• Janet Diaz vows to ‘continue to fight’ after calls for her resignation: Lancaster city council member and mayor hopeful Janet Diaz confirmed she has no plans to step down from her council position. She faces calls to resign after a social media post on Facebook was condemned as racist and Islamophobic. She quoted her supporters as the ‘silent majority’ and claimed the incident was an attempt by political rivals at derailing her candidacy. Diaz’s post attacked fellow council member Ahmed Ahmed for his ‘rudeness’ towards women and claimed that there are other candidates who were ‘born/raised in Lancaster.’ Diaz claims that the post was not made by her but was the result of her Facebook account being hacked. She apologized to Ahmed in an email. (Source: LNP)
• US agriculture secretary visits Lancaster County, announces farmer aid program: U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said Monday that her department plans to deliver subsidies to farmers who are facing financial difficulties from President Donald Trump’s tariffs. She defended Trump’s tariffs but hoped that the aid program would not be needed. China faces 125% tariffs under the Trump administration, but China is the third-highest buyer of U.S. agriculture exports. Gov. Josh Shapiro has said that Trump’s tariffs harm American farmers. Rollins met with local farming leaders and lenders alongside U.S. Senator Dave McCormick at the Bank of Bird-in-Hand, where Rollins provided the statement on the aid program. (Source: LNP)
• Hershey to unveil new Reese’s facility: The Hershey Company announced Monday that they will be unveiling a new processing plant for Reese’s candy in Derry Township. The facility is digitally integrated and is situated between the Hershey Technical Center and the Reese’s plant. The entire site is large enough to hold five NFL football fields. The company says the new facility will create 100 jobs at its opening and will support brands such as KitKat, Hershey’s and Reese’s. The facility is part of Hershey’s $1 billion investment strategy, which includes adding 13 additional production lines and improving 11 existing ones. This will be the first new manufacturing facility in Derry Township in over 30 years. (Source: ABC 27)
• Officials looking for motive in governor’s mansion arson: Investigators are looking for a motive in the arson of the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion in Harrisburg which has been branded an act of political violence. Cody Balmer was denied bail on charges including terrorism, aggravated arson and attempted murder. He told police that he planned to beat Governor Shapiro with a hammer if he ran into him. His mother told the Associated Press Monday that she had been attempting to contact authorities on mental health issues Balmer was facing, but according to her did not get a response. However, he told the court that he did not have any mental health problems. (Source: LNP)
• Nation/world: Experts criticize ‘obviously illegal’ scheme to deport American citizens (Source: NBC News) Trump freezes $2 billion in Harvard funding after resistance to administration demands (Source: BBC News) Venezuelan president declares ‘economic emergency’ as inflation, sanctions cripple country (Source: AP News) Andrew Tate faces trial in U.K. over abuse allegations (Source: NBC News)
