Netflix walks away from Warner Bros deal, clearing the path for Paramount
NEW YORK — Netflix is declining to raise its offer to buy Warner Bros. Discovery’s studio and streaming business, in a stunning move that effectively puts Paramount in a position to take over its storied Hollywood rival. On Thursday, after Warner’s board announced that Skydance-owned Paramount’s offer was superior to...
An angry Gov. Josh Shapiro pledges to block ICE detention centers in Pa.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro met with leaders in Berks and Schuylkill counties Thursday as those communities confront the planned federal conversion of two warehouses into ICE detention centers, pledging to do everything possible to block the Trump administration’s plans in the state. Shapiro, a Democrat who first opposed the potential...
Anthropic CEO says AI company ‘cannot in good conscience accede’ to Pentagon’s demands
WASHINGTON — Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said Thursday the artificial intelligence company “cannot in good conscience accede” to the Pentagon’s demands to allow wider use of its technology. The maker of the AI chatbot Claude said in a statement that it’s not walking away from negotiations, but that new contract...
Poll: 4 in 10 Pa. voters think Josh Shapiro would make a good president
Nearly 6 in 10 Pennsylvania voters think Josh Shapiro is doing a good job as governor, but only 4 in 10 think he’d be a good president, according to a new poll. The Quinnipiac University poll released this week showed that 56% of registered voters approve of the job Shapiro...
Surging natural gas prices in Pa. could mean higher utility bills
Wholesale natural gas prices in Pennsylvania surged 71% last year, according to a new report, likely leading to higher residential utility bills. The Independent Fiscal Office, a state agency that supplies lawmakers in Harrisburg with revenue projections and economic analysis, released its quarterly natural gas report Wednesday. It found the...
3 men face homicide charges in Penn Hills shooting death
Police have arrested three men in the 2024 fatal shooting of a 21-year-old Penn Hills man. Allegheny County Police on Thursday afternoon said they charged Trevor Twyman, 23; Kelshon Lovelace, 24; and Lemoyne Williams, 18, in the Dec. 5, 2024, shooting death of Vanderlee Stevenson. The men are facing charges...
Cutting-edge BioInterphase moves into Troy Hill’s historic firehouse
When Noah Snyder walks into his new office and laboratory space at a historic firehouse in Pittsburgh’s Troy Hill neighborhood, he’s met with a “whimsical” mix of old and new. A fireman’s pole descends from a circular hole — now patched over with plywood — in the engraved black ceiling,...
Valley and Deer Lakes high schools host suicide prevention speaker
Months after PJ Shell lost his stepson Maverick to suicide, he helped a distraught mother pay for her child’s equipment at a sporting goods store. The moment, Shell said in a speech at Valley High School, caused the first shared smile between him and his wife in months because it...
IRS broke the law by disclosing confidential information to ICE 42,695 times, judge says
WASHINGTON — A federal judge said Thursday that the IRS broke the law by disclosing confidential taxpayer information “approximately 42,695 times” to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly found that the IRS had erroneously shared the taxpayer information of thousands of people with the Department of Homeland...
School zone stop sparks foot chase, immigration arrest in Washington County
A traffic stop at an elementary school in Washington County led to a foot chase and a federal immigration arrest. On Tuesday, Greene Washington Regional police were patrolling the streets in an unmarked vehicle near Joe Walker Elementary School in South Franklin Township, when an officer saw a white Chevrolet...
2 killed in Route 22 Indiana County crash
Two people were killed Thursday morning in a three-vehicle crash along Route 22 in Indiana County that closed the highway for hours, state police at Indiana said. It may take days or weeks to confirm the victims’ identities, according to a release from Coroner Jerry Overman’s office. They were in...
Nearly blind refugee found dead after Border Patrol agents drop him at Buffalo doughnut shop
A nearly blind refugee from Myanmar who disappeared after U.S. Border Patrol agents dropped him off at a Buffalo doughnut shop was found dead on the street five days later, prompting a police investigation and complaints from city officials that he’d been abandoned without care for his safety. Nurul Amin...
Pleasant Hills police probe bar brawl involving 4 off-duty Pittsburgh cops
Pleasant Hills police are investigating a brawl at the Pleasant Bar earlier this month involving four off-duty Pittsburgh police officers and an alleged victim who said he was smashed in the head with a beer bottle. Three of the four city officers, who have not been publicly named and were...
