The Pennsylvania Health Department last week abruptly canceled a session to train volunteers to trace the contacts of people infected with the coronavirus, a critical practice in slowing the spread of COVID-19.

The Pennsylvania Department of State on Saturday released a report on the June 2 presidential primary that includes recommendations for revamping the state’s election code ahead of the November general election.

Pennsylvania will foot the cost of postage for voters to mail in ballots in November's general election, officials said Friday, a move that Gov. Tom Wolf has made a priority as the coronavirus pandemic unexpectedly fueled high interest in voting by mail under a new state law.

The University of Pittsburgh will lead a consortium of institutions to study how autonomous vehicles can be made accessible to those with physical disabilities. The U.S. Department of Transportation awarded the school a $1 million grant last week. The department awarded grants to four new University Transportation Centers to advance research and education programs that address transportation challenges. 

Pennsylvania health officials on Monday reported no new deaths attributed to COVID-19 for the first time in more than four months.

“A matter of life and death.” That was the message demonstrators conveyed Friday afternoon during a march and rally through downtown for non-discrimination protections of LGBTQ people.

Pennsylvania is one of three states featured in a new report that details how probation and parole have swelled U.S. prison populations by “often [setting] people up to fail.” 

In the last week, Pittsburgh police have charged several leaders of local ‘Black Lives Matter’ protests. Those charged include Christian Carter, Nique Craft and Dena Stanley.

Pennsylvania's education secretary announced Tuesday he will be leaving the job to take another position, as schools throughout the state are scrambling to develop and implement pandemic reopening plans.

Pittsburgh Public Schools' nearly 23,000 students will not return to classrooms for the first nine weeks of the year.

In a virtual hearing Wednesday evening, Pittsburgh Public Schools administrators heard public comment about a proposal to start the school year exclusively online instead of a hybrid model that would include some in-person instruction. The majority of statements were in favor of the remote-only model.

The coronavirus pandemic upended commuting patterns in the Pittsburgh region. In the early months of Pennsylvania’s shutdown, traffic dropped by as much as 50 percent in Allegheny County, according to Streetlight Data. On average, PennDOT officials say vehicular traffic remains about 20 percent lower than normal.

For nearly five months, the coronavirus pandemic has confined Pittsburgh’s performing-arts groups almost exclusively to online programming. Even after state rules loosened to allow performance halls to operate at reduced capacity, most decided it was unsafe or simply impractical to do so.

On Wednesday, union members at the Pittsburgh Post Gazette said they would decide whether to approve a strike. More than 120 members of the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh will cast secret ballots by mail in the coming days to decide whether the newsroom employees should strike.

More than 200 current and potential Superfund sites in Pennsylvania and New Jersey are at risk of flooding in the next 20 years due to sea level rise, according to a new report from the Union of Concerned Scientists.

As lawmakers debate how to help Pennsylvania’s economy recover from the coronavirus shutdown, environmental groups see an opening for a cleaner future.

News on the coronavirus pandemic, protests, 2020 election and more from around Pittsburgh, Allegheny County and southwestern Pennsylvania. 

Find all of the WESA Daily Briefing posts here. 

Editor's note: This post will be frequently updated with the latest news.

4:21 p.m. - Sen. Casey and Gov. Wolf want to continue unemployment benefits amid pandemic

News on the coronavirus pandemic, protests, 2020 election and more from around Pittsburgh, Allegheny County and southwestern Pennsylvania. 

Find all of the WESA Daily Briefing posts here. 

Editor's note: This post will be frequently updated with the latest news.

4:55 p.m. - Walmart to provide drive-thru COVID-19 testing throughout the state 

“Panic mode.” “Evolve to survive.” “Downsize.” 

That's how owners and workers at local bars and restaurants have described the last few months, as they struggled to keep their businesses afloat amid the coronavirus pandemic. They say that recent changes to customer capacity and other safety protocols have made this time even more difficult to navigate.