Pennsylvania
Pa. 3rd Congressional District candidates want to abolish, not reform, ICE
Experience vs. ‘innovation’
The five Democrats present agreed on most policy prescriptions and mostly competed on the question of who was best qualified to take the district’s interests to Washington, D.C.
Street and Cephas repeatedly pointed to their legislative experience, arguing that time spent navigating Harrisburg’s power dynamics has prepared them to deliver results in Congress. Street cited his role passing bipartisan legislation in a Republican-controlled Senate, saying every bill he advanced required “understanding the legislative process to get things done.”
Cephas emphasized her record as Philadelphia Delegation Chair, noting that she had already “gotten bills to the governor’s desk” and framed experience as essential in a moment of political instability.
“It’s not about just talking about big ideas, it’s about delivering,” she said.
By contrast, Stanford and McConnie-Saad leaned into outsider narratives, arguing that the system itself is broken. Stanford described herself as “not part of the system” and pointed to her leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic, founding the Black Doctors Consortium to get vaccines to underserved communities, as proof she could act decisively.
“It was not my responsibility. You did not elect me to do it,” she said. “You did elect some of the people here, and I filled the gap. And in times like these, we need innovation.”
McConnie-Saad similarly argued that Philadelphia has been “voting for the same sort of politician over and over again with less and less to show for it,” presenting his background in federal policy and urban affairs as a break from traditional political pathways.
“This was the poorest big city in the country when I was growing up. It’s 2026. It’s still the poorest big city in the country after Houston,” he said. “And it’s not because things are getting better here. It’s because things are that bad in Houston.”
Affordability, health care and SEPTA
When asked to identify the most pressing issues facing Center City residents, candidates largely converged around affordability, health care and transportation.
Cephas pointed to the recent expiration of enhanced Affordable Care Act tax credits, noting that “we’ve seen 80,000 people in one month alone drop their health care as a direct result.”
Street echoed that concern, saying that restoring the credits would help stabilize premiums across the state and pointed to his role in creating Pennie, the commonwealth’s online health insurance marketplace.
“I certainly, as a congressman, will fight for restoring those federal tax credits that we used to create Pennie,” he said.
Oxman, a physician at Jefferson Health, connected health outcomes to general affordability issues.
“You cannot be healthy if you don’t have a job that pays a living wage,” he said. “You cannot be healthy or your kids can’t be healthy if their school is overcrowded and underfunded. And you certainly cannot be healthy if you are kicked off your health insurance or you can’t afford to buy your medications.”
Housing affordability emerged as another major area of agreement. Candidates cited a shortage of affordable units and the growing influence of real estate investment firms in the housing market.
Cephas said Philadelphia is “70,000 affordable housing units short to meet the demand” and warned that thousands of federally subsidized units could soon expire. “We want to ensure that Philadelphians can afford Philadelphia,” she said.
Oxman framed the issue as economic and moral.
“There are people tonight who are choosing between buying their groceries, paying for their medications or paying for their rent,” he said, adding that “the largest growing segment of the homeless population is children.”
McConnie-Saad argued that private equity firms are “manufacturing an increase in cost of housing” and called for federal action to increase supply and ensure new units remain affordable.
Several candidates also stressed the importance of federal investment in SEPTA.
“We need to make sure that the federal government does its part to deal with the deferred maintenance that SEPTA has,” Street said, calling for a transit system that is “solvent” and affordable.
Cephas agreed but added she would like to see it “free and accessible to every single person across the city of Philadelphia” by stopping the system from being “nickeled and dimed.”
Schnell criticized SEPTA’s reliability, citing recent delays and cancellations.
“I think we were up to like 70%, if not more, of these delays going on,” he said, arguing for reforms modeled on European rail systems with more frequent and predictable service.
Street added gun violence as another issue that he would prioritize in Congress.
“I walk past people every day who deal with gun violence,” he said. “Some days I have to tell my wife not to come home right now because it’s not safe. I have prioritized making sure that we do whatever we can to stop gun violence in a way that I think is a little different than others.”
