This week’s biggest Winners & Losers

While Harrisburg city government has had no shortage of drama as of late, the city itself is receiving some positive recognition from LinkedIn. Harrisburg ranked fifth on LinkedIn’s 2026 “Cities On the Rise” list, which identifies “the fastest-growing U.S. metros for jobs and new talent.” The capital city’s entry says Harrisburg “offers a diverse economy anchored by government, healthcare and logistics, with new business investment strengthening the region.”

Villanova’s highest-profile graduate is elevating his alma mater from across the pond. Pope Leo XIV, a 1977 mathematics graduate, will present a new Villanova sustainability award that is named for him at the university’s International Sustainability Conference in October – just weeks before Villanova opens its basketball season near the Pope's new digs in Rome.

Despite threats from U.S. Sen. John Cornyn to block two ambassador nominations over AIDS funding, state Sen. Doug Mastriano’s nomination to be the next U.S. ambassador to Slovakia advanced after a 12-10 party-line committee vote on July 22. Mastriano was nominated for the role in May by President Donald Trump, and now awaits a full vote by the U.S. Senate.

With some of the nation’s tightest races at stake, you’d think Pennsylvania would see its teens racing to register to vote. Think again: The commonwealth ranked dead last among 30 U.S. states in a recent survey of 18-year-olds’ voter registration, with a measly 22% exercising their suffrage. The Civics Center, the nonprofit organization that conducted the survey, says policies like automatic registration and youth pre-registration could boost Pennsylvania’s numbers.

Philly’s eds and meds are seeing programs put to bed. With institutions like the University of Pennsylvania and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia facing millions in federal funding losses, healthcare research is taking a major hit. Dozens of grants, affecting multiple programs in the city, have been cut, leading to many projects – researching topics even the federal administration would find uncontroversial – not receiving any more grant funding. 

There hasn’t been a warm reception for ICE in the commonwealth. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced it’s giving up on its plan to use two rural Pennsylvania warehouses as detention centers to hold thousands of people. Federal officials said the plan, largely held up by drinking water and wastewater permits, would have impacted the Berks County and Schuylkill County systems by adding thousands of inhabitants.