Morning Roundup: Top prize lottery ticket sold at UPMC hospital; North Park road to close for race Saturday
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Friday, March 27, 2026: Top prize-winning lottery ticket sold at UPMC hospital A $1.5 million dollar Cash Spectacular scratch-off was sold at UPMC Magee-Women’s Hospital in South Oakland, according to the Pennsylvania Lottery. The hospital will receive a $10,000...
Savannah Guthrie to return to ‘Today’ on April 6 after mother’s disappearance
After a two-month absence sparked by her 84-year-old mother’s apparent abduction, Savannah Guthrie will return to NBC’s “Today” show next month, saying in an interview that aired Friday “joy will be my protest.” Hoda Kotb said after her emotional interview with her former co-host aired that Guthrie will return April...
A Build America, Buy America law is causing construction delays amid the U.S. housing crisis
It has a catchy name — Build America, Buy America — and the lauded goal of bringing manufacturing jobs back to the United States. But the law has spurred a bottleneck for affordable housing. Nearly everything from HVACs and lighting to sink hooks and ceiling fans in affordable housing projects...
Austria plans to ban social media use for under-14s, joining a string of other countries
VIENNA — Austria’s governing coalition on Friday announced plans to ban social media use for children under 14, joining a string of other countries in drawing up restrictions for young people. Alexander Pröll, the official in Chancellor Christian Stocker’s office responsible for digitization, said that draft legislation will be drawn...
House weighs next steps for bill to fund most of Homeland Security but not immigration enforcement
WASHINGTON — The Senate early Friday approved Department of Homeland Security funds to pay Transportation Security Administration agents and most other agencies but not the immigration enforcement operations at the heart of the budget impasse that has jammed airports, disrupted travel and imposed financial hardship on workers. The deal, which...
Some Pa. lawmakers call for suspending state taxes on gas and dieselVideo
With average gas prices hovering around $4 a gallon, and diesel prices nearly $2 a gallon higher, some Pennsylvania lawmakers are exploring temporarily suspending the state’s taxes on both. “Everybody is talking about affordability, but what are we doing about it? I think we can do something,” state Sen. Lisa...
Trump administration opens investigations into race in admissions at 3 medical schools
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has opened investigations into how race is considered in admissions at three medical schools, ratcheting up its pressure campaign against colleges and universities. The Justice Department opened the investigations Wednesday into possible discrimination at the medical schools of Stanford University, Ohio State and the University...
GOP senator weighs forcing Congress to vote to authorize Iran war
WASHINGTON — A senior Republican senator who has harshly criticized the Trump administration for keeping Congress in the dark on combat operations in Iran has begun drafting legislation that would force lawmakers to vote for the first time on whether to authorize the war. Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska is...
U.S. Treasury working to put Trump’s signature on new paper currency in 1st for sitting president
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Treasury Department plans to put President Donald Trump’s signature on all new U.S. paper currency, the agency announced on Thursday. The move would be a first for a sitting president, since traditionally, U.S. paper currency carries the signatures of the Treasury Secretary and the Treasurer, not...
Trump interrupts Cabinet meeting dealing with the Iran war and rising prices to talk SharpiesVideo
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump may believe the adage that the pen is mightier than the sword — as long as it’s a Sharpie. During a Cabinet meeting Thursday that discussed the war in Iran, record-long security lines at many of the nation’s top airports, rising oil prices and skittish...
Suburbanites embrace anti-Trump resistance before No Kings protests, saying, ‘This is our fight’
MONTCLAIR, N.J. — A few years ago, Allison Posner was barely involved in politics. Now the 42-year-old mother of two from Maplewood, New Jersey, hands out food and diapers to immigrant families outside a nearby detention facility. She waves signs on a highway overpass between school pickups and orthodontist appointments....
Brother and sister are charged after an explosive device found outside a Florida Air Force base
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A man who fled to China after leaving an explosive device outside MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa has been indicted along with his sister in Florida on federal charges, and their mother has been detained pending deportation for overstaying her visa, a federal prosecutor said...