ICE and Gaza
Some of the sharpest discussion of the evening came during exchanges on ICE and the war in Gaza and related protests. Democrats in Washington, D.C., have been calling for reforming ICE as they negotiate a federal budget with Republicans, but all of the Democrats at the forum said ICE should simply be “abolished.”
Street said the agency’s culture was beyond reform.
“The culture of ICE has been corrupted at a level where it’s not redeemable,” he said. “We should not have an agency that has been corrupted with neo-Nazis.”
Stanford called ICE a “paramilitary force” and said its funding comes at the expense of basic services.
“It’s taking money away from our schools and away from our infrastructure and away from our health care so we can terrorize cities,” she said.
McConnie-Saad noted that ICE was created after 9/11 and argued there was “no reason to maintain an agency that was created for part of the weaponization of the federal government.”
Oxman recounted watching the video of the shooting of Renee Good, a protester who was killed by an ICE officer in Minneapolis.
“I don’t like the idea of a federal shutdown any more than anyone else does, but if this is not an issue we’re standing up for, I really don’t know what is,” he said.
Schnell said ICE had “gone way too far” and violated constitutional protections, but stopped short of supporting abolition.
“I wouldn’t go as far as actually abolishing them,” he said, instead calling for reforms that would narrow the agency’s focus to serious crimes.
Candidates were also asked about protests related to the war in Gaza, including a recent demonstration in Center City that some Jewish organizations said crossed into incitement. Street and some other Democratic Party lawmakers denounced the rally as “pro-Hamas,” referencing the Palestinian militant group that has been the de facto governing authority in Gaza for nearly two decades.
“As an American Muslim, I feel compelled to say that Hamas is a terrorist organization and should be condemned — not glorified,” Street said in a post on social media.
“We got to stand up against this hate so we don’t have violence right here where we live,” he said at the forum, referencing antisemitic attacks in Pennsylvania.
Oxman thanked Street for publicly condemning violence, but also denounced the sustained assault on Gaza.
“Oct. 7 was the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust,” Oxman said. “At the same time, there is nothing complex about calling out the horror that is happening in Gaza, the indiscriminate killing of civilians and food being used as a weapon of war.”
Stanford said she opposed violence and dehumanization on all sides.
“I believe that the Israeli people have a right to live with freedom and dignity and safety, and I believe that the Palestinian people have a right to live with freedom and dignity and safety,” she said.
Campaign finance and corporate influence
Campaign finance emerged as one of the clearer dividing lines among the candidates, particularly among the Democrats.
Oxman and McConnie-Saad both emphasized that they do not accept money from corporate political action committees, arguing that such contributions distort representation.
“You cannot represent the people of this district if you’re also trying to represent health insurance PACs, gaming industry PACs, nursing home networks,” Oxman said, possibly in a veiled attack on Stanford’s campaign. Her donors include the PAC for Select Medical Corp., a Mechanicsburg firm that owns rehab hospitals and physical therapy clinics.
McConnie-Saad echoed that view, saying he had rejected both corporate PAC and American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, donations.
“I don’t believe in being influenced by those forces,” he said, arguing that corporate interests have contributed to rising housing costs and economic stagnation in Philadelphia.
Cephas later aligned herself with that position, pledging during the forum to reject corporate PAC money as well.
Street pushed back on the idea that accepting limited corporate PAC donations necessarily compromises independence.
“I’ve not taken any pledges on rejecting corporate PAC money,” he said, adding that “almost all my money has come locally.”
He noted that individual contribution limits cap donations at $5,000 and argued that wealthier candidates who self-fund may wield disproportionate influence of their own.
“It’s easy if you spent your life making a lot of money and you can put your own money in the race to say, ‘I’m not taking corporate money,’” Street said, likely a reference to Stanford and Oxman, who both “loaned” substantial sums to their campaigns.
“I’ve lived my life in North Philly on a public servant salary,” Street added.
Pennsylvania
USA Storms Back After Early Split, to Survive Pennsylvania Push to Win Pittsburgh Wrestling Classic
Pennsylvania taking down the USA All-Stars, at the Pittsburgh Wrestling Classic, has happened a few times over the years, going back to the Dapper Dan Days, but the 2026 version at Peter’s Township High School in McMurray, Pennsylvania on Saturday evening would end with another win in the book for Team USA, 23-19.
