What’s a ‘wealth tax’ and how would it work?
To help pay for his big economic and social agenda, President Joe Biden is looking to go where the big money is: billionaires. Biden never endorsed an outright “wealth tax” when he campaigned for the White House last year. But his more conventional proposed rate increases on the income of...
U.S. issues its 1st passport with ‘X’ gender marker
DENVER — The U.S. has issued its first passport with an “X” gender designation — a milestone in the recognition of the rights of people who don’t identify as male or female — and expects to be able to offer the option to nonbinary, intersex and gender-nonconforming people early next...
McDonald’s workers strike to protest workplace harassment
McDonald’s workers in 12 U.S. cities walked off the job Tuesday to protest what they say is an ongoing problem of sexual harassment and violence in the company’s stores. Several hundred workers were expected to participate in Chicago, Houston, Miami, Detroit and other cities, according to Fight for $15 and...
Pa. Lottery awards ‘humongous’ 10-year contracts that will modernize its business
The Pennsylvania Lottery is about to undergo a modernization with new equipment, new signage and a new app. The changes will be rolled out over the course of the coming year as part of the recent execution of the commonwealth’s most lucrative technology contracts to Las Vegas-based Scientific Games Corp....
Biden urges bill over ‘finish line’ as Democrats eye new surtax
WASHINGTON — With his signature domestic initiative at stake, President Joe Biden is urging Democrats to wrap up talks and bring the social services and climate change bill “over the finish line” before he departs Thursday for global summits overseas. Top Democratic leaders are signaling a deal is within reach...
Not a trick: No White House treats for Halloween this year
WASHINGTON — Ghosts and goblins can scratch the White House from their trick or treating routes this year. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden will be in Europe on Halloween and won’t be at the White House to help hand out candy and other treats. Instead, the Pennsylvania...
State archaeology workshops will focus on free Black communities in Pennsylvania
The State Museum of Pennsylvania will hold its annual archaeology workshops virtually on Saturday, focusing on stories of Black history told through the lens of archaeology. University of Maryland professor Cheryl LaRoche will present “Free Black Communities and Archaeology” as the day’s keynote presentation. LaRoche is a founding member of...
Senate OKs bill to criminalize fleeing arrest on foot
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s state Senate on Tuesday approved a bill that would make it a crime to flee a police officer who is trying to arrest them, and an additional crime if a police dog is hurt in the pursuit. The bill passed, 36-14, with every Republican and seven of...
Feds: Ohio stock trader fleeced Twitter users in pump-&-dump
NEW YORK — An Ohio trader in penny stocks was arrested Tuesday on charges alleging he earned over $1 million illegally by lying repeatedly to his over 70,000 Twitter followers to get them to buy stocks in what authorities are calling a new social media-infused twist on an old stock...
One year after the police killing of Walter Wallace, Philadelphia agrees to give Tasers to every officerVideo
The city of Philadelphia agreed Tuesday to equip all of its police officers with Tasers, a step announced on the one-year anniversary of the killing of Walter Wallace Jr., a mentally distressed Black man shot and killed by officers outside his West Philadelphia home. Wallace’s death occurred months after the...
Nor’easter has New England bracing for floods, power outagesVideo
BOSTON — A nor’easter barreled up the U.S. coast Tuesday, and forecasters warned it could bring flooding, hurricane-force wind gusts and widespread power outages to New England. The worst of the storm was expected to lash the region late Tuesday through Wednesday morning. Wind gusts as high as 75 mph...
Former South Hills woman accused of dismembering husband’s body, collecting benefits
LAS VEGAS — A 69-year-old Las Vegas woman is accused of defrauding Social Security for years after she allegedly dismembered her dead husband’s body and threw his remains in the trash, according to a federal criminal complaint. Nancy Shedleski deposited $121,000 of her husband’s retirement benefits after his 2015 death,...
FDA advisers back Pfizer’s covid-19 vaccine for children ages 5-11
WASHINGTON — The United States moved a step closer to expanding covid-19 vaccinations for millions more children as a panel of government advisers on Tuesday endorsed kid-size doses of Pfizer’s shots for 5- to 11-year-olds. A Food and Drug Administration advisory panel voted unanimously, with one abstention, that the vaccine’s...
