PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium is removing an observation deck from which a 2-year-old boy fell before he was fatally mauled by wild African dogs in an exhibit below.

Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala Jr. issued a statement confirming the platform’s removal after meeting with zoo leaders and touring the exhibit Thursday.

Zappala announced last week that 34-year-old Elizabeth Derkosh won’t be prosecuted in the Nov. 4 death of her son, Maddox, which Zappala called a “tragic accident.”

The boy, who had vision issues, leaned forward and fell into the exhibit after his mother lifted him onto a wooden rail overlooking the dogs’ enclosure.

U.S. Senate election costs about $40MHARRISBURG — The race for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania cost about $40 million, ending in the re-election of Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Casey for a second six-year term.The campaigns released information Thursday in conjunction with a federal reporting deadline. Casey beat his better-financed but lesser-known Republican challenger, Tom Smith, 54 percent to 45 percent.Almost $30 million of the total amount, including money from outside groups, was spent after July 1. Smith spent almost $21 million, mostly his own money. Casey spent about $12.5 million in the two-year campaign cycle.

$109M verdict in power line deathPITTSBURGH — The family of a Western Pennsylvania woman killed in front of her mother-in-law and young daughters by a downed power line has won a $109 million wrongful death verdict.The jury verdict Thursday for Michael Goretzka and his two young daughters included $61 million in punitive damages against West Penn Power.Jurors heard nearly three weeks of testimony about the June 2009 death of 39-year-old Carrie Goretzka of Irwin. She was standing in the yard calling 911 when the line fell on her.Shanin Specter, who represents the Goretzka family, argued that West Penn employees failed to properly install the power line.

Cigarette butt causes Pgh. airport smokePITTSBURGH — A smoldering fire that shut down a Pittsburgh International Airport concourse for several hours and prompted a bomb scare was caused by someone smoking in a men’s room, an airport spokeswoman said Thursday.Spokeswoman JoAnn Jenny said the butt caught some paper towels and other debris on fire that had been stashed behind a plumbing access panel in a men’s room. Investigators found other butts and believe someone has been habitually smoking in the restroom and using the access panel to get rid of the evidence, Jenny said.