THE CONTEXT

Pittsburgh City Council introduced multiple firearms ordinances last night. One piece of legislation would ban bump stocks -- coinciding with the Trump administration’s announcement of intentions to do the same -- and other firearms accessories used in mass shootings; another provides restrictions on possession by people whose families are concerned they’re a danger to themselves or others.

Pittsburgh announced plans for the bills in the wake of the mass shooting at Tree of Life synagogue in the city’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood. Officials already have sent the bills to all 56 of Pennsylvania’s third-class cities, PublicSource reports, with the hope they’ll enact similar laws. The thinking is: The more municipalities that are on board, the harder it will be for gun rights groups to wage legal challenges.

The NRA has already been clear in its opposition to this campaign. The organization has sued Pittsburgh twice before over firearms laws -- although the most recent case was initiated under a state law that’s since been overturned. It let anyone sue over firearms ordinances pre-empted by state law -- regardless of enforcement. In response, about 100 communities took their local gun laws off the books.

Officials have managed to restore a good deal of recession-induced funding cuts -- but not for mental health, despite the dire need and fiscal fallout, Katie Meyer reports in the latest installment of our “Through the Cracks” series. If people with mental health issues don’t get the help they need, service providers say, they may not be able to maintain jobs and could end up in legal trouble or being involuntarily committed. That all costs more money.

Pennsylvania, eight other states and Washington, D.C., will work together to create a plan for a regional cap on vehicle carbon emissions in the mid-Atlantic and New England. Marie Cusick of StateImpact Pennsylvania has the story.

Uber can resume testing autonomous vehicles in Allegheny County, PennDOT decided. That area is now the only one where the company is piloting self-driving cars. It disbanded demos in Arizona after a pedestrian fatality there last spring.