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DOJ won’t investigate how Pennsylvania handled nursing homes

HARRISBURG (AP) — The Justice Department told Gov. Tom Wolf’s office on Thursday that it has decided not to open an investigation into whether Pennsylvania violated federal law by ordering nursing homes to accept residents who had been treated for COVID-19 in a hospital. The letter comes 11 months after the agency told the governors of Pennsylvania, Michigan, New Jersey and New York that it wanted information to determine whether orders there “may have resulted in the deaths of thousands of elderly nursing home residents.” The one-page letter, from Steven H. Rosenbaum, chief ...

Justices deal blow to outdated claims of sexual abuse

HARRISBURG (AP) — Pennsylvania’s high court on Wednesday dealt a blow to victims of child sexual abuse, throwing out a lawsuit by a woman whose lower court legal victory had given hope to others with similarly outdated claims who’d sued in the wake of a landmark report that documented decades of child molestation within the Catholic church in Pennsylvania. The 5-2 decision ended plaintiff Renee Rice’s legal effort to recover damages from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown for allegedly covering up and facilitating sexual abuse she said had been inflicted on her by ...

Schools confront more polarization with mask rules

By Associated Press Students in Wichita, Kansas, public schools can ditch the masks when classes begin. Detroit public schools will probably require them unless everyone in a room is vaccinated. In Pittsburgh, masks will likely be required regardless of vaccination status. And in some states, schools cannot mandate face coverings under any circumstances. With COVID-19 cases soaring nationwide, school districts across the U.S. are yet again confronting the realities of a polarized country and the lingering pandemic as they navigate mask requirements, vaccine rules and social distancing ...

Pro-democracy, women’s rights activists to get Liberty Medal

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A Hong Kong pro-democracy activist and a Saudi women’s rights activist will be presented the Liberty Medal later this year. The National Constitution Center announced Tuesday that the annual award will be presented Sept. 21 to Jimmy Lai and Loujain al-Hathloul “for their courage and conviction in exercising the fundamental rights of freedom of speech, nonviolent resistance, and peaceful dissent.” They will split the $100,000 prize. Jimmy Lai’s media company founded Apple Daily, a widely-read tabloid frequently critical of Hong Kong and the Chinese ...

Big infrastructure bill in peril; GOP threatens filibuster

WASHINGTON (AP) — The bipartisan infrastructure deal senators brokered with President Joe Biden is hanging precariously ahead of a crucial Wednesday test vote as senators struggle over how to pay for nearly $1 trillion in public works spending. Tensions were rising Tuesday as Republicans prepared to mount a filibuster over what they see as a rushed and misguided process. With Biden preparing to hit the road to rally support for his big infrastructure ideas — including some $3.5 trillion in a follow up bill — restless Democrats say it’s time to at least start debate on this ...

Election audit gets campaign trail embrace

HARRISBURG (AP) — Former President Donald Trump’s false claims of a stolen election have been debunked by the courts, his own Justice Department and scores of recounts. But in the battleground state of Pennsylvania, where Trump lost by 80,000 votes eight months ago, they’re finding new signs of life. A Republican state lawmaker, bolstered by campaign trail support from top Republican candidates for governor and U.S. Senate, has launched a push for a “forensic investigation” of the presidential election results, a review modeled on the widely discredited process underway in ...