JOSH SHAPIRO

Four people are dead, three are still unaccounted for as recovery efforts continue after a West Reading, Pennsylvania, chocolate factory explosion Friday night.

Three people were confirmed dead after a historic chocolate factory, the R.M. Palmer Factory, in Pennsylvania exploded on Friday night.

Three people were confirmed dead after a historic chocolate factory, the R.M. Palmer Factory, in Pennsylvania exploded on Friday night.

WEST READING, Pa. — (AP) — An explosion at a chocolate factory in Pennsylvania on Friday killed two people and left five people missing, authorities said. West Reading officials on Saturday confirmed two fatalities. Then he learned it was the Palmer plant, which he called a West Reading institution. “Everybody knows Palmer chocolate,” he said. Palmer's website says it has been making chocolate novelties since 1948 and now has 850 employees at its West Reading headquarters.

An explosion at a chocolate factory in Pennsylvania Friday killed three people and left five missing, but authorities said one person was found alive in the rubble.

A Pennsylvania man is on trial for allegedly fatally shooting a police officer and wounding another. Prosecutors in the state plan to seek the death penalty in the case

They are an even worse reason to suggest that the election had been stolen.

The Pennsylvania Senate confirmed Michelle Henry and Christopher Paris, nominated by Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro to become Attorney General and State Police chief, respectively.

Federal investigators have announced a special investigation into railroad Norfolk Southern.

Norfolk Southern says it plans to improve the use of detectors along the tracks that are supposed to spot overheating bearings and other problems in the wake of a fiery Ohio derailment a month ago.

HARRISBURG, Pa. — (AP) — Norfolk Southern has pledged several million dollars to cover the cost of the response and recovery in Pennsylvania after last month's derailment of a train carrying toxic chemicals just across the border in Ohio, Gov. Shapiro's office said he met with Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw on Thursday and secured an initial commitment for financial aid as the cleanup from the Feb. 3 derailment continues. Norfolk Southern has made similar pledges to Ohio, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has ordered the company to cover the costs of cleanup from the derailment that toppled 38 rail cars in East Palestine, Ohio. Another nearly $1.4 million will go to state agencies that responded, including for setting up a health clinic for residents, Shapiro said. Shapiro's office said he will push Norfolk Southern to cover any additional costs that accumulate.

HARRISBURG, Pa. — (AP) — Norfolk Southern has pledged several million dollars to cover the cost of the response and recovery in Pennsylvania after last month's derailment of a train carrying toxic chemicals just across the border in Ohio, Gov. Shapiro's office said he met with Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw on Thursday and secured what they call an initial commitment for financial aid as the cleanup from the Feb. 3 derailment continues. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has ordered Norfolk Southern to cover the costs of cleanup from the derailment that toppled 38 rail cars in East Palestine, Ohio. Another nearly $1.4 million will go to state agencies that responded, including for setting up a health clinic for residents, Shapiro said. Shapiro's office said he will push Norfolk Southern to cover any additional costs that accumulate.

Gov. Josh Shapiro says Norfolk Southern has pledged several million dollars to cover the cost of the response and recovery in Pennsylvania after last month’s derailment of a train carrying toxic chemicals just across the border in Ohio.

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro will not tell John Fetterman to resign, despite the senator suffering from a stroke and being treated for clinical depression.

Mastriano, who was backed by Trump in a campaign for Pennsylvania governor last year, is holding a hearing this week on the East Palestine accident.

“In no way, shape or form will Norfolk Southern get off the hook for the mess they created,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan vowed at a news conference in East Palestine. The agency said its order marked the end of the “emergency” phase of the Feb. 3 derailment and the beginning of long-term remediation phase in the East Palestine area. But he said Norfolk Southern had failed to address the contaminated soil underneath its tracks before repairing them and running freight again. Shapiro said his administration had made a criminal referral of Norfolk Southern to the Pennsylvania attorney general’s office, while DeWine said Ohio’s attorney general had also launched an investigation. EPA can also do the work itself if necessary and bill Norfolk Southern triple its costs.