USA Turns Mid-Match Surge Into Winning Edge
After splitting the first four matches, leading to a 6-6 tie, USA won five straight to go up 23-6 and then held off a late rally where the home state won the last three on the card, but not with enough bonus points to overtake the USA squad.
Pennsylvania’s Late Rally Falls Just Short
The match ended with three consecutive Pennsylvania victories, but PA needed bonus points in the final three bouts. Faith Christian’s No. 2 Adam Waters edged Lawrence North’s No. 1 Michael White of Indiana, 8-7, but left Pennsylvania without enough points available to overcome their deficit.
White is an explosive wrestler, capable of putting points up in bunches, but Waters was able to slow him down in the first frame. White gained a late takedown when he finished off a sweep single with about 10 seconds left. Waters chose down, and got an escape point, some hands to the face preceded a shot from Waters, that in our opinion, should have been whistled dead after Waters inadvertently poked White in the eye. With White calling for timeout, the referee allowed the action to continue, and Waters easily put him on the mat to tie it at four.
White went down for the third and hit Waters with a reversal. Waters would escape and then gather the winning takedown on a reattack to a double for an 8-6 advantage. White would get free but could not add any more points in an 8-7 Waters win.
Their only meeting prior to this one occurred at Fargo, where Waters jumped out to an early lead before suffering a hamstring injury. He tried to work through it but was hobbled and White came back to take the lead before Waters threw in the towel on an injury default. Waters fell to Delbarton’s No. 3 CJ Betz in the semis and did not get a chance to face White in the Ironman Finals. White beat Betz to claim the number one ranking.
Jayden James Tested, Responds Like a Champion
World Champ, No. 1 Jayden James (Delbarton, NJ) has been a bonus point machine this year, even taking down the number two guy in the country, Birmingham, California’s Slava Shahbazyan by tech fall in the 165-pound Doc Buchanan Final. So, it was reasonable to expect more of the same when James took on No. 9 at 157 pounds, Reagan Milheim (Warrior Run) at 160 pounds.
It seems Milheim did not agree to keep that script going and instead challenged James like he hadn’t been challenged this year, wrestling to a 10-10 tie in the third period that contained two takedowns earned by Milheim.
It looked like it would be a normal showcase for James as he started off in his typical manner and began to do the “take ‘em down, and let ‘em up” thing, building to a 6-2 count when Milheim surprised his foe with a dump to the back, although he was not able to secure back points, but was now only down by one as the first closed, 6-5.
The second period began with James back to attacking but he was held to just one takedown as Milheim, buoyed by his big move at the end of the first, was wrestling with renewed vigor. It was 9-7 at the start of the third, James got an escape point and then Milheim countered a shot from James with a simple spin behind to electrify the crowd.
Would they see James fall for the first time in two years to a high school grappler? With 1:21 left to go, James got it together and shut down Milheim, scoring a takedown on a spin behind of his own then adding three back points for the final, 17-10, tally.
Bonus Points Fuel Pennsylvania’s Final Push
No. 5 Elijah Brown of Belle Vernon put on the kind of display we’re used to seeing from James in his encounter with Valiant Prep, Arizona’s Kal-El Fluckiger. Valiant wrestlers don’t wrestle a high school schedule, so they are removed from the rankings during that period.
If Fluckiger was in the report, he would have been number five pushing everyone else down (Brown to six). The reason for that being Fluckiger won a Super 32 Belt and beat DuBois’ Kendahl Hoare there. Hoare dished Brown his only loss this year in an early season dual meet, 10-8.
Brown hit a blast double immediately and then started piling up back point going up 7-0 after 17 seconds. Two more sets of tilts would propel Brown to a quick, 15-0 tech of Fluckiger in 1:12.
No. 4 Dean Bechtold (Owen J. Roberts) followed Brown at heavyweight with an almost identical state line that culminated in a 15-0 technical fall of unranked Cliff Nicholson III (Medina, OH) in 1:31. Lake Highland Prep, Florida’s Tyler Dekraker is rated third at 144 pounds but competed here at 139 and dropped an 18-3 tech on No. 33 Dalton Wenner (Cranberry) in 4:23.
