Politics Election category, Page 64
Lawmakers question Kennedy on staffing cuts, funding freezes and policy changes at health departmentVideo
WASHINGTON — Republicans and Democrats alike on Wednesday questioned the deep staffing cuts, research funding freezes and drastic policy changes that U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has made in a few short months at the helm of the nation’s health department. Kennedy, who was to...
Democrats are deeply pessimistic about the future of their party, an AP-NORC poll finds
NEW YORK — Six months after Donald Trump’s presidential victory, Democrats remain deeply pessimistic about the future of their party, although neither the Democratic Party nor the Republican Party is viewed favorably by a majority of U.S. adults. A new poll conducted earlier this month by The Associated Press-NORC Center...
Judge in Johnstown becomes 1st in U.S. to uphold use of Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelans
A federal judge in Johnstown on Tuesday ruled the government may remove Venezuelan citizens thought to be members of a violent gang under the Alien Enemies Act — but only if they are given 21 days notice and “an opportunity to be heard.” The 43-page opinion, written by U.S. District...
Latest Pittsburgh mayoral debate focuses on GOP candidates vying to reverse 100-year-trend
Pittsburgh’s Republican candidates for mayor were grilled for a solid, commercial-free hour Tuesday night during a live debate on WTAE. Artificial intelligence, education, economic development, homelessness and public safety were some of the issues the candidates touched on as they explained why Pittsburgh needs to break from a century of...
Democrats endorse set of changes to Pennsylvania election rules, sending bill to state Senate
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania voters would get more than a week of early voting and county election officials would have more time to start processing mail-in ballots under an election law proposal that advanced out of the state House on Tuesday by a single vote, with all Republicans opposed. The wide-ranging...
Chuck Schumer vowing to hold up Justice Department nominees for answers about luxury plane from Qatar
WASHINGTON — Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said Tuesday that he will hold up all Department of Justice nominations on the Senate floor until he gets more answers about the free Air Force One replacement that President Donald Trump says would be donated by Qatar. Trump said this week that...
Bill to sell legal marijuana through Pa. state stores rejected by GOP-led panel
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds power to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania. HARRISBURG — A Pennsylvania Senate panel has rejected a bill advanced by Democrats that would permit the sale of recreational cannabis to adults at state-owned...
Reports: Trump’s planned EPA overhaul jeopardizes Energy Star appliance program
Any budget-aware, environmentally conscious consumer scouting out new appliances knows to look for the Energy Star label. The familiar blue-and-white logo – stuck on refrigerators, stoves, dishwashers, heat pumps, washers, dryers, water heaters and air conditioners – signifies cost savings and efficiency. But the program, run by the U.S. Environmental...
Trump lays out Mideast vision as he looks to revamp U.S. approach in Iran, Syria and beyond
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — President Donald Trump on Tuesday held out Saudi Arabia as a model for a reimagined Middle East, using the first major foreign trip of his term to emphasize the promise of economic prosperity over instability in a region reeling from multiple wars. Offering partnership to longtime...
Pa. lawmaker ignites budget talk, backlash with flamethrower videoVideo
Pennsylvania’s always-contentious budget season is heating up. In one instance, quite literally. Sen. Dawn Keefer, R-York County, got blowback from Democrats over the weekend after posting a video in which she torches Gov. Josh Shapiro’s budget proposal with a flame thrower. Keefer, one the legislature’s more hardline conservatives, posted the...
Republican group cozies up to John Fetterman in new ad as his relationship with Democrats becomes more strained
PHILADELPHIA — A conservative super PAC is urging Sen. John Fetterman to support President Donald Trump’s tax cut plan in a new ad wooing the Pennsylvania Democrat as his relationship with his own party has become increasingly strained. In the spot called “Stand out,” running on cable and digital platforms,...
Sen. Rand Paul points to business-sector resistance to Trump’s tariffs in solidly red Kentucky
LOUISVILLE — In solidly Republican Kentucky, resistance to President Donald Trump’s trade wars has sprung up from a cross-section of key business sectors, GOP Sen. Rand Paul said Monday. Paul said he’s heard concerns from agriculture, the auto sector, bourbon production, home building and package shipping in response to Trump’s...
