Pennsylvania
Lt. Gov. Davis announces $56M to strengthen after-school programs
Under that backdrop, Davis, along with state and local leaders, gathered at the Northeast Frankford Boys & Girls Club to announce 46 grants totaling $56.5 million for 113 projects aimed at reducing community and gun violence, as well as supporting after-school programming.
In Philadelphia and throughout the state, there is a diverse range of program options available.
“It is critical that we create multiple ladders of opportunities for young people to succeed … making sure that they don’t turn towards violence,” Davis said.
Having been a part of the program for nearly a decade, 17-year-old Mahiyah Azuakoemu finds the Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Frankford to be a safe place from the violence prevalent in her Kensington neighborhood.
“Going home is like a nightmare,” Azuakoemu said. “Being exposed to the gun violence or the drugs or the profanity, it’s a lot.”
Azuakoemu walks with her brother to school, carefully navigating around discarded syringes and observing individuals with visible injuries and open wounds.
“It’s normal to us now,” Azuakoemu said. “It doesn’t faze us anymore.”
Since joining the Boys & Girls Club at the age of 8, she has emerged as a leader for her peers.
“If they’re having a bad day, it’s always nice to be heard, to be able to express yourself,” Azuakoemu said. “We have to be able to see and hear the children or else it’s not gonna be good for the future.”
On most days, she motivates kids to show their feelings through art and other fun activities at the club.
“I love painting,” Azuakoemu said.
Proponents of gun violence prevention assert that gun violence disseminates through social networks and is exacerbated by long-standing inequities and public health disparities.
“Boost can halt the spread by enriching children with mentors and skills and love,” said Debra O’Connor, executive director of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America.
Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America is a grassroots movement advocating for stronger gun laws, closing safety loopholes and promoting responsible gun ownership to combat gun violence and protect families.
O’Connor contends that there is insufficient funding and that more people need to care.
“We lift the messages of the many anti-gun violence groups who have had boots on the ground for decades. And we know that gun safety laws make a difference,” O’Connor said.
Tomorrow’s front looks weaker with just a few showers early in the morning…
EVENING: Increasing clouds, summer-like. Temps near 80.
TONIGHT: Mostly cloudy and warm. Low 68.
THURSDAY: Scattered showers between 6-10am. Clearing, windy and warm for the afternoon. High 88.
Wednesday felt a little more like summer as temperatures reach 85 degrees. The humidity still remains tolerable this evening as clouds increase from an approaching front.
The cold front arrives Thursday morning, leading to a broken line of scattered showers between 6-10am. Once the front clears, gusty winds between 20-30mph will develops with afternoon temperatures near 88 degrees. A little unusual for a post cold front!
The upcoming weekend will be dry with low humidity and lots of sunshine. It should be a great weekend to spend with Dad! We’ll keep you posted, but the next chance for rain will be another front next Monday.
– Meteorologist Eric Finkenbinder
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A bipartisan package of bills would eliminate certain online gambling deposit methods, limit promotions, and strengthen protections for self-excluded gamblers.
Pennsylvania iGaming operators pulled in a record $2.78 billion in revenue last year, but some lawmakers want more responsible gaming consumer protections. State Reps. Tarik Khan (D-Phila) and Jamie Flick (R-Lycoming/Union) have introduced bipartisan legislation to provide better safeguards for PA online gamblers. Their series of bills seeks to add more protections, such as reduced deposit periods and limits on iGaming marketing.
Restrictions on push notifications, text marketing, credit cards & more
Dubbed Protecting Public Health in Online Gambling, Flick’s and Khan’s legislation breaks down into the following three parts:
- Pennsylvania Online Consumer Protection Act – Would establish “reasonable limits” on the frequency of deposits into online gambling accounts. It would also limit text message solicitations and push notifications involving sportsbook and casino bonus codes, while protecting against youth-targeted gambling ads and expanding responsible gaming programs.
- Prohibiting Funding of Online Gambling – Seeks to prohibit credits from being used to fund accounts at PA online casinos, sportsbooks, and poker sites.
