“You don’t realize that the damage there from acid mine drainage is really a thing. It’s orange — your mother always tells you, ‘If you’re going to go in the river, wear your old sneakers,’ … and that’s just kind of how it was.” — Tioga County Commissioner Shane Nickerson on growing up near the polluted Tioga River, which is undergoing restoration led by local advocates.

Happy Monday, and I hope you had a restful weekend.

On this day in 1956, Penn State University received the bell of the U.S.S. Pennsylvania. After its 1915 launch, the ship was visited at least twice by then-future President Franklin Delano Roosevelt when he was assistant secretary of the Navy. Later, she escorted President Woodrow Wilson to France for post-WWI peace talks. In December 1941, she was stationed at Pearl Harbor, where her gunners were reportedly among the first to open fire on Japanese pilots. Fifteen members of her crew were killed and 14 were reported missing that day. But the ship was repaired and saw a lot of action in the Pacific during WWII. After the war, she was intentionally targeted by atomic weapons for a study on their impact and radioactivity. Somehow, her bell survived and remains on the PSU campus to this day.

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In Harrisburg, advocates rally for tougher rules on fracking: Environmental groups and citizens are urging Pennsylvania regulators to increase the minimum amount of protective buffer space between gas wells and homes, schools and water sources. The issue has taken on new urgency as the AI data center buildout spurs more demand for natural gas.

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Election betting is booming as the midterms near, and some states are fighting for the power to curb it: Prediction markets have emerged as a flashpoint in state and federal relations, as a host of states struggle with the Trump administration over who has authority to regulate the platforms and whether state laws restricting gambling apply to them.

Cornell case highlights the patchwork of state laws governing intoxication, sexual consent: Across the country, sexual assault statutes vary in how they define incapacity, what level of impairment can make someone legally unable to consent and what prosecutors must prove about the accused person’s knowledge of the victim’s condition. 

How big a deal is the red-dyed diesel directive?: Multiple people interviewed about the diesel directives said they have lingering questions and were still trying to get a grip on apparent relief set to expire in a few months.

Shapiro and Garrity split on the death penalty at debate: Pennsylvania law allows for the death penalty, though there have been no executions in the state since 1999. During a debate, Gov. Josh Shapiro called for it to be repealed, while Garrity said, “I support the law that’s on the books.”