Punxsutawney Phil — perhaps the world’s most famous groundhog — saw his shadow meaning, according to legend, that we will have six more weeks of winter.
Saturday night’s loss to the Ravens continued an unpleasant tradition for the Steelers.
The team’s last playoff win came in 2017 and they have now lost six straight postseason games. They have been outscored by 96 points in those games, which made their run of playoff futility a talking point during head coach Mike Tomlin’s postgame press conference.
Tomlin had said earlier in the week that the franchise’s playoff history was on him and not on the current roster. He repeated that after the 28-14 loss ended the Steelers’ season.
“I’m just assessing what transpired tonight,” Tomlin said. “As I told you guys earlier in the week, those are my bags, not this collective’s bags. And so my energy is on that group in there and what they were willing to give and the journey that we’ve been on this year and certainly it came to a disappointing end tonight.”
Tomlin’s 18-year run with the Steelers has been an enormous success. He has famously never had a losing season and the Steelers have won one of the two Super Bowls they’ve been to since he joined the franchise. The lack of playoff success has been just as undeniable as the positive marks, however, and there will likely be questions about whether the Steelers need to try something new in order to get back to where they want to go in the postseason.
Ross Police spent hours in a standoff with a man with a warrant inside of his Tadmar Avenue home Saturday night.
Officers were looking for Daniel Thomas, 40, around 4 p.m. Saturday when officers observed a light come on inside of his home. An officer saw Thomas “pacing around, loading a handgun and aiming it,” according to a release from Ross Township Police.
Police say Thomas is not allowed to have a gun under state law and is a known danger to himself and others.
Several officers responded, including the North Hills SRT, and attempts to get Thomas to exit the home continued for hours. Allegheny County Police provided armor support.
According to police, during this time Thomas shot arrows out of the window of the home at SRT officers. He also allegedly made several verbal threats.
The standoff eventually ended after a few hours and Thomas was taken into custody.
Fifteen people were killed and dozens injured when a pickup truck plowed into a crowd on Bourbon Street in New Orleans.
An Army veteran who was “hell-bent” on killing as many people as possible drove a rented pickup truck around barricades and plowed his vehicle through a crowd of New Year’s revelers on Bourbon Street in New Orleans at a high rate of speed, leaving at least 15 dead and injuring dozens of others early Wednesday, city and federal officials said.
After mowing down numerous people over a three-block stretch on the famed thoroughfare while firing shots into the crowd, the suspect — identified by sources as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42 — allegedly got out of the truck wielding an assault rifle and opened fire on police officers, law enforcement officials briefed on the incident told ABC News. Officers returned fire, killing Jabbar, a U.S.-born citizen from Texas, sources said. At least two police officers were injured, one by gunfire and the other was hurt when officer was pinned by the truck, authorities said.
Althea Duncan, assistant special agent in charge of FBI New Orleans field office, said investigators do not believe Jabbar acted alone.
“We do not believe that Jabbar was solely responsible,” Duncan said during a news conference Wednesday afternoon. “We are aggressively running down every lead, including those of his known associated. That’s why we need the public’s help. We are asking if anybody had any interaction with Shamsud-Din Jabbar in the last 72 hours that you contact us.”
New Orleans police have reviewed surveillance video that appears to show several people planting potential explosive devices in advance of the vehicle attack, which led them to believe he was not “solely responsible,” sources said. Investigators are urgently working to identify the individuals who were seen on camera and take them into custody.
The new year is expected to get off to a frigid start as a cold front coming down from Canada is forecast to bring below-freezing temperatures to the Pittsburgh area — along with a large swath of the east coast.
Beginning News Year’s Day, temperatures are expected to drop into the low 30s or upper 20s in the daytime and may drop into the teens at night, which is expected to continue through next week but could extend through a large portion of early January, said Tim Cermak, meteorologist with the Pittsburgh office of the National Weather Service.
It remains unclear how long the large trough — an area of low pressure that follows a cold front — will lead to low temperatures in southwestern Pennsylvania, but current models lean toward an extended chilly start to 2025.
“I would say there’s growing confidence that we’re going to have more colder days than we are not through the first half of the month of January,” Mr. Cermak said.
