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Casey’s latest ‘greedflation’ report zeroes in on price increases for Thanksgiving staples

by Kim LyonsNovember 20, 2023 U.S. Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) released a new “greedflation” report in time for Thanksgiving that examines the ways the items Americans buy for their holiday meals are made more expensive by food and agriculture businesses.  A new report from U.S. Sen Bob Casey looks at how companies have increased prices …

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U.S. House votes to censure Michigan’s Rashida Tlaib over Israel remarks

by Jacob Fischler, Pennsylvania Capital-StarNovember 7, 2023 The U.S. House voted late Tuesday to censure Rep. Rashida Tlaib for remarks the Michigan Democrat has made about Israel and Palestine amid the ongoing war in the Middle East. U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., right, comforts Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., center, when Tlaib became emotional during remarks …

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Shutdown inches closer as U.S. House GOP fails to pass defense bill, lawmakers exit D.C.

by Jennifer ShuttSeptember 21, 2023 WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans were unable for a third time Thursday to begin debate on the Defense funding bill, throwing another wrench into Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s leadership tenure. The Capitol. (Jennifer Shutt, States Newsroom) The 212-216 vote that rejected the rule for the $826 billion Defense spending measure was …

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Hospitals plead with Congress to avert $8 billion in cuts in Medicaid funding

by Ashley Murray, Pennsylvania Capital-StarSeptember 15, 2023 WASHINGTON — Healthcare representatives from across the United States are urging Congress to halt cuts to funding that helps hospitals care for uninsured or low-income patients who rely on Medicaid. Hospitals and health systems are asking Congress to avert or delay a forthcoming $8 billion cut to “America’s …

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New round of COVID-19 booster shots on the way after CDC recommendation

by Jennifer Shutt, Pennsylvania Capital-Star WASHINGTON — Americans older than six months should get an updated COVID-19 booster this fall, according to a recommendation the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued Tuesday. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended Americans should get the updated COVID-19 vaccine. (Javier Zayas Photography/Getty Images) The vaccine …

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Allegheny County Dems select Lindsay Powell for House special election

by Kim Lyons, Pennsylvania Capital-StarJuly 31, 2023 PITTSBURGH – On Saturday, Democrats in Allegheny County selected Pittsburgh-area nonprofit director Lindsay Powell to be their nominee in a special election that will determine the balance of power in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.  Pittsburgh’s City/County Building (Pittsburgh City Paper photo) Powell, who is director of workforce …

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Feds, states reach settlement in lawsuit over Chesapeake Bay pollution from Pa.

by Danielle E. Gaines, Pennsylvania Capital-StarJuly 12, 2023 A settlement agreement has been finalized in a lawsuit that alleged federal officials weren’t doing enough to stop Chesapeake Bay pollution originating in Pennsylvania. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, environmental groups and state governments filed a notice in U.S. District Court on Wednesday, dismissing the 2020 lawsuit. …

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Here’s what the Supreme Court’s new election law ruling means for Pa. | Patrick Beaty

by Capital-Star Guest Contributor, Pennsylvania Capital-StarJune 29, 2023 By Patrick Beaty The Guardian, or Authority of Law, created by sculptor James Earle Fraser, rests on the side of the U.S. Supreme Court on September 28, 2020, in Washington, DC. (Al Drago/Getty Images). On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down an important decision with major …

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Funding the 500: Pa.’s school funding fix is the challenge of our time | Monday Morning Coffee

by John L. Micek, Pennsylvania Capital-StarJune 19, 2023 Commonwealth Court Judge Renée Cohn Jubelirer’s February order declaring Pennsylvania’s public school funding system unconstitutional did far more than set a precedent. McCaskey High School in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, on May 30, 2023. (Photo by Amanda Berg for the Capital-Star) She handed Pennsylvania policymakers perhaps the greatest challenge they will ever …

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Democrat Heather Boyd wins special election, securing Democratic Pa. House majority

by Peter Hall, Pennsylvania Capital-StarMay 16, 2023 [*This story was updated at 12:26 a.m., May 16, 2023, to reflect updated unofficial vote tallies] Heather Boyd speaks at her victory party after winning the 163rd Pennsylvania House District special election on Tuesday, May 16, 2022. (Capital-Star photo by Peter Hall) Democrat Heather Boyd won the special …

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Pa.’s juvenile detention centers are overcrowded, but building more isn’t the answer, advocates say

by Peter Hall, Pennsylvania Capital-StarApril 20, 2023 Youth advocates and a juvenile justice official called on Pennsylvania lawmakers to address a shortage of space and staff that has created a crisis affecting children in the justice system. Christopher Spriggs is the acting executive director of the currently shuttered Glen Mills School (Philadelphia Tribune photo) While the …

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U.S. House GOP unveils plan on debt ceiling, spending cuts; Biden slams ‘wacko notions’

by Jennifer Shutt, Pennsylvania Capital-StarApril 19, 2023 U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. (Getty Images) WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans unveiled a debt limit proposal Wednesday that would lift the nation’s borrowing capacity by $1.5 trillion or suspend it through March. The bill, introduced by Speaker Kevin McCarthy, carries along with it numerous Republican initiatives …

