Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania State Police searching for 2 suspects who abandoned dog outside Butler County Humane Society
RENFREW, Pa. (KDKA) — A dog was dumped outside a humane society in Butler County earlier this week. State police say the dog sat in a cage for over half a day.
That dog was left outside the Butler County Humane Society for about 13 hours with temperatures in the low 30s. Now, state police are looking for two people.
“It’s disgusting,” Megan Barber, the Kennel Manager at the Butler County Humane Society, said.
Surveillance camera footage caught a suspect in the act. Stills from that camera show a man getting out of a truck. He grabbed and left a cage with a dog inside, then drove away.
“She was really scared when we came in that morning,” Barber said. “Just lunging at the cage, very nervous and confused.”
Barber and her team are caring for “Mercy” as she’s now known.
“The girls at the front desk, they come up with all the names, and they felt that fit her,” she said.
Megan says Mercy is eating and drinking. She’s got a warm bed inside the shelter.
“We’re starting to get some softer vibes from her,” she said.
Still, they’re taking it one step at a time.
“When she’s comfortable, she will get the full workout from the vet,” Barber said. “Bloodwork, X-rays, everything, and exams.”
The humane society also says it would appreciate any help.
“If anybody wants to donate to Mercy, with her medical costs and care, they’re more than welcome to,” Barber said.
As this weekend’s bitter blast continues, it’s hard for people here to grasp why someone would do this.
“Even if people fell on hard times, still doing that to their supposed best friend is just… it’s unreal,” Barber said.
State police in Butler County are asking anyone with info on those two people they’re trying to identify to call them. The humane society also says you can contact them with any information.
You can also donate to the efforts to help Mercy by mail, in person, or on the Humane Society’s website.
Pennsylvania
New FDA analysis says US infant formula supply is safe after testing for potential contaminants
Pennsylvania saw a record low number of traffic deaths in 2025, according to PennDOT.
The department said 1,047 people were killed in traffic crashes last year, which is 80 fewer than last year and the lowest since record keeping began in 1928.
“Even one life lost is one too many, so while this decrease is good news, Pennsylvania remains committed to moving toward zero deaths on our roadways,” said PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll. “PennDOT will continue to do our part to decrease fatalities through education and outreach, but we will only reach zero when we all work together.”
PennDOT said there were 109,515 total reportable crashes, which was the second lowest on record only to 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic kept drivers off the road. Of those total crashes, 979 were fatal, down from 1,060 last year.
The number of people killed in impaired driver crashes dropped from 342 to 258 last year, which was also the lowest on record. Fatalities in lane departure crashes and fatalities when someone wasn’t wearing a seatbelt declined as well. PennDOT attributes the decrease in deaths to infrastructure improvements and initiatives like enforcement and education campaigns.
Deaths involving a distracted driver were up from 49 to 54, but PennDOT says the long-term trend is decreasing, and a law that went into effect last June makes it illegal to use hand-held devices while driving, even while stopped because of traffic or a red light.
“Please drive safely,” Carroll said. “Put the phone down when you are behind the wheel. Always follow the speed limit and never drive impaired. And buckle up! Your seat belt can save your life in a crash.”
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania House passes bill to allow PIAA to create separate high school playoff system
PENNSYLVANIA (WJAC) — Pennsylvania lawmakers once again advanced legislation that would allow the PIAA to potentially overhaul the state’s playoff format for high school athletics.
On Wednesday, the House of Representatives passed House Bill 41 by a 178 to 23 vote, nearly one year after the legislation advanced out of the House Intergovernmental Affairs and Operations Committee.
The issue of “fairness” in Pennsylvania high school athletics has been a hot topic in recent years as both lawmakers and schools have debated whether or not the PIAA should create separate playoff brackets for public and private districts.
HB 41 was first introduced by Rep. Scott Conklin (D-Centre), who argues that the current competition structure in Pennsylvania high school “jeopardizes athletes’ health and safety.”
Student athletes and their parents recognize that contact sports pose certain physical risks, which schools try to minimize through protective equipment, training, and policies like concussion protocols,” Conklin said. “Unfortunately, our schools can’t protect against a playoff system that needlessly escalates those risks through unfair competitions.
PIAA’s existing playoff system forces athletes from public schools, which are limited to recruiting from within district boundaries, to compete against athletes from private schools, which can recruit from anywhere and amass larger, stronger teams. The result is unfair, lopsided competitions that leave public school students on a dangerously unlevel playing field, subjecting them to added physical risks and even depriving them of scholarship and recruitment opportunities. School sports are supposed to be about building confidence and teaching kids lessons in fair play, but the current system is teaching all the wrong lessons.
My bill would provide a way to end these increasingly dangerous competitions by allowing the PIAA to establish separate playoffs and championships for boundary and non-boundary schools.
House Bill 41 will now advance to the state Senate for a vote.
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Lawmakers note that if fully approved, the legislation would not mandate the PIAA to change the current format but would rather give them the option to do so.
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