This week’s biggest Winners & Losers

The U.S. Supreme Court this week tossed a decision that allowed 18-year-olds to openly carry firearms during emergencies in the commonwealth, according to The Associated Press. The decision upholds, for the time being, a ban barring people between the age of 18 to 20 from carrying guns during a state of emergency, dealing a legal win to gun-control advocates.

The Democratic challenger bested her GOP rival, six-term-incumbent U.S. Rep. Scott Perry, by nearly $2 million in the second-most-important race for Pennsylvania’s 10th Congressional district – the fundraising contest. Stelson, a former journalist, raised a whopping $2.8 million in the third quarter of 2024, more than three times the $853,000 brought in by Perry’s campaign. Prognosticators are taking notice: Financial contributions are a powerful indication of support, and a full 92% of Stelson’s donations came from individuals in the high-profile race.

Unencumbered by costly licenses and training, Pennsylvania coiffeurs are free to braid natural hair as freely as their counterparts in 33 other U.S. states as of this week, thanks to legislation passed by Gov. Josh Shapiro that eliminated onerous licensing requirements. These have included more than $200 in fees and 300 hours of cosmetology training, disproportionately affected African American hair stylists and were eliminated in unanimous state House and near-unanimous state Senate votes.

The public transit funding train may have left the station for 2024. The long-debated state funding boost for public transit agencies, including the struggling SEPTA system that’s facing proposed fare hikes and services cuts, has stalled in Harrisburg as lawmakers and Gov. Josh Shapiro cannot come to an agreement over funding sources and how to regulate and tax skill games. The division to end the year could be a major post-election talking point and a huge blow to SEPTA’s operations. 

A federal judge has ordered a team of Philadelphia lawyers to formally apologize to city residents after blasting a continuous recording of a woman screaming that was played as part of a “scream test,” according to Newsweek. The lawyers, who are representing a man suing the city and several police officers over a wrongful arrest, played the recording as part of their case. The judge ordered the lawyers to apologize in person and in writing to residents near South Broad Street and Passyunk Avenue.

The Republican candidate for U.S. Senate is accused of a football fumble this past Sunday. Dave McCormick, who has faced residency attacks throughout the race, got even more ridicule online after he appeared to mix up the Philadelphia Eagles and Steelers in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. McCormick, tailgating in Philadelphia, posted photos and said he was excited to “watch the Steelers throttle the Raiders!” In his defense, McCormick could’ve been thinking of the Steagles, the temporarily-merged Pittsburgh and Philadelphia football teams that competed in the NFL’s 1943 season during World War II.