Trinity’s Will Detar (No. 12 at 132 pounds) provided the home crown a boost when he authored the first upset of the dual in his meeting with No. 9 Mason Jakob (Dobyns Bennett, TN) at 127 pounds.
Overtime Drama Highlights Competitive Night
Detar and Jakob took turns earning escapes but other than that just jostled for positioning over regulation. That changed in overtime as Detar got in on a low single and worked to the winning finish in the 4-1 win.
Bethlehem Catholic’s No. 4 Keanu Dillard followed Detar and also went into overtime to gain his win over Illinois’ No.7 Nicholas Garcia (Marmion Academy) at 133 pounds.
Like the previous bout, these two exchanged nothing but escapes during regulation. The similarities ended there as these two wrestled through a scoreless first overtime period and the Dillard took over with an escape and a spin behind following a poor shot from Garicia in the middle portion of OT. Dillard contained Garcia in the final frame for a 5-1 win in the tiebreaker.
Key Wins Spark USA’s Decisive Run
There were two 139-pound matches and in the first, No. 1 Moses Mendoza (Gilroy, CA) survived an early threat from No. 5 Camden Baum (Bishop McDevitt) to gain an 8-6 win and halt Pennsylvania’s streak at two and begin a run of five straight wins by the national squad.
Baum started off with a slick double leg and ended the first up 3-1. Mendoza started down in the second and hit a quick turn-in to a smooth single. After a Baum escape, Mendoza got right back in on a double for his final points. Baum added a third period escape to his total.
Oklahoma’s No. 4 Joseph Jeter (Edmond North) picked up the final USA win at the end of their five-match run with a 13-7 decision of No. 13 Gage Wentzel (Montoursville) at 172 pounds. It was all Jeter for two periods and after gaining four back points on an Assassin, he was up 11-0. Wentzel made a late charge in the third but was kept at bay.
A match between two guys who wrestled 150/152 pounds all season was held at 145 instead of having a second 152-pound bout as they did at 139. Wolbert (Oconomowoc, WI) is rated second and beat No.19 Michael Turi (Wyoming Seminary) 4-1 with the winning points coming in the first period.
At 121 pounds, No. 8 Alex Rozas (Teurlings Catholic, LA) greeted Chestnut Ridge’s Dominic Deputy (No, 12 at 132) in his match and kept the local grappler off the board in a 4-0 win where the big points came on a takedown in the final round on a heel pick.
The 152-pound matchup lacked the firepower of the others as the favorite, Hunter Stevens (Mt. Horeb, WI) was ranked 15th and was facing No. 30 Hudson Hohman (Grove City). Stevens’ 4-1 win came in the middle of Team USA’s winning streak.
Team USA 23, PA All-Stars 19
(match started at 121)
121-Alex Rozas (USA) dec Dominic Deputy, 4-0
127-Will Detar (PA) dec Mason Jakob, 4-1 SV OT
133-Keanu Dillard (PA) dec Nicholas Garcia, 5-1 OT TB2
139-Moses Mendoza (USA) dec Camden Baum, 8-6
139-Tyler Dekraker (USA) tech fall Dalton Wenner, 18-3 (4:23)
145-Kellen Wolbert (USA) dec Michael Turi, 4-1
152-Hunter Stevens (USA) dec Hudson Hohman, 4-1
160-Jayden James (USA) dec Reagan Milheim, 17-10
172-Joseph Jeter (USA) dec Gage Wentzel, 13-7
189-Adam Waters (PA) dec Michael White, 8-7
215-Elijah Brown (PA) tech fall Kal-El Fluckiger, 15-0 (1:12)
285-Dean Bechtold (PA) tech fall Cliff Nicholson III, 15-0 (1:31)
Stacy McGarrity speaks at Franklin County’s America250 kickoff
The state treasurer and GOP gubernational candidate was among several speakers at Franklin County’s America250 kickoff on Jan. 22, 2026, at the 11/30 Visitors Center in Chambersburg,
An oversized check presented to Greencastle’s Rescue Hose Co. by Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity on Thursday, March 26, 2026, is a small representation of billions of dollars of unclaimed property her office wants to return to its owners.
