News & Brews August 10, 2026
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Thousands of Pa. state workers are using AI
The Inquirer reports, “Across Pennsylvania’s government, more than 3,000 state employees are now using AI tools… And 6,000 more are currently enrolled in training programs as a prerequisite for accessing the software.” This comes more than two years after the state introduced a pilot program in partnership with OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT. But amid the program, Shapiro made sure to make a deal with his union buddies at SEIU.
‘Haverford admits its antisemitism problem’
The Wall Street Journal editorial board writes that after more than two years of fighting Jewish students, Haverford College outside of Philly has finally “corrected its appalling honor code” that encouraged antisemitism. How bad was it on campus? “In the days after the Oct. 7 massacre, Haverford activists shared graphics of Hamas paragliders with the text: ‘Stand with Palestinian resistance.’ Prof. Tarik Aougab called for ‘unequivocal and firm support for the Palestinian resistance’ and reposted a social-media message celebrating the attack. Haverford gave him an award for embodying the college’s values.”
Butler Co. voters to pick new state rep
Voters in Butler County’s heavily Republican 12th House District will head to the polls next Tuesday to select a candidate to fill out the remainder of former GOP state Rep. Stephenie Scialabba’s term. Scialabba resigned earlier this year. WESA reports that while the winner of the race between Democrat Brandon Dukes and Republican Scott Timko will technically only serve out the last little bit of Scialabba’s term, “The loser … will get a rematch just a few months later: Dukes and Timko are also both competing for a full two-year term to begin after the general election in November.”
McCormick ‘reimagining role of senator’
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Brandon McGinley writes that U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick “has behaved very differently from any senator I’ve ever witnessed. Specifically, he has recognized and deployed the leverage that comes with being a U.S. senator in a manner much more like an executive than a lawmaker: for the purpose of statewide economic development.” And his “efforts are attracting enthusiasm and attention to Pennsylvania, allowing the state to showcase its institutional and natural resources to a wider, even global, corporate audience.”
Will skill games disappear come October?
PennLive reports that with a court-imposed deadline ahead for lawmakers to come to “an agreement on how to preserve skill games, the slot-machine-like betting terminals … are scheduled to abruptly become illegal in October” unless lawmakers act. And if they don’t, “Local clubs will likely shutter [as] tens of thousands of video terminals … head for the scrapyard.” That said, lawmakers might still reach a deal to regulate the games when they come back to Harrisburg next month. But they might not.
