight PALeaders in Berks and Schuylkill Counties are focused on mitigating the impacts of the Trump admin’s plans to turn warehouses into ICE facilities.
March 17, 2026Steven Senne / APOverrepresentation of millionaires in US Senate raises questions about their policymakingby Taylor Giorno of NOTUSAt least 73 of the 100 sitting U.S. senators have a median net worth of more than a million dollars, according to a NOTUS analysis of lawmakers’ most recent financial disclosures.
March 16, 2026Margo Reed / For Spotlight PAThe Trump admin’s secretive, fast-tracked process to pick who will run Pa.’s new detention centersby Molly Bilinski for Spotlight PANo contracts related to ICE facilities in Berks and Schuylkill Counties have been published. But that doesn’t mean DHS hasn’t already made a selection.
March 16, 2026J. Scott Applewhite / APDHS has prioritized warehouse detention sites. Will it continue under new leadership?by Manuela Silva of NOTUSJohn Fetterman says he will vote to confirm Markwayne Mullin as DHS secretary, despite his opposition to ICE’s warehouse plans.
March 13, 2026Alex Brandon / APEndorsements from Trump hold sway among GOP contenders despite his sagging popularityby Torrence Banks of NOTUSThe president’s use of his endorsement to strategically place candidates in certain races ahead of primaries has been clear this cycle.
March 11, 2026Margo Reed / For Spotlight PAICE warehouse has years of unresolved construction problems, records showby Amanda Fries of Spotlight PAUpper Bern Township has struggled for years to make a developer fix construction deficiencies of a warehouse now planned for an ICE detention center, records obtained by Spotlight PA show. Now that the federal government has bought the building, no one can say if the problems will be addressed.
March 3, 2026Commonwealth Media ServicesICE told Pa. agency about warehouse plans in Januaryby Kate Huangpu and Gabriela Martínez of Spotlight PAA source close to the Shapiro administration said the agreements were already complete by the time it learned of the plans.
Feb. 26, 2026Gabriela Martínez / Spotlight PAShapiro vows to block ICE detention centers, warns of devastating impact on local Pa. communitiesby Hanna Holthaus and Gabriela Martínez of Spotlight PAShapiro stopped short of discussing what his admin might do following a private meeting with local officials from Berks and Schuylkill Counties.
Feb. 26, 2026Margo Reed/ For Spotlight PAICE facilities are planned for Pa. Will the Shapiro admin sue to stop them?by Kate Huangpu and Gabriela Martínez of Spotlight PAThe Trump administration is planning massive Pa. ICE facilities in Berks and Schuylkill Counties, despite state and local concerns.
Feb. 25, 2026Ann Rejrat / For Spotlight PACrowd rallies at first protest against planned ICE center in Upper Bernby Ann Rejrat for Spotlight PAA protest organized by two college students drew roughly 100 people to Upper Bern Township’s municipal building on Saturday. The group expressed opposition to a planned ICE detention center.
Feb. 23, 2026Margo Reed / For Spotlight PAOfficials warn ICE detention centers in Pa. could overwhelm sewer, other critical servicesby Amanda Fries of Spotlight PAWhat we know about the potential impact of ICE plans to hold 1,500 people in an Upper Bern Township warehouse that was built for 230 workers.
Feb. 20, 2026Margo Reed/ For Spotlight PAICE memo reveals timeline, scale of warehouse plans that include Berks, Schuylkill countiesby Gabriela Martínez of Spotlight PAAn internal ICE memo claims facilities won’t burden communities like Upper Bern and Tremont Townships, something local and state officials have raised concerns about.
Feb. 18, 2026Feixu Chen / Pittsburgh Media Partnership NewsroomCosts, local backlashes cause GOP state legislators to cool on national data center pushby Samuel Larreal of NOTUSGOP legislators across the country want to pause new data center construction, a break with President Donald Trump and most congressional Republicans.
Feb. 17, 2026Margo Reed / For Spotlight PAShutdown may delay answers about planned ICE facility in Berks Countyby Hanna Holthaus of Spotlight PAU.S. Rep. Dan Meuser and a DHS representative will meet with local officials to answer questions, a county commissioner says.
Feb. 17, 2026Matt Rourke / APTrump administration ordered to restore George Washington slavery exhibit it removed in Philadelphiaby Associated PressThe city of Philadelphia sued in January after the National Park Service removed the explanatory panels from Independence National Historical Park.
Feb. 13, 2026Mark Schiefelbein / APCongressional Republicans hound Trump admin over ICE facilities planned for Pa., other statesby Jackie Llanos of NOTUS and Manuela Silva of NOTUSRepublican U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser said he’s spoken with homeland security officials regularly about local concerns over detention centers planned in PA.
Spotlight PA Event: The past, present, and future of Pennsylvania’s mental health care systemsAttendJul 30