Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

13 hours ago | post-gazette.com | Ben Finley |Abbie VanSickle |Adam Liptak |Michael Kunzelman

WASHINGTON — Kilmar Abrego Garcia, whose mistaken deportation to El Salvador became a political flashpoint in the Trump administration's stepped-up immigration enforcement, was being returned to the United States to face criminal charges related to what the Trump administration said was a massive human smuggling operation that brought immigrants into the country illegally.

20 hours ago | post-gazette.com | Megan Tomasic

Several school board officials across the region are weighing options such as tax hikes or pulling from fund balances as they face budgetary deficits in their 2025-26 financial plans. Preliminary budgets being passed by school directors show high charter school tuition rates — districts are required to pay student tuition and provide transportation, by state law — and increasing salary and benefit costs.

1 day ago | post-gazette.com | Colin Beazley

After a 3-hour, 20-minute rain delay, the Astros beat the Pirates 8-2 at PNC Park to take two games of a three-game series. The Astros took the lead with a four-run fourth, then sealed it with two more in the seventh and a two-run homer in the ninth. The game began Thursday night, reaching its conclusion early Friday morning. Astros lefty Framber Valdez pitched seven innings, allowing two runs on four hits, to earn the win and improve to 6-4. He struck out 11 Pirates.

1 day ago | post-gazette.com | Colin Beazley

There wasn’t much emotion from Framber Valdez as he left the mound — it was a little too late in the night for that. But at 11:55 p.m., when the Astros lefty entered his dugout, a few fist bumps and high-fives from teammates were enough for a job well done. Seven innings from Valdez and two homers from third baseman Isaac Paredes led the Astros to a 8-2 victory against the Pirates at PNC Park, earning a series victory.

1 day ago | post-gazette.com | Mary Clare Jalonick

WASHINGTON — Only six months into the job, Senate Majority Leader John Thune faces a massive challenge as he tries to quickly push President Donald Trump’s sprawling tax and spending cuts package to passage with the support of a divided GOP conference. While most Republican senators are inclined to vote for the bill, Mr. Thune can stand to lose only four votes in the face of united Democratic opposition — and many more Republicans than that are critical of the version sent over by the House.