Pennsylvania
Judge tosses GOP congressmen's lawsuit over Pa.'s overseas and military votes
During a streamed update on election matters Tuesday, Schmidt said his agency “is pleased that this frivolous lawsuit was dismissed.”
Conner said the plaintiffs were asking “to impose new verification procedures the contours of which plaintiffs themselves have been unable to fully flesh out three weeks into this litigation.” He said an injunction now “would upend the commonwealth’s carefully laid election administration procedures to the detriment of untold thousands of voters.”
During oral arguments on Oct. 18, Conner asked why the plaintiffs had not sued earlier over procedures that have been in place for years. He also pressed their lawyers to show how their clients were directly harmed by the current policies, as required for such claims.
The order issued Tuesday said the Republican congressmen had only “hypothetical concerns” about the impact overseas votes might have on their own reelection contests.
“Their status as candidates, without more, gets them nowhere,” the judge wrote.
The case could have affected thousands of ballots in Pennsylvania, a pivotal swing state in the presidential contest between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.
The plaintiffs had asked the judge to declare current practices illegal under federal law and to order that the secretary of state’s office confer with the congressmen and PA Fair Elections about how to verify the identity and eligibility of people casting votes under the U.S. Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act. They also asked to have overseas and military ballots segregated during the current election season pending the additional verification.
Lawyers for Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration, representing Schmidt and his deputy, had argued that the plaintiffs were saying valid votes could be diluted by improper ones, which they said would not be sufficient grounds for the judge to act. They said federal laws exempt overseas voters “from identification requirements imposed on other voters who register to vote by mail.”
Military voters are more likely to be Republican, while other overseas voters tend to lean Democratic. The Democratic Party is spending money this year in an effort to boost their turnout.
Pennsylvania
Cause determined for plane crash that killed school board president in Chester County
Friday, March 6, 2026 7:13PM
WEST CALN TWP., Pa. (WPVI) — Investigators have revealed the cause of a plane crash that killed a Chester County school board president two years ago.
The National Transportation Safety Board blamed it on inadequate preflight inspection.
There was a loss of engine power because the fuel was contaminated with water from a recent rainfall, the NTSB said.
The plane crashed shortly after takeoff in West Caln Township on February 1, 2024.
Octorara Area School District School Board President Sam Ganow was killed when a small plane crashed Thursday in Chester County, Pennsylvania.
The pilot, Sam Ganow, was the only one onboard.
He was the Octorara Area School District board president.
Copyright © 2026 WPVI-TV. All Rights Reserved.
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania man arrested for allegedly feeding pet parakeet marijuana and beer
A Pennsylvania man was arrested on animal cruelty charges for allegedly feeding marijuana and beer to his pet parakeet after bringing the injured feathered friend to a bar, according to reports.
Timothy Grace, 40, was busted on Feb. 21 after carrying his wounded pet budgie named “Blue Skies” in his pocket to Callaghan’s Bar in Greensburg, according to CBS Pittsburgh.
“The caller’s a bartender. She says there is a white male at the bar with a parakeet,” a dispatcher reported on the police radio transmissions obtained by the outlet.
“The patron was bragging to other people that were inside the bar that he feeds the parakeet marijuana and has it drink beer on a daily basis,” Detective Sergeant Justin Scalzo told the outlet.
Grace “appeared extremely intoxicated” when police showed up to the bar and found the pet bird in distress, according to court documents obtained by the outlet.
“Its leg appeared to be broken,” Scalzo said, according to WTAE. “Its foot was actually facing the wrong direction.”
Grave was initially arrested for public intoxication and now faces charges including aggravated cruelty to animals and transporting animals in a cruel manner, the outlet said.
The pet bird was brought to PEARL Parrot Rescue in the Pittsburgh area, which rushed him to an emergency care facility.
Blue Skies spent four days in the hospital and was later taken in to be fostered by Teri Grendzinski, the president of PEARL. The injured parakeet is still breathing hard, remains on antibiotics, and has to wear a splint on his right leg, CBS reported.
