Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh: 30 prisoners make list for early release

Of the 6,000 federal prisoners that are set to be released at the end of the month, 30 of them will come from the Western District of Pennsylvania. Of the 30 prisoners, 27 are from the Pittsburgh area. The early releases stem from a change in sentencing guidelines.

Pittsburgh: Redevelopment in Hazelwood helped by state loan

The Regional Industrial Development Corp. of Southwestern Pennsylvania received a $5 million, 15-year loan by the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development. Funds will contribute to renovations of the former LTV Coke and Eliza Works Coke Plant in the Hazelwood neighborhood.

Butler County: State will close residential treatment facility

The State Department of Human Services is revoking the license of Glade Run Lutheran Services in Zelienople due to allegations of sexual abuse. An investigation found that the facility, which provides treatment for children with mental health conditions, also found inadequate supervision of the children, failure to report missing children and staff members sleeping during shifts.

Armstrong County: Warden resigns

Armstrong County Jail warden Dave Hogue officially resigned Thursday in response to the July escape of an inmate who allegedly killed a woman while at large. The county prison board said they did not force Hogue to make this decision nor did they intend to fire him.

Philadelphia: Gender-neutral bathrooms

City Council unanimously approved the bill Thursday requesting that all single-occupancy bathrooms be labeled as gender-neutral.

National

McCarthy drops out

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy dropped out of the race for House Speaker Thursday and announced his decision in a meeting where House Republicans were set to select their candidate. Current Speaker John Boehner accordingly postponed the vote.

States struggle to obtain drugs for executions

Death-penalty states are having difficulties locating the proper drugs to be used in cases of lethal injections, causing some executions to be postponed. In January, correction officers in Oklahoma used the wrong drug in the execution of Charles Warner.

Clean water fight in Michigan

Residents of Flint, Michigan, continue to fight for clean water after a public health emergency was declared last month, advising them not to use the city’s tap water due to elevated levels of lead. Governor Rick Snyder announced Thursday he was in support of a $12 million change that would return Flint to the Great Lakes Water Authority, the city’s previous water supplier.

Hero in French train attack stabbed

Spencer Stone, one of the Americans who helped stop a terrorist attack on a French train, was stabbed in Sacramento Wednesday night after an altercation downtown. The incident was unrelated to what happened in France.

In Other News

Facebook’s trending older

Retirement-age Americans are rapidly adapting and embracing Facebook, according to a report released Thursday by the Pew Research Center.

The daily report was compiled by Christine Manganas, a PublicSource intern. You can reach her with questions or suggestions at cmanganas@publicsource.org

Know more than you did before? Support this work with a MATCHED gift!

Through Dec. 31, the Wyncote Foundation, Loud Hound Foundation and our generous local match pool supporters will match your new monthly donation 12 times or double your one-time gift, all up to $1,000. Now that's good news!

Readers tell us they can't find the information they get from our reporting anywhere else, and we're proud to provide this important service for our community. We work hard to produce accurate, timely, impactful journalism without paywalls that keeps our region informed and moving forward.

However, only about .1% of the people who read our stories contribute to our work financially. Our newsroom depends on the generosity of readers like yourself to make our high-quality local journalism possible, and the costs of the resources it takes to produce it have been rising, so each member means a lot to us.

Your MATCHED donation to our nonprofit newsroom helps ensure everyone in Allegheny County can stay up-to-date about decisions and events that affect them. Please make your gift of support now.