Burger King testing AI headsets that will know if employees say ‘welcome’ or ‘thank you’
Burger King is testing AI-powered headsets that can recite recipes, alert managers when inventories are low and even track how friendly employees are to customers. Restaurant Brands International – the Miami-based company that owns Burger King, Popeyes and other brands – said Thursday it’s currently testing the OpenAI-powered headsets in...
‘I probably won’t survive’: Pittsburgh firefighters train for deadly flashoversVideo
Pittsburgh fire Capt. Brian Tarbuck watched smoke billow from a rust-red shipping container as he described how the first responders training inside could spot the telltale signs of an impending “flashover” — the deadly near-simultaneous ignition of all combustible materials in an enclosed space. When room temperatures top 1,000 degrees,...
Columbia student detained by ICE is abruptly released after Mamdani meets with Trump
NEW YORK — Federal immigration authorities arrested a Columbia University student early Thursday, triggering protests on campus along with allegations that agents had entered the university-owned residence under false pretenses. Just hours after detaining student Ellie Aghayeva, though, the federal government abruptly reversed course, permitting her to walk free after...
New Kensington-Arnold implements security camera system that dispatchers can view in real time
Westmoreland County dispatchers will now have the ability to instantly view live campus security footage when a 911 call comes in from the New Kensington-Arnold School District. The district is implementing 911 camera sharing across district buildings in an effort to strengthen campus safety and speed emergency response. “We want...
Here’s what students will perform during 2026 high school musical season
As spring approaches, high school theater kids all over the region are dusting off their tap shoes, doing vocal warm-ups and memorizing their lines. Here’s a look at which schools are doing which shows this spring musical season. Apollo-Ridge: “Mamma Mia!” March 12-14 Avonworth: “The Phantom of the Opera,” March...
Lower Burrell man charged with attempted stabbing and robbery at Tarentum gas station
A Lower Burrell man is in Allegheny County Jail after Tarentum police charged him with felony aggravated assault and robbery of a vehicle in connection with a Christmastime attack at the borough’s Marathon station. Robert Harmon, 35, also faces charges of theft, receiving stolen property, terroristic threats and simple assault....
Parents arrested after child falsely reports dad as dead to 911
Two Charleroi parents were arrested over the weekend after one of their children called 911 to falsely report their father had died. Instead, police said, they discovered a filthy home without running water. Jackson Alexis, 40, and Roldy Noel, 27, of Charleroi were arrested this weekend and are being charged...
Alcoa plans to sell off 10 former facilities for use as data centers
Alcoa, the Pittsburgh-based aluminum giant, intends to sell 10 of its closed or curtailed sites for use as data centers. Alcoa CEO Bill Oplinger announced the sell-off Tuesday at the BMO Global Metals, Mining and Critical Minerals Conference in Florida. Of the 10 facilities going on the market, “we think...
‘I wish we could have done better’: Now with Twins, Derek Shelton reflects on Pirates tenureVideo
BRADENTON, Fla. — Derek Shelton returned to LECOM Park as a manager, this time in the visiting dugout. The former Pittsburgh Pirates skipper was wearing new colors that were old colors to him. The former Minnesota Twins bench coach is now their manager, only months after being fired by the...
Judge rejects request to block Trump White House from building its $400 million ballroom project
WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Thursday rejected a preservationist group’s request to block the Trump administration from continuing construction of a $400 million ballroom where it demolished the East Wing of the White House. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon ruled that The National Trust for Historic Preservation was unlikely...
‘We accidentally wrote a dark album again’: ERRA vocalist J.T. Cavey on band’s new release ahead of Pittsburgh showVideo
ERRA’s new album “silence outlives the earth” could be seen as a reflection of today’s current climate, but it wasn’t intentional for the metalcore band. “We accidentally wrote a dark album again,” vocalist J.T. Cavey said with a laugh. “I don’t even come in the studio with specific topics. Of...
Afghanistan’s new penal code sets 15 days in prison for wife-beating, 5 months for animal fights
ATHENS, Greece — A new penal code issued by decree in Afghanistan sets harsher punishments for the mistreatment of animals than for domestic violence against women and solidifies into law inequality based on gender and social status. The decree, which was signed by Afghanistan’s Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada in January,...
