News

McCormick and Fetterman press RFK Jr. over canceled research grants

PA News September 15, 2026

(The Center Square) – U.S. Sens. John Fetterman and Dave McCormick want answers from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services about the cancellation of research grants at a pair of Pennsylvania institutions. On Monday, McCormick’s office shared a letter the senators penned to department Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. nearly one month ago about the cancellation of Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, or AHRQ, grants. McCormick, a Republican, and Fetterman, a Democrat, wrote that researchers at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, known as CHOP, and the ...

US Supreme Court blocks mail ballot restrictions from taking effect in 2026

PA News September 15, 2026

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday night blocked the U.S. Postal Service from imposing new restrictions on voting by mail this November, delivering a fatal blow to President Donald Trump’s attempts to inject more White House control over the midterm election. In a brief, unsigned ruling, the court kept in place a lower court’s freeze on the restrictions. “The Government is unlikely to succeed on the merits of its challenge” to the lower court’s ruling, the justices wrote. Under the proposed restrictions, the Postal Service would have been able to block delivery of ballots that ...

Some retired public servants set for first pension raise since 2002

PA News September 15, 2026

(The Center Square) – During a speech to AFSCME Chapter 13 retirees in Harrisburg on Monday, Gov. Josh Shapiro touted the first cost-of-living adjustment, known as COLA for short, in over 20 years for various public servants. “You represent really the best of the best, the people that make our world go round and round,” Shapiro said. “The people that make a difference in our communities: the bus drivers and the building engineers, the municipal workers in our boroughs, our townships, our communities, our cities-and the amazing employees that I get to work with every day, who ...

Violence can follow the 'failure' of African rainmakers

International News September 15, 2026

NAMISINDWA, Uganda (AP) — The farmers who paid David Nabutsilili money to summon rain were angry when they received so much of it that their vegetable gardens were left flooded. They chased him up and down the hills, stopping when he fell upon a rock and broke a femur. That was his punishment. Sixteen years later, the rainmaker still feels pain in his leg. Many of those who pursued him regularly seek his spiritual help when they need rain, especially during the planting season, but also when they seek to block it. If he fails to meet their expectations, he must temporarily flee his ...

Artist captures how summer's heat waves hit Paris

International News September 15, 2026

PARIS (AP) — As Paris emerges from months of oppressive heat, cooler autumn temperatures are welcomed back like a long-lost friend. But images of France's hottest summer remain etched in memories — and in the artwork of illustrator Marina Antonova. Paris is admired worldwide for ...

Playhouse plans Jukebox Cabaret to help ‘Raise the Roof’

Local News September 15, 2026

HUNTINGDON — The Playhouse at McConnellstown is turning to music to help fund major repairs to its more than century-old home. The Huntingdon County theater will host a Jukebox Cabaret from 7 to 9 p.m. Friday, Sept. 18, at Juniata Brewing Company, 1102 Susquehanna Ave., Huntingdon. Proceeds will benefit the Playhouse’s multi-year “Raise the Roof” campaign. The campaign aims to raise approximately $30,000 over the next several years for major building maintenance, including a full roof replacement, new gutters and downspouts and other facility work by licensed ...