Pennsylvania

Workers prepare to replace older water pipes with a new copper one in Newark, New Jersey, Thursday, Oct. 21, 2021.

Scientists link childhood lead exposure to adult mental health problems

Lead contamination in drinking water can have serious impacts on growing brains, including cognitive issues in the short term and mental illnesses years after the exposure ends.

Scientists link childhood lead exposure to adult mental health problems
Red and white trucks flank a tall drilling well pictured against the sky

Trying to measure fracking's toll on human health

Trying to measure fracking's toll on human health
White-tailed buck

Lead in hunted meat poses health risk to families and food banks

Lead in hunted meat poses health risk to families and food banks
A woman is shown wearing a face mask and sitting at a desk with a box nearby designated for rejected ballots.

Biden ahead in Georgia, Pennsylvania; Trump attacks process

Biden ahead in Georgia, Pennsylvania; Trump attacks process
A woman sits on a bench in jail.

Mothers in prison aren't likely to see their families this Thanksgiving — or any other day

Mothers in prison aren't likely to see their families this Thanksgiving — or any other day
A woman stands in front of a banner reading "End Family Detention"

As Trump eyes more family detention, experts say it puts kids at risk

Doctors inspecting detention centers found problems with recruiting and retaining qualified pediatricians and mental health care providers, and a lack of access to emergency and specialty care, given the remote locations of most of the facilities.

As Trump eyes more family detention, experts say it puts kids at risk
Ugandan rapper Tshila

This Ugandan rapper was ‘miseducated,’ Lauryn Hill-style

The 1998 album "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill" helped change Sarah Tshila's direction in life. This Ugandan-born college graduate with a degree in computer science decided to become a musician.

This Ugandan rapper was ‘miseducated,’ Lauryn Hill-style
Monessen, Pennsylvania, was once a prosperous steel town. The small city, 27 miles south of Pittsburgh, has fallen on hard times since its steel mills shut down in the 1970’s and ‘80’s.

Forgotten and crumbling, a PA steel town turned to Trump. Two years later, it's a mixed bag.

When presidential candidate Trump visited Rust Belt cities like Monessen, Pennsylvania, he made some bold promises to bring back jobs from overseas. Many voters, including lifelong Democrats, loved his message. How are they feeling now?

Forgotten and crumbling, a PA steel town turned to Trump. Two years later, it's a mixed bag.
A person holds tear gas canisters and shot guns shells all tied on to a string

The global tear gas business is booming. It's complicated.

Use of tear gas has steadily risen around the world. But odds are, a lot of those silver canisters come from a factory in Jamestown, Pennsylvania, home to just over 600 people, and the uptick in sales has helped the community.

The global tear gas business is booming. It's complicated.
A sunset with the silhouette of a mosque and man approaching

How 16 Americans found family, faith and their immigrant roots — generations after their parents left their homelands

Through war and Islamophobia, a generation thought they might have lost their histories and faith in Eastern Europe. But, unexpectedly, they found it again.

How 16 Americans found family, faith and their immigrant roots — generations after their parents left their homelands
Hadi Jasim was an Iraqi translator for the US military. Now he's a "global guide" at the Penn Museum in Philadelphia.

This Philadelphia museum hired Iraqi and Syrian refugees as tour guides for its Middle East gallery

Refugees from Syria and Iraq help visitors at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology make connections between history and the present day.

This Philadelphia museum hired Iraqi and Syrian refugees as tour guides for its Middle East gallery
a view of pope France from the left side

Former top Vatican official calls for resignation of pope over abuse crisis

In a detailed 11-page bombshell statement given to conservative Roman Catholic media outlets during the Pope's visit to Ireland, Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano accused a long list of current and past Vatican and US Church officials of covering up the case of Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, who resigned last month in disgrace.

Former top Vatican official calls for resignation of pope over abuse crisis
Saint Patrick Catholic Church is seen in York, Pennsylvania, Aug. 18, 2018

A new chapter, with the same old words, in the Catholic child abuse scandal

To people who have spent their lives studying and combating the Catholic child abuse scandal, the revelations from last week’s grand jury report on six dioceses in Pennsylvania are numbingly familiar.

A new chapter, with the same old words, in the Catholic child abuse scandal
Shale gas pipes

Fracking is on the rise in Pennsylvania. So are radon levels. Are the two connected?

Pennsylvania homes have high levels of radon, a substantial risk factor for lung cancer. Is the fracking boom makings matters worse? Scientists aren't quite sure.

Fracking is on the rise in Pennsylvania. So are radon levels. Are the two connected?
Kenton Ganster, left, stands with his mother, Kathleen, with a drilling rig used for fracking visible in the background off of the Rachel Carson Trail north of Pittsburgh.

Drilling rigs used in fracking found along nature trail irk some hikers

She stood for environmentalism. Now a drilling rig stands along the trail in her name.

Drilling rigs used in fracking found along nature trail irk some hikers