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Why Easter is called Easter, and other little-known facts about the holiday | Analysis

by Capital-Star Guest Contributor, Pennsylvania Capital-StarApril 7, 2023 By Brent Landau Resurrection (Fr Lawrence Lew, O.P., CC BY-NC-ND). The date of Easter, when the resurrection of Jesus is said to have taken place, changes from year to year. The reason for this variation is that Easter always falls on the first Sunday after the first …

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‘My country is in trouble’: Central Pa. volunteers fighting targeted violence share their stories

by Frank Pizzoli, Pennsylvania Capital-StarMarch 19, 2023 Three central Pennsylvania residents who volunteered to serve in a federal program aimed at addressing violence targeted at vulnerable populations and others, say the experience has been a  lesson in “the ABCs of constructive dialogue.” Joseph Bubman, Founding Executive Director, Urban Rural Action (URA photo). Urban Rural Action …

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Why shocking new data shows we can’t stop fighting hate | Wednesday Morning Coffee

by John L. Micek, Pennsylvania Capital-StarMarch 15, 2023 If you ever needed a reminder that we can’t turn a blind eye to hate, then new data from the Anti-Defamation League should more than do the trick. As the Capital-Star reported Tuesday, white supremacist propaganda hit an all-time high across the country in 2022, even as antisemitic propaganda more …

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U.S. hits debt limit and Treasury Department begins ‘extraordinary measures’

by Jennifer Shutt WASHINGTON — The nation reached its debt limit Thursday, beginning the uncertain process known as extraordinary measures, in which the U.S. Treasury Department uses accounting maneuvers to avoid defaulting on the debt. The often-used practice is intended to give the Republican House, Democratic Senate and Biden administration time to negotiate a bipartisan agreement …

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A new year, a new governor, a new chance to clean up the Chesapeake Bay | Opinion

by Capital-Star Guest Contributor, Pennsylvania Capital-StarJanuary 15, 2023  By Harry Campbell As one year ends and another begins, many of us have hope and optimism for the new year. In these early days of 2023, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) is encouraged that momentum in 2022 can bring us closer to cleaner rivers and streams in Pennsylvania. Most …

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Pa. residents bought nearly 71K guns in November, data show

by John L. Micek, Pennsylvania Capital-StarDecember 19, 2022 Pennsylvania residents bought nearly 71,000 guns in November, part of a nationwide buying spree that saw Americans purchase approximately 1.4 million guns, a new analysis of FBI data shows. That seasonally adjusted nationwide tally of 1.36 million weapons sold includes 840,000 handguns and 520,000 long guns (rifles and shoguns), according …

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Pa. approves 36 new historical markers honoring artist Keith Haring, others

by Cassie Miller, Pennsylvania Capital-StarDecember 8, 2022 Three-dozen more blue and gold historical markers will soon adorn roadsides in 18 counties across the commonwealth. The Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission (PHMC) announced Thursday that it has approved 36 new historical markers, selected from 91 applications, to join the more than 2,000 markers already spread throughout …

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Raphael Warnock’s Georgia win matters to Pa. This is why

by John L. Micek, Pennsylvania Capital-StarDecember 8, 2022 U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock’s, D-Ga., runoff win against Republican Herschel Walker on Tuesday night was a big deal in a lot of ways. For one thing, Warnock, the pastor of the storied Ebenezer Baptist Church (once ministered by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.) in Atlanta, is now the first Black man to …

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A controversial Pa. prison for migrants is closing. Three things to know

by John L. Micek, Pennsylvania Capital-StarDecember 2, 2022 Putting a cap on years of protests, a controversial prison for asylum seekers in Berks County will shut its doors next month, according to published reports. Officials in Berks County announced Wednesday that the federal government, which operates the Berks County Residential Center in Bern Township, will terminate its …

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Mass shootings prompt new calls for assault weapons ban. Will it happen?

by John L. Micek, Pennsylvania Capital-StarNovember 28, 2022 There was no mistaking the anger in President Joe Biden’s voice on Thanksgiving Day as he once again decried America’s fatal love affair with guns. “The idea we still allow semi-automatic weapons to be purchased is sick. Just sick,” Biden said, according to the Associated Press. In the wake of deadly shootings …

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Parties challenge ballots as counties keep counting votes in pivotal Pa. House races

by Peter Hall, Pennsylvania Capital-StarNovember 14, 2022 Monday proved true what Melissa Cerrado said she told voters on thousands of doorsteps during her campaign for a Pennsylvania House seat in Montgomery County: Every vote counts. Cerrado, the Democratic candidate challenging Republican incumbent state Rep. Todd Stevens in the 151st Legislative District, held on to a …

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Control of PA House comes down to three races in the Philly suburbs

by Peter Hall, Pennsylvania Capital-StarNovember 10, 2022 Control of the Pennsylvania House will come down to three narrow races for legislative districts in the Philadelphia suburbs. In Bucks County, Democrat Mark Moffa held a two-vote lead over Republican Joe Hogan in the 142nd House  District and Democrat Brian Munroe had a 406-vote lead over Republican …

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