This week’s biggest Winners & Losers

The disturbance in the Democratic force seems to have lifted, for now. A weeks-long back-and-forth over the DNC vice chair seat – more specifically, the party’s decision to revote – has resulted in Malcolm Kenyatta finally assuming the seat. Kenyatta, who was set up against David Hogg, a Parkland shooting survivor and activist, ended up running unopposed and took home more than 99% of the vote after Hogg quit the race.

Students at nine Pennsylvania schools can be confident that their educations are internationally competitive. Among the commonwealth institutions ranked among U.S. News and World Report’s “Best Global Universities” this year – 2,250 schools in 104 countries, including 280 from the U.S. – are the University of Pennsylvania at #17, the University of Pittsburgh at #55, Penn State at #94 and Carnegie Mellon at #128.

Having this healthy snack would be an honor. Helen Agresti, an Erie-area dietitian nutritionist and founder of the Be Free Bar, earned national recognition for two of her creations: Blondie Coffee and Blueberry Burst. The two snacks were named 2025 Good Housekeeping Best Snack Award winners, which highlighted the bars for being free from artificial additives.

A Philadelphia-area journalist, Michael Hochman, has been charged with receipt of child pornography. This comes after another case, in 2001, when 28-year-old Hochman was arrested in Kansas and charged after assaulting a 14-year-old girl. According to Pennsylvania’s Megan's Law database, where Hochman has been on the registry since 2005, he was convicted at least on the charge of aggravated indecent liberties with a child in that 2001 case.

Sheriff James Muller drew the ire of county commissioners after he posted a meme on Facebook showing a mock Dodge Ram ad featuring the “protester edition,” depicted as a white truck covered in red blood. The post coincided with last weekend's nationwide anti-federal government protests, including local demonstrations in Gettysburg, and prompted Commissioner Marty Qually to condemn Muller’s post for condoning “violence against innocent residents.”

As Pittsburgh gears up for a mayoral election, the city’s commercial outlook continues to worsen, with business bankruptcies up 24% during the first quarter of 2025, outpacing the national average. Last year, Pittsburgh’s commercial bankruptcies nearly doubled over the previous year, reaching a post-pandemic peak.