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AmeriCorps must restore programs in Pa. and other states that sued, judge rules. But DOGE staffing cuts remain.

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AmeriCorps must restore programs in Pa. and other states that sued, judge rules. But DOGE staffing cuts remain.


A federal judge ordered President Donald Trump‘s administration to pause across-the-board cuts to AmeriCorps in response to a lawsuit filed by 24 states, including Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware.

The federal community service program that oversees thousands of volunteers was targeted in mid-April by the Department of Government Efficiency, which terminated grants and placed 85% of the agency’s employees on administrative leave, with layoffs set to take effect later this month.

Judge Deborah L. Boardman, who was nominated to the Maryland district bench in 2021 by then-President Joe Biden, issued an order Thursday preventing the Trump administration from “effectuating and enforcing” the cuts in the states represented by the lawsuit. Boardman also ordered that programs already impacted should be restored, grants reinstated, and AmeriCorps members returned to service, “if they are willing and able to return.”

The judge denied the Democratic-led states’ request to reverse the placement of AmeriCorps employees on administrative leave, or prevent the reduction in force for the agency’s staff.

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“We just won in court again against the Trump Administration — this time to stop their unlawful decision to cut AmeriCorps programs that help communities respond to natural disasters, support seniors and veterans, and keep our trails clean across Pennsylvania,” Gov. Josh Shapiro said in a post on X Thursday.

Boardman explained her ruling in an 86-page opinion, stating that the cuts were not done properly.

“Before AmeriCorps could make any significant changes to service delivery, it first had to engage in notice-and-comment rulemaking,“ Boardman wrote. ”It did not.”

The opinion cites a few Pennsylvania programs, including one that supports veterans in Butler County, as examples of the impact AmeriCorps cuts could have on communities. The complaint argued that AmeriCorps members and volunteers have built trust that cannot be easily replaced.

“The abrupt exiting of members and erosion of trust built between service programs and the community will have a detrimental impact on these programs absent immediate injunctive relief,” Boardman said.

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AmeriCorps did not respond to a request for comment.

The lawsuit, filed against AmeriCorps in late April, accused the Trump administration of efforts to “dismantle” the agency, and contended that the president does not have the constitutional authority to do so because AmeriCorps was established by an act of Congress.

Shapiro, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin, and Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings are listed as plaintiffs, along with officials from 21 other states.

The Trump administration argued in court filings that its actions did not trigger the requirements for a comment period according to the law and that the cuts wouldn’t cause irreparable harm, the legal bar required for an injunction before a case is fully litigated.

“Plaintiffs offer no concrete basis upon which to conclude that such dire consequences would obtain during the next couple of weeks,” the government said.

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» READ MORE: DOGE’s sweeping AmeriCorps cuts leave Philly volunteer programs unsure if they will get promised funding

AmeriCorps was created in 1993 during President Bill Clinton’s administration as a domestic version of the Peace Corps. It has since supported projects throughout the nation.

Penn Serve — Pennsylvania’s designated state service commission for AmeriCorps — received nearly $18 million in federal grants for the year starting July 2024 to administer 28 programs, the lawsuit said.

New Jersey had $6 million in federal AmeriCorps grants terminated during DOGE’s purge, according to the statement from the state’s office of the attorney general. These cuts have affected a food pantry and homeless shelter, as well as addiction recovery and disaster-preparedness programs.

Delaware received nearly $1.5 million in federal grants to support 1,322 AmeriCorps volunteers for the 2024 fiscal year, according to the complaint. It has since lost more than $1 million of that funding.

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Staff writer Beatrice Forman contributed to this article.



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Pennsylvania

House Republicans stall activity, Pennsylvania Rep. Meuser calls tactics ‘foolish’ | Fox Business Video

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House Republicans stall activity, Pennsylvania Rep. Meuser calls tactics ‘foolish’ | Fox Business Video


House Speaker Mike Johnson sent representatives home early as hardline Republicans stalled floor activities, demanding action on the SAVE America Act. President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social, urging House Republicans to unify and avoid giving power to Democrats. Rep. Dan Meuser (R-PA) labels the stalling tactics ‘foolish,’ emphasizing the need for legislative progress and appropriations.



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Measles detected in two more counties in Pennsylvania as health department recommends early vaccination

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Measles detected in two more counties in Pennsylvania as health department recommends early vaccination


Pennsylvania health officials have now detected measles cases in York and Northumberland Counties as cases in Lancaster County, the center of an ongoing outbreak, continued to rise.

And the state health department is now recommending early measles vaccinations for infants beginning at 6 months in affected areas in an effort to protect them against the spread of the highly contagious disease, which is particularly risky for young children. The same precautions should be taken by families with infants traveling to these areas.

Six Pennsylvania counties have now seen measles cases since an outbreak was first confirmed in Lebanon County in April. In all, the state has reported 81 measles cases across eight counties in 2026, more than five times the cases reported in 2025.

State health officials said it was too early to tell how the latest cases in York and Northumberland Counties are connected to others in the region, but that contact tracing investigations are continuing. All cases were among people who had not received at least two doses of the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) or whose vaccination status was unclear.

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As of Wednesday, six cases had been confirmed in Northumberland County, to the north of Dauphin County, and one case had been detected in York County, along Lancaster’s western border.

Lebanon County has reported 20 cases and Dauphin and Berks Counties have reported two cases each.

