News & Brews January 15, 2026
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Feds looking into Ellen Greenberg case
NBC Philadelphia reported that according to sources, the federal government is looking into the 2011 death of schoolteacher Ellen Greenberg, who was founded with more than 20 stab wounds, yet whose death the city of Philadelphia as well as Governor (and former Attorney General) Josh Shapiro claim was a suicide. Ellen’s parents and attorneys “have waged a years-long battle with Philadelphia and accused the city of labeling her death a suicide to allegedly cover up a botched homicide investigation.” Diving deeper into the news, the Inquirer added “that the investigation does not appear to be focused on the manner of Greenberg’s … death…. Instead … the probe appears to be centered on questions about how a variety of agencies handled the case in the years after she died, and whether any of those missteps might amount to criminal corruption.”
McCormick to recuse himself from Meta-specific issues
Following Dina Powell McCormick’s hiring as Meta’s new president and vice chair, U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick said he will recuse himself from Meta-specific issues that the Senate may consider, given his wife’s leadership role. Sen. McCormick said, “What’s happening with social media and AI and everything else, it’s one of the biggest issues facing the country and facing Pennsylvania. There’s lots of companies that touch on that. I’m going to need to continue to play a significant role as a leader for Pennsylvania on those issues. I’ll not be involved in Meta-specific issues, but I’ll certainly be involved in issues that affect the entire industry.”
Who’s funding anti-ICE protests?
The Washington Free Beacon investigated what donors are behind the anti-ICE protests happening in Minnesota. Not surprisingly, it’s the usual suspects: “The … groups at the forefront of this operation have received millions of dollars from the left’s most powerful money machines, including George Soros’s Open Society Foundations, the Ford Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, the Tides Foundation, and the Sixteen Thirty Fund…. At the center is the Sunrise Movement … [which] has received $2 million from Open Society since 2019, $150,000 from Ford in 2024 and $550,000 in 2025, and $250,000 from MacArthur in 2024, according to grant databases and tax filings.”
SCOTUS: Candidates can challenge election laws
In a case with nationwide impact (including in Pennsylvania), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 7-2 yesterday “that political candidates have the legal standing to challenge election laws before voting or counting starts,” NPR reports. “The case before the court was brought by Illinois Republican U.S. Rep. Michael Bost and other candidates, who wanted to challenge a state law that allows election officials to count mail ballots that arrive up to two weeks after Election Day, as long as they’re postmarked on time…. While the Bost case dealt with the narrow issue of legal standing, the Supreme Court will also consider a separate challenge to mail ballot grace periods themselves.”
From Allegheny Dems to Montana
The former executive director of the Allegheny County Democratic Party and former Mayor of Bellevue, Pennsylvania, Emily Marburger, has been hired as the new head of the Montana Democratic Party. According to the recent U-Haul Growth Index, Montana is the 12th-highest state for in-migration (while Pa. ranks an abysmal 44th). Meanwhile, Montana has a Republican trifecta, meaning the GOP controls both chambers of the legislature as well as the governor’s office. Hmm … could it be even Democrat operatives are leaving Pa. for greener pastures? 🙂