WESA-FM (Pittsburgh, PA)

1 day ago | wesa.fm | Tom Riese

State lawmakers in Harrisburg rebuked U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Wednesday, denouncing disparaging comments he made recently about autism. At a press conference last week Kennedy said the condition “destroys families,” and children diagnosed with it “will never pay taxes. They'll never hold a job. They'll never play baseball. They'll never write a poem.

1 day ago | wesa.fm | Tom Riese

An Allegheny County state House member has assembled a bipartisan coalition around food health, one that focuses on concerns about highly-processed foods and the dangers of pesticides. And while Natalie Mihalek has proposed some of those ideas in the past, she says the “Make America Healthy Again” movement has put them in the spotlight.

2 days ago | wesa.fm | Tom Riese

Public transit advocates last month warned that proposed cuts to Pittsburgh Regional Transit routes would create “an absolute crisis.” But a Pittsburgh state senator says there’s opportunity for southwestern Pennsylvania counties to address transit needs by thinking bigger. Democratic Senate leader Jay Costa says what has worked in the Philadelphia area could benefit the public transportation users and economies in and around Pittsburgh.

2 days ago | wesa.fm | Carrie Kahn |Kate Bartlett |Jane Arraf

Francis was revered by millions of Catholics worldwide, but his appeal was felt far beyond the church. To hear more we've turned to our correspondents in the Middle East, Africa and South America.

3 days ago | wesa.fm | Julia Maruca |Chris Potter |Tom Riese |Julia Zenkevich

Judicial races don't generate much buzz, but this year what they lack in intensity they make up for in volume. A total of eight seats on the Allegheny County's Common Pleas are up for grabs, thanks to a slew of retirements this year, and 22 candidates are seeking to fill them. Combined with an earlier eight-seat contest in 2021, well over one-third of the county's bench will have turned over in just the past four years.