Lancaster County has seen 38 cases of measles since late April, with health officials confirming seven cases in the last two weeks. The area was at the center of a prior measles outbreak in January, when state health officials confirmed eight cases in Lancaster County and an additional four between Chester and Montgomery Counties.

Vaccination rates among kindergarteners have decreased across Pennsylvania in recent years, and some counties affected in the current outbreak have particularly low rates, including Lancaster, where about 88.5% of kindergarten students are vaccinated. Health experts say that 95% of a community must be vaccinated to prevent the spread of the disease.

Health officials have been conducting contact tracing to detect as many cases as possible. In the current outbreak, they have twice warned Lancaster residents that they could have been exposed to measles.

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Shoppers and employees at a local Kohl’s were potentially exposed to the virus over four days after a staffer tested positive in late May, LancasterOnline reported. And a person with measles visited the Lancaster County Courthouse on June 3.

But doctors in Lancaster County say they fear some measles cases are going unreported, either because patients don’t understand the importance of tracking measles cases or because they fear repercussions.

No cases have been confirmed in the Philadelphia region during this outbreak. But Delaware County health officials said last week that they had detected measles in two wastewater samples, indicating that someone with measles had used a bathroom connected to the county’s public water supply. It was unclear if that person lived in the county or was passing through.

Early vaccination recommended

On Wednesday, a statewide health alert urged physicians to accelerate vaccination schedules to protect children against measles. Officials had said they were considering the measure earlier this month as cases continued to rise.

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Measles can infect nine in 10 unvaccinated people who are exposed to it, and can linger in the air for up to two hours and incubate in patients for three weeks. The disease typically presents with a fever and a rash but can cause brain inflammation and pneumonia in serious cases.

Typically, children receive the first of two MMR vaccines at 1 year old, then a second between 4 and 6 years old.

But children as young as 6 months can receive an additional “dose zero” to protect them from the disease amid an outbreak. In its alert, the state health department said parents should vaccinate infants between 6 and 11 months with the “dose zero” if they live in affected areas or if they’re planning to travel there.

Those children should then receive additional MMR doses at 12 to 15 months and 4 to 6 years.

This “dose zero” is less effective than doses given at 1 year old, officials cautioned. But it’s 58% effective against measles when given at 6 to 8 months, and 83% effective when administered at 9 to 11 months.

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“Early MMR vaccination is safe and provides modest protection when measles is spreading,” officials wrote in the alert.

Children older than 12 months who haven’t been vaccinated should get an MMR dose immediately, and a second 28 days later, health officials said. Unvaccinated adults, or those without evidence of immunity, should also get two MMR doses.

And anyone who has received one dose of the MMR vaccine in the past should get a second at least 28 days after their first, officials said.

Usually, children who received a first dose at around 12 months wait to get their second dose until they’re 4 to 6 years old. But in an outbreak situation, those children should get their second doses early — at least 28 days after their first shot.

Adults born before 1957 are typically considered immune, but healthcare workers in that age group who don’t have lab evidence of immunity or prior infection should consider getting vaccinated, state officials said.

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Adults who received an inactivated measles vaccine between 1963 and 1967 are considered unvaccinated during an outbreak, and should also get two doses of the current MMR vaccine.

Pregnant people, people with severely weakened immune systems, and people who have a history of experiencing severe allergic reactions, like anaphylaxis, to a vaccine ingredient or to a previous dose of MMR cannot receive the vaccine.



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The Dish: Caesar salad with a twist from Rivertown Taps in Phoenixville, Pa.

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The Dish: Caesar salad with a twist from Rivertown Taps in Phoenixville, Pa.


PHOENIXVILLE, Pa. (WPVI) — We are heading to Rivertown Taps in historic Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, to make a classic fan favorite, Caesar salad.

And when they say “taps,” they mean it.

There are dozens of drinks, beer and beyond, on tap at Phoenixville’s first self-serve drink tap wall.

“Phoenixville has always been a very beer-centric town, and we’re beer-centric people, so we wanted to have a really curated selection,” says Chef Owner Lewis Leiterman. “We have 36 drinks on tap.”

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Just grab a charge card, choose your glassware and choose your own adventure.

“You pay for whatever you pour by the ounce,” says Leiterman. “You can pour as much or as little as you like.”

The building dates back to the 1800s, and Leiterman made sure to preserve pieces of that history, while bringing something super fresh to the strip.

“We make pastas from scratch,” he says. “We extrude all of our own pastas in house. We do all of our fresh-filled pastas all by hand. We make all our own breads. Everything that’s in here is from scratch.”

The mission includes a commitment to locally sourced food.

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Today, we’re making a house favorite: the Caesar salad – with a twist.

“I hate chasing croutons around a salad, like, the fork never kind of sticks into it,” says Leiterman. “We still wanted that crunch factor, like the classic crouton, but different. What we did was we took some of our old bread and we kind of toasted it up and made a coarse panko texture.”

It’s becomes a universal crouton that makes its way throughout the salad.

“We like to feature seasonal vegetables in our Caesar salad, just for a little bit more flavor and nutrition,” says Leiterman.

He grills up some nice asparagus, and then adds some protein.

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“I love a soft boiled egg on a salad to add more sustenance to a salad and a little bit of heartiness to it,” he says.

The build starts with a mix of greens, like red romaine and red watercress.

The dressing gets a gourmet kick.

“We do a black garlic and truffle Caesar,” he says. “We don’t like to overdress it. My pet peeve is those thick Caesar dressings.”

Add the asparagus to gently warm the salad, shave on some Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, add the soft boiled egg and finally, the breadcrumbs.

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