News & Brews September 4, 2025
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Fetterman, McCormick join to oppose antisemitism
U.S. Sens. John Fetterman and Dave McCormick sent joint letters to five Pennsylvania universities to urge them “to commit to ensuring Jewish institutions on your campus are equipped to protect the students they serve” and to “encourage you to work with your campus’s Jewish institutions and ensure all students, regardless of their race, ethnicity, or shared ancestry, are safe and able to fully participate in campus life.”
Deluzio joins Dems’ latest messaging push
U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio of western Pa. joined Democrat strategists in “briefing Capitol Hill staffers and Democratic operatives this week on polling and focus group data” intended to drive the party’s midterm messaging. What did the research conclude? Well, instead of opposing government red tape and bureaucracy (you know, those things that actually stunt opportunity), the strategists say the party can win “by vilifying billionaires and corporate power.” Somehow, we’re not sure this will end well.
Public school enrollment drops; school choice surges
Reason reports that “while millions of students still trudge off to public school classrooms and days divided by subjects, there are fewer kids making that trek than in the past.” Per data from the National Center for Education Statistics, “total public elementary and secondary school enrollment fell from a peak of 50.8 million in 2019 to 49.6 million in 2022. It’s believed to be under 49 million now and expected to fall below 47 million in 2030.” Additionally, EdChoice’s Brandon Ruder recently wrote that “in just one year, the total number of students participating in private school choice programs across the nation skyrocketed, increasing by 25%.” This means more than 1.3 million kids across the country now participate in a school choice program.
Judge blasts Philly for delaying Ellen Greenberg case
You’ll recall the case of Ellen Greenberg, the 27-year-old teacher who died with 20 stab wounds, only to have the city of Philadelphia declare her death a suicide. Gov. Shapiro came under intense scrutiny for sitting on the case as attorney general for years, only to agree it was a suicide. A February settlement between the city and Ellen’s parents required an “expeditious” reexamination of the cause of Ellen’s death. Months later, that review isn’t complete. At a hearing yesterday, a judge blasted the city, telling city officials, “It’s ridiculous and you obviously just don’t care…. Justice delayed is justice denied.”
Pa. ‘zombie mall’ makes national news
Usually, when Pennsylvania appears in the Wall Street Journal, the topic is something like elections, school choice, or energy. But this time, it’s a “zombie mall.” Yep, the “epic potholes” around the near-empty Pittsburgh Mills mall are now reading fodder for the nation, as the Journal reports on how the “once thriving property” is now the subject of 436 citations.