Carter, who lived longer than any other U.S. president, entered home hospice care in Plains, Georgia in February 2023 after a series of short hospital stays.
The Monroeville Mall could soon be in new hands. Tennessee-based owner CBL Properties is marketing the two-level shopping complex and surrounding storefronts for sale through realtor JLL without naming a price. The 187-acre property includes the main building, an adjacent strip mall, the streetscape expansion near the front entrance
After almost a half-century, a well-known store at a Pittsburgh mall is shutting its doors.
MONROEVILLE, PA — When Naturalizer Shoes opened in Monroeville Mall, Jimmy Carter was president and people were flocking to movie theaters to see the John Travolta disco-themed film “Saturday Night Fever.”
Much has changed since then, but Naturalizer Shoes was a constant at the mall over the years. That’s about to change, however, as the store is closing on Dec. 31.
A retirement sale sign hangs above the store’s entrance and the impending closure was noted on the retailer’s Facebook page.
“Since 1977, we have been Pittsburgh’s destination shoe store, providing excellent service and fitting. Now, 47 years later, we’ve decided to hang up our shoe horns to spend more time with friends and family.
“We would like to thank our past and present employees and especially our loyal, loving customers. The relationships and friendships that have been made over the years have been invaluable. We sincerely thank you for supporting our small business. We’ll miss you.”
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds on Friday ordered all flags in the state to be flown at half-staff from sunrise to sunset on Saturday in honor of Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.
Troopers responded shortly before 2 a.m. to a report of gunshots near Library Street. Troopers found a man shot to death inside a vehicle at the scene.
Authorities identified the man as 52-year-old Henry Freeman. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Staff at the UPMC Mathilda H. Theiss Health Center in Pittsburgh’s Hill District neighborhood were met with an unwelcome surprise Friday morning. A roof leak on Thanksgiving damaged the health center and ruined the donations they had collected so far for an annual holiday toy drive.
The FBI offers advice on how to avoid being scammed this holiday season.
Here are some prevalent scams that people should watch out for this time of year:
Non-Delivery Scams – A buyer pays for goods or services they find online, but those items are never received.
Non-Payment Scams – Goods or services are shipped, but the seller is never paid.
Auction Fraud – Involves a seller deliberately misrepresenting the condition or quality of an item on an auction website.
Gift Card Fraud – Scammers can steal numbers and security codes from gift cards in stores and wait for them to be activated, or consumers can be asked to pay for goods or services with a pre-paid card.
In addition to these scams, people should be on the lookout for phishing, smishing, vishing, spoofing, and pharming while shopping for gifts online this holiday season.
President-elect Donald Trump said during his presidential campaign he intends to release the remaining government-archived, once-classified records on President John F. Kennedy’s 1963 assassination, despite delaying their release after making a similar promise in his first presidency
Key Facts
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., now nominated to serve in Trump’s cabinet, forfeited his independent presidential bid and endorsed Trump in August, after which Trump said during a rally in Arizona that he would start a commission to study assassination attempts and order it to turn out all final records on JFK’s murder, in “tribute” to nephew Kennedy Jr.
Nearly all (99%) of the millions of archival materials related to investigations into the assassination are available, but thousands remain classified or partially redacted and Kennedy Jr. has petitioned for their release—he also tweeted a JFK quote on Friday, the 61st anniversary of the assassination, writing, “the very word ‘secrecy’ is repugnant in a free and open society,” alongside a black and white photo of the two Kennedys, although it’s unclear if he’s referencing the documents.
Trump first promised to release the complete archives during his first presidency, posting on X, formerly Twitter, in 2017 that he wanted “great transparency” and hoped “to get just about everything to public”—he later delayed a full release, citing concerns about national security in a White House memo.
Trump also talked about the unreleased files in podcast interviews during the 2024 presidential campaign, saying he planned to open the files “immediately” if elected.
In his October interview with comedian Joe Rogan, Trump said he was met with concern “from good people” like former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo about the documents and agreed to delay their release to protect people who were “working for the government” or were “somehow involved in it,” although he thinks “it’s going to be just fine to open” the rest.
In an episode with the “All In” podcast in June, Trump said he has “an idea” what the remaining records say, adding the CIA didn’t ask for the delay but that the intelligence agency “was probably behind” the request and “probably” would have preferred he not release the remaining information.
