PENNSYLVANIA

Pittsburgh: PPG wrapped up a $3.8 million expansion

PPG Industries completed an expansion in Spain, providing them with new mixing and blending equipment. This development will back an 80 percent increase in annual production for automotive parts and industrial applications.

Pittsburgh: Plum teacher arrested for sexual relationship with student

A third Plum teacher was arrested for allegedly having sex with a 15-year-old female student. Michael Cinefra, a substitute teacher for the district, faces nine charges including involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and supplying alcohol to minors. Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala Jr. said the case is unrelated to the first two.

Philadelphia: Teen allegedly planned an ISIS inspired attack on Pope

The FBI arrested a 15-year-old boy outside of Philadelphia last month after he allegedly threatened an ISIS-inspired attack on Pope Francis during his visit to the U.S. The teen, charged with attempt to provide material support to a terrorist organization, obtained explosives instructions and proceeded to spread that information through social media.

Harrisburg: Ex-mayor Reed’s corruption case will go to court

A judge ruled that former Harrisburg Mayor Stephen Reed will go to trial and face 485 counts of bribery, corruption, theft and other charges. Reed allegedly hoarded state artifacts and convinced people to approve public borrowings. Reed’s lawyer Henry Hockeimer states that more than 300 charges exceed the statute of limitation.

Statewide: More Pennsylvania students considered homeless

The number of homeless students attending public schools in the state increased by 18 percent, more than doubling the national average increase between the 2012-13 and 2013-14 school year, according to the U.S. Department of Education. Local experts said that the inability to conquer homelessness after the 2008 recession is just one factor that contributed to this increase.

NATIONAL

Houston school bus crash kills two students

Two students are dead and two other students and a bus driver are seriously injured after a Houston Independent School District bus fell off an overpass. Witnesses said the bus nose-dived and landed on its side on the access road below after swerving to avoid another car.

Five fraternity members face third-degree murder charges

After the death of 19-year-old Michael Deng in December 2013, five members of the Pi Delta Psi fraternity at Baruch College in New York face third-degree murder charges, and a grand jury recommended charges against 37 other members.  Deng blacked out from a head injury when he and other pledges were blindfolded in a hazing ritual where they were forced to carry backpacks full of sand while fraternity brothers tackled them.

Ben Carson catches up to Trump in the polls

Republican voters continue to back Donald Trump in the polls with 27 percent support, but Ben Carson, retired neurosurgeon, is now sitting comfortably beside him with 23 percent support according to the CBS News/New York Times poll.

Deadly flash floods in Utah

As of Tuesday afternoon, at least nine people are dead and four are missing after flash flooding engulfed cars along the Utah-Arizona border. Two vehicles, packed with 13 children and three women, had gone to watch the torrential flooding and ran into the debris-filled waters.

WORLD

Hungary shuts key route and detains refugees

Hungarian authorities declared a state of emergency, sealed the southern Serbian border and detained 60 refugees Tuesday after they illegally attempted to enter the country. Tens of thousands of refugees have used this route to escape terrorism and reach the European Union.

IN OTHER NEWS

Facebook working on long-awaited ‘dislike’ button

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Tuesday that the company is working on an idea for a dislike button that should be ready to test soon. This surprisingly complicated task has been demanded for years by site users.

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.

GIVE NOW