January 30, 2026 2:40 am
Governor Josh Shapiro called on the Pennsylvania General Assembly on Thursday to take action and send a bill to his desk requiring schools to implement a bell-to-bell ban on cell phones and mobile devices. In a post on X, Governor Shapiro said: “It’s time for us to get distractions out of the classroom and create a healthier environment in our schools. “Students need to spend time focused on learning, on socializing with their peers, and on developing the critical skills they’ll need later in life. “I’m calling on the State Legislature to send a bill to my desk requiring our schools to implement policies that take cell phones and mobile devices out of kids’ hands from the time they start class until the time they leave for home — helping teachers and kids focus on learning.” (Photo: AP)
January 30, 2026 5:16 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate leaders were scrambling to save a bipartisan spending deal and avert a partial government shutdown at midnight Friday as Democrats have demanded new restrictions on federal immigration raids across the country. Democrats struck a rare deal with President Donald Trump Thursday to separate funding for the Homeland Security Department from a broad government spending bill and fund it for two weeks while Congress debates curbs on the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. The deal came as irate Democrats had vowed to vote against the entire spending bill and trigger a shutdown in the wake of the deaths of two protesters at the hands of federal agents in Minneapolis.
January 30, 2026 8:41 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Journalist Don Lemon has been arrested after he entered a Minnesota church and recorded anti-immigration enforcement protesters who disrupted a service. The protest Jan. 18 increased tensions between residents and the Trump administration. It is unclear what charge or charges Lemon is facing. The arrest came after a magistrate judge last week rejected prosecutors’ initial bid to charge the journalist. Lemon was taken into custody by federal agents in Los Angeles, where had been covering the Grammy Awards. His lawyer said Lemon will “fight these charges vigorously and thoroughly in court.”
January 30, 2026 5:18 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is suing the IRS and Treasury Department for $10 billion. He accuses them of failing to prevent a leak of his tax information to news outlets. The lawsuit was filed in a Florida federal court on Thursday. In 2024, former IRS contractor Charles Edward Littlejohn was sentenced to five years in prison for leaking tax information about Trump and others. Earlier this week, the U.S. Treasury Department cut its contracts with Booz Allen Hamilton, where Littlejohn worked. He was charged and imprisoned for leaking tax information about thousands of wealthy individuals, including Trump.
January 30, 2026 5:17 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says he’ll nominate former Federal Reserve governor Kevin Warsh to be the next Fed chair. Friday’s pick is likely to result in sharp changes to the powerful agency that could bring it closer to the White House and reduce its longtime independence from day-to-day politics. Warsh would replace Jerome Powell when his term expires in May. Trump chose Powell to lead the Fed in 2017 but recently has assailed him for not cutting interest rates quickly enough. Warsh’s appointment requires Senate confirmation. Warsh was on the Fed’s board from 2006 to 2011. He’s a fellow at the right-leaning Hoover Institution and a lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
January 29, 2026 5:15 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has signed an executive order that would impose a tariff on any goods from countries that sell or provide oil to Cuba, a move that puts pressure on Mexico. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum says her government had at least temporarily stopped oil shipments to Cuba. She says it was a “sovereign decision” not made under pressure from the U.S. Trump has squeezed Mexico to distance itself from the Cuban government. In the wake of the U.S. military operation to oust former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, Trump has said the Cuban government is ready to fall.
January 30, 2026 2:52 pm
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Catherine O’Hara has died at 71. The Emmy-winning actor was known for her roles on “SCTV,” “Schitt’s Creek,” and the two “Home Alone” films. Her agency, CAA, announced she died Friday at her Los Angeles home after a brief illness. O’Hara was a Canadian-born actor who gained fame through Toronto’s Second City Theatre. She was also one of the key stars of the sketch comedy show “SCTV.” Her career spanned decades, and she was celebrated for her comedic brilliance in films including “Beetlejuice” and “Best in Show.” She won an Emmy for “Schitt’s Creek” and got Emmy nominations for late-career roles in “The Last of Us” and “The Studio.” (Photo: AP)
January 29, 2026 5:16 am
BELZONI, Miss. (AP) — Another wave of dangerous cold is heading for the U.S. South, and experts say the risk of hypothermia heightens for people in parts of Mississippi and Tennessee who are entering their sixth day trapped at home without power in subfreezing temperatures. The National Weather Service says arctic air moving into the Southeast will cause already frigid temperatures to plummet into the teens on Friday night in cities like Nashville. Doctors say while more vulnerable people may have started experiencing hypothermia symptoms within hours of being exposed to the frigid temperatures, younger people who are generally healthy may soon start falling victim to these effects as well.
January 29, 2026 4:59 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats voted to block legislation to fund the Department of Homeland Security and several other agencies Thursday as they continued to negotiate with Republicans and the White House on new restrictions for President Donald Trump’s surge of immigration enforcement. Thursday’s test vote came as Democrats have threatened a partial government shutdown when money runs out on Friday. But Trump said just ahead of the vote that “we don’t want a shutdown” and the two sides were discussing a possible agreement to separate Homeland Security funding from the rest of the legislation and fund it for a short time.
January 29, 2026 5:44 pm
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Justice Department has charged a man who squirted apple cider vinegar on Democratic U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar at an event in Minneapolis. The man arrested for Tuesday’s attack, Anthony Kazmierczak, faces a charge of forcibly assaulting, opposing, impeding and intimidating Omar. Authorities determined the substance was water and apple cider vinegar. Kazmierczak has a criminal history and has made online posts supportive of President Donald Trump. Kazmierczak appeared briefly in federal court Thursday afternoon. His attorney said her client was unmedicated at the time of the incident. The judge ordered him to remain in custody and told officials he needs to see a nurse when he is transferred to jail.
