The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania is one of 20 state high courts in the U.S. that lacks a person of color on its bench, according to data from the Brennan Center for Justice.

Why it matters: Our high court doesn't get as much press as the one in Washington, D.C., but it still doles out rulings on crucial cases for millions of Pennsylvanians. It's been mulling the fate of Act 77 — which greatly expanded the ability to vote by mail — for a few months now.

By the numbers: Pennsylvania is one of six states with a Black population share over 10% that doesn't have a Black member of its high court.

• The court is more on track with its representation of women. Three of the justices are women — that's roughly 43% of the court, against a national average of 41%.

The backdrop: Justices on the seven-person court are elected to 10-year terms. There are no term limits, but justices must retire in the calendar year when they turn 75.

• Chief Justice Max Baer turns 75 in December, so his seat will be on the statewide ballot this fall.

State of play: Democrats firmly control the court at present.

• Ballotpedia's latest partisanship analysis of state high courts measures Pennsylvania as leaning 5-2 for Democrats — with four strong Democrats, one mild Democrat (Baer) and two mild Republicans.
• With the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade last month, some activists see state supreme court elections as one of the last firewalls to protecting abortion access, as Axios' Stef Kight reports.

The bottom line: In 2022, government bodies that make wide-reaching, consequential decisions often aren't representative of their citizenry.

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Philadelphia has joined a bidding war among states and cities interested in housing the headquarters of a multibillion dollar new science agency aimed at curing major diseases.

Why it matters: The Advanced Research Project Agency for Health, or ARPA-H, is a pet project of President Biden's that would focus on breakthrough health care and technology innovations, looking for and funding ways to cure cancer, Alzheimer's disease, diabetes and more, Axios' Emma Hurt writes.

State of play: While ARPA-H's director would report to the Department of Health and Human Services, the agency's structure remains undecided beyond that.

• The House passed a bill in June to establish it as a stand-alone agency, but the Senate has yet to take up the matter.

The big picture: A Health and Human Services spokesperson told Axios they "have made no commitments as to the physical location of ARPA-H," and the decision will be up to the agency's inaugural director and the HHS secretary.

• Meanwhile, states and cities including Georgia, North Carolina, Texas and Cleveland have made or plan to make their cases to the department.

Zoom in: The Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia announced a regional effort last week to attract the ARPA-H to the area, citing its "deep scientific and medical ecosystem" and "expertise in cell and gene therapy and gene editing."

• More than 80 regional leaders — from elected officials to CEOs — signed a letter outlining why the agency should be housed here, including Mayor Jim Kenney, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia CEO Madeline Bell, Wawa CEO Christopher Gheysens and Temple and Drexel university presidents.

What they're saying: "We feel that Greater Philadelphia's position as a global hub of research, talent, capital, and companies, combined with its second-to-none accessibility, give this region the power to forever transform how health care is delivered to patients and essentially cure the incurable," the letter states.

Keep reading.

🚨 Investigators believe the bullets that injured two police officers during a Fourth of July celebration on Ben Franklin Parkway were fired from the same weapon "quite a distance away." (6ABC)

💻 DanceLogic, run by the West Park Cultural Center, is teaching girls of color about coding — through dance. (Chalkbeat Philadelphia)

🐘 Some prominent Republicans are starting a super PAC to back Democrat Josh Shapiro for governor, such are their objections to GOP nominee Doug Mastriano. (Inquirer)

🚘 State police and more than 80 municipal departments are cracking down on aggressive driving across southeastern Pennsylvania this summer. (Philly Voice)

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👋 Shane here. My wife and I send each other photos of a lot of dogs on Instagram, so I figured I'd do a variation on that here to thousands of you across Philly — and maybe find a pup a home in the process.

Meet Layla! She's a roughly 1-year-old husky who was found as a stray by ACCT Philly. After having seizures, she was set to be euthanized last month due to medical and space concerns. That led Street Tails Animal Rescue in Northern Liberties to save her.

• Her seizure disorder is easily controlled with daily medication, and her foster family says she's "sweet, gentle and extremely docile." And just look at those eyes!

Apply to adopt Layla or any of Street Tails' other dogs!