FILE – David DePape is shown in Berkeley, Calif., on Dec. 13, 2013. DePape, who allegedly broke into U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s home and beat her 82-year-old husband in October 2022 pleaded not guilty Wednesday, Dec. 28, to six charges, including attempted murder, prosecutors said. (Michael Short/San Francisco Chronicle via AP, File)

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The man who allegedly broke into U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s home and beat her 82-year-old husband in October has pleaded not guilty to six charges, including attempted murder. Suspect David DePape entered the plea in state court Wednesday. Authorities say he had planned to kidnap the speaker — who was out of town — when he broke into the couple’s San Francisco home on Oct. 28. Instead he severely beat her husband, Paul Pelosi, with a hammer in an attack that was witnessed by two police officers and shocked the political world. The public defender’s office declined to comment.

FILE – Passengers wearing masks walk through the Capital airport terminal in Beijing on Dec. 13, 2022. On Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2022, the U.S. announced new COVID-19 testing requirements for all travelers from China, joining other nations imposing restrictions because of a surge of infections. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)

The U.S. will soon require COVID-19 testing for travelers from China. The U.S. joins a few other nations imposing travel restrictions because of a surge of infections in China. The increase in cases follows the rollback of China’s strict anti-virus control. Beginning Jan. 5, travelers to the U.S. from China will have to take a COVID-19 test no more than two days before they travel and provide negative results before they board their flights. The U.S. action announced Wednesday is a return to requirements for some international travelers. The Biden administration lifted the last of such mandates in June.

FILE – Election worker Ramona Ortiz places a sign outside a polling station at Fire Station 3 on E. Rio Grande Ave in El Paso, Texas, just before polls open on Nov. 8, 2022. Next year is shaping up to be another busy for state legislatures seeking to change voting laws. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File)

An explosion of new election-related legislation followed former President Donald Trump’s lies about losing the 2020 presidential election due to fraud. Next year is shaping up to be another busy one for state legislatures seeking to change voting laws. Democrats are readying bills that would make it easier to vote in Michigan and Minnesota, two states where they won control of the statehouses in November. In Texas, nearly 100 bills related to voting have been pre-filed already. Some seek to increase access to the ballot box while others are aimed at further restricting it. Ohio is another Republican-controlled state where lawmakers continue to push for restrictions.

FILE- George Highhouse, of Scranton, brings his Christmas tree and a wreath to Lackawanna County Recycling in Dunmore, Pa., on Jan. 2, 2019. Discarded Christmas trees can be picked up curbside for recycling through regular trash-collection services or or dropped off at locations in various cities. The trees are often shredded for use as compost or mulch that is offered back to residents and non-profit groups free of charge for gardening and landscaping. (Jake Danna Stevens/The Times-Tribune via AP, File)

Taking down the Christmas tree is only one task after the holiday season. For families with real trees, figuring out what to do with them can be as easy as placing them curbside for recycling. Some cities collect and shred discarded Christmas trees, then offer them back free of charge as mulch for gardening and landscaping. The trees also can be stashed somewhere in the backyard as a shelter for birds. In many states, trees are used for fish habitat, rebuilding wetlands or shoring up eroded coastal areas. The last place to send them is to the landfill, where growing piles release the greenhouse gas methane as they decompose.

A hiring sign is displayed at a restaurant in Rolling Meadows, Ill., Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2022. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of people seeking unemployment benefits rose modestly last week, the latest sign that the labor market remains strong despite the Federal Reserve’s efforts to cool the economy and hiring. Applications for unemployment aid for the week ending Dec. 24 climbed 9,000 to 225,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Unemployment benefit applications are a proxy for layoffs, and are being closely monitored by economists as the Fed has rapidly raised interest rates in an effort to cool job growth and inflation. Should the Fed’s rate hikes cause a recession, as many economists fear, a jump in layoffs and unemployment claims would be an early sign.

Tourists look out onto the city skyline from Christmas Tree Point on top of Twin Peaks in San Francisco, Thursday, Dec. 15, 2022. (Jessica Christian/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

Almost 1,000 towns, hamlets and villages in the U.S. lost their status as urban areas as the U.S. Census Bureau released a new list of places considered urban based on revised criteria. The new standards raise the population threshold from 2,500 to 5,000 people and add housing units to the definition. Around 3.5 million residents who live in the small cities, towns and villages that lost their urban designation were bumped Thursday into the rural category. The change matters because rural and urban areas often qualify for different types of federal funding for transportation, housing, health care and education.

HARRISBURG – Rep.-elect Marla Brown (R-Lawrence) today announced that she will be opening a district office in New Castle to ensure continuity of constituent services.

The office, which will open for business beginning on Monday, Jan. 9, is located in the Washington Centre Plaza at 28 N. Mill St., New Castle. Office hours will be Monday through Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the telephone numbers are 724-498-4397 and 833-431-0502.

“One of the most important aspects of my job as your state representative is helping you deal with state government,” said Brown. “Stopping by my office is one way for constituents to let me know what they think we should be doing in Harrisburg. I look forward to hearing from them, as well as discussing my efforts to stand up for taxpayers.”

Staff in the offices offer the following state-related services:

• Driver’s license and vehicle registration applications and renewals.
• Assistance with PennDOT paperwork, such as lost cards, changes, corrections, special plates and handicapped placards.
• PACE and PACENET applications.
• Help with public assistance, such as Medicaid and food stamp applications.
• Property Tax and Rent Rebate applications.
• Birth and death certificate applications.
• Access to state tax forms.
• Voter registration forms.
• Referrals to agencies to resolve state-related matters.

Brown will be hosting a grand opening celebration at the office on Friday, Feb 3, beginning at noon. In addition, she is planning on scheduling events such as a town hall meeting, pancake breakfasts, coffee chats, a senior expo and much more. She will be announcing dates, times and locations for these events in the near future.

Ashlyn Harmon of New Orleans searches for her Southwest Airlines bags amongst hundreds of others at Midway International Airport as Southwest continues to cancel thousands of flights across the country Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2022, in Chicago. Harmon said her family’s initial Southwest flight was cancelled on Christmas so they rebooked on American Airlines, although Southwest still shipped their bags to Midway. “We rebooked ourselves,” she said. “I figure we can deal with refunds and all of that when we get back.” She was searching for her own bag, which contains medication for her young son. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

DALLAS (AP) — Southwest Airlines is still trying to extract itself from sustained scheduling chaos and cancelled another 2,350 flights after a winter storm overwhelmed its operations days ago. The Dallas carrier acknowledge inadequate and outdated operations technology that can leave flight crews out of position when adverse weather strikes. There was a total of 2,450 flights cancelled in the U.S. early Thursday, 2,360 were Southwest routes, or about 58% of its entire schedule. Southwest was the only airline unable to recover from storm-related delays that began over the weekend when snow, ice and high winds raked portions of the country.

If you’ve been around for a while, chances are you remember a store called Ames.  The chain of stores has been out of business since 2002, although the company made an announcement that they’ll be making a return this spring.  They have yet to announce specific locations for new stores, but have confirmed that multiple stores will be opened here in Pennsylvania.

File Photo

(Pittsburgh, PA) Amid the Southwest airlines flight cancellations, the effects are being felt in at Pittsburgh international Airport. It was reported that hundreds of peoples luggage is currently left stranded at the airport. Out of 238 flights scheduled for today, 35 have been cancelled. 19 going out, and 16 coming in. The cancelled flights are all through Southwest airlines. Southwest currently has cancelled 2362 flights today nationwide.