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.…
Records rebut claims of unequal treatment of Jan. 6 rioters
It's a common refrain from some of those charged in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol and their Republican allies: The Justice Department is treating them harshly because of their political views while those arre…
EU set to recommend reinstating restrictions on US travelers
BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union plans to recommend that its member states reinstate restrictions on tourists from the U.S. because of rising coronavirus infection levels in the country, EU diplomats said Monday.
The Latest: France requires virus pass for 2M workers
PARIS — Some 2 million French workers in restaurants and other service jobs must now show a health pass to go to work, as part of government virus-fighting efforts.
Evacuated Afghan activist dreams of going back home one day
GOLEM, Albania (AP) — Ghazaal Habibyar is in an Albanian tourist resort, safe with her husband and three children after being evacuated from Afghanistan. But her mind is not at rest, for many others she knows are s…
Oregon county asks for morgue truck as COVID fatalities rise
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Noting that the COVID delta variant “is spreading like wildfire among the unvaccinated in our community," the leaders of an Oregon coastal county said Friday they no longer have capacity to st…
Marchers across US call on Congress to bolster voting rights
WASHINGTON (AP) — Thousands of voting rights advocates rallied across the country Saturday to call for sweeping federal laws that would wipe out voting restrictions advancing in some Republican-controlled states th…
US soldier loses 1 Afghan translator; fights to save another
BREMEN, Germany (AP) — The two men risked their lives together nearly a decade ago trying to eliminate the Taliban, dodging bullets and forever bonding in a way that can only be forged in war.
Dealing with mental health crisis one Zoom call at a time
CHICAGO (AP) — The sergeant had so little use for the tablet that she did not bother to grab it from the seat of her squad car when she ran into the house where a suicidal man was screaming and slamming his head ag…
COVID-19 surge pummels Hawaii and its native population
HONOLULU (AP) — Kuulei Perreira-Keawekane could barely breathe when she went to a Hawaii emergency room. Nausea made it difficult for her to stand and her body throbbed with pain.
Biden tells Israeli PM he'll try diplomacy first with Iran
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on Friday that diplomacy was his first option, but he would consider other options if his effort to revive the Iran nuclear deal fai…
Abbas, Israel's Gantz hold new high-level talks, urged by US
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel's defense minister has held talks with the Palestinian president in the occupied West Bank, the first high-level meeting between the two sides in years, officials said.
Museum chief is only candidate for Estonia's presidency
HELSINKI (AP) — Estonia is gearing up for an unusual presidential election in parliament. There will be only one candidate in Monday's vote, a situation unprecedented since the Baltic nation regained its independen…
Biden in the 'loneliest job,' a presidency driven by crisis
WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s called the loneliest job in the world for a reason.
Explainer: How dangerous is Afghanistan's Islamic State?
The Islamic State offshoot that Americans blame for a deadly suicide attack outside the Kabul airport coalesced in eastern Afghanistan six years ago, and rapidly grew into one of the more dangerous terror threats g…
White House: US has capacity to evacuate remaining Americans
WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States has the capacity to evacuate the approximately 300 U.S. citizens remaining in Afghanistan who want to leave before President Joe Biden's Tuesday deadline, senior Biden administra…