Congress

On Black Friday 2023, Silvano Rivera’s ex-wife left him in the United States and flew back to their native Dominican Republic with their two daughters.

Heartbroken, Rivera, a fashion designer who emigrated to the United States decades ago as a teenager, was determined to regain custody of the daughters.

Rivera, a Scranton resident, told the story of how he succeeded Wednesday during a news conference meant to highlight constituent service, the under-the-radar work that the staff of members of Congress do to help people.

Sgt. Joseph J. Drake, a local centenarian and one of only five surviving World War II Army Rangers, recently received the Congressional Gold Medal during a ceremony in Washington, D.C. He was honored for his service by state, county and local dignitaries on July 21 at the Wayne County Courthouse.

As an Army Ranger during World War II, Sgt. Joseph Drake helped liberate Buchenwald, one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps in Germany.

During the Battle of the Bulge, the lifelong Wayne County resident was part of a six-man mission to capture a Nazi soldier for interrogation.

Almost 80 years after the end of World War II, Drake received the Congressional Gold Medal on June 26. It’s the highest honor given by Congress.

While the future of many government programs have been put into question in Washington, federal funds are still coming to the Head Start programs of Northeastern Pennsylvania.

U.S. Rep. Rob Bresnahan announced last month that Head Start programs in Lackawanna and Luzerne counties had received more than $11 million in federal grants. The new funding will support Head Start functions in early-childhood education programs, health and nutrition programs, and family social services.