Redistricting will be definitive political fight of 2021 in Pennsylvania
This article is part of a year-long reporting project focused on redistricting and gerrymandering in Pennsylvania. It’s made possible by the support of Spotlight PA members, including TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and Votebeat, a project focused on election integrity and voting access. HARRISBURG — With partisanship in the Pennsylvania legislature at peak...
Pa. state Sen. Dave Arnold dies from brain cancer at age 49
Pennsylvania Sen. Dave Arnold died Sunday at home with his wife and daughter by his side, ending a 15-month battle with brain cancer. Arnold was 49 years old. He took the oath of office last January to represent the 48th senatorial district, which covers all of Lebanon County and parts...
Protests start small, peacefully at fortified U.S. statehouses
Police and National Guard troops stood sentry at newly fortified statehouses Sunday ahead of demonstrations planned for the leadup to President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration, as authorities worked to deter a repeat of the recent riot that overran the U.S. Capitol. A few protesters were starting to gather in some cities,...
Powerball jackpot grows to $730M; Mega Millions to be $850M
DES MOINES, Iowa — Lottery players have another chance to win big next week since there were no winners of the top prize for both the Powerball and Mega Millions jackpots in their most recent drawings. The Powerball jackpot grew to an estimated $730 million after no one matched all...
More backlash for GOP’s Josh Hawley as Loews Hotel cancels event
ORLANDO, Fla. — Loews Hotels said Saturday it has canceled an upcoming fundraiser for U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, the latest fallout for the Republican lawmaker after the U.S. Capitol uprising. The Republican senator from Missouri helped staged an Electoral College challenge the day President Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the U.S....
Biden outlines ‘Day One’ agenda of executive actions
WASHINGTON — In his first hours as president, Joe Biden plans to take executive action to roll back some of the most controversial decisions of his predecessor and to address the raging coronavirus pandemic, his incoming chief of staff said Saturday. The opening salvo would herald a 10-day blitz of...
Man arrested with handgun, ammo at Washington checkpoint
Police have arrested a man with a handgun and 500 rounds of ammunition at a checkpoint in Washington set up ahead of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration. Wesley Allen Beeler of Front Royal, Virginia, was charged with carrying a pistol without a license after being stopped at the checkpoint near the...
National Guard troops pour into Washington as states answer the call
WASHINGTON — By the busload and planeload, National Guard troops were pouring into the nation’s capital on Saturday, as governors answered the urgent pleas of U.S. defense officials for more troops to help safeguard Washington even as they keep anxious eyes on possible violent protests in their own states. Military...
Trump trial pending, McConnell calls it ‘vote of conscience’
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial is likely to start after Joe Biden’s inauguration, and the Republican leader, Mitch McConnell, is telling senators their decision on whether to convict the outgoing president over the Capitol riot will be a “vote of conscience.” The timing for the trial, the first...
Biden: Science will be at `forefront’ of his administration
President-elect Joe Biden says “science will always be at the forefront of my administration,” and he is elevating the post of science adviser to Cabinet level, a White House first. Biden, who introduced his team Saturday, said the scientists “will ensure everything we do is grounded in science, facts and...
Pennsylvania reports 7,166 coronavirus cases, 231 deaths
Pennsylvania on Saturday reported 7,166 new coronavirus cases, as hospitalizations and case counts are trending down in the Keystone State. The new data bring the total cases to 761,777. That’s a jump of nearly 48,500 cases from this time last week. The week before, the weekly increase was 56,000. Officials...
No winner of Mega Millions $750M; Powerball drawing Saturday
DES MOINES, Iowa — One of the largest jackpots in U.S. history will grow even larger since there was no winner for Friday’s drawing of the Mega Millions’ $750 million top prize. The numbers were 3, 11, 12, 38, 43, with a Mega Ball of 15 and would have marked...