PHILADELPHIA — (AP) — A suspect has been arrested in the death of a Temple University police officer shot and killed near campus Saturday night after reportedly trying to intervene in a carjacking, university police union officials said. The Temple University Police Association confirmed Sunday in a Twitter post that “a suspect has been taken into custody for the murder of one of our police officers." The organization said it had been told "that the arrest was made using our fallen officer's handcuffs.”Temple University earlier said in a statement that the officer was shot while trying to apprehend a robbery suspect and was later pronounced dead at the university hospital. Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said the officer “tried to intervene in a carjacking,” The Philadelphia Inquirer reported. “There are no words to describe the news of another one of our officers being shot,” Regan said in a statement.

PHILADELPHIA — A Pennsylvania police officer was shot and killed Saturday near Temple Univerity while they were responding to a robbery in the area. Police said that the officer was taken to the hospital following the shooting but died from their injuries, according to KYW-TV. WPVI reported that per the Philadelphia Police Department, the officer was shot in the head around 7 p.m. Saturday. “Lori and I are devastated for the family of the Temple University police officer who was killed in the line of duty tonight, bravely serving his community. Temple University Police Department and Philadelphia Police Department are continuing to investigate.

PHILADELPHIA — (AP) — A Temple University police officer was fatally shot near campus Saturday night while chasing a robbery suspect, officials said. Temple said in a statement that the alleged robbery took place at a nearby convenience store and the officer was pronounced dead at the university hospital. It said it would not identify the officer at this time out of respect for family and friends. The Temple University Police Association said details of the shooting were still incomplete, but he was killed in the line of duty. WPFI-TV reported that the officer was shot in the head, and there were no immediate arrests.

Authorities say an 18-year-old suspect will face murder and other charges in the death of a Temple University police officer shot near campus in Philadelphia.

The officer was trying to apprehend a suspect in connection with the robbery of a convenience store near campus when the shooting occurred, the university said.

A Temple University police officer was shot in the head near campus on Saturday night, according to FOX 29, adding that a student was carjacked in the area around the time of the shooting.

At the Ohio derailment site, there is blowback against the official decision to do a "controlled release" of toxics. Both elected leaders and residents are questioning the decision.

Josh Shapiro will not allow the death penalty in Pennsylvania during his time in officer. He is calling on other lawmakers across the state to repeal the death penalty as well.

Fox News host Tucker Carlson calls out the Biden administration and state officials following the toxic chemical spill in East Palestine, Ohio on "Tucker Carlson Tonight."

A spokesperson for Norfolk Southern did not immediately respond to a request from Yahoo News for comment on the accusations made by Shapiro. On Feb. 6, Norfolk Southern released toxic chemicals from five of the derailed tanker cars in what they said was an attempt to preempt a larger explosion. The next morning, he said he traveled to East Palestine to meet with those responding to the crash on the ground, including representatives from Norfolk Southern as well as the federal government. “Norfolk Southern failed to notify state and local response agencies initially of their intention to vent and burn all five cars containing vinyl chloride, rather than just the single car Norfolk Southern personnel identified originally,” he wrote. Some in the area have questioned whether it was elected officials leading the response or Norfolk Southern.

Super Bowl predictions break down partisan divides -- but not regional ones -- as members of Congress make their predictions about the Kansas City Chiefs vs. the Philadelphia Eagles.

Some plaintiffs have returned to court multiple times, sometimes in vain, to seek help in forcing legislatures to act, scholars say. Elections can install new lawmakers, governors or judges who are hostile to funding changes. In Pennsylvania — which Baker has found to be the most inequitable state for school funding, along with Illinois — the cost of addressing funding disparities will be high compared with other states because it means dealing with huge gaps involving big school districts like Philadelphia, Allentown and Reading, Baker said. The House Republican floor leader, Rep. Bryan Cutler of Lancaster County, accused the court on Wednesday of overstepping its bounds. Plaintiffs' lawyers said they will work with Shapiro and legislators to develop a plan that the court will approve.

Pennsylvania is now the latest state where a judge has found the public school funding system to be unconstitutional.

Three of those Democratic seats quickly became vacant, casting uncertainty over who actually controlled the chamber. Democratic state Rep. Tony DeLuca died of cancer in October, shortly before winning reelection. Democratic state Rep. Summer Lee resigned after also winning a congressional election. And Democratic state Rep. Austin Davis quit before being sworn in as lieutenant governor. Democrats had been expected to win Tuesday’s special elections, because they had easily won the same seats last fall.

