Sydney Roach

Some Pennsylvania health care experts say they’re worried what will happen to already struggling rural hospitals if there are cuts or changes to Medicare and Medicaid. The Trump administration has repeatedly said it won’t cut Medicare or Medicaid benefits, but recent moves have sparked fear, including at rural hospitals.

Some central Pennsylvania meteorologists say they’re worried about recent federal cuts to the National Weather Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA.

A Pennsylvania environmental research group is calling on lawmakers to better support wildlife corridor projects. That refers to any sort of structure that helps wildlife get around man-made infrastructure, like roads or dams.

Raystown Lake in Huntingdon County is canceling this year’s campground reservations, citing staff shortages amid recent federal job cuts and hiring freezes. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which manages the property, said scheduled recreation and stewardship events also will be reduced and could be canceled.

A bipartisan legislative agency to support rural Pennsylvania is urging Penn State’s leadership to consider long-term community impacts when deciding which of its Commonwealth Campuses to close.

The Pennsylvania Rural Population Revitalization Commission formed in June through a state law, following a report showing the project decline and aging population in rural counties.

Penn State's administration says they are considering which campuses to close after the 2026-27 academic year. President Neeli Bendapudi shared a message to the Penn State community Tuesday, saying "we cannot continue with business as usual."

The Trump administration is working to dismantle USAID, a foreign aid government agency, saying it wastes taxpayer dollars. Even though a federal judge has ordered a temporary halt to that funding freeze, some Penn State researchers say the damage is already done.

Gov. Josh Shapiro is proposing flat funding for state-related universities, including Penn State. But he is also proposing $60 million for the new “Performance-based Funding Council” to distribute between the state-relateds. Shapiro signed a bill into law last year to create that program.

The U.S. Department of Justice is awarding $2.5 million for Pennsylvania to create a statewide sexual assault kit tracking system. The funding will go toward implementing a law passed last year.