Key Background
President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas 61 years ago, amid a tense geopolitical landscape. JFK’s assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, was shot while in police custody shortly after being captured, preventing an explanation for the assassination. In response, President Lyndon B. Johnson created the Warren Commission in 1964 to investigate, which found there was no broader conspiracy surrounding the assassination. Even so, this confluence of factors spawned dozens of speculative theories. Figures like Rogan, who are interested in conspiracies and often distrustful of the government, have called for releasing the remaining files, believing they would provide additional clarity.
Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes was named the National League Rookie of the Year.
Skenes beat out Jackson Chourio of the Milwaukee Brewers and Jackson Merrill of the San Diego Padres for the 2024 NL Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year award. Skenes got 23 of a possible 30 first-place votes, while Merrill finished second with seven first-place votes and 23 second-place votes.
The 22-year-old pitcher took Major League Baseball by storm this year, recording a 1.96 ERA on his way to an 11-3 record. He added 170 strikeouts and a 0.95 WHIP in 23 starts for the Pirates.
It’s an exciting weekend ahead on Pittsburgh’s North Shore for football fans.
The Pitt Panthers prepare to face No. 20 Clemson on Saturday, and the Steelers take on the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, all at Acrisure Stadium.
But with the Panthers having a noon kickoff on Saturday and the Steelers scheduled for 1 p.m. on Sunday, there’s a limited window of time between games for the stadium to be cleaned and ready to go, and it takes the work of hundreds of staffers working around the clock.
“For our staff, we arrive seven hours prior to kickoff. So, for us, our (deadline) is generally 6 a.m. for a 1 p.m. Steeler game,” says Joe Simon, Acrisure Stadium’s director of facility operations. “With a noon kick, a lot of the activity is done overnight. But it’s not as stressed or compressed, so we are able to get it done well in advance of that 6 a.m. timeframe.”
Simon says between preparing the field, cleaning the stands, and television networks from the respective games tearing down and then setting up, there’s a lot of activity within minutes after the final whistle on Saturday.
“There’s a lot of work right on the field with the signage change up. But obviously, that’s a visible thing that a lot of people see,” he said. “We’ll bring in housekeeping staff as soon as we possibly can. The cleaning of the stadium takes all night long. So, those are the folks that are here the longest throughout the night, as well as our concessionaires, who are working throughout the night cleaning up.”
Meanwhile, on the field, the logos are being re-painted and the markings are being converted from college rules to professional.
“The outline of the ‘PITTSBURGH’ in the North end zone, that outline color changes from a Pitt to a Steeler game,” Simon said. “The pro hash marks are separate from the college hash marks, so as soon as the game is over, the grounds crew will be out here. They’re out here late as well painting over the college hash marks, painting new pro hash marks.”
Throughout the rest of the stadium and in the enclosed areas, signs are replaced from Pitt’s blue and gold to the Steelers’ black and gold.
“That takes the longest, to be really transparent,” said Simon. “There’s a lot of work on the signage because we work with Pitt, and we want Pitt to have their own unique experience on game day. So, we spend a lot of time putting up Pitt signage and obviously, we’ve got to transition that for Steelers signage.”
Due to both teams having multiple games scheduled in prime time or on alternative dates this season (such as Mondays for the Steelers and Thursdays for Pitt), this is the second – and last – time in 2024 that both teams will play home games on the same weekend.
After nearly a week of nonstop snowfall, Denver woke up Saturday to the sights and sounds of shovels and plows scraping the pavement as the slow-moving storm began to move out.
DENVER—After nearly a week of what felt like nonstop snowfall, the Denver metro area woke up Saturday to the sights and sounds of snow shovels and plows scraping the pavement as the slow-moving storm began to move out of Colorado.
The system that slowly pushed its way through the state earlier this week dumped more than 19 inches of snow in parts of Denver over the past three days, according to the National Weather Service. The southeast area of the state was the hardest hit, with more than 4 feet recorded in the San Isabel area in the past 72 hours.
Interstate travel reached a standstill after major portions of Interstate 70 and Interstate 25 were shut down due to poor conditions. Gov. Jared Polis declared a disaster emergency and activated members of the Colorado National Guard as several drivers became stranded on the Eastern Plains.
