Political
Need information regarding current political news? Here we'll keep you updated on the latest political news, locally and nationally.
3 council members renew oaths of office in Ephrata
EPHRATA — Three Ephrata City Council Members were sworn in Wednesday evening after winning their respective races.…
Texas bans most abortions, with high court mum on appeal
The nation's most far-reaching curb on abortions since they were legalized a half-century ago took effect Wednesday in Texas, with the Supreme Court silent on an emergency appeal to put the law on hold.
Deal with OxyContin maker leaves families angry, conflicted
Among the families who lost children and other loved ones in the nation's opioid crisis, many had held out hope of someday facing OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma and its owners in a courtroom.
Baby whale unwell, rule issued to keep boaters away
SEATTLE (AP) — The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has issued an emergency rule ordering commercial whale watch tours to stay farther away from an unwell baby orca to help her survive.
Seeing danger, some in GOP leery of Texas abortion law
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Almost instantly after most abortions were banned in Texas, Democrats were decrying the new law as unconstitutional, an assault on women's health that must be challenged. But the reaction from …
Arizona man who wore horns in riot pleads guilty to felony
PHOENIX (AP) — An Arizona man who sported face paint, no shirt and a furry hat with horns when he joined the mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 pleaded guilty Friday to a felony charge and wants to be rele…
'Loss of hope': Idaho hospitals crushed by COVID-19 surge
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The intensive care rooms at St. Luke's Boise Medical Center are full, each a blinking jungle of tubes, wires and mechanical breathing machines. The patients nestled inside are a lot alike: All u…
NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn't happen this week
A roundup of some of the most popular but completely untrue stories and visuals of the week. None of these are legit, even though they were shared widely on social media. The Associated Press checked them out. Here…
Appeals court ruling nearly triggers Idaho abortion law
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A federal appeals court’s decision allowing a Texas fetal heartbeat law to take effect Wednesday isn’t enough to trigger Idaho’s similar fetal heartbeat law, but backers say it’s a near miss tha…
Black women seeing guns as protection from rising crime
TAYLOR, Mich. (AP) — Valerie Rupert raised her right arm, slightly shaking and unsure as she aimed at the paper target representing a burglar, a robber or even a rapist.
GOP-led states see Texas law as model to restrict abortions
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — Republican states that have passed increasingly tough abortion restrictions only to see them blocked by the federal courts have a new template in an unusually written Texas law that represe…
Democrats promote Cheney to vice chairwoman of Jan. 6 panel
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Democrats have promoted Republican Rep. Liz Cheney to vice chairwoman of
State: Newark skirted no-bid laws in $5M ice rink renovation
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey's largest city violated state guidelines when it financed a $5.4 million contract to renovate a public ice skating rink when the cost should have been borne by the entity performing t…
US expects to admit more than 50,000 evacuated Afghans
WASHINGTON (AP) — At least 50,000 Afghans are expected to be admitted into the United States following the fall of Kabul as part of an “enduring commitment" to help people who aided the American war effort and othe…
EXPLAINER: Congress asks tech companies for Jan. 6 records
WASHINGTON (AP) — A House committee investigating
Black US farmers awaiting billions in promised debt relief
BOYDTON, Va. (AP) — There was a time when Black farms prospered.