Pa. ramps up tuberculosis prevention. And UPMC bolsters Pa.’s rural doctor supply.

The recently passed Pennsylvania state budget includes more money for tuberculosis prevention efforts in the Commonwealth. Federal data show cases of TB steadily rising nationally after nearly three decades of decline.

The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center is establishing a rural residency program in an effort to bolster the rural doctor workforce. Here’s how it works: Residents start at UPMC Williamsport before transferring to either UPMC Wellsboro or UPMC Cole in Coudersport. Both locations are in Pennsylvania’s northern tier known as the Pennsylvania Wilds region.

In Cumberland County, an 80-year-old woman was found dead after a house fire early Sunday morning, according to the Cumberland County Coroner's Office.

State officials discovered a month's worth of mail wasn't sent by a government-contracted mail house over the past month. The backlog of mail totals 3.4 million letters, including notices of SNAP eligibility and health benefit information, as well as driver’s license and vehicle registration renewal invitations from PennDOT.

Pennsylvania lawmakers could end the year with the lowest number of new laws in at least a decade. That's due to split government, heightened partisanship, and the concentration of power in the hands of legislative leaders, according to reporting by our partners at Spotlight PA.

Sunday marked the beginning of Hanukkah. The city of Lancaster and the Jewish Community Alliance of Lancaster hosted a menorah lighting in Penn Square.

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