September 13, 2025 4:20 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — As Big Tech’s data centers continue to grow threatening to overload U.S. electricity grids, policymakers are considering bumping the energy-hungry data centers off grids during power emergencies. Texas moved first to try to protect residents in the data-center hotspot from another deadly blackout like the winter storm in 2021 when dozens died. Lawmakers there passed a bill in June that orders up standards for power emergencies when utilities must disconnect big electric users. Now the concept is emerging in the 13-state mid-Atlantic grid and elsewhere as massive data centers are coming online faster than power plants can be built.
September 13, 2025 4:14 am
PITTSBURGH — (WPXI)-The Forbes 400 has been released, and three Pittsburgh-area business leaders made the cut for the 2025 ranking of the richest people in the United States. They are Edward Stack and family, Thomas Tull and Maggie Hardy, all repeats on the annual list. Stack, executive chairman of Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc., the Findlay Township-based retail giant, placed highest among the local contingent at No. 280, with net worth estimated at $5.4 billion. Tull, entrepreneur and philanthropist known as a producer of blockbuster films and tech and sports investments, was No. 291, with net worth of $5.3 billion. Hardy, owner and CEO of 84 Lumber Co. and celebrated resort Nemacolin, was No. 347, with net worth of $4.3 billion.
September 13, 2025 4:12 am
PITTSBURGH —(WPXI)- PennDOT has granted over $100 million in funding to prevent service cuts and fare hikes to Pittsburgh Regional Transit, for now. On Friday, PRT said PennDOT will provide them with up to $106.7 million in state capital funds to fill a budget deficit. The money is expected to be used to cover operating expenses. The deficit resulted in a proposal that would have cut PRT service by 35% and introduced a 9% fare hike, starting in early 2026. While the funds create a temporary reprieve, PRT said work still needs to be done to avoid it in the future. A series of public hearings was held to discuss the impact the service cuts would have on people’s lives. PRT said it will present a resolution to its Board later this month to formally amend its operating and capital budgets in line with PennDOT’s approval.
September 12, 2025 9:15 am
NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump says he’ll send the National Guard to Memphis to address crime concerns there with the support of the mayor and the governor. The Republican president said on Fox News Channel on Friday “the mayor is happy” and “the governor is happy” about the pending deployment. The mayor is a Democrat, and the governor is a Republican. Trump says Memphis is “deeply troubled” and he’s “going to fix that.” Trump cited Washington, where he’s sent National Guard and surged federal law enforcement. Trump has openly mused about sending troops to some of the nation’s most Democratic cities — including Chicago and Baltimore — claiming they are needed to crack down on crime.
September 12, 2025 5:09 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Inflation rose last month as the price of gas, groceries, and airfares jumped, while a measure of layoffs also increased, putting the Federal Reserve in a tough spot as it prepares to cut rates at its meeting next week despite persistent price pressures. The reading is the last the Fed will receive before its Sept. 16-17 meeting, when policymakers are widely expected to cut their short-term rate to about 4.1% from 4.3%. Still, the new inflation data underscores the challenges the Fed is facing. Inflation remains stubborn while the job market is weakening, diverging trends that would require polar reactions from Federal Reserve policymakers to address.
September 12, 2025 5:07 am
INCHEON, South Korea (AP) — A plane carrying more than 300 South Korean workers released after days of detention in Georgia has landed in South Korea. TV footage shows the charter plane landing in Incheon International Airport on Friday. They were among about 475 people detained during the Sept. 4 immigration raid at a battery factory under construction on the campus of Hyundai’s sprawling auto plant west of Savannah. South Korea later said it has a reached an agreement with the United States for the Korean workers’ releases.
September 12, 2025 5:05 am
BOSTON (AP) — A U.S. appeals court panel has allowed President Donald Trump’s administration to block Medicaid fund to Planned Parenthood while legal challenges continue. Planned Parenthood says Thursday’s ruling means that more than 1.1 million patients can’t use their Medicaid insurance at its health centers. A federal judge in July ruled Planned Parenthood clinics nationwide must continue to be reimbursed for Medicaid funding as the nation’s largest abortion provider fights Trump’s administration over efforts to defund the organization in his signature tax legislation.
September 12, 2025 5:02 am
The governor of Utah struggled to find the right words to describe the question so many have been asking: What is happening in America? The silence lasted nearly 10 seconds. He looked down. He opened and closed his mouth. “Our nation is broken,” Spencer Cox finally said, hours after the killing of Charlie Kirk. The governor described violent attacks on both Democrats and Republicans, including the killing of Minnesota lawmaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, two assassination attempts on President Donald Trump and the firebombing of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s official residence. His words stood out not just for the stark language about America’s troubles, but for his sober, somber acknowledgement that the violence reaches across the political divide.
September 12, 2025 5:00 am
OREM, Utah (AP) — Utah’s governor says the Charlie Kirk assassination suspect had indicated to a family friend that he was connected to the shooting. Gov. Spencer Cox says the suspect had grown more political and was opposed to Kirk’s beliefs. The suspect in custody in connection with the assassination of Charlie Kirk is a 22-year-old from Utah. That’s according to a law enforcement official who told The Associated Press. The officials says authorities have identified the suspect as Tyler Robinson. The official was not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation and spoke Friday on the condition of anonymity. Calls to telephone numbers listed for Robinson in public records ring unanswered.
September 12, 2025 4:52 am
WASHINGTON, Pa. — A wanted burglary suspect is now in custody. According to court documents, Patrick Thurston, 60, was arrested on Wednesday. He had been on the City of Washington Police Department’s “most wanted” page since Sept. 4. Police say he stole from several businesses and took items from a donation bin at the City Mission Thrift Shop. Two sets of burglary charges were filed against him at the end of August. He has a preliminary hearing scheduled for Sept. 24.
