Pittsburgh

A Pittsburgh police officer stands in a downtown Pittsburgh intersection Sunday, May 31, 2020.

If not police, what? Part II

This week in Critical State, a foreign policy newsletter by Inkstick Media, Sam Ratner takes a deep dive into the history of Freedom House, a Pittsburgh-based Black-led nonprofit hired in 1968 to offer ambulance services in some of the predominantly Black neighborhoods around the city.

If not police, what? Part II
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
Police officers stand guard near the site of a shooting

Racially and ethnically motivated terrorism rose alarmingly in 2018: US State Department

Racially and ethnically motivated terrorism rose alarmingly in 2018: US State Department
Faces of holocaust survivors

This Boston Holocaust survivor offers a warning: It starts slowly

This Boston Holocaust survivor offers a warning: It starts slowly
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

Drilling rigs used in fracking found along nature trail irk some hikers
The percentage of parents who refuse to give any vaccines to their children remain at one to two percent of the general public. There is a much larger group of people who have doubts and concerns over certain vaccinations, experts say.

Despite dozens of recent flu deaths among US children, vaccination skeptics remain — and their numbers have grown

Vaccinations have been around for more than a century. So why is the vaccination rate so low in the United States?

Despite dozens of recent flu deaths among US children, vaccination skeptics remain — and their numbers have grown
A woman sits on sofa across from man and woman, who each hold infants in their arms. Papers on the table.

Residents fled gun violence at a Pittsburgh public housing project. But refugees are still moving in.

Former residents of Northview Heights in Pittsburgh remember marching bands and days at the recreation center. But that was before shootings and drugs became commonplace for some 1,600 residents of the public housing project.

Residents fled gun violence at a Pittsburgh public housing project. But refugees are still moving in.
Clairton Coke Work

Residents sue US Steel over air pollution in Western Pennsylvania

Tiny particles and acid-forming chemicals from industry can affect the air of an entire town or region and the health of its residents. So some people who live in or near Clairton, PA, about 15 miles south of Pittsburgh, are suing US Steel to force them into compliance with clean air standards.

Residents sue US Steel over air pollution in Western Pennsylvania
Pollution from US Steel's Edgar Thomson steel mill

Air pollution is as unhealthy as secondhand smoke, a new study says

Children living near sources of pollution have virtually the same risk of developing asthma as those exposed to secondhand tobacco smoke, according to early results of a study in western Pennsylvania.

Air pollution is as unhealthy as secondhand smoke, a new study says
Pittsburgh Pirates’ Gift Ngoepe became the first African-born player in MLB history.

Gift Ngoepe is the first African-born player to join baseball's major league

South African-born Gift Ngoepe debuts at second base for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Gift Ngoepe is the first African-born player to join baseball's major league
Das

Some persecuted writers get a new life in the US. But exile isn't easy.

For a writer from Bangladesh, life in Pittsburgh is safer. But he feels that “I am in exile not just physically, my mind is also in exile.”

Some persecuted writers get a new life in the US. But exile isn't easy.
Ethane cracker Singapore

Making the plastics found everywhere in modern life comes with a cost: more pollution

Ethane is one of the most useful gases to the petrochemicals industry. But it needs some extra processing before it can become polyethylene, the chemical used in plastics manufacturing — and that processing can cause harmful pollution.

Making the plastics found everywhere in modern life comes with a cost: more pollution
Conflict

This Pittsburgh restaurant offers takeout and a side of politics

Craving some Koobideh from Iran? Arepas from Venezuela? Head to Pittsburgh’s Conflict Kitchen, where a rotating menu features food from countries in conflict with the United States.

This Pittsburgh restaurant offers takeout and a side of politics
Heidy and Gregoria prepare dinner, rice and eggs

As Cuban migration surges, a woman in Pittsburgh offers shelter to her compatriots

When we think of Cuban exiles we think of Miami, but new Cuban migrants are looking elsewhere for work and housing. In Pittsburgh, one Cuban woman opened her house to more recent arrivals to help them get settled.

As Cuban migration surges, a woman in Pittsburgh offers shelter to her compatriots
Pittsburgh Penguins player Sidney Crosby has been diagnosed with the mumps.

A mumps outbreak benches some of the NHL's top players

Sidney Crosby is one of the NHL's top goal scorers, but he's also one of more than a dozen players currently sidelined with the mumps. The outbreak has led the league to give players and coaches booster shots in an effort to contain the spread of the disease.

A mumps outbreak benches some of the NHL's top players