In the News

For almost two decades, silt has built up on the floor of the Schuylkill, slowly threatening navigation and safety.

All along, the Schuylkill Navy, Boathouse Row's umbrella organization, has been pressing to have the river dredged. If it doesn't happens soon, the mud could muck up Philadelphia's status as the nation's premiere regatta city and all its accompanying recreational, scholastic, and economic benefits.

Yes, you can eat dog or cat for lunch in most states. Or dinner. Or anytime.

Unless Congress acts on a new plan that would subject anyone who kills those animals for human consumption to a jail term and up to a $2,500 fine.

The House farm bill, approved this week by the House Agriculture Committee, would apply those penalties to anyone who knowingly slaughtered a cat or dog for human consumption.

Rep. Jeff Denham, R-Calif., sponsored the provision, and had a quick explanation for why.

"You shouldn't be able to kill somebody's pets and eat them," he said.

In an ominous coincidence of timing, John Bolton assumed his role as national-security adviser on Monday, right as news broke of an air strike on a military airport in Syria operated by Iran, widely assumed to be carried out by Israel, and just two days after 70 Syrians died and hundreds more were wounded in an apparent chemical attack by the Assad regime in Douma. Exchanges of blame and threats between Russia, Iran, Israel, and the White House have overshadowed the consternation and horror with which many in Washington have reacted to Bolton's appointment.

As the U.S. House and Senate agriculture committees begin work on a new Farm Bill, the Humane Society of the United States and the Humane Society Legislative Fund are pressing for this legislation, which has the potential to affect the lives of millions of animals, to include key provisions on animal fighting, horse soring, the trade in dogs and cats for human consumption, and domestic violence against pets.

This was not an April Fool's Day joke: The New York Buy American Act went into effect on April 1, 2018. Signed by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo in December 2017 and championed by state legislators on both sides of the aisle, the NY BAA amends the existing domestic content restrictions in Section 146 of the New York State Finance Law and Section 2603-a of the New York Public Authorities Law by adding another layer of "Buy American" requirements focused on structural iron and structural steel products used in certain construction projects.

President Donald Trump's recent public criticism of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election has raised concerns he may be laying the groundwork to derail the probe.

While the president and members of his administration have consistently denied any action would be taken to silence the investigation, top Republicans in Congress don't seem too concerned. They have said they won't back legislation to protect the special counsel.

On March 24, students in Philadelphia and several hundred other places across the U.S. took to the streets to renew and strengthen their calls for a political solution to gun violence. The March for Our Lives demonstrations come on the tail of the shooting that left 17 dead at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., and just weeks shy of the 19th anniversary of the Columbine massacre.

Where do elected officials who represent Pennsylvania om Washington stand on the issue?

Teachers, social workers and other public servants at risk of missing out on federal student loan forgiveness because they enrolled in the wrong repayment plan now have a shot at debt relief under the spending bill signed into law Friday.

The sweeping $1.3 trillion bill includes a measure that temporarily expands Public Service Loan Forgiveness, a program that cancels federal student debt after 10 years of on-time payments for people who take jobs in the public sector.