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Attorney General Dave Sunday visits Pittsburgh to discuss fight against fentanyl trafficking

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Attorney General Dave Sunday visits Pittsburgh to discuss fight against fentanyl trafficking


Fentanyl continues to destroy lives across the state, and western Pennsylvania is not immune.

Pennsylvania’s attorney general was in Pittsburgh on Monday to talk about how to stop the flow of the dangerous drug.

First, there was OxyContin, then there was heroin, and now, fentanyl is what’s taking so many lives when it comes to illegal drugs.

Attorney General Dave Sunday has released some shocking numbers. He says the battle against the deadly drug is ongoing, and they’re making progress, but this war is far from over.

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“The mission is to stop fentanyl, to remove fentanyl from our streets, in our streets and neighborhoods, and to hold accountable the predatory traffickers profiting in death and destruction,” Attorney General Sunday said.

Sunday pointed out the cold reality in the form of numbers. Figures that he says add up to the fatal toll the illegal drug continues to produce.

“We have seized more than 100,000 grams, which is more than 220 pounds, through September, which puts us at over 50 million doses and counting,” Attorney General Sunday said. “Nearly 18 million doses have been seized in the greater Pittsburgh area.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control, in 2024, statewide, 3,358 people died from overdose deaths. Sixty percent of those deaths were from fentanyl, with 665 of the victims coming from Allegheny County alone.

“[The drug] enters the United States from Mexico, from chemicals in China,” Attorney General Sunday said, but it’s not exclusive.

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Law enforcement officials say the precursor chemicals for fentanyl are also flowing into American ports on both coasts, with millions of pills being produced in clandestine production facilities in homes, apartments, and businesses.

“People are obtaining these pill presses, they’re making these pills, they’re making their way to schools, to colleges, to parties; it’s unbelievably dangerous,” Attorney General Sunday said.

These operations are dramatically dropping the cost of the deadly drugs.

“A few years ago, an ounce of fentanyl could be upwards of $8,000. That’s 14,000 doses of fentanyl. Today, an ounce can be purchased for $200.”

Attorney General Sunday added that times are dark, but there is hope. He cited the Law Enforcement Treatment Initiative program, otherwise known as LETI.

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“The program diverts individuals out of the criminal justice system and into treatment,” Sunday said. “Long-term recovery is a very real thing.”



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Neighbors say ‘hundreds of rats’ are running through their yards every night

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Neighbors say ‘hundreds of rats’ are running through their yards every night


ROSTRAVER TOWNSHIP, Pa. (KDKA/CNN NEWSOURCE/WKRC) — Residents of a western Pennsylvania neighborhood say they are battling a growing rat infestation that they believe originated from a condemned property where more than 100 pigs and other animals were recently removed.

Neighbors along Adams Drive in Rostraver Township say they have trapped and killed dozens of rats in recent weeks but continue to see large numbers of rodents around their homes.

Residents of a western Pennsylvania neighborhood say they are battling a growing rat infestation that they believe originated from a condemned property where more than 100 pigs and other animals were recently removed. (KDKA/CNN NEWSOURCE)

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“The smell’s better, but the rats are worse,” resident Erin McCay told KDKA.

Earlier this month, authorities and animal rescue groups removed dogs, cats and more than 100 pigs from the property. Investigators described conditions at the site as deplorable.

According to Pittsburgh Squealers Rescue, 105 pigs were removed from the property, and several later died due to alleged neglect.

The property, which operated as an animal sanctuary, has since been condemned and listed for sale.

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Township officials said they have contracted with a pest control company in an effort to eliminate the infestation. The one-year agreement is valued at approximately $12,000 and includes placing traps throughout the affected neighborhood.

Residents say the infestation has become a public safety concern, especially after dark.

“It’s definitely a public safety issue,” McCay said. “I want to feel safe being able to go in our yard and walk into the house.”

Township officials said they hope the rat population will begin to decline in the coming weeks.

Police said the investigation into conditions at the property remains active.

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6abc Loves the Arts: Historical Society of Pennsylvania Presents “Paths to Independence: 1765 to 1787” through Sept. 18

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6abc Loves the Arts: Historical Society of Pennsylvania Presents “Paths to Independence: 1765 to 1787” through Sept. 18


PHLADELPHIA (WPVI) — The Historical Society of Pennsylvania is celebrating the semi-quincentennial with a new exhibition that shows off some very rare documents that date to the founding of our nation.

“Paths to Independence: 1765 to 1787” documents America’s origin story in two parts.

“The exhibition looks at the decade of controversies and conflicts leading up to the Declaration of Independence,” says David Brigham, Librarian & CEO of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. “Why did we feel as American colonies that we needed to separate from Great Britain?”

And then the 11 years between the signing of the Declaration and the adoption of the Constitution.

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“The colonies have a lot of work to do,” says Brigham.

There are 141 pieces on view.

“They include original letters, journals, newspapers, broadsides,” he says. “And an incredible oil painting of a tea protest event that happened in Annapolis, Maryland in October of 1774.”

The artwork depicts the burning of the tea ship, Peggy Stewart.

“It’s been in a private home for generations,” he says. “This painting has not been seen in public possibly for 170 years.”

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Items are on display in seven cases.

“This case focuses on the Stamp Act, which is passed in the spring of 1765 by Parliament,” he says.

There’s a section on rising tensions in the 1770s, which includes the Battle of Lexington and Concord and the Boston Tea Party.

You can see what’s known as the Dunlap Broadside.

“This is an original printing of the Declaration of Independence,” he says.

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Just 200 were printed and only 26 survive.

Brigham says the one on display at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania is unique.

“We think it was Jefferson’s proof copy,” he says. “He would mark his speeches out with quotation marks where he intended to emphasize a phrase.”

Another case includes a first draft of the Articles of Confederation, which Brigham says is “the first attempt by Congress to write a Constitution of the United States.”

There is also a first newspaper printing of the Constitution of the United States. It was someone’s personal copy, complete with notes in the margin of the newspaper.

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Brigham says people of different social statuses and religions found their way to independence “for different reasons.”

“Sometimes the story’s flattened out into ‘good guys’ and ‘bad guys.’ That’s way too simple,” he says. “There was a lot of complexity and even in that 20-year period a lot of attitudes changed.”

“Paths to Independence: 1765 to 1787” is on view through September 18 at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. This exhibition is free and open to the public during regular library hours, but visitors must check in at the front desk.

Historical Society of Pennsylvania’s library hours:

Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Wednesday from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Closed Saturday – Monday

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Historical Society of Pennsylvania (HSP)
1300 Locust Street
Philadelphia, PA 19107

Copyright © 2026 WPVI-TV. All Rights Reserved.



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Thousands flock downtown for Juneteenth parade celebrating racial progress and end of slavery

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Thousands flock downtown for Juneteenth parade celebrating racial progress and end of slavery






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