Government Accountability
Spotlight PA
A decades-old law is shielding the Wolf administration from scrutiny of its coronavirus response
Pa. is denying journalists' requests for COVID-19 data and records using a law authored in the heyday of syphilis.
6 years ago
‘It’s a mess when you don’t get your mail’: Waiting on, worrying about the Postal Service in Philly
A random sampling of folks in West Philadelphia revealed frustration with delivery delays and apprehension about mail-in voting in November.
6 years ago
Under Trump, more big donors are named ambassadors — and controversies have followed
Career diplomats now make up just 57% of the ambassadorial posts.
6 years ago
Senate Intelligence Committee report: Trump campaign’s Russia contacts ‘grave’ threat
The Trump campaign's interactions with Russian intelligence services during the 2016 presidential election posed a “grave” counterintelligence threat.
6 years ago
Lawsuit against Trump, postal chief seeks proper funding
The lawsuit alleges that Trump and DeJoy are trying to ensure the postal service cannot reliably deliver election mail.
6 years ago
Lawmakers: Postal changes delay mail-order medicine for vets
Policy changes to slow delivery at the U.S. Postal Service are taking a toll on military veterans, who are reporting much longer wait times to receive mail-order prescriptions
6 years ago
Gun violence hearings leave Philly councilmembers, residents ‘disheartened’ and ‘tired’
While police brass tried to shed light on what drives the violence, Philly councilmembers and residents expressed weariness with more hearings, little action.
6 years ago
Postal Service loses $2.2B in 3 months as virus woes persist
Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, disputed reports that his agency is slowing down election mail or any other mail and said it has “ample capacity to deliver all election mail.
6 years ago
Philadelphia’s big mail problem
Some people in Philadelphia haven’t had their mail delivered in three weeks. What's going on — and what could it mean for mail-in ballots in November?
Air Date: August 6, 2020
Listen 13:45
Philly congressional reps call for increased Postal Service funding
Boyle, Evans and Scanlon joined union officials and the city commissioners in urging the help, citing an anticipated surge in mail-in ballots in November.
6 years ago
NPR
Public health expert calls to repair distrust in a COVID-19 vaccine
Officials say a promising coronavirus vaccine is on its way in 2021. But does that matter if only half of Americans say they're willing to get such a vaccination?
6 years ago
Irregularities in COVID reporting contract award process raise new questions
The administration awarded a contract for a COVID-19 database to TeleTracking Technologies using a process reserved for innovative research.
6 years ago
House Judiciary Chair Nadler says Barr ‘aided and abetted’ Trump’s worst impulses
Attorney General William Barr defended the aggressive federal law enforcement response to civil unrest in America.
6 years ago
Spotlight PA
Death reports are still lagging. Pa. hasn’t made it easy to find out just how badly.
It’s one of many instances of the state dropping the ball on best data practices. Instead of making its COVID data easy to view and scrutinize, the state has limited access.
6 years ago
Spotlight PA
Gov. Tom Wolf will allow transparency bill to become law despite veto threat
Wolf had argued Grove’s bill was flawed and would endanger state workers by forcing them to return to offices during an emergency, like the current pandemic.
6 years ago