“President Trump has been willing to do what’s right and necessary to produce real peace in the region.” 

Those are the words of John Fetterman, Pennsylvania’s Democratic US Senator, regarding the US-Israeli war on Iran.

Dubbed Operation Epic Fury, the US and Israel began bombing targets within Iran Saturday, with Iran responding with strikes on US allies in the region. In a video released before dawn Saturday morning, President Donald Trump announced the US was undertaking a “massive and ongoing operation” to end the Iranian nuclear threat, while calling for regime change in Tehran.

Trump told The New York Times that the assault could last “four to five weeks.”

The war spiraled further Monday as Tehran and its allies hit back against Israel, neighboring Gulf states, and targets critical to the world’s production of oil and natural gas.

As of late Monday morning, four US soldiers have been killed in the conflict. Trump said in a video posted to his Truth Social platform on Sunday that “sadly, there will likely be more before it ends. That’s the way it is. Likely be more, but we’ll do everything possible where that won’t be the case.”

We’ve got reactions to the war below from Pennsylvania political leaders in Washington. Check our website and social media feeds for continuing updates.

In his November 2024 election night victory speech, President Trump declared, “I’m not going to start wars, I’m going to stop wars.”

Last October, the White House posted a photo to X that labeled Trump as “The Peace President.”

On Saturday, Trump directed the US to launch military strikes on Iran, without seeking congressional authorization.

We’d like to know: How do you feel about the US attack on Iran?

Reply with your answer, and please let us know where you live.

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Kate Kleinert testifying during a Pennsylvania House Democratic Policy Committee hearing. (Pennsylvania House of Representatives)

Our Ashley Adams has a very detailed story highlighting how social media platforms like Facebook have led to an increase in scams targeting Pennsylvania seniors.  

In Pennsylvania, more than 4,000 scam-related complaints were filed in 2025 as residents lost more than $76 million to scammers. 

Social media is now the leading contact method for fraud targeting older users, both in number of cases and total amount lost.

Ashley spoke with a Pennsylvania widow named Kate Kleinert, who was scammed out of hundreds after receiving a Facebook friend request from a stranger named “Tony.”

The scammer made small requests at first—$50 or $100 gift cards here and there—before making romantic overtures and asking for airfare to come see her. She bought him a ticket.

“And of course, he never showed,” Kleinert said. “Once I realized I was being scammed, my heart shattered. Losing the money is devastating. Losing the love and the life I thought I was gonna have, that was more than I could handle, and I cried for days.”

· Gov. Josh Shapiro vowed to explore any possible legal avenue to prevent the US Department of Homeland Security from converting two empty warehouses into massive ICE detainment centers in Berks and Schuylkill counties. Get the details here.

· Nearly 60,000 Pennsylvanians have lost federal food assistance in the six months since the imposition of work requirements for program recipients, according to state officials. Find out more here.

· Lawyers for student protesters arrested and detained in Quakertown after a scuffle with police say their clients had no idea the stocky older man in street clothes who joined the fray and put his arm around a 15-year-old girl’s neck was the local police chief. Now, the attorneys want the Bucks County District Attorney to turn over the investigation into the police response to an outside agency. Get the latest here.

· While the police investigation of the shooting at the Pike County Islamic Center in Westfall Township continues, state and local leaders are condemning the Feb. 22 incident and showing their support. Get the story here.

(Pennsylvania Department of Transportation)

Today’s newsletter has been quite heavy in tone—a reflection of the present news cycle—so I wanted to end on a much lighter note. We have to take the lightness where we can find it right now.

PennDOT has released its annual list of rejected vanity plates, and it’s fairly hysterical. 

The 2025 roundup of rejected plates includes old classics, like the Seinfeld-inspired “ASSMAN,” “OMFG,” and “EF CNCR,” to variations of the newest words and phrases in the American lexicon, such as “GYATTT” (even a hip, middle-aged suburban man like myself had to Google that one) and “HAWK2 UH.” 

Hat tip to the Yinzers who tried to get 2JAGOFF and JOGOFF past the PennDOT vanity plate censors.

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Thanks for reading. This newsletter was written by Patrick Berkery with stories from Ashley Adams, Sean Kitchen, USA Today Network via Reuters Connect, and The Associated Press. It was edited by Paula Solis.

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