Survey finds smaller decline in medical bill worries
The proportion of people in families struggling to pay medical bills is down, but the number isn’t dropping like it used to, according to a big government study. In a 2018 national survey, just over 14% of people said they belonged to a family struggling with those bills, the Centers...
Pennsylvania Senate President Joe Scarnati will not seek re-election
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati will not seek re-election, he told The Associated Press on Wednesday night. Scarnati, 58, a fifth-term Republican from Jefferson County in northwestern Pennsylvania, said he wrestled with the decision to step down after 14 years in a job steering a Republican...
Iowa Democratic Party chairman Troy Price resigns after caucus chaos
WASHINGTON — The chairman of the Iowa Democratic Party announced his resignation Wednesday after a disastrous caucus process beset by technical glitches led to a dayslong delay in reporting the results, inconsistencies in the numbers and no clear winner. The embarrassing episode also threatened Iowa’s cherished status as the first...
Disease warriors tasked to fight misinformation about coronavirus
A global storm of online posts about the coronavirus virus prompted public health experts to fight a war on two fronts — one against the respiratory virus that surfaced in Wuhan, China, late last year, and a second one against a sea of misinformation about it. Officials from the World...
AG William Barr agrees to testify as Democrats question his leadershipVideo
WASHINGTON — Attorney General William Barr has agreed to testify before the House Judiciary Committee next month, appearing for the first time before the panel as questions swirl about whether he intervened in the case of a longtime ally of President Donald Trump. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y.,...
Berks County mother will stand trial in hanging deaths of her two childrenVideo
Lisa Snyder will stand trial on charges of killing her two children by hanging, a district judge ruled Wednesday after hearing nearly four hours of testimony from relatives, friends and first responders. The 37-year-old Berks County woman is charged with first-degree murder and other crimes in the September killings of...
Tampon tax break faces resistance in Tennessee
NASHVILLE — A proposal to include feminine hygiene products during Tennessee’s annual sales-tax holiday faced resistance this week from lawmakers concerned about the lack of limit on on such purchases. The legislation is the latest evolution of a push to eliminate the so-called “tampon tax” on items such as tampons...
‘Canned’ lions still on offer at U.S. trophy hunting conventionVideo
WASHINGTON — An undercover video recorded by animal welfare activists shows vendors at a recent trophy-hunting convention promoting trips to shoot captive-bred lions in Africa, despite past public assurances by the event’s organizers that so-called canned hunts wouldn’t be sold. Investigators for the Humane Society of the United States captured...
Lawmakers want Ivanka Trump’s women’s program to become law
WASHINGTON — Two senators — one Republican and one Democrat — are leading a legislative effort to have a global women’s initiative spearheaded by President Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka written into law. Sens. Lindsey Graham, R.-S.C., and Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., are behind the effort, the senior White House adviser announced...
2 officers injured, suspect dead in Baltimore shootingVideo
BALTIMORE — Two law enforcement officers with a fugitive task force were injured and a suspect died in a shooting Wednesday in Baltimore, the U.S. Marshals Service said. One officer was injured in the leg and the other in the stomach, U.S. Marshals Service spokesman David Lutz said in an...
Jury finds Mar-a-Lago intruder not guilty of trespassingVideo
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A Florida jury acquitted a Chinese woman Wednesday of trespassing at President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort after she testified she didn’t understand a security guard who told her to leave. However, jurors did find Jing Lu, 56, guilty of resisting a police officer without violence...
Scientists discover mysterious outer space radio waves that repeat every 16 days
Something, somewhere, about a half-billion light-years away in space, is sending out mysterious radio signals that form a set pattern. Fast radio bursts (FRB) are rare but not unheard of, according to CNN, but they normally are emitted once by whatever the source. When they do repeat, it’s in short...
Coronavirus has many U.S. firms waiting for products to ship
NEW YORK — When the factory in China that makes Romy Taormina’s anti-nausea wristbands closed for the Lunar New Year in late January, she expected production to resume by early this month. But many factories across China are still closed to try to limit the spread of the coronavirus, leaving...
