News & Brews March 11, 2026
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52% tax on skill games sparks debate
The Center Square reports that at a state budget hearing yesterday with the Department of Revenue, “Secretary Pat Browne told lawmakers … he thought the 52 percent tax rate proposed [for skill games] by his boss, Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro, was ‘consistent and fair tax policy.’” But Republican state Rep. Jamie Barton (Schuylkill County) said such a high tax rate “would likely dampen the activity rather than set up the state to make money from it.” This issue, which is Shapiro’s “biggest proposed new moneymaker in Pennsylvania government may also launch one of the sharpest debates of the 2026 budget process.”
FBI finds explosive residue in Pa. linked to NYC attack
The AP reports that the FBI said yesterday that it had found explosive residue in a public storage facility in Langhorne (Bucks County) as part of its investigation into two would-be Islamic terrorists who deployed IEDs in an attempt to murder protestors in New York City over the weekend. The AP ridiculously claims that “much remains unknown about the motives” of the pair, despite the fact that they said they were inspired by ISIS and hoped to kill more individuals than the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. C’mon, AP, sometimes digging for facts isn’t nearly as hard as you pretend.
Opting into federal scholarship program is ‘no brainer’
The Washington Post Editorial Board writes that a program that should be a “no-brainer” is instead “splitting governors down party lines.” The new federal scholarship tax credit program is opposed by most Democrat governors “because it would benefit school choice in their states.” Read that again. These Dems loathe educational opportunity so much that they’re willing to block kids in their states from accessing scholarships. Still, one democrat governor—Colorado’s Jared Polis—says opting into the program is a “no-brainer.” He’s right. Are you listening, Gov. Shapiro?
Pa.’s growing maternity desert
WVIA reports that “according to the Center for Rural Pennsylvania, 23 of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties do not have a hospital offering labor and delivery services.” What’s more, “between 2011 and 2024, Pennsylvania lost 42% of its rural obstetrics units, the third highest in the country.” The story proposes possible reasons but skips the role of venue shopping.
Allegheny Council votes to ban ICE cooperation
Yesterday, the Allegheny County Council voted 11-3 in favor of a measure “prohibiting county employees from cooperating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.” The only members opposing the ban were Aaron Adams, Suzanne Filiaggi and DeWitt Walton. The Post-Gazette explains that the bill “prohibits county employees from investigating a person’s immigration status, participating in immigration enforcement, or entering into agreements to house immigrant detainees unless required by state or federal law. It also bars county employees from allowing immigration enforcement agents from accessing county detainees or using county facilities — including databases — for immigration enforcement unless compelled by a warrant signed by a judge.”