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12/18/2025

Bucks County commissioners voted 2-1 Wednesday to adopt a 2026 budget that includes a 2.2-mil property tax increase to close an operational budget deficit of more than $16 million.

The increase amounts to roughly $6 a month for residential property owners.

12/17/2025

Four U.S. House Republicans joined Democrats to force a House vote on extending Affordable Care Act premium subsidies.

Three of the four who voted for the discharge petition represent Pennsylvania.

Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, who led the charge, blamed GOP leadership for letting the subsidies expire. His opponent says it just shows he’s worried about next year’s election.

12/17/2025

The Redding Consortium decided to go big Tuesday night, voting to consolidate all of the school districts serving northern New Castle County.

Advocates for one single consolidated say the less fragmented students are across New Castle County, the greater chance of student success.

12/17/2025

A statue of Barbara Rose Johns is replacing Robert E. Lee at the U.S. Capitol.

After leading a historic student strike as a teenager in Virginia, she later attended Drexel University and spent most of her adult life in Philadelphia as a school librarian.

12/17/2025

Roberta Fallon, 76, who co-founded TheArtBlog as one of the Philadelphia region’s longest-running news outlets dedicated to the arts, has died.

Fallon was a tireless champion of Philly arts and artists. She succumbed to injuries after being struck by a driver.

12/17/2025

The stunning move comes after GOP leaders pushed ahead with a health care bill that does not address the soaring monthly premiums that millions of people will soon endure.

The tax credits for those who buy insurance through the ACA expire at year’s end.

The revolt against GOP leadership came after days of talks centered on the health care subsidies.

12/17/2025

From 2000 to the mid-2020s, music was reshaped by technology as genres were blurred and a new set of global voices emerged. The mp3-era upended the industry, iTunes popularized digital sales and streaming changed everything.

So which artist has had the biggest impact of the 21st century so far? Which songs will transcend time? And what great music flew under the radar?

Today on Studio 2, Avi and Cherri hash it out with two music critics with tastes that transcend genres and generations.

Guests:
Charles Holmes, senior staff writer at The Ringer
Dan DeLuca, pop music critic at The Philadelphia Inquirer

12/17/2025

Delaware has a new U.S. attorney, but the change of leadership occurred without the legal drama that has tainted the Trump administration’s picks in New Jersey, among other states.

Julianne Murray’s appointment was in jeopardy after this month’s federal appeals court ruling. Her state’s judges also decided not to keep her.

12/17/2025

Studio 2 is having a radio party!

Join us Thursday at noon on WHYY-FM, the WHYY Listen App or our YouTube channel to get in the festive spirit, with live music by Adam Weiner of Low Cut Connie and guests R. Eric Thomas, Betsy Kenney & Binh Nguyen of Visit Philly!

12/17/2025

A Perkasie family’s cancer journey inspired this sci-fi fantasy choral music.

The story — written by the 10-year-old daughter of a cancer patient — will premiere at Temple this week.

The Pennsylvania Youth Choral Ensemble will premiere a song based on a tale about pandas written by the daughter of a cancer patient.

12/17/2025

Lead pipes can corrode and contaminate drinking water, putting those exposed at risk for serious health problems.

Philadelphia’s water department wants to know whether your pipes are lead-free.

Cities across the U.S. are required to find lead pipes over the next decade.

12/17/2025

These may be the final days of the Wanamaker Building’s Christmas pageantry. Fans are lining up around the block.

More than 73,000 visited Wanamakers in the first three weeks of the revived Christmas light show, for what could be its final season.