April 3, 2025 5:06 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — A vaccination to prevent horribly painful shingles may offer an extra benefit: New research suggests it might lower the risk of dementia, too. There have long been hints that certain viruses increase risk for later-in-life dementia, including the virus that causes chickenpox. That virus never leaves the body, hiding in nerves to erupt later when the immune system wanes from illness or age — what’s called shingles. The new study tracked seniors in Wales and found shingles vaccination cut their risk of developing dementia over the next seven years by 20%. The study was published Wednesday in the journal Nature.
April 3, 2025 5:05 am
Violent storms have cut through a wide swath of the South and Midwest, spawning tornadoes and killing at least one person, knocking down power lines and trees and ripping roofs off homes. Dozens of tornado and severe thunderstorm warnings were posted in several states as violent storms hit the region Wednesday. At least one tornado emergency was issued in Arkansas. Forecasters say it is the opening act for a week of wild weather as daytime heating combines with an unstable atmosphere, strong wind shear and abundant moisture streaming in from the Gulf.
April 3, 2025 5:03 am
(AP) – Sweeping new tariffs announced by President Donald Trump have provoked dismay, threats of countermeasures and calls for further negotiations to make trade rules fairer. But responses are measured, highlighting a lack of appetite among key trading partners for an outright trade war with the world’s biggest economy. Trump said the import taxes, ranging from 10% to 49%, would do to U.S. trading partners what they have long done to the U.S. European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen says they are a “major blow to the world economy.”
April 3, 2025 5:01 am
BANGKOK (AP) — The death toll from the massive earthquake that hit Myanmar nearly a week ago has risen to 3,085 as search and rescue teams find more bodies. The military-led government said Thursday another 4,715 have been injured and 341 people are missing. Last Friday’s 7.7 magnitude earthquake had an epicenter near Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city, and brought down thousands of buildings, buckled roads and destroyed bridges. Local media reports of casualties have been much higher than the official figures and with telecommunications widely out and many places difficult to reach, it’s thought the numbers could rise sharply as more details come in.
April 3, 2025 4:58 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Marc Fogel, a Pittsburgh-area school teacher who was deemed wrongfully held in a Russian prison for years before being freed in February, will throw out the first pitch at the Pittsburgh Pirates home opener against the New York Yankees. Fogel is from Butler, about an hour north of Pittsburgh. Fogel was detained in 2021 when traveling to Russia to work at a school. He was handed a 14-year sentence for having what his family and supporters said was medically prescribed marijuana. He was released and brought back to the U.S. in February.
April 3, 2025 4:55 am
PITTSBURGH — (WPXI) – An Ohio man without a concealed carry permit is accused of trying to bring a gun through the Pittsburgh International Airport. The Allegheny County police Department says TSA officers spotted the handgun within a passenger’s backpack at the main security checkpoint around 2 p.m. Monday. TSA officials say the gun was loaded, with one bullet in the chamber. Since the passenger, identified as Christopher Wells Jr., 30, didn’t have a valid concealed carry permit, he’s facing a felony charge on top of a possible federal fine for bringing the gun to a checkpoint. Passengers can travel with guns only in checked baggage if unloaded and packed in a hard-sided locked case. Then, the locked case should be taken to the airline check-in counter to be declared. TSA has details on how to properly travel with a firearm on its website.
April 3, 2025 4:48 am
BETHEL PARK, Pa. — (WPXI) – A man is in custody after a stand-off in Bethel Park Wednesday. A Bethel Park Police Department official said officers responded to the 1300 block of Stoltz Road around 5 p.m. for a domestic disturbance. Court documents say a man reported to 911 dispatchers his brother, Daniel Lipford, was intoxicated and his girlfriend was covered in bruises. When police arrived, he told them Lipford physically assaulted his girlfriend and was inside the house with her 2-year-old, refusing to come outside. He also reportedly had access to a shotgun. Lipford’s girlfriend came outside, but her son was inside and police could not get Lipford to come out. Officers surrounded the home and requested help from SWAT and other area police departments. Part of Stoltz Road, as well as Beverly Court, Falla Drive and Claytonia Drive, were closed while first responders were negotiating with the man. By 9:15 p.m., police say the man, identified through court records as Daniel Lipford, released the child. He was taken into custody on an arrest warrant for simple assault, terroristic threats and strangulation. All roads reopened just before 10 p.m.
April 2, 2025 5:17 pm
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — What was once Pennsylvania’s biggest coal-fired power plant is being turned into a $10 billion natural gas-powered data center campus designed to capitalize on Big Tech’s fast-growing energy demands. The owners of the former Homer City Generating Station, about an hour east of Pittsburgh, said Wednesday that they’re installing seven gas-fired turbines to power data centers on site with up to 4.5 gigawatts of electricity. That’s enough to power about 3 million homes. It would be the nation’s largest gas-fired power plant and the nation’s third-largest power generation facility. Construction could begin this year and power could flow by 2027. The coal-fired plant shuttered in 2023. (Photo: AP)
April 2, 2025 4:47 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is imposing a 10% baseline tax on imports from all countries and even higher tariff rates on dozens of nations that run trade surpluses with the United States. It threatens to upend much of the architecture of the global economy and trigger broader trade wars. Trump is declaring a national economic emergency to launch the tariffs, which are expected to produce hundreds of billions in annual revenues. He has promised that factory jobs will return back to the United States as a result of the taxes, but his policies risk a sudden economic slowdown as consumers and businesses could face sharp price hikes on autos, clothes and other goods. (Photo: AP)
April 2, 2025 10:17 am
NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge has dismissed New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ corruption case. Judge Dale E. Ho on Wednesday granted the Justice Department’s extraordinary request to set aside criminal charges so the mayor could aid President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. But the judge denied prosecutors the ability to potentially bring the criminal case back after the mayoral election. The order to dismiss the case “with prejudice” spares Adams from having to govern in a way that pleases Trump or potentially risk having the charges revived. The Justice Department’s push to end the case caused a rift between its leadership in Washington and prosecutors in New York. Adams had pleaded not guilty to bribery and other charges.
