August 11, 2025 2:10 am
CALIFORNIA, Pa. —Fire crews spent over 30 hours putting out flames across six buildings in the borough of California on Saturday, with three of the structures considered a complete loss. Firefighters were called to Liberty Street in California for the reported fire just after noon on Saturday. Six buildings were involved in the fire. Officials says the blaze was a three-alarm fire, and 14 fire companies responded to help douse the flames. “This is a generational fire. You don’t get one like this,” said California Volunteer Fire Department Chief Tom Hartley Jr. No one was hurt in the fire. The fire marshal is investigating the cause. Four families were displaced. The Salvation Army and the Red Cross were on scene helping the four displaced families. Fire crews were quickly rotating as they worked to stay hydrated while fighting the smoke and flames.
August 10, 2025 11:27 am
(WPXI) PITTSBURGH — Residents are preparing as part of the Parkway East is expected to close in both directions for the weekend. The Parkway was expected to close between the Squirrel Hill Tunnel and the Edgewood/Swissvale interchange (Exit 77) from Saturday night until 5 a.m. Monday. PennDOT officials say the closure is being done so crews can demolish and replace an overhead sign structure, which is part of the $95 million Commercial Street Bridge Replacement Project. Officials ask eastbound drivers to take the Oakland/Forbes Avenue exit. A Squirrel Hill resident tells Channel 11 that she’s worried people will ignore the preferred Oakland exit and populate Squirrel Hill instead. “Just a lot more traffic, a lot more noise pollution, air pollution, that’s what I think about,” said Emily Gagliardi. The detour for westbound travelers utilizes the Wilkinsburg exit 78B.
August 10, 2025 11:24 am
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has sought to defend a new military offensive in one of Gaza’s most populated areas amid growing condemnation at home and abroad, declaring that Israel “has no choice but to finish the job and complete the defeat of Hamas.” He spoke to foreign media Sunday, minutes before an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council on Gaza. Netanyahu said he has directed Israel’s military in recent days to bring in more foreign journalists. That would be a striking development, as they haven’t been allowed into Gaza beyond military embeds during 22 months of war.
August 10, 2025 8:06 am
CHICAGO (AP) — Many of President Donald Trump’s picks to be federal judges have revealed anti-abortion views, been associated with anti-abortion groups or defended abortion restrictions. Trump has offered shifting positions on the issue while indicating he wants to leave questions of abortion access to the states. With Senate confirmation, they’d have lifetime appointments and be in position to roll back abortion access long after the Republican president leaves the White House. Of the 17 judicial nominees so far in Trump’s second term, an Associated Press review finds at least eight have argued in favor of abortion restrictions or against expanded abortion access. No such records could be found for the other nine, nor did the AP review find evidence that any nominees support increased access to abortion.
August 10, 2025 8:04 am
ISLAMABAD (AP) — A U.N. report says dozens of its female Afghan staff have received death threats related to their work. The U.N. report published on Sunday is the latest update on the human rights situation in Afghanistan. The U.N. mission to the country said that female national staff were subjected to explicit death threats in May from unidentified individuals. The Taliban told the U.N. mission that their personnel weren’t responsible for the threats. The report said that an Interior Ministry investigation is underway. Afghan authorities didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment on the report or the investigation.
August 10, 2025 7:22 am
ATLANTA (AP) — A law enforcement official tells The Associated Press that a Georgia man who opened fire Friday on the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention headquarters in Atlanta had blamed the COVID-19 vaccine for making him depressed and suicidal. The 30-year-old shooter tried to get into the CDC’s headquarters but was stopped by guards. He then drove to a pharmacy across the street and opened fire. The official spoke anonymously Saturday because they are not authorized to publicly discuss the investigation. The official says the shooter was armed with at least five guns. DeKalb County Police Officer David Rose was mortally wounded while responding.
August 10, 2025 7:21 am
(AP) The threats, pressure and ultimatums have come and gone, but Russian President Vladimir Putin has maintained Moscow’s uncompromising demands in Ukraine, raising fears he could use a planned summit with U.S. President Donald Trump to coerce Kyiv into accepting an unfavorable deal. The maximalist demands reflect Putin’s determination to reach the goals he set when he launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. Putin sees a meeting with Trump as a chance to negotiate a broad deal that would not only cement Russia’s territorial gains but also keep Ukraine from joining NATO and hosting any Western troops, allowing Moscow to gradually pull the country back into its orbit. (Photo: AP)
August 10, 2025 7:17 am
(WPXI) PENN HILLS, Pa. — Firefighters worked for hours to put out a two-alarm fire in Penn Hills that damaged multiple vehicles and a home. Per Penn Hills No. 7 VFC, firefighters were called to a home on Wexford Lane near Old William Penn Highway around 1 a.m. for reported vehicle explosions and a possible structure fire. When first responders arrived at the scene, they found four vehicles on fire, and the flames were extending into a home. After forcing entry into the burning home, firefighters got two people out safely. Photos posted by the department show the vehicles were at one point fully engulfed in flames. When our crew got on scene after the flames were extinguished, we saw the fire had ripped through the home’s roof and damaged a shed. Fire companies were on scene for about five hours putting out the flames, then overhauling and ventilating the structure. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. The Red Cross is assisting the homeowners.
August 10, 2025 7:12 am
(WPXI) RAYNE TOWNSHIP, Pa. — A former cyber school teacher is accused of having inappropriate conversations with a student and asking them to move in with her. The Pennsylvania State Police said that Rebecca Jean Kaelin, 62, of North Wales, was an online teacher at the Pennsylvania Leadership Charter School in December 2023. She is accused of having inappropriate conversations with a 17-year-old girl from Indiana County who was a student at that time. Troopers said the victim’s father provided them with recordings captured on a “nanny-cam” that captured the Kaelin talking to the student about religion, sexuality and her mental health over video chat sessions outside of the classroom and school club hours. The camera was originally installed to ensure the victim was doing her schoolwork. Police said Kaelin asked the victim to live with her after graduation, mailed her a book for mature young adults and discussed a plan to mail her a cell phone too. She was charged on Friday and is expected to appear in court for a hearing on Sept. 22.
August 9, 2025 4:43 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Amid rising electric bills, states are under pressure to insulate regular household and business ratepayers from the costs of feeding Big Tech’s energy-hungry data centers. It’s not clear that any state has a solution and the actual effect of data centers on electricity bills is difficult to pin down. Some critics question whether states have the spine to take a hard line against tech behemoths. Charlotte Shuff of the Oregon Citizens’ Utility Board, a consumer advocacy group, says there’s a massive outcry over rising power bills. Some data centers require more electricity than cities or states. That’s pushing policymakers to rethink how transmission costs are spread among consumers.