Pennsylvania Acting Attorney General Michelle Henry announced child sex abuse charges against five members of Jehovah's Witness congregations on Monday.

Residents of East Palestine, Ohio, wait to go home after crew members released and burned hazardous chemicals from five rail cars involved in Friday's train derailment.

Shapiro also said he had spoken to President Joe Biden, who had offered “the full support of the federal government" to Pennsylvania and Ohio. About three hours into the procedure, Norfolk Southern Railway issued a statement saying that experts and first responders had breached the rail cars, chemicals were burning off and the cars were expected to drain for several more hours. Pennsylvania State Police went door-to-door to assist the last remaining residents and ensure they leave. Forced evacuations began Sunday night in East Palestine after authorities became alarmed that the rail cars could explode after a “drastic temperature change” was observed in a rail car. Police cars, snow plows and military vehicles from the Ohio National Guard blocked streets leading into the area.

EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — (AP) — Authorities plan to release toxic chemicals into the air from five derailed tanker cars that were in danger of exploding Monday, telling residents near the Ohio-Pennsylvania state line to leave immediately or face the possibility of death. Scott Deutsch of Norfolk Southern Railway said doing this during the daytime will allow the fumes to disperse more quickly and prevent the rail cars from exploding and sending shrapnel and other debris from flying through the neighborhood. Josh Shapiro said the evacuation zone includes about 20 Pennsylvania residents, but as of Sunday night, half had remained in their homes. Pennsylvania State Police were going to door-to-door to assist those residents and ensure that they leave. About 50 cars, including 10 carrying hazardous materials, derailed in a fiery crash Friday night, according to rail operator Norfolk Southern and the National Transportation Safety Board.

Many people are expected to lose their free health insurance in Pennsylvania as the pandemic-era prohibition against kicking people off Medicaid is set to end.

Crews in Ohio have released toxic chemicals from five cars of a derailed train near the Pennsylvania state line to reduce the threat of an explosion.

Some Democrats see Shapiro’s success as a roadmap for the party nationally and name him among a new generation of young governors who could one day run for president.

A package of proposed amendments to the Pennsylvania constitution will likely not appear on the May primary ballot after legislators missed a Friday deadline to pass it.

Josh Shapiro to disclose who paid for his glitzy inaugural bash has exposed the gap in state law that lets governors in Pennsylvania escape the kind of transparency that is sometimes required elsewhere. Presidential inaugural committees are required by federal law to disclose donors who give over $200 to inaugural celebrations. Asked about the donors at an unrelated news conference last week, Shapiro, a Democrat, made no commitment to identify them. Governors have, in some cases, disclosed inaugural donors, although sometimes they do it grudgingly and only after sustaining public criticism. “And we’d be back to the influence days of large donors that we had before the campaign finance law took effect," Creamer said.

Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Debra Todd will officially be installed as chief justice on Friday, making her the first female to serve as the court’s top-ranking jurist.

The inauguration for Pennsylvania's new governor, Josh Shapiro, was held on Tuesday. The Democrat took the oath of office outside the state capitol.

HARRISBURG, Pa. — (AP) — Democrat Josh Shapiro took the oath of office Tuesday to become the 48th governor of Pennsylvania, placing his hand on a stack of three Jewish Bibles at Tuesday's inaugural ceremony outside the state Capitol to cap his blowout win in November's election. Shapiro, 49, takes over in the nation's fifth-most populous state with more experience in state government than any of his recent predecessors, including six years as Pennsylvania's elected attorney general. “I am humbled to stand before you today as Pennsylvania’s 48th governor,” Shapiro said at the start of his remarks from the podium. Still, every new law under Shapiro must have a GOP stamp of approval, considering the six-seat Republican majority in the state Senate. Shapiro, a devout Jew, chose a stack of three copies of the Hebrew Bible on which to take his oath.

HARRISBURG, Pa. — (AP) — Democrat Josh Shapiro will become the 48th governor of Pennsylvania at Tuesday's inaugural ceremony at the state Capitol, taking the oath of office on a cold winter day in the nation's fifth-most populous state on the heels of his blowout win in November's election. Still, when Shapiro becomes governor, every new law must have a GOP stamp of approval, considering the six-seat Republican majority in the state Senate. By the time Shapiro takes the oath of office just after noon on Tuesday, he will have resigned as attorney general. Chief Justice Debra Todd will administer his oath while Shapiro, a devout Jew, will place his hand on a stack of three copies of the Hebrew Bible. Taking the oath separately in the Senate chamber will be Austin Davis, an ex-state lawmaker who will become Pennsylvania’s first Black lieutenant governor.

