Ian Karbal

Our sister newsroom @minnesotareformer.com has been doing great work with a small team covering ICE and CBP in Minneapolis. And they stand up for journalism too. You should follow and support them.

Two Pa. Democrats sign onto Noem impeachment, as others weigh path forward to rein in ICE • Pennsylvania Capital-Star So far, only two Pennsylvania Democrats have signed on to an effort to remove Noem from office. Rep. Summer Lee, was among the first co-sponsors on the impeachment articles, while Chris Deluzio, who r...

A second Pennsylvania Democrat, Rep. Chirs Deluzio, has committed to co-sponsoring impeachment articles for Noem, according to a spokesperson.

Rep. Summer Lee was one of the first co-sponsors of the impeachment articles, and has called to abolish ICE.

The strike at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is now the longest in the nation. And it's not over. • Pennsylvania Capital-Star The strike by Pittsburgh Post-Gazette journalists began in October 2022. It’s now the longest ongoing strike in the country.

If you want to know more about the history of the strike that preceded this, I wrote this story 2 years into that.

It's a complicated history. The strike divided the newsroom and opened old wounds in the union. But it's a story about people who care deeply about their paper and good journalism.

Post-Gazette parent company says the paper will end publication in May • Pennsylvania Capital-Star The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Pulitzer Prize winning newspaper serving the Pittsburgh metropolitan area, is set to shut down on May 3.

The Post-Gazette — "oldest newspaper west of the Alleghenies" — is closing

The announcement follows a 3 year strike and series of legal rulings against its owners

“Going back to the pioneer days this organization was the one telling stories of the lives of people who live here in southwestern PA"

Pa. lawmakers received their annual raise. Rank and file members now make $113,000 • Pennsylvania Capital-Star A number of bills have been introduced over the years that would get rid of the automatic raise.

Pennsylvania lawmakers, some of the highest paid in the country, got a raise on Monday. No vote necessary. Just an annual bump based on cost of living.

But not all of them are happy about it, and some have proposed changes.
penncapital-star.com/government-p...

Eleven Pennsylvania school districts got $14 million in extra funding in the latest budget • Pennsylvania Capital-Star “If you really think that it's important to make adjustments for people who are hurt, you should make them for all of the people who were hurt,” said Michael Churchill, an attorney with the Public Int...

Here's last year's story on the 11 school districts that got funding bumps.

All were affected by an education funding compromise pushed by Senate GOP leaders, which resulted in dozens of districts receiving less than dems hoped for. But others were hit even harder and got no help.

State budget sent $5 million to a struggling school district represented by the Pa. House speaker • Pennsylvania Capital-Star Buried in a code bill passed with the 2025-26 state budget is a provision giving a single school district $5 million, outside of the typical formulas that are used to distribute funds to Pennsylvania’...

A buried provision in PA's budget sent $5 million to a struggling school district represented by PA's House Speaker. Last year, 11 school districts represented exclusively by dems in the House got funding boosts too.

Each school district struggled financially. But others faced similar issues.

For Pa.’s NIOSH employees, uncertainty remains amid lawsuits and mixed signals • Pennsylvania Capital-Star “It’s been the entire range of human emotion,” said Suzanne Alison, a steward at the local chapter of the American Federation of Government Employees and a NIOSH employee. “I haven’t talked to a singl...

One group of employees was told their layoffs were cancelled, but HHS wants to zero out their funding next year.

Another group is fighting orders to lay them off in court, but HHS wants to continue their funding.

All their work keeps Americans safe.

“It’s been the entire range of human emotion."

What’s at stake over proposed increase in mass transit funding in Pa.?  • Pennsylvania Capital-Star Across the state, mass transit systems are facing budget shortfalls that could impact funding for millions of Pennsylvanians who rely on them in urban, suburban and rural regions.

Mary, 81, takes the bus to the grocery and shared rides to her doctor

Sarah takes the bus to a job she's required to have as part of her probation

Kevin takes buses because he can't afford a car

These are just 3 Pennsylvanians who'd be affected if lawmakers don't reach a deal to fund mass transit

Advocates say legalizing cannabis opens doors for small business. Do Pa.’s latest proposals deliver? • Pennsylvania Capital-Star As a heavily regulated industry, any cannabis bill ultimately signed into law could significantly shape the business landscape in Pennsylvania, and determine who stands to benefit from it.

PA lawmakers from both parties are pushing to legalize cannabis in a state budget deal

They’re emphasizing how it can bring wealth into disinvested communities, but that depends on how the law is written

So do their bills actually live up to that promise or do they mostly benefit the industry?

After Grok started referring to itself as "Mechahitler," X limited it to image generation only. Working out great!

Pa. Medicaid recipients fear potentially devastating cuts • Pennsylvania Capital-Star At the state level, the commonwealth’s Department of Human Services says cuts could result in more than 300,000 Pennsylvanians losing Medicaid coverage. Another 270,000 could lose access to marketplac...

Just gonna post this again: These three Pennsylvanians all said Medicaid literally saved their lives. Their stories back that up.

They're three of 3 million Pennsylvanians who rely on the program. Like many, they're scared about what comes next.

penncapital-star.com/health-care/...

PA DHS said 310k people could lose Medicaid. That's 10.39% of PA Medicaid recipients

These numbers are just 10.39% of medicaid recipients in each district. Is that a good or bad approximation? Dunno...