“They realized his leg was broken. He also had some respiratory issues going on,” Grendzinski told the outlet. “He was also very, very skinny.”
“The leg was broken badly enough there is a chance they’re going to have to amputate the leg if it doesn’t heal correctly,” she added.
If Blue Skies is eventually put up for adoption, he will require specialized care, the outlet said.
“When we got that call, it was horrifying. Why would you do that to a bird?” Grendzinski said.
Pennsylvania
Pa. man found guilty of raping teen girl who he took to Mexico
A Pennsylvania man was found guilty of repeatedly raping his daughter’s best friend over a three-year span before fleeing with the teen to Mexico.
On Thursday, March 5, 2026, Kevin Esterly, 53, of Whitehall Township, Pennsylvania, was convicted on all counts of rape, statutory sexual assault, involuntary sexual intercourse and endangering the welfare of children.
Esterly shook his head as the verdict was read but said nothing in the courtroom.
Resources for victims of sexual assault are available through the National Sexual Violence Resources Center and the National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 800-656-4673.
Esterly’s trial began on Tuesday, March 3, after a judge denied his pretrial motion for the charges against him to be dismissed and for the Lehigh County District Attorney to be removed as a prosecutor in the case.
Both Esterly and his victim testified on Wednesday, March 4.
The victim — who is now 24-years-old — told the courtroom that she met Esterly and his family while attending church as a child and became best friends with one of his daughters. Esterly was a youth leader and elder at the church at the time. The victim said Esterly also coached her soccer team.
The victim said she became so close to Esterly’s family that she called his wife “mom” and eventually spent almost every weekend at their home in Lowhill Township, Pennsylvania. She also said she vacationed with them in New York state and Ocean City, Maryland.
The victim said Esterly first sexually assaulted her in August 2015 when she was 13-years-old after he gave her alcohol during a family birthday party.
“I was scared. Frozen in fear,” the woman told the courtroom on Wednesday. “I pretended I was sleeping.”
The woman accused Esterly of sexually assaulting her almost every time she slept over at his home. She told the courtroom she eventually became addicted to alcohol and drugs, which Esterly gave her in exchange for sex. According to the woman, Esterly gave her cocaine and methamphetamine to keep her awake during school because she “would be up with him all night.”
The woman said Esterly continued to sexually assault her until he was confronted by his wife in 2017. Esterly’s wife then threw him out of the house, according to the victim. She said Esterly continued to sexually assault her over the next year.
Esterly was later arrested and then sentenced to prison after federal agents found him with the victim in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, in 2018. She was 16-years-old at the time.
The woman said she moved on and went to college after Esterly’s sentencing though she still struggled with drug addiction. She said she sought counseling in February 2025. She told the courtroom she received a message from Esterly on LinkedIn that same month in which he apologized for “failing you as a person I was supposed to be for you.” At that point Esterly had been released from prison.
The woman said she had not told anyone about her relationship with Esterly up to that point and replied to him, “I live with our secret every day as I promised. I would appreciate an apology.”
The woman told the courtroom that Esterly responded by writing, “I hope one day you can forgive me. Nobody knows I reached out to you. That is the best for both of us.”
On Feb. 21, 2025, Allentown Police received a report of Esterly’s sexual assaults which led to the new charges being filed against him. He was arrested in West Virginia in June 2025 after two police pursuits. He was then extradited to Pennsylvania.
The victim told the courtroom on Wednesday that she kept quiet about Esterly’s abuse for years because she “was afraid to speak,” and felt “dirty and ashamed.”
“I wasn’t ready to tell anyone,” she said. “He was a father figure in my life. I loved him.”
The woman also said she didn’t want to hurt Esterly’s daughter who was her best friend.
When the District Attorney asked her why she was “here today,” she replied by saying, “I want to tell the truth. I want to be set free.”
The woman ended her testimony by saying, “I don’t want to live with this secret anymore.”
After her testimony, Esterly took the stand for 45 minutes, denied all of the accusations against him and accused the woman of lying.
Closing arguments then took place Thursday morning. It then took an hour for the jury of seven women and five men to reach their verdict.
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