Democrat Josh Shapiro has become the 48th governor of Pennsylvania at the inaugural ceremony at the state Capitol.

Josh Shapiro announced that Cindy Adams Dunn will remain as secretary to the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, and Russell Redding will be the agricultural secretary.

The remaining 7,904 invalidated ballots were tossed out because the exterior envelopes used to send in those ballots did not have the voters' signatures, or because those exterior envelopes were either undated or improperly dated. Those fixed ballots were counted and are not among the number of rejected ballots now being reported by the Department of State. Some people whose mail-in ballots were thrown out in the high-stakes November election may not be aware that happened. The exterior envelope dates are not needed to ensure ballots arrive in time — that occurs when they are received and clocked in by county elections workers. There were fewer than 19,000 third-party or independent mail-in votes in the gubernatorial race.

New data from Pennsylvania's elections agency shows an early November state court decision that barred mail-in ballots without accurate handwritten dates on their exterior envelopes resulted in otherwise valid votes being thrown out. The Department of State said this week more than 16,000 mail-in ballots were disqualified by county officials because they lacked secrecy envelopes or proper signatures or dates. Democratic voters, who are much more likely to vote by mail, made up more than two-thirds of the total canceled ballots.

HARRISBURG, Pa. — (AP) — A former Philadelphia election official who has told of enduring death threats for defending the city's 2020 vote-counting against former President Donald Trump's lies will be nominated for the top election administration post in Pennsylvania. Shapiro, a Democrat, made the post his first Cabinet selection to be publicly announced ahead of his Jan. 17 inauguration. With help from Philadelphia, Trump lost Pennsylvania to Democrat Joe Biden. No lawsuit, prosecutor or election worker has produced evidence of widespread fraud in Philadelphia's 2020 election. In the wake of the election, Schmidt testified in front of a U.S. Senate committee and the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

A former Philadelphia election official who has told of enduring death threats whipped up by Donald Trump for defending the city’s 2020 vote-counting against the former president’s lies will be nominated for the top election administration post in Pennsylvania by the incoming governor, Josh Shapiro.

The officers were shot blocks apart Monday in Brackenridge, an Allegheny County town northeast of Pittsburgh. The suspect carjacked a vehicle, and when Pittsburgh detectives later spotted it, he fled, Allegheny County Police Superintendent Christopher Kearns said. Police say the second officer was wounded in the leg and is expected to survive. Authorities had identified the suspect as Aaron Lamont Swan, 28, of the nearby city of Duquesne. Allegheny County Police will investigate the shooting of the suspect, Kearns said.

The officers were shot blocks apart in Brackenridge, an Allegheny County town northeast of Pittsburgh. The suspect carjacked a vehicle, and when Pittsburgh detectives later spotted it, he fled, Allegheny County Police Superintendent Christopher Kearns said. Police say the second officer was wounded in the leg and is expected to survive. Authorities had identified the suspect as Aaron Lamont Swan, 28, of the nearby city of Duquesne. Allegheny County Police will investigate the shooting of the suspect, Kearns said.

BRACKENRIDGE, Pa. — The suspect accused of killing a police chief and injuring an officer in a shooting was killed after a chase and shootout with police, WPXI reported. >> Read more trending newsBrackenridge Police Chief Justin McIntire was killed while responding to a call for shots fired shortly after 4 p.m. on Monday, WPXI reported. “Police Chief Justin McIntire ran towards danger to keep Pennsylvanians safe — and he made the ultimate sacrifice in service to community.”Police identified a suspect in the shootings as Aaron Lamont Swan Jr. Multiple sources confirmed to WPXI that Swan was shot and killed after a chase in the city of Pittsburgh. Sources say the suspect fired more than 50 rounds at Pgh Police officers who were chasing him.

Brackenridge, Pa. Police Chief Justin McIntire lost his life, Pa. Gov.-elect Josh Shapiro said. The suspect was killed in a shootout with police after initially fleeing in a carjacked vehicle, police said.

In an interview with police, the couple said they lived a primitive lifestyle and did not believe in modern medicine.