Both I-25 and I-70 have since reopened, but hundreds of miles of highways remain closed in the eastern part of the state as of Saturday morning, according to the Colorado Department of Transpiration.
The Colorado Office of Emergency Management said crews have went on a total 22 search and rescue missions on the Eastern Plains, bringing stranded drivers to safety. They said rescue and recovery efforts will continue Saturday.
Stranded drivers find comfort at Hugo church as snowstorm rages on
Road conditions around the Denver metro area are slowly improving.
Denver’s Department of Transportation and Infrastructure (DOTI) wrote, “Denver’s big plows and residential plows are out this morning,” as many roads picked up more snow and slush overnight.
In other parts of the city, fallen tree limbs and collapsed roofs have been reported.
A Denver7 viewer shared photos Saturday morning of a carport roof at the Jasmine Condominiums that collapsed from the weight of the snow. The extent of the damage is unknown.
“I heard a big boom,” said Nell Narowski, a resident at the complex.
Narowski’s black Dodge was one of eight cars under the carport when it collapsed. Her car suffered a cracked windshield, and she’s waiting to see the remainder of the damages. When Denver7 arrived on scene, the vehicles were still under the wreckage.
“I have no idea how in the heck we’re going to get it out of there,” said Narowski.
Several residents told Denver7 that the building managers said they would remove the snow from other carports as a precaution. Cleanup crews were out Saturday morning, clearing out the snow.
Bonnie Wells
Carport roof collapse in Denver.
Meanwhile, thousands of people are in the dark after the epic storm knocked down power lines and tree limbs.
Xcel Energy said there were approximately 17,600 customers without power as of Saturday morning. The utility company said crews will typically focus first on repairs that will restore power for the largest number of customers. After that, crews will move to the neighborhood level, before handling individual customer outages.
Xcel Energy said many customers will be back online Saturday night, with full restoration expected by Sunday night.
CORE Electric Cooperative said around 200 members lost service during the winter storm, with most restored in a few hours. The utility said melting snow and ice could cause further service disruptions on Saturday.
Colorado snow totals: More than 4 feet of snow recorded in parts of state
As exciting as fresh powder can be, experts say it’s important to be aware of possible danger in the coming days for those venturing into backcountry ski areas. The most significant effect in the Northern Mountains will be felt from Rocky Mountain National National Park to Berthoud Pass.
“As we start getting more snow, we see the avalanche danger increasing,” said Ethan Greene, the director of the Colorado Avalanche Information Center.
The snow is expected to diminish on the plains through this morning. A winter storm warning is in effect for the Eastern Plains and continues through early Saturday.
After Saturday’s temperature of 37 degrees, Sunday in Denver will bring sunny skies and a high of 52 degrees. Denver’s 7-day outlook shows a warmer, drier weather pattern with highs in the upper 50s to low 60s through next weekend.
Because of its prolonged nature, this storm will likely be the largest the Denver metro has seen in November in nearly 30 years. The last major November storm was a two-day event on November 13-14, 1994. Officially, 12.1 inches of snowfall stacked up at Stapleton Airport, with 16.9 inches of snow overall that month.
The New York Times is tracking the status of abortion laws in each state following the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Twenty-one states ban abortion or restrict the procedure earlier in pregnancy than the standard set by Roe v. Wade, which governed reproductive rights for nearly half a century until the Supreme Court overturned the decision in 2022.
Latest updates
On Nov. 5, voters in seven states passed abortion rights measures that will enshrine these rights in their state constitutions. These measures will lift bans in Arizona and Missouri.
Proposed rights measures did not pass in Florida, Nebraska or South Dakota — and in Nebraska an opposing measure to restrict abortion won — meaning bans and restrictions will remain in place in these states.
In some states, the fight over abortion access is still taking place in courtrooms, where advocates have sued to block bans and restrictions. Other states have moved to expand access to abortion by adding legal protections.
The New York Times is tracking abortion laws in each state after the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which ended the constitutional right to an abortion.
Where abortion is legal
In some states that have enacted bans or restrictions, abortion remains legal for now as courts determine whether these laws can take effect.
Abortion is broadly legal in the rest of the country and several states have added new protections since Dobbs. Many states limit abortion around fetal “viability,” the point at which a fetus could survive outside the uterus, or around 24 weeks of pregnancy.