But in 3 districts, that number is bigger than the 2024 election margin: 7, 8, 10 (all GOP-held)

Something I’d be thinking if I were a PA congressman: the estimated number of people who will lose Medicaid or ACA coverage here if cuts are passed is almost 5 times higher than the 2024 presidential vote margin.

But hey, work requirements wouldn’t start til after midterms.

Pa. Medicaid recipients fear potentially devastating cuts • Pennsylvania Capital-Star At the state level, the commonwealth’s Department of Human Services says cuts could result in more than 300,000 Pennsylvanians losing Medicaid coverage. Another 270,000 could lose access to marketplac...

These Pennsylvania Medicaid recipients all told me the same thing: Medicaid literally saved their lives. Their stories back that up.

Now, they’re worried about what happens next.

penncapital-star.com/health-care/...

Look, ma. I made it (in the multi-day publications 5,000-9,999 circulation division)!

Pa. Treasurer Garrity invested additional $25 million in Israeli bonds hours before strike on Iran • Pennsylvania Capital-Star A spokesperson for Treasury Secretary Stacy Garrity said the decision to make the investment had been made a day or two prior to its finalization Thursday, and that the timing in relation to the strik...

ICYMI: Pennsylvania Treasury Sec. Stacy Garrity invested $25 million of taxpayer money in Israel Bonds hours before the country began strikes on Iranian military and nuclear targets earlier this month.

Her office called the timing a coincidence.

Pa. pharmacists demand state action to regulate PBMs, curb pharmacy closures • Pennsylvania Capital-Star Since January 2024, at least 200 pharmacies have closed across the state. Now, independent pharmacists are asking lawmakers to act again.

There’s a lot of big news going on, but take a moment to read this story from our PLCA intern, Vincent DiFonzo.

He did some really great reporting on a complicated subject that affects pharmacy access for many Pennsylvanians.

Community pharmacists in Pa. say they’re struggling to absorb Rite Aid’s customers • Pennsylvania Capital-Star For most businesses, a major competitor shutting their doors would be welcome. But for pharmacists, taking on new clients can actually pose a risk to their bottom line.

For some, pharmacies are the only place to get free walk-in medical advice.

But as hundreds close across Pa, some pharmacists say they’ve had to turn away new customers or risk the same.

They blame pharmaceutical industry middlemen called PBMs, whose influence on their bottom line has been growing

Federal officials call miners' health a 'priority,' but are cutting a Pa. team studying mine safety • Pennsylvania Capital-Star Sweeping cuts to U.S. Health Dept. expected to hit Pennsylvania team focused on coal mine safety. RFK Jr. calls miners' health "priority."

The US Health Dept. calls mine safety a "priority," and has touted a recent reversal of cuts to a division that performs black lung screenings.

But the agency is still set to lay off key teams working to prevent mine injuries, illnesses and deaths, including around 100 NIOSH employees in PA.

Job cuts reversed at Pittsburgh lab that certifies nation’s respirators • Pennsylvania Capital-Star “We’re still trying to figure out what it all means and who it all covers,” said Suzanne Alison, a steward at the local American Federation of Government Employees chapter that represents Allegheny Co...

A federal lab in Pittsburgh approves every NIOSH-certified respirator from N95s to firefighter masks. But employees were told virtually all their jobs were being cut

Today HHS sent staff emails saying the cuts are being reversed. But it's unclear if they went to everyone, and HHS hasn't explained

Federal cuts threaten to close Pennsylvania lab that certifies N95s and other respirators in June • Pennsylvania Capital-Star The lab has halted almost all of its regular work and is preparing to shut down in June. That’s because of the most recent announcement of layoffs at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Every N95 mask — along with masks required for doctors, miners and firefighters in the US — was certified at a government-run lab in PA

Because of cuts at HHS, employees are preparing for it to shutter in June

"This is so important, we just feel there’s no way this can be real,” said one employee

Anyway... there's only so much you can get from someone's FB. I'm not an expert in extremism. And again, this guy's mom has said he has serious mental health issues and was unmedicated

But I've seen a lot of posts trying to draw conclusions from this stuff, and it's just not that simple

10/

I didn't see anything explicitly antisemitic. A few videos/memes he posted mentioned bankers pulling strings, Epstein theories, etc. But I wouldn't read too much into it without more to go on

Also nothing about Shapiro himself, despite an affidavit claiming he harbored hatred for him.

9/

He was also had a lot of posts about feeling depressed, betrayed, alone, etc.

8/

All this aside, the posts that stuck out most to me were the misogynistic/men's rights ones.

He had degrading posts about women generally, some of which are pretty hardcore. He also posted men's rights videos, about how no one cares about men, etc.

7/

There are also posts that, in retrospect, could show an inclination towards political violence or crime

6/

There are some other common threads.

He posted about society/politics being rigged for the rich. He appears to despise what he saw as Christian hypocrisy and MAGA-coded racism. And he didn't like America's foreign policy and wars. A fair bit of political nihilism as well.

5/

His COVID politics were particularly... complicated

There are posts angry on behalf of essential workers and pro-mask

There are posts saying the media was overreacting, government was manipulating, and taking pride in not obeying lockdown

Again, take all memes with grains of salt.

4/

But here we are, and I want to show why it's hard to draw conclusions

First, his politics are messy. He posts videos from people like Tulsi Gabbard (pre-MAGA) and Ron Paul

There's anti-Biden, anti-Trump, anti-Democrat, and anti-GOP, posts. He's pretty anti-government/major parties generally

3/