HARRISBURG, Pa. — (AP) — Pennsylvania's top elections official fully certified results from the November vote late last week after recount petitions in some counties had delayed the process, the Department of State said Tuesday. An agency spokesperson said acting Secretary of State Leigh Chapman completed certification of all races in the 2022 midterm election on Thursday. The final tally was issued less than two weeks before members of Congress and state lawmakers are due to be sworn in on Jan. 3. The inauguration of the state's next governor, Democratic Attorney General Josh Shapiro, will be held Jan. 17. Conservatives voicing concerns about the accuracy and reliability of Pennsylvania's voting machines and procedures filed most of the petitions.

It's also the state that saw the nation's deadliest outburst of antisemitism in the 2018 Tree of Life synagogue attack in Pittsburgh, which claimed 11 lives. Shapiro won by 14 percentage points and built a classic Democratic coalition that included progressives from multiple faith traditions as well as the non-religious. Shapiro depicted Mastriano as not representing those who “don’t pray like him,” and he highlighted Mastriano's support for an abortion ban. Shapiro will be the third Jewish governor of Pennsylvania — and the second who was born with the surname Shapiro. ___Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc.

It's also the state that saw the nation's deadliest outburst of antisemitism in the 2018 Tree of Life synagogue attack in Pittsburgh, which claimed 11 lives. Shapiro won by 14 percentage points and built a classic Democratic coalition that included progressives from multiple faith traditions as well as the non-religious. Shapiro depicted Mastriano as not representing those who “don’t pray like him,” and he highlighted Mastriano's support for an abortion ban. Shapiro will be the third Jewish governor of Pennsylvania — and the second who was born with the surname Shapiro. ___Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc.

Josh Shapiro will be taking office as Pennsylvania’s next governor in January after running a campaign in which he spoke early and often about his Jewish religious heritage.

A Pennsylvania grand jury released a report that said a juvenile detention center in the state had a "dangerous lack of oversight." People were sexually harassed and beaten by guards.

One of Pennsylvania’s largest drillers will be allowed to extract natural gas from underneath a rural Pennsylvania community where it has been banned for a dozen years because of accusations it polluted the water supply.

Young voters who have been critical to Democratic successes in recent elections showed signs in November's midterms that their enthusiasm may be waning.

The November midterms broadened the party’s bench for potential presidential contenders, though none have said they would challenge Biden if he runs.

Voters with no religious affiliation supported Democratic candidates and abortion rights by staggering percentages in the 2022 midterm elections.

Pennsylvania’s most active gas driller has pleaded no contest to criminal environmental charges in a landmark pollution case.

Voters deciding to split their tickets or buck their party altogether may have helped Democrats mount a stronger-than-expected performance in the recent midterm elections.

Some state attorneys general aren’t shaking off this week’s Ticketmaster debacle.

Pennsylvania Gov.-elect Josh Shapiro is beginning the transition to his new job, pledging to work constructively with lawmakers and pledging to remain as attorney general until he takes office as governor in January.

President Joe Biden tried to shape the midterm elections not as a verdict on his time in office, but rather on the contrast between Democrats and Republicans on American democracy.

Democratic Gov.-elect Josh Shapiro will take office with a decisive mandate from Pennsylvania voters, who overwhelmingly rejected a Republican drive to pare back abortion rights and voting laws in the premier battleground state.

Evangelical Christians across the U.S. reconfirmed their allegiance to conservative candidates and causes in the midterm elections.

Two days after the midterm elections, misinformation about the results remains focused on Arizona and Pennsylvania.

If Tuesday’s vote defied the durable history of presidential parties taking heavy losses in a midterm election, it also reinforced an often-forgotten fact: These campaigns are a patchwork of thousands of races, not a nationwide contest.

Election deniers who backed Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election failed in some of their highest-profile races.

A day after the midterm elections, misinformation about the results is zeroing in on the states of Arizona and Pennsylvania.

Republicans inched closer to a narrow House majority while control of the Senate hinges on tight Arizona, Nevada and Georgia races.

All 50 states are hosting midterm elections that will determine the balance of power in Washington and state capitals across the nation.

The Democratic Party’s most powerful voices are warning that abortion, Social Security and democracy itself are at risk as they labor to overcome fierce political headwinds over the final weekend of the 2022 campaign.

