HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The federal government’s pandemic-era prohibition against kicking people off Medicaid is ending, meaning that hundreds of thousands of people in Pennsylvania face losing the free health insurance in the coming year.

Many people who stand to lose Medicaid coverage don’t know the changes are coming, say officials at advocacy organizations who do outreach to the poor. That could mean people — parents of school-age children, for instance — find out they have no coverage when they go to fill a prescription or see a doctor for a sick child.

Enforcing the eligibility rules will be a massive task that will test the new administration of Gov. Josh Shapiro, and advocates predict that caseworkers will be flooded by questions from confused enrollees who appeal or reapply when they are denied benefits. They are worried.

“Very very worried,” said Allister Chang, co-founder of Fabric Health, which sets up in laundromats in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh to engage people about public benefits. “Not a single person we’ve talked to so far ... knows that this is coming, including the people who will be affected by this.”

All told, state caseworkers must resume enforcing eligibility rules for more than 3.6 million who are on Medicaid, the federal-state partnership that covers medical care, including primary care and surgeries.

ARMIE HAMMER HAS broken his silence for the first time since alleged cannibalistic fantasies and sexual assault claims halted the actor’s career two years ago. Speaking to digital newsletter Air Mail, Hammer said, “I’m here to own my mistakes, take accountability for the fact that I was an asshole, that I was selfish, that I used people to make me feel better, and when I was done, moved on. I’m now a healthier, happier, more balanced person.”

In the interview, Hammer reveals for the first time that he was molested at the age of 13 by a youth pastor at his church, a revelation that was corroborated by two people including his godmother.

“It introduced sexuality into my life in a way that it was completely out of my control,” Hammer said. “I was powerless in the situation. I had no agency in the situation. Sexuality was introduced to me in a scary way where I had no control. My interests then went to: I want to have control in the situation, sexually. … because being out of control was very dangerous for me and very uncomfortable.”

Hammer also addressed the accusations of sexual abuse and rape against him, specifically those levied by “Effie,” who accused the actor of “violently” raping and assaulting her during an April 2017 encounter; the Los Angeles Police Department opened a sexual assault investigation in Feb. 2021 following the accusations “Effie” made public on Instagram.

According to Hammer, the alleged incident was a well-planned “consensual non-consent scene” where “every single thing was discussed beforehand” between him and “Effie” in a since-deleted Facebook Messenger conversation.

What’s new: About 2,300 state government employees, many of whom had been working a hybrid schedule allowing them to work remotely, will now be reporting to the office at least three days a week under a new Shapiro Administration policy to take effect on March 6.

Who it affects: The policy applies to all senior managers who work under the governor’s jurisdiction, the Governor’s Office staff and Cabinet members, none of whom are union-represented.

Why the change: “We are eager to set the tone at the top in supporting practices that support workers and the communities in which they live and work,” said Shapiro’s Secretary of Administration Neil Weaver.

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Office of Administration spokesman Dan Egan added that it also will increase mentoring, leadership development, and upskilling opportunities and better serve Pennsylvanians while continuing to offer flexibility for employees who have been permitted to telework.
Currently, about a quarter of the 72,000 salaried employees, or 18,000, telework either part-time or full-time while the remainder report to their work location on all work days.

Reaction to the decision: Harrisburg Mayor Wanda Williams is a fan of the administration’s return-to-the-office decision.

OSLO, Feb 1 (Reuters) - A former commander of Russia's Wagner mercenary group who fled to Norway told Reuters he wanted to apologise for fighting in Ukraine and was speaking out to bring the perpetrators of crimes to justice.

Andrei Medvedev, who crossed the Russian-Norwegian border on Jan. 13, said he witnessed the killing and mistreatment by Wagner of Russian convicts taken to Ukraine to fight for the group.

"Many consider me to be a scoundrel, a criminal, a murderer," Medvedev, 26, said in an interview. "First of all, repeatedly, and again, I would like to apologise, and although I don't know how it would be received, I want to say I'm sorry.

"Yes, I served in Wagner. There are some moments (in my story) that people don't like, that I joined them at all, but nobody is born smart."

Medvedev added he had decided to speak out "to help to ensure that perpetrators are punished in certain cases, and I will try to make my contribution, at least a small bit".

He cited one incident in which he said he witnessed two people who did not want to fight being shot dead in front of newly released convicts who had been enrolled in Wagner.

HARRISBURG — In an abrupt change, Pennsylvania’s struggling mortgage relief program will no longer work with the private company originally hired to run it, and will temporarily stop accepting new applications starting Feb. 1 while it makes the transition.

The move comes less than a week after a Spotlight PA investigation found that the program has been struggling to get the information it needs from mortgage companies, leaving homeowners grasping for answers and waiting months to get help. As a result, some applicants had their utilities shut off and saw their credit scores plummet.

The application pause — announced with only a few days’ notice — will give the program time to address a backlog of pending applications and handle the transition from the contractor’s software systems, according to the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency.

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As of Jan. 30, the program had paid out roughly $94 million, about a quarter of the money available. In its first six months, Pennsylvania’s spending rate was similar to those of other states, many of which have faced similar difficulties. After Pennsylvania lawmakers decided the housing agency would oversee the program, officials there outsourced the day-to-day administration because of the “massive effort” involved in quickly ramping up a new and complex program, according to an agency newsletter.

HARRISBURG — The rank-and-file Democrat who was unexpectedly elected speaker of the Pennsylvania House as a compromise candidate earlier this month is saying he hopes to keep the job even after three vacant Democratic-leaning seats are filled in special elections next week.

In a lengthy interview late Monday in his state Capitol suite, Speaker Mark Rozzi said he won't necessarily step aside and support the Democratic floor leader, Rep. Joanna McClinton of Philadelphia, as speaker.

“I know how to count votes, first of all,” said Mr. Rozzi, who represents a mostly suburban area around Reading. “So, you know, at the end of the day she still has to get the votes to become speaker of the House.”

Democrats won 102 seats in November to Republicans' 101, which was enough for a bare Democratic majority after 12 years under Republican control, but one reelected Democrat died in October and two others resigned in December because they also won higher offices. Elections are next Tuesday to fill those three vacancies, all in the Pittsburgh area.

Republicans were not able to muster enough votes to elect their own speaker when the new session began Jan. 3, leading to Mr. Rozzi's emergence as an alternative. Ms. McClinton and all Democrats voted for him, along with all seven members of House GOP leadership and nine other Republicans.

The Pittsburgh Foundation, one of the largest charitable organizations in the region and one that reports assets of more than $1 billion, laid out a new strategic plan Tuesday that places racial justice and reducing social inequality at the forefront of its philanthropic commitments.

One of the most immediate measures is a planned $50 million investment over the next five years toward racial equity and justice-related causes, according to foundation leadership, noting that the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated disparities affecting key communities.

In addition, the foundation is setting a goal to ensure at least half of grants from its unrestricted grant-making pool of funds go to organizations led by and serving members of Pittsburgh’s Black, Indigenous and People of Color communities by 2027.

“We'll be prioritizing racial and economic justice based on what data has told us about who has been left out — particularly based on what has been learned during COVID-19, during a time of racial reckoning, in which it's become very clear that we haven't made the progress that we need to make,” said Lisa Schroeder, president and CEO of the Pittsburgh Foundation.