- Strengthening Self-Exclusion Protections – Would ban online gambling operators from sending promotions, advertisements, or bonuses (e.g., free spins) to gamblers who’ve self-excluded from Pennsylvania’s gambling market.
Protecting young people and problem gamblers
Khan, who’s been a certified nurse practitioner since 2011, views Pennsylvania’s growing online gambling habit as a potential health challenge.
“As a nurse practitioner, I believe we should address problem gambling the same way we address other public health challenges: with prevention, education, treatment and commonsense safeguards,” Khan stated via his website.
“Our bipartisan bill package will help protect young people, individuals and families while supporting responsible gaming.”
Flick is primarily concerned with the number of young Pennsylvanians who are being exposed to ads involving sports betting, poker, and online casino games for real money.
“Too many young people are being exposed to online gambling through constant advertising and unprecedented access from their phones and devices,” said Flick. “These bills are about putting reasonable safeguards in place, promoting responsible gaming and helping ensure that young people and families are protected from gambling-related harm.”
New Pennsylvania online casino revenue record
The amount of revenue that Pennsylvania gambling sites are raking in continues to increase year after year. The $2.78 billion iGaming revenue figure from 2025 was up 27.22% from the previous year, when PA online casinos netted $2.18 billion.
While the Keystone State doesn’t break its iGaming revenue numbers down by game type, we can reasonably assume that the bulk of it comes from real money online slots.
Sports betting also experienced a record year, hitting $602.5 million, up 17.97% from 2025. The vast majority of this amount came via online sports gambling.
While this revenue increase is good for some of the best online casinos and sportsbooks in the state, it can also spell potential underlying problems. Khan and Flick are seeking to reduce some issues through their bills.
Responsible gambling
Bettors must be 21 years or older and otherwise eligible to register and place wagers at online casinos. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, please seek assistance from trained professionals such as the Problem Gambling Help Network at 1-800-MY-RESET.
The state House passed a bill on Tuesday that would make “gas station heroin” illegal in Pennsylvania. Officials say it is a dangerous and highly addictive substance popping up across the country.
Tianeptine is a highly addictive opioid-like drug not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. The FDA says the substance has been linked to hundreds of overdoses and deaths, including one overdose death in Fayette County in April.
“Although it’s not approved by the FDA for any medical use, it’s being sold in stores and online, putting Pennsylvanians at risk,” said state Rep. Charity Grimm Krupa on the House floor before the vote.
House Bill 377 would prohibit the manufacture, delivery, or possession of the drug with intent to manufacture or deliver. The bill would make it a felony with up to five years in prison or a fine of up to $15,000.
In April, the Fayette County coroner reported Fayette County’s first accidental overdose death due to tianeptine.
“In his public statement, he warned that this highly addictive substance can cause severe withdrawal symptoms, respiratory depression, seizures and death. He urged lawmakers to act before this problem grows into an epidemic,” Rep. Krupa said.
Rep. Krupa is a co-sponsor of the bill. She spoke on the House floor, urging all members to vote for it.
“Members, this is not a partisan issue. Protecting our communities and saving lives should unite us all,” Rep. Krupa said.
Two Democratic representatives serving Allegheny County, including Rep. Emily Kinkead, were the only ones to vote against the bill. She said she thinks prohibiting tianeptine from being sold or distributed will help, but she thinks criminalizing people for possessing it does not help.
“The Drug Control Act is very much a sledgehammer and not a chisel, and we know that criminalizing substance use disorder is not effective in actually treating it,” Kinkead said. “And the Drug Control Act, the mere possession of a controlled substance that’s covered under the act is a felony, and it’s up to five years in prison. And we know that does not work to address drug issues in our communities.”
She hopes that lawmakers can tackle controlled substances with a more nuanced approach.
“We need to go back to the mere possession portion of the Drug Control Act and actually lighten that sentence and address that piece of it so that we can be treating substance use disorder the way that it should be treated, which is a health problem and not a criminal problem,” said Kinkead.
The bill now heads to the state Senate.
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