Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania Senate passes bill to bar universities and pension funds from divesting from Israel
Pennsylvania’s state Senate approved legislation Thursday that would block state aid from going to any university that boycotts or divests from Israel, following pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses across the country that included demands for divestment.
The measure, which passed by a vote of 41 to 7, also would bar the state treasurer and public pension systems from boycotting or divesting from Israel’s government or commercial financial activity in that country.
The bill won support from all but one Republican and most Democrats. It now goes to the House.
Supporters of the legislation said it was motivated by a desire to support an ally nation in its war with Hamas, to fight a rising tide of antisemitism in the United States and to alert state-subsidized universities that they must protect Jewish students from threats and bullying by anti-Israel protesters.
The bill was opposed by some of the Senate’s more liberal members, including Democrat Art Haywood, who said he was concerned that it would restrict free speech.
Fellow Democratic Sen. Steve Santarsiero, who was a sponsor, disputed that the bill infringes on freedom of speech and said students and faculty will still be able to protest peacefully.
The bill does not punish universities that make investment decisions to fulfill their fiduciary responsibility to maximize returns, and it has has no impact on personal college investment accounts or student loans, Santarsiero said.
Another supporter, Democratic Sen. Judy Schwank, said she hopes it sends a message to college administrators and boards of trustees that are responsible for campus safety.
“Bodily harm, death threats, go beyond just hurt feelings and they certainly stretch the limits of free speech,” Schwank said.
Warning: The details of this story are graphic and could be disturbing for some readers.
A Pennsylvania man pleaded guilty to stabbing his wife to death, officials announced on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, March 11, 2025, around 8:30 a.m., Bethlehem Township Police responded to a home on the 2100 block of 3rd Street in Easton, Pennsylvania, for a welfare check. A family member had told police they were concerned about the wellbeing of the people inside the house.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline by calling 1-800-799-SAFE (7233), visiting www.thehotline.org or texting LOVEIS to 22522.
The responding officers banged on the doors and windows, announcing their presence but no one answered. They then used a ladder to enter a second-floor window and were met by 58-year-old James Christopher Frank.
After opening the door for the officers, Frank led them into a bedroom and told them, “My wife is dead in the bathtub.” The officers entered the bathroom and found the body of Frank’s wife, 55-year-old Deborah Denise Glaser, in the tub. Glaser was facedown in the tub with multiple puncture wounds while her shirt was soaked in blood.
The officers also found knives, razor blades, box cutters and a mallet inside the bathroom.
Frank admitted to police that he cut his wife’s throat with a steak knife. He then told police he punctured his wife’s chest and heart with a knife and hammer around 10 times to make sure she was dead. He was then arrested and charged.
On Wednesday, June 10, 2026, Frank entered a guilty plea to the charge of first-degree murder. The mandatory sentence is life in prison. He is scheduled for sentencing on June 17, 2026.
Lawmakers in Pennsylvania are pushing for legislation that would require devices like smart glasses to visually indicate when they’re recording.
Joe Ciresi, a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and majority chair of the House Communications and Technology Committee, introduced a bill (known as House Bill 2603) that would require smart glasses manufactured, sold, and used in Pennsylvania to have a visual indicator when the device is recording audio or video.
According to a report by local news outlet abc27 News, Ciresi describes the bill’s provisions as “common-sense privacy safeguards for smart glasses to help protect Pennsylvanians from potential misuse of this emerging technology.”
There is currently no nationwide law in the U.S. requiring smart glasses to display a light or other indicator while recording. The proposed measure would affect only recording devices used in Pennsylvania.
House Bill 2603 would also require retailers to clearly inform users of Pennsylvania’s existing recording laws and to prevent users from disabling any visual indicator that shows the device is recording.
“Smart glasses are an innovative technological advancement, but their design also allows them to easily record or stream without anyone noticing,” Ciresi says. “Considering the implications this has for individual privacy and surveillance, we must take thoughtful, proactive steps to address those risks.”
Smart glasses have one obvious privacy concern: people can record others clandestinely. Most smart glasses currently on the market — including Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses — have indicator lights designed to show people nearby when a user is recording video or taking photos. However, there is currently no U.S.-wide requirement for manufacturers to include such features in devices. This newly introduced bill in Pennsylvania could change that by requiring smart glasses sold or used in the state to clearly show when audio or video recording is taking place.
Nonetheless, although Ray-Ban smart glasses show a blinking red light when recording, many people who are filmed for social media attention or otherwise say they do not realize they are being recorded.
Meta has also faced controversy over the company’s reported plans to introduce facial recognition technology into its Ray-Ban smart glasses, with a feature internally known as “Name Tag.” The news outlet WIRED discovered dormant code for the facial recognition system in Meta’s companion app for its line of Ray-Ban smart glasses, leading the company to quietly delete the software a day later.
Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.
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