The $16,000 was uncovered by Larry Booker, who works in regional outreach for the Pennsylvania Treasury Department, during an unclaimed property event hosted in Greencastle by state Rep. Chad Reichard, a Republican who represents part of Franklin County.
“Near the end of the event, Larry asked for the local municipalities and fire stations so he could look them up,” according to Josh Peters, Reichard’s district director.
When Reichard’s office called the Rescue Hose Co. with a message about the money, Bill Hull, president, recalled he quickly asked, “What do we have to do?”
Paperwork was completed, a regular check deposited in the general fund and the money will be used to pay bills, according to Tom Bricker, fire company treasurer.
Garrity, a Republican who took office in 2021, is running for governor of Pennsylvania this year. She stopped by the Rescue Hose Co. before attending the Franklin County Republican Committee’s annual Lincoln Day Dinner in the Marion Fire Hall.
What to know about unclaimed property
At the check presentation, Garrity took some time to talk about unclaimed property in Pennsylvania, some $5 billion, including $17.5 million in Franklin County.
One in 10 Pennsylvanians has unclaimed property, she said.
“It’s not the state’s money, it belongs to the hard-working people of Pennsylvania,” Garrity said. It also belongs to municipalities, organizations, fire companies and other groups. The total includes $17.5 million in Franklin County.
Antrim Township Administrator Chris Ardininger got some laughs at the presentation when he said his township recently claimed $67.
The money ends up in the state’s hands from a variety of sources, such as uncashed checks, closed bank accounts, rebates, old insurance policies, a misspelling or a wrong address.
There’s also tangible property from abandoned safe deposit boxes, police evidence lockers, nursing homes and college dorms. The list includes things as diverse as jewelry, fine china and guitars, according to Jake Sarwar, deputy press secretary.
Garrity is a retired U.S. Army Reserve colonel and returning military medals – Purple Hearts, Bronze Stars and even a World War I Mothers and Widows Gold Star Pilgrimage Medal – to veterans and their families is very meaningful to her and her staff, Sarwar said.
How to claim unclaimed property
“We do whatever we can to help find the owners,” Sarwar said.
Treasury outreach representatives participated in about 1,300 events last year, Garrity said. They can help people search and file the paperwork to claim unclaimed property.
Anyone can look for money on their own by going to patreasury.gov/unclaimed-property or calling 800-222-2046.
The check really is in the mail
Money Match is a new way for the Pennsylvania Treasury Department to return unclaimed property. Supported unanimously by the General Assembly and signed into law by the Gov. Josh Shapiro, it went into effect last year.
When individuals with unclaimed property of $500 or less, who meet other criteria of the bill, are identified by the treasury, their money will automatically be sent to them.
“If you receive a letter from the Pennsylvania Treasury Department indicating that you have money coming thanks to Money Match, hold on to it. You should receive your check about 45 days later,” says the treasury department website.
The payout was $50 million in 2025. The first round of checks for this year – 100,000 totaling $23 million – was just sent out, according to a news release from the Treasury Deparment.
YORK COUNTY, Pa. (WHP) — The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection accused J&K Salvage of violating its administrative order to close the business, according to a new court filing.
During an inspection on March 23, a DEP inspector saw several vehicles enter and exit the salvage yard while hauling scrap metal, according to the petition.
The DEP said this is in violation of its March 17 administrative order that required the business to “cease accepting all solid wastes at the site.”
READ MORE | Pennsylvania DEP orders York County scrap yard to shut down, asks court to jail owner
In his report, inspector Kalen Boyer attached several photos of vehicles that he said brought additional scrap metal to the site.
A photo submitted by DEP inspector Kalen Boyer in his inspection report. He captioned the photo, “Roll off truck entering the Site with roll off container containing scrap metal.”
A photo submitted by DEP inspector Kalen Boyer in his inspection report. He captioned the photo, “Tan pick up truck that entered the Site with the scrap metal desk leaving the Site empty.”
In the petition, the DEP is requesting a judge enforce its order against J&K Salvage. It also requests the owners to pay $100 per day for each day they fail to comply with the court order.
CBS 21 reached out to J&K Salvage for comment and has not immediately heard back.
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