Transgender felons seek to ease Pennsylvania rules on name changes
HARRISBURG — A Pennsylvania court this week will consider a legal challenge by three transgender women to a two-decade-old state law that prohibits people who have committed serious felonies from ever changing their names. Commonwealth Court will hear oral arguments Thursday in the lawsuit brought by plaintiffs who live as...
Pope avoids question of married priests in Amazon document
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis declined Wednesday to approve the ordination of married men to address a shortage of priests in the Amazon, sidestepping a fraught issue that has dominated debate in the Catholic Church and even involved retired Pope Benedict XVI. Francis, in an eagerly awaited document, did not...
Analysis: Bernie Sanders’ narrow New Hampshire win ups pressure on moderatesVideo
WASHINGTON — For Bernie Sanders, not all victories are created equal. In 2016, Sanders carried New Hampshire by 22 points, pummeling Hillary Clinton and setting the stage for a protracted fight over the Democratic presidential nomination. On Tuesday, he won the state’s primary by less than 2 points, raising questions...
Penn State suspends Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity over ‘serious misconduct’ allegations
Penn State’s Office of Student Conduct suspended the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity Tuesday morning, citing “multiple allegations of serious misconduct made against the fraternity,” according to a Penn State News release. The fraternity allegedly held an unregistered social event Jan. 30 that the university said “potentially endangered students” and contained...
Record-setting astronaut feels good after near year in space
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA’s new record-setting astronaut said Wednesday that aside from sore muscles and trouble with balance, she’s readjusting well to gravity after nearly 11 months in space. Christina Koch met with reporters in Houston six days after returning to Earth from the International Space Station. Her 328-day...
A victory, a caution: Takeaways from New Hampshire’s primary
New Hampshire Democrats gave Bernie Sanders a win, but also a warning. Sanders’ durability, based both on his 2016 campaign and the first two contests this year, cannot be questioned. What remains unanswered is how moderates will now come at him and whether Sen. Elizabeth Warren will be able to...
Sanders edges Buttigieg in New Hampshire, cementing Dem front-runnersVideo
MANCHESTER, N.H. — Bernie Sanders won New Hampshire’s presidential primary election Tuesday night, narrowly edging moderate rival Pete Buttigieg and scoring the first clear victory in the Democratic Party’s chaotic 2020 nomination fight. In his win, the 78-year-old Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist, beat back a strong challenger from the...
Michael Bennet ends 2020 bid after poor showing in New Hampshire
Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet ended his long-shot presidential bid Tuesday, failing to break out of a crowded Democratic field dominated by other moderate candidates, including Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar. Bennet, 55, was a late entrant to the race who staked his bid largely on trying to win...
Andrew Yang, who created buzz with freedom dividend, ends 2020 bid
CHICAGO — Democrat Andrew Yang, an entrepreneur who created buzz for his presidential campaign by championing a universal basic income that would give every American adult $1,000 per month, suspended his 2020 bid on Tuesday. His national press secretary, Erick Sanchez, confirmed the decision. It came as he expected a...
Trump wants Pentagon to review conduct of impeachment witness Alex VindmanVideo
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump suggested Tuesday that the Pentagon should review the conduct of a former White House national security aide who played a central role in the Democrats’ impeachment case and potentially consider disciplinary action against him. Army Lt. Col. Alex Vindman, who until last week was detailed...
Embattled Boy Scouts seek to boost support for abuse victims
NEW YORK — Facing a possible bankruptcy resulting from sex-abuse litigation, the Boy Scouts of America issued a new apology Tuesday to survivors of abuse and announced plans for expanded services to support them. The Boy Scouts are teaming up in a five-year partnership with 1in6, a national nonprofit that...
AP VoteCast: After Iowa, many NH Dems worry about fairness
WASHINGTON — New Hampshire Democrats headed into Tuesday’s primary with a focus on matters of fairness, with just over 1 in 10 saying they were “very confident” that their party’s process for choosing a presidential nominee is fair. The trouble in counting ballots after last week’s Iowa caucuses, an issue...