Tango therapy: How the dance of passion is helping Parkinson’s patients
Tango is the national dance of Argentina, known for its passion, precision and heart. At a hospital in Buenos Aires, it has another purpose: as a therapy for patients with Parkinson’s disease. Once a week, about a dozen patients come to Ramos Mejía Hospital to dance — a session that...
California lawmakers pass bill to rename César Chavez Day following sexual abuse allegations
SACRAMENTO, Calif — California lawmakers voted Thursday to rename César Chavez Day as Farmworkers Day in an effort to reconcile the Latino labor icon’s legacy with explosive sexual abuse allegations before the state holiday on March 31. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom is expected to quickly sign the bill. The change...
Humans had dogs before they had farming, ancient DNA confirms
In the waning days of the last ice age, when humans were still hunting with spears and using cave walls as canvases, a hot new trend was spreading through the Paleolithic landscape. By roughly 14,000 years ago, hunter-gatherer societies across Europe had discovered dogs, scientists reported in two new papers,...
U.S. eases Belarus sanctions as Trump says he’ll help U.S. farmers impacted by Iran war
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration on Thursday announced it had eased restrictions on a group of Belarus-linked financial and potash companies in the latest sign of improving ties between the country’s autocratic leader, Alexander Lukashenko, and Washington. The war with Iran has largely stopped the export of nitrogen fertilizers manufactured...
Nicolás Maduro’s lawyer argues against U.S. blocking funding for drug trafficking case defense
NEW YORK — Former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife were back in a New York courtroom Thursday as they seek to have their drug trafficking indictments thrown out over a geopolitical dispute over legal fees. The hearing opened with the defense and prosecution arguing over whether Maduro should...
Trump says he’ll sign order to pay TSA agents as Congress struggles to reach funding deal
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Thursday he would sign an order instructing the Homeland Security secretary to immediately pay Transportation Security Administration agents as Congress struggles to reach a deal to end the budget impasse that has jammed airports and left workers without paychecks. Trump announced his decision in...
Average U.S. long-term mortgage rate leaps to 6.38%, the highest level in more than 6 months
The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate climbed this week to its highest level in more than six months, driving up borrowing costs during what’s typically the busiest time of the year for prospective home buyers. The benchmark 30-year fixed rate mortgage rate rose to 6.38% from 6.22% last week, mortgage...
Mandatory life in prison for 2nd-degree murder is unconstitutional, Pa. Supreme Court rules
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled Thursday that mandatory life in prison without parole for those convicted of second-degree, or felony, murder is unconstitutional. In a 72-page opinion, Chief Justice Debra Todd, writing for the majority, said such an automatic sentence is “inconsistent” with the protection guaranteed under the state constitution...
EU lawmakers approve trade deal with U.S. but add safeguards
BRUSSELS — The European Parliament voted Thursday to approve a trade deal between the European Union and the United States but with amendments added to protect European interests should the U.S. fail to hold up its end of the bargain. The deal was negotiated last July in Turnberry, Scotland, by...
Iran war deflects attention from Ukraine as an emboldened Russia starts spring offensive
The Iran war has deflected global attention from Russia’s all-out invasion of its neighbor Ukraine as Europe’s biggest conflict since World War II enters its fifth year and an emboldened Kremlin undertakes a spring offensive. The past week showed that neither side is easing up. Russia on Tuesday fired almost...
Italy seizes millions in assets allegedly stolen from Bond co-star Ursula Andress
MILAN — Italian authorities have impounded 20 million euros ($23 million) worth of property, artworks and financial assets in and around Florence that were allegedly purchased with money stolen from original Bond girl Ursula Andress, Italy’s financial police said in a statement on Thursday. The seizures were the result of...
EU targets Snapchat over child safety and accuses porn sites of failing to block minors
LONDON — European Union regulators are investigating Snapchat over concerns the platform isn’t doing enough to protect kids and exposing them to risks such as increased vulnerability to child predators or recruitment by criminals. The 27-nation EU’s executive Commission said Thursday it was opening a formal investigation into Snapchat under...
Iran and the U.S. harden their positions over talks to end the nearly month-old war
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran and the United States appeared at an impasse Thursday, hardening their positions over ceasefire talks and setting the stage for another potential escalation in the Middle East war as thousands more U.S. troops neared the region. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump extended his deadline for...