US President-elect Donald Trump is all set for his historic comeback to the White House. US President Joe Biden has invited him on Wednesday. Biden, who has pledged an orderly transfer of power, will meet Trump at the Oval office at 11 am. The US Secret Service has also stepped up Trump’s security after an Afghan man was charged with plotting to kill the president-elect on instructions from the Iran regime. The focus now is on how Trump will change the US government’s policies, especially those governing immigration and border affairs.
The Pittsburgh Steelers head to Landover, Maryland, to face a surging Washington Commanders team.
LANDOVER, Md. — The Pittsburgh Steelers will face a 7-2 Washington Commanders team in what should be a hard-fought matchup. This commences the Steelers’ brutal second-half schedule, but already standing at 6-2 and at the top of the AFC North, the Steelers are in a solid spot to secure a playoff spot as long as they can take care of business.
The fire broke out along Main Street in Irwin overnight Saturday.
When our crew got on scene, flames were still shooting from the roof of the building. When the fire started subsiding, the flames were replaced by plumes of thick smoke.
Expect office closures, plus some road closures and detours to accommodate the Veterans Day parade.
City, county, state and federal offices will be closed on Monday in observance of Veterans Day. Some local roads will be closed temporarily to allow for the annual Veterans Day parade.
Courts will also be closed, as will post offices and many banks. Regular mail will not be picked up or delivered.
Garbage collection in the city of Pittsburgh will continue as scheduled.
The city’s Healthy Active Living senior centers will be closed on Monday. CitiParks recreation centers will be closed Saturday, Nov. 9 through Monday, Nov. 11. The after-school meal program will not operate on Monday.
The Mellon Park Tennis Center and Allegheny County park golf courses will be open during regular operating hours.
Pittsburgh Regional Transit’s administrative offices and Downtown Service Center will be closed on Veterans Day. Buses will operate regular weekday service, but several routes will be detoured for the parade. Detours are expected to begin around 9 a.m. and finish around 2:30 p.m. Find details about detours for specific bus routes here.
PRT Customer Service representatives will be available via chat from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. and by phone from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Monday. Riders with questions can call 412-442-2000, chat at www.rideprt.org, or reach out on X, formerly known as Twitter, @pghtransitcare.
To accommodate the parade, Liberty Avenue between 10th and 26th Streets will close at 9 a.m. Monday. It will begin at 10:30 a.m. on Liberty Avenue, continue to the reviewing stage at 5th and Liberty Avenue, and end at Commonwealth Place. Streets in a one block radius along the route will be blocked off.
World leaders quickly took to X to congratulate former President Donald Trump on his unprecedented victory against Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday.
JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was one of the first world leaders to congratulate former President Donald Trump on his stunning political comeback victory on Wednesday.
Netanyahu, who is leading a seven-front existential war against Iran’s regime and its proxies, wrote on X, “Dear Donald and Melania Trump, Congratulations on history’s greatest comeback! Your historic return to the White House offers a new beginning for America and a powerful recommitment to the great alliance between Israel and America. This is a huge victory! In true friendship, yours, Benjamin and Sara Netanyahu.”
Fox News projected Trump as the winner of the presidential election in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
The GOP regained control after it became clear that the Democrats had lost their one-seat majority in Congress’s 100-member upper chamber.
Republicans gained two Senate seats, as Trump-backed businessperson Bernie Moreno defeated three-term Democratic senator Sherrod Brown in Ohio, and Trump loyalist Jim Justice won the seat once held by Joe Manchin in West Virginia.
View live results for Pennsylvania’s ballot measures and races for president, governor, Senate and House.
Pennsylvania election results
Pennsylvania is one of the most critical states that could decide not only the presidential race but also control in the Senate. That’s why both Vice President Harris and former President Donald Trump have made numerous visits to the Keystone State and why both parties have poured their resources intoads.
The state, with its 19 electoral votes — the most of any of the seven closely watched swing states — has gone with the winner in the last fourelections.
There are five tight House races. The Senate race between Democratic Sen. Bob Casey, the three-term incumbent, and former hedge fund CEO David McCormick, a Republican, has been one of the most expensive in the UnitedStates.
Bonnie Wells
