By Tim Lambert | Editor-in-chief
“I think the civil case is fairly obvious. They left this disadvantaged woman in serious psychological distress in a bus shelter, where she froze to death.” — Joseph Murphy, an attorney for Daphy Michel’s family, after the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police finished its probe of her death after she was released by ICE in late February.
A good Tuesday morning to you. How are these nice, cool mornings landing with you? I noticed a few more neighbors than usual out for an early stroll already. More schools are back in class starting today, so be sure to use extra caution around bus stops and buses.
On this day in 1922, the rank of Major was given to the deputy superintendent of the Pennsylvania State Police — the first time was it was bestowed in history of the law enforcement agency.
Thanks for starting your day with us. As always, we deeply appreciate you reading, sharing and supporting our work. -- Tim
Passengers board Amtrak’s Keystone service to Philadelphia at the Harrisburg station on Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023. (Photo by Peter Hall/Pennsylvania Capital-Star)
By Peter Hall
Amtrak will operate a second daily passenger train between Pittsburgh and New York via Harrisburg and Philadelphia starting in mid-November, Gov. Josh Shapiro’s office announced Monday.
The expanded service is the result of nearly three years of planning and more than $80 million invested in the project, in cooperation with Amtrak and freight railroad Norfolk Southern Corp., which owns the tracks between Pittsburgh and Harrisburg.
Amtrak anticipates beginning ticket sales for the second Pennsylvanian train in October, the administration said. The trip from Pittsburgh to New York currently takes more than nine hours.
Bridges across the Monongahela River in Pittsburgh (Photo by Peter Hall/Pennsylvania Capital-Star)
By Ian Karbal
A report found rivers and streams across Pennsylvania are testing positive for harmful levels of the bacteria E. coli, which spreads through fecal matter.
The nonprofit PennEnvironment found that at 55% of 653 monitoring sites, levels of E. coli reached potentially unsafe levels for swimmers in 2024 and 2025. Nearly 40% of testing sites tested positive for unsafe levels of the bacteria on at least one-quarter of the days they were tested.
E. coli is especially harmful for swimmers. It can cause gastrointestinal illness, respiratory disease and infections of the skin, ears and eyes. But the report notes that bacteria can be harmful for people engaging in other recreational activities like fishing, boating or paddling.
About 60 vigil attendees stand behind a bus shelter memorializing Daphy Michel on Sunday, March 29, 2026, in South Shore. Michel was found unresponsive at the shelter on Monday, March 2. (Photo by Sophia Lucente/Pittsburgh’s Public Source)
By Rich Lord of Pittsburgh’s Public Source
The Pittsburgh Bureau of Police has finished its probe of the death of a Haitian woman held briefly by ICE and released in late February.
“Homicide detectives have explored all of the available evidence in this case and have concluded their investigation,” a bureau spokesperson wrote in response to an inquiry from Public Source. “This case has now been sent to the District Attorney’s Office for review.”
Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala’s office did not immediately respond to an inquiry. The DA can decide whether to charge, who to charge and what the charges should be, and then conducts any relevant prosecution.
Daphy Michel, 31, who lived in Charleroi, died March 2 of hypothermia, the Allegheny County Office of the Medical Examiner said in June. She was found in a South Shore bus station, where she spent at least 24 hours, largely in sub-freezing temperatures, according to a Public Source investigation.
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School safety officers receive training at Philadelphia’s Abraham Lincoln High School. The School District of Philadelphia is rolling out several new safety initiatives, including a digital hall pass available to all schools that tracks students’ movements throughout campus. (Photo by Sammy Caiola//Chalkbeat)
By Sammy Caiola of Chalkbeat
The Philadelphia school district is making a digital hall pass available at all schools for the upcoming year that allows administrators to closely track students’ whereabouts.
Under the Infinite Campus system, which schools already use for course materials, students ask to leave the classroom through their Chromebooks. Once a teacher approves the request, the student’s journey will be logged on a “hall monitor grid” accessible to the school’s administrators and climate staff.
The system allows school staff to digitally deny students access to areas of campus where there may be a safety risk or staffing issue. Administrators can also automate the system to ensure certain students are not simultaneously approved for hallway access.
TODAY IN THE CAPITAL-STAR
U.S. Supreme Court lifts pause on Trump mail-ballot order: With just over two months until the November midterms, the U.S. Supreme Court gave way for President Donald Trump to have a hand in regulating mail-in ballots nationwide, a voting method he has falsely claimed is rife with corruption since he lost the 2020 presidential election.
Sanctuary policies are keeping prisoners in local jails away from ICE: As more states seek ways to limit immigration enforcement, an analysis shows one tactic has had an effect: making it more difficult for local law enforcement to hand over people they are holding in city or county jails to federal immigration authorities.
National labs eye cybersecurity threats to smaller nuclear reactors: As states make moves to be at the forefront of the “nuclear renaissance” race, a neighboring research lab is working on ways nuclear reactors, which are becoming smaller, can be shielded from cyberattacks with help from industry experts and academics.
Kentucky mom advocates for more social media regulations: A Kentucky mom is closely watching a court case against Meta that could determine if the social media company knowingly designed addictive products that are harmful to children. Pennsylvania is one of 25 states in the case against owner of Facebook and Instagram.
ICYMI
Pa. food banks are struggling to keep up in the face of SNAP cuts: A series of overlapping economic issues and federal policy changes have affected both the food bank’s client base and its ability to stock its own shelves. Leaders at food banks across the state point to changes to the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) as a major driver of demand.
Rural communities wait after mixed ruling on digital equity dollars: A federal judge in July gave digital equity advocates a partial victory against President Donald Trump, stopping his attempt to unilaterally kill a multibillion-dollar grant program Congress created. But U.S. District Judge John D. Bates also ruled it was unconstitutional for the government to use race or ethnicity as the basis to award money under a program created to expand internet skills and access.
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