Identity & Justice

People urging Gov. Tom Wolf's administration not to close Retreat State Prison will get a second chance to be heard after a microphone picked up Corrections Secretary John Wetzel during a public hearing whispering to a deputy that he was only pretending to pay attention.

A man who opened fire on police officers in Pittsburgh is in critical condition after an officer returned fire.

Officers had responded to a report of a domestic disturbance just before 11 p.m. Wednesday in the city's Crafton Heights section.

Police say officers heard gunshots coming from inside the home. They say 31-year-old Issa Abdus-Salaam appeared at the front door and started shooting. An officer shot him at least once.

A woman and two children who were in the home were not injured.

Penn State is investigating a new allegation of sexual abuse by Jerry Sandusky.

The alleged sexual assault took place in the Lasch Football Building on the University Park campus between June 1, 2000, and Sept. 30, 2010.

According to a Tuesday police report, the alleged victim was a visitor who knew the person they say sexually assaulted them.

The offenses are listed as rape or attempted rape and sex offenses 36B. That’s non-forcible statutory rape.

The accused Tree of Life synagogue shooter will not go on trial before October 2020. U.S. District Judge Donnetta Ambrose said Thursday that proceedings will start sometime after the Jewish high holidays next fall.

Pittsburgh City Council gave preliminary approval on Wednesday to spending more than $10 million on upgraded body cameras and stun guns for city police. 

A federal civil rights lawsuit brought by the family of a black teenager killed by a white Pennsylvania police officer has been settled for $2 million, a newspaper reported.

A woman accused of having kidnapped a toddler near Pittsburgh has now been charged with criminal homicide in the child's death last month.

Allegheny County police say 25-year-old Sharena Islam Nancy was charged with criminal homicide and abuse of a corpse in the death of Nalani Johnson, who was about to have her second birthday.

Nancy, who authorities say had been romantically involved with the child's father, was earlier charged with kidnapping of a minor, concealing the whereabouts of a child, and custodial interference.

Eleven candles were lit at a vigil in Pittsburgh Sunday evening to remember the 11 Jewish worshipers who were killed a year ago at the Tree of Life synagogue. The shooting was the worst anti-Semitic attack on American soil in U.S. history.

Often, women’s public bathrooms don’t provide menstrual products—and if they do, they usually cost money.

People with criminal histories can explore options for erasing their records at a clinic in Homewood Saturday. The Allegheny County Public Defender’s Office will host the event, at the Carnegie Library of Homewood from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

A new study from the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania finds that the use of cash bail in Allegheny County dropped by about 9 percent between early 2018 and early 2019. But the civil liberties group says too many people await trial behind bars simply because they can't afford to post bond.

Sunday marks one year since the Tree of Life synagogue shooting, and several events have been scheduled in an effort to help people grieve and heal. 

A new documentary about a local transgender musician’s reproductive health will be shown Thursday night at the Frick Fine Arts building. The screening is an example of a new way to think about public health research: through the visual medium of film.

The University of Pittsburgh has pulled experimental food delivery robots off its campus after just a few weeks of use on Oakland’s streets.

Advocates are trying to bring greater attention to domestic violence  — and ways to prevent it. 

At least 12 white supremacists have been arrested on allegations of plotting, threatening or carrying out anti-Semitic attacks in the U.S. since the massacre at a Pittsburgh synagogue nearly one year ago, a Jewish civil rights group reported Sunday.

More than 4,100 children in Allegheny County were homeless in 2018. Students, youth advocates and city officials gathered in Market Square on Friday afternoon to raise awareness of this population at the Standup For Homeless Children demonstration. 

Leaders of the Pittsburgh synagogue where worshipers were fatally shot last year want to rebuild and renovate the building, turning it into what they hope will be a "center for Jewish life in the United States" and a symbol against hatred.

A Pennsylvania diocese has announced a nearly $4.4 million payout to 57 victims of sexual abuse by its clergy and seminarians.