Illinois police officer dies after shooting near St. Louis
PONTOON BEACH, Ill. — A police officer was shot to death Tuesday by a man at a gas station in an Illinois suburb of St. Louis, authorities said. Trooper Jayme Bufford with Illinois State Police said Pontoon Beach Officer Tyler Timmins succumbed to his injuries at a hospital. The officer...
Brooklyn Diocese fires music teacher after same-sex wedding
NEW YORK — The Brooklyn Diocese fired a Catholic music school teacher in Queens after he married a man, saying he violated a contractual stipulation to the Catholic Church. Matthew LaBanca, a teacher at St. Joseph’s Catholic Academy in Astoria and a music director at Corpus Christi Church, was fired...
Florida’s surgeon general: Masks hamper clear communication
MIAMI — Florida’s surgeon general said conversations while wearing masks aren’t productive and argued that he offered to meet elsewhere when a state senator didn’t let him in her office without a mask, citing a serious health condition. Dr. Joseph Ladapo said in a statement released Tuesday that he offered...
Billionaire tax runs into criticism; big Biden plan in flux
WASHINGTON — The Democrats’ idea for a new billionaires’ tax to help pay for President Joe Biden’s social services and climate change plan has quickly run into criticism as too cumbersome, with some lawmakers preferring the original plan of simply raising the top tax rates on corporations and the wealthy....
Florida manatee deaths soar as polluted water kills seagrass
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Florida fishing guide and environmental activist Paul Fafeita says a highlight for his charter customers is spotting the manatees that forage for seagrass in shallow waters. It’s not so thrilling when they come across the emaciated carcass of a manatee that starved to death. “It’s not...
Finance reports show Youngkin with lead in cash on hand
RICHMOND, Va. — During the first three weeks of October, Republican candidate for Virginia governor Glenn Youngkin outraised Democrat Terry McAuliffe, while McAuliffe outspent Youngkin, according to campaign finance reports. Youngkin closed out the period with a nearly $6 million cash-on-hand advantage, according to reports compiled by the Virginia Public...
Virus cut access to courts but opened door to virtual future
Just two reporters were allowed inside a Georgia courtroom to serve as the eyes and ears of the public when jury selection began for the men charged with murdering Ahmaud Arbery. Pandemic restrictions also kept reporters and the public out of the courtroom during the sex-trafficking trial of music star...
150 people arrested in U.S.-Europe darknet drug probe
WASHINGTON — Law enforcement officials in the U.S. and Europe have arrested 150 people and seized more than $31 million in an international drug trafficking investigation stemming from sales on the darknet, the Justice Department said Tuesday. The arrests are connected to a 10-month investigation between federal law enforcement officials...
Congress plans fixes for U.S. military’s AWOL weapons problems
Congress is set to force America’s armed services to keep better track of their guns and explosives, imposing new rules in response to an Associated Press investigation that showed firearms stolen from U.S. bases have resurfaced in violent crimes. Under the proposals, the Department of Defense would tell both lawmakers...
SpaceX needs to tame toilet trouble before weekend launch
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — SpaceX is taming some toilet troubles in its capsules before it launches four more astronauts. The company and NASA want to make sure the toilet leaks won’t compromise the capsule launching early Sunday from Kennedy Space Center or another one that’s been parked at the International...
Where have all the students gone?: Western Pa. colleges struggle with declining enrollment
Colleges across the region, ranging from the University of Pittsburgh to local community colleges, are mirroring troubling national trends in enrollment. In a development experts say could lead to gaps in the workforce and affect the nation’s economic health for years to come, college enrollment is down overall for the...
Prosecutor drops felony charge against central Pa. man for 43-cent ‘theft’
The Perry County district attorney’s office dismissed a felony charge that Pennsylvania State Police had filed against a homeless man after he paid $2 for Mt. Dew drink that cost $2.29. Joseph Sobolewski maintained all along that his arrest for retail theft after visiting the Exxon at 3298 Susquehanna Trail...