House Republicans unveil Medicaid cuts that Democrats warn will leave millions without care
WASHINGTON — House Republicans have unveiled the cost-saving centerpiece of President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill,” at least $880 billion in cuts largely to Medicaid to help cover the cost of $4.5 trillion in tax breaks. Tallying hundreds of pages, the legislation revealed late Sunday is touching off the biggest...
Norwin candidates seek fresh perspective on board
The political battles on the Norwin School Board in 2022 and 2023 may come to an end over the next two years as four incumbents will not be on the May 20 primary election ballot. Rob Bunovich, Monica Kitta, Jakub Sadowski, Chelsea Thomas and Ella Thompson, all of North Huntingdon,...
North Huntingdon: 3 vie for GOP nomination for Sixth Ward
Republican voters in North Huntingdon’s 6th Ward will be the only ones selecting from multiple candidates in a township commissioners race in the May 20 primary. Three candidates seeking the GOP nomination to succeed Fran Bevan in the ward are William Cummings, Antonio Lio and Leah McGhee. All three are...
Split decision: As Gainey claims unity in mayoral race, cracks appear among Democrats
Speaking late last month at a Hill District rally, Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey claimed to be building “unprecedented unity” in his bid for a second term. That may be more wishful thinking than reality. Neither Gainey nor his primary election rival, Corey O’Connor, appears to be a surefire winner with...
U.S.- China tariff talks to continue Sunday, an official tells The Associated Press
GENEVA — Sensitive talks between U.S. and Chinese delegations over tariffs that threaten to upend the global economy ended after a day of prolonged negotiations and will resume Sunday, an official told The Associated Press. There was no immediate indication whether progress was made Saturday during the meeting over 10...
Experts call Kennedy’s plan to find autism’s cause unrealistic
WASHINGTON — For many experts, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ‘s promise for “pulling back the curtain” to find autism’s causes in a few months is jarring — and unrealistic. That’s because it appears to ignore decades of science linking about 200 genes that play a role — and...
Judge pauses much of Trump administration’s massive downsizing of federal agencies
SAN FRANCISCO — The Republican administration must halt much of its dramatic downsizing of the federal workforce, a California judge ordered Friday. Judge Susan Illston in San Francisco issued the emergency order in a lawsuit filed by labor unions and cities last week, one of multiple legal challenges to Republican...
Fetterman again in the news for the wrong reasons
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Braddock, has again found himself in the news for the wrong reasons, with recent stories calling his mental health into question. Fetterman, the former Braddock mayor and Pennsylvania lieutenant governor who was once considered a rising progressive star, has faced his share of bad press over...
President Donald Trump fires Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump abruptly fired Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden on Thursday as the White House continues to purge the federal government of those perceived to oppose the president and its agenda. The dismissal was disclosed in statements from three top House Democrats and confirmed by a separate...
Trump seeks tax hike on wealthy earning $2.5 million or more
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is pushing lawmakers to increase tax rates on some of the wealthiest Americans as a way to offset other cuts in his signature economic package. The president’s proposal calls for creating a new 39.6% tax bracket for individuals earning at least $2.5 million, or couples...
Trump says he’s naming Fox News host and former judge Jeanine Pirro as top federal prosecutor in D.C.
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Thursday that he is naming Fox News host Jeanine Pirro, a former county prosecutor and elected judge, to be the top federal prosecutor for the nation’s capital after abandoning his first pick for the job. Pirro, who joined Fox News in 2006, cohosts the...
Trump says he’ll pull the nomination of Ed Martin for D.C. U.S. Attorney after concerns of partisanship
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Thursday that he would pull his nomination of Ed Martin Jr. to be the top federal prosecutor for the nation’s capital, bowing to bipartisan concerns about the conservative activist’s modest legal experience and divisive politics. Trump abandoned his pick to lead the nation’s largest...
House follows Trump’s lead with a vote to change the Gulf of Mexico to ‘Gulf of America’
WASHINGTON — The Republican-led House passed a bill Thursday that would rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America and direct federal agencies to update their documents and maps to incorporate the new name. President Donald Trump already signed an executive order during his first day in office...
