Stateside

After being introduced in the past two legislative sessions, the PA House of Representatives today passed the CROWN Act, sponsored by state Rep. La’Tasha D. Mayes, D-Allegheny, to end hair discrimination in Pennsylvania. The CROWN Act would update Pennsylvania’s current anti-discrimination law, the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act, to prohibit discrimination based on hair type, hair…

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ABOVE PHOTO: Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry speaks during a news conference, Friday, July 7, 2023, in Philadelphia. A Pennsylvania grand jury investigating child sexual abuse in the Jehovah’s Witnesses community has charged another five people with raping or molesting children as young as 4, the latest developments in an ongoing probe that has identified…

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BY GARY FIELDS, CLAIRE SAVAGE AND TERESA CRAWFORD CHICAGO (AP) — The Rev. Jesse Jackson plans to step down from leading the Chicago civil rights organization Rainbow PUSH Coalition he founded in 1971, the organization announced Friday. “Reverend Jesse Jackson is officially pivoting from his role as president of Rainbow PUSH Coalition. His commitment is unwavering, and he will…

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BY CHRIS MEGERIAN AND LISA MASCARO WASHINGTON (AP) — Kamala Harris, who made history as the first woman or person of color to serve as vice president, made history again Wednesday as she matched the record for most tiebreaking votes in the U.S. Senate. The vote, her 31st, advanced the nomination of Kalpana Kotagal to the Equal Employment…

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BY COLLIN BINKLEY WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration calls it a “student loan safety net.” Opponents call it a backdoor attempt to make college free. And it could be the next battleground in the legal fight over student loan relief. Starting this summer, millions of Americans with student loans will be able to enroll in…

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BY FATIMA HUSSEIN WASHINGTON (AP) — A group of congressional Democrats reported Wednesday that three large tax preparation firms sent “extraordinarily sensitive” information on tens of millions of taxpayers to Facebook parent company Meta over the course of at least two years. Their report urges federal agencies to investigate and potentially go to court over the wealth of…

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BY JAKE BLEIBERG An Oklahoma judge has thrown out a lawsuit seeking reparations for the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, dashing an effort to obtain some measure of legal justice by survivors of the deadly racist rampage. Judge Caroline Wall on Friday dismissed with prejudice the lawsuit trying to force the city and others to make recompense for the destruction of…

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ABOVE PHOTO:  Rep. Anthony Bellmon and Pa. House Speaker Joanna McClinton   (Photos: Pa. House) On June 28, H.B. 1448 introduced by state Rep. Anthony Bellmon (D-203rd Dist.) and Pennsylvania House Speaker Joanna McClinton was voted out of the House Education Committee and is headed to the full House for future consideration. The bill would…

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ABOVE PHOTO: Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., speaks before President Joe Biden about his infrastructure agenda while announcing funding to upgrade Philadelphia’s water facilities and replace lead pipes, Friday, Feb. 3, 2023, at Belmont Water Treatment Center in Philadelphia. Casey said he’ll seek a fourth term, bringing unmatched name recognition in Pennsylvania politics to his party’s…

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ABOVE PHOTO: Shown is the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in session at the state Capitol in Harrisburg, Pa., Thursday, June 29, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke) By Marc Levy, Brooke Schultz ASSOCIATED PRESS  HARRISBURG, Pa. — Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro on Wednesday backed off his insistence on money for a new private-school funding program, giving the…

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