Local: Bakeries make fasnacht pastries for Fat Tuesday
Carlisle — Shrove Tuesday, Fat Tuesday, Mardi Gras, whatever you call it, today is a day for sugary pastries.
Fasnachts, fried doughnuts served the day before Ash Wednesday, are filling local bakeries this week.
Beeman’s Baked Goods in Carlisle and Saylor’s Market in Newville are two of the local bakeries producing fasnachts this time of year, The Sentinel reported.
In addition to the traditional fasnachts, some bakeries create a variety of flavors for customers.
In Pennsylvania Dutch tradition, fasnachts were made to use up all the fat in the house before Lent.
Giant Food Stores, Karns, Wegmans and Weis Markets will also be selling fasnachts, according to The Sentinel.
This year’s Fat Tuesday falls after Valentine’s Day and President’s Day, making it a busy week for pastry shops.
Source: The Sentinel
State: Head of Pa. state police receives criticism
Harrisburg — Gov. Tom Wolf’s pick for the head of the Pennsylvania State Police, Commissioner Marcus Brown, is facing some criticism from the public for wearing his uniform.
Brown did not attend the State Police Academy, but he wears the gray uniform of the men and women he oversees in the state police, The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
One of the reasons Wolf chose Brown for the position was because of his commitment to recruiting minorities to the state police in Maryland, where he was formerly the commissioner, according to The Inquirer.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that Brown worked for 25 years in law enforcement — 15 of which were spent serving the city of Baltimore, according to The Inquirer.
Brown says that he wears the state trooper uniform to represent the agency he governs, while others disagree.
Retired troopers and others have criticized Brown’s decision to wear the uniform, according to The Inquirer.
Sources: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, The Philadelphia Inquirer
National: Website glitch prevents health care sign-ups
Washington, D.C. — Americans seeking to sign up for health care before the Feb. 15 deadline faced some challenges this weekend with the HealthCare.gov website.
A glitch online kept people from verifying their income on Saturday, Feb. 14, USA Today reported.
This led to thousands of calls to the federal call center. On Sunday, more than 250,000 calls were documented, according to USA Today.
Due to the technical issues surrounding the sign-up process, many states extended their health care deadline.
USA Today reported that Hawaii, Idaho, Kentucky, Minnesota and Vermont were the only states to not announce a deadline extension as of Sunday evening.
Those who miss the new deadlines could face a monetary penalty from the Internal Revenue Service.
Most of the 500,000 people who missed the original Feb. 15 deadline should be able to sign up now that the glitch is fixed.
This year, approximately 10 million people signed up for health care through the Affordable Care Act, according to USA Today.
Source: USA Today
World: Egypt sends air strikes against Islamic State
Cairo — The Islamic State (IS) beheaded 21 Egyptians and released a video on Sunday, Feb. 15 of the murders. Monday, Egypt decided to strike back.
According to the BBC and Reuters, bombs landed in Derna, Libya, yesterday morning, specifically targeting IS camps, training sites and weapons.
It is believed that the airstrike killed 40 to 50 IS militants, Reuters reported, but there is no confirmation yet.
The 21 dead Egyptians were Christians kidnapped on separate occasions, according to the BBC. Seven days of national mourning follow the release of Sunday’s video.
On television, Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi denounced the actions of IS.
More air strikes will be sent today, Libyan air force commander Saqer al-Joroushi said, according to Reuters.
The Libyan air force is assisting Egypt in its attacks against IS.
The 21 captured Egyptians were originally taken from December to January in eastern Libya, according to the BBC.
Sources: BBC, Reuters
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