President Joe Biden’s travel itinerary for his last big campaign swing before the midterm elections reveals his defensive stance in the campaign’s closing days.

Abortion access in several states could hinge on the outcome of November elections of lawmakers, governors, supreme court justices and attorneys general.

Republicans have political winds at their back, but the party's nominees in Pennsylvania for governor and Senate are running dramatically different campaigns and targeting two very different types of voters.

An energized President Joe Biden returned Friday to the Keystone State, his 15th visit since he took office, this time to attend a fundraiser with Vice President Kamala Harris and other leaders to boost Democratic Senate nominee John Fetterman.

In one of the most closely watched races in one of the most contested battleground states, both candidates for governor in Pennsylvania bring religion into their campaigns.

Pennsylvania Democrat John Fetterman struggled at times to explain his positions and spoke haltingly throughout a highly anticipated debate against Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz as they vie for a critical U.S. Senate seat.

In one of the most politically competitive states in the U.S., the Democratic contender for Pennsylvania governor is waging a notably drama-free campaign.

The great red wave is looming.

As attorney general, Josh Shapiro went to court repeatedly to defend Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration against legal challenges to his pandemic-era mandates and shutdowns.

Republicans are warming up to the Republican nominee for governor in Pennsylvania, Doug Mastriano.

The fate of the Democratic Party is intertwined in a pair of Pennsylvania elections that’ll be closely watched this year.

Former U.S. Rep. Raul Labrador has won Idaho’s Republican attorney general primary, beating a longtime incumbent who'd been criticized by the far right for not taking a more activist role.

Doug Mastriano has won the Republican nomination for governor of Pennsylvania.

The fight for Congress often dominates midterm elections.

President Joe Biden will appear in Pittsburgh on Friday as an opening step in a broader campaign to promote the White House’s achievements in key states before the midterm elections.

President Joe Biden has visited the bridge in Pittsburgh that collapsed just hours before his previously scheduled trip to promote his infrastructure package — a new law that aims to prevent just such disasters.

Navient, a major student loan servicing company, has settled allegations of abusive lending practices for $1.85 billion.

Fetterman will run for U.S. Senate, making the announcement Monday, Feb. 8, 2021 after kicking off an exploratory fundraising campaign last month that raised over $1 million. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)HARRISBURG, Pa. – Pennsylvania’s larger-than-life lieutenant governor, the 6-foot-8, bald and tattooed John Fetterman, will run for U.S. Senate, making the announcement Monday after kicking off an exploratory fundraising campaign last month that raised over $1 million. Another possibility is Jeff Bartos, a suburban Philadelphia real estate investor who started running for U.S. Senate before switching horses to become Fetterman's opponent for lieutenant governor in 2018. AdThe Senate seat in the presidential battleground is being left open after two-term Republican U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey announced in October that he would not run again. Considering that kind of disgrace to the Senate, his style “should be the last of our concerns," Fetterman said.

PHILADELPHIA – A federal judge in Philadelphia joined others Monday in ordering a halt to recent Postal Service cuts that critics say are causing mail delays and threatening the integrity of the presidential election. Postal Service itself that shows “a pronounced increase in mail delays across the country” since July, the judge found. The Postal Service, in response, called election mail the agency's “number one priority." Shapiro was joined in the Philadelphia case by attorneys general in California, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, North Carolina and the District of Columbia. In the Washington case, which involved several presidential election battleground states, U.S. District Judge Stanley Bastian said state officials had made a “strong showing” that the Trump administration was using the Postal Service “as a tool in partisan politics.”

In the latest annual report on clerical sex abuse, dioceses and other Catholic entities reported paying out $281.6 million during the year for costs related to allegations, including payments for cases reported in previous years. There has been a huge overall surge in allegations over the past three years as dioceses faced unprecedented pressure to address the decades-old problem of clergy sex abuse. It is the 17th abuse report issued since 2002, when the U.S. bishops established and adopted a comprehensive set of procedures to address sex abuse allegations. Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, which advocates for survivors of clergy sex abuse, expressed concern about a section of the report indicating that only 60% of parishes nationwide were performing safety audits on their own. Every single sitting attorney general should be investigating cases of clergy abuse in their state, identifying enablers and removing them from power, and ensuring that hidden abusers are made known to their communities.