Diary shows how quest for love landed Navy vet in Iran jail
WASHINGTON — Michael White’s long-anticipated trip to Iran was already a disappointment. The love interest he’d gone to visit had stopped seeing him and he’d idled away hours in his hotel room by himself. Then it got much worse. On his final day, the car he and his tour guide...
Trump administration carries out 13th and final execution
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — The Trump administration early Saturday carried out its 13th federal execution since July, an unprecedented run that concluded just five days before the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden — an opponent of the federal death penalty. Dustin Higgs, convicted in the killings of three women in...
AP explainer: Why expansion of vaccine to smokers caused a stir
TRENTON, N.J. — New Jersey this week made millions of people eligible to get the covid-19 vaccine, including smokers, a move that prompted gripes about them skipping to the front of the inoculation line. Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy made people 65 and older and those 16 and older with medical...
Woman arrested in Capitol attack: ‘I listen to my president’
DALLAS — A Dallas-area real estate agent who is facing charges for allegedly being part of the pro-President Donald Trump mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol last week said she’s a “normal person” who listened to her president. Jenna Ryan, 50, is accused of “knowingly” entering or remaining in the...
Biden: We’ll ‘manage the hell’ out of feds’ covid response
WILMINGTON, Del. — President-elect Joe Biden pledged Friday to boost supplies of coronavirus vaccine and set up new vaccination sites to meet his goal of 100 million shots in 100 days. It’s part of a broader covid strategy that also seeks to straighten out snags in testing and ensure minority...
Flint water charges escalate debate over officials’ failures
FLINT, Mich. — When a former Michigan public health director was charged with involuntary manslaughter in the Flint water crisis, the man who previously held the job says a chilling thought crossed his mind: It could have been me. “I spent 14 years in that chair,” said Jim Haveman, who...
California bill would ban intersex surgery for young kids
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A California lawmaker is trying again to ban some medically unnecessary surgeries on intersex children until they are at least 6-years-old, hoping a narrower focus combined with new legislative leadership will be enough to get the first-of-its-kind legislation signed into law. State Sen. Scott Wiener, a Democrat...
House speaker’s office invader to be put under house arrest
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — An Arkansas man photographed sitting at a desk in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office during the riot at the U.S. Capitol last week was put under house arrest Friday as he awaits trial. U.S. Magistrate Judge Erin Wiedemann set a $5,000 bond for Richard Barnett, and...
Governors complain over pace of covid-19 vaccine shipments
Governors bitterly accused the Trump administration Friday of deceiving the states about the amount of covid-19 vaccine they can expect to receive as they ramp up vaccinations for senior citizens and others. But the government attributed the anger to confusion and misguided expectations on the part of the states. Meanwhile,...
N.Y. prosecutors interview Michael Cohen about Trump finances
NEW YORK — New York prosecutors conducted an hourslong interview Thursday of Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney, asking a range of questions about Trump’s business dealings, according to three people familiar with the meeting. The interview focused in part on Trump’s relationship with Deutsche Bank, his biggest...
Biden picks geneticist as science adviser, puts in Cabinet
President-elect Joe Biden announced Friday that he has chosen a pioneer in mapping the human genome — the so-called “book of life” — to be his chief science adviser and is elevating the top science job to a Cabinet position. Biden nominated Eric Lander, founding director of the Broad Institute...
Vaccines to stimulus checks: Here’s what’s in Biden plan
WILMINGTON, Del. — President-elect Joe Biden is proposing a $1.9 trillion plan to expand coronavirus vaccinations, help individuals and jump-start the economy. The plan, which would require congressional approval, is packed with proposals on health care, education, labor and cybersecurity. On Friday, he outlined a five-step approach to getting the...
Mormon leaders condemn ‘lawless behavior’ at U.S. Capitol
SALT LAKE CITY — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints condemned “lawless behavior” and the violence of rioters who broke into the U.S. Capitol in a statement Friday that marked the faith’s first public comments since the Jan. 6 attack by pro-Trump loyalists. Top leaders from the Utah-based...
