News

New wild cat species discovered in Bolivia

National News September 18, 2026

LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — A previously unknown cat species has been identified in plain sight: at a wildlife sanctuary in Bolivia, where the small, spotted feline had been living for years. The discovery, reported Thursday in the journal Current Biology, marks the first time scientists have named and described a new living wild cat species in more than a century. Bolivian biologist Paola Nogales-Ascarrunz, a National Geographic explorer and one of the study’s lead authors, said a colleague who thought the cat looked unusual invited her to examine it at the sanctuary in the ...

Canada ‘strong’ as US borrowing costs rise

National News September 18, 2026

TORONTO — Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Friday cast Canada as moving quickly beyond its historical reliance on the United States after a whirlwind week in which he embraced the prospect of becoming the European Union’s first associate member. Carney, who returned from Europe on Thursday night, said Canada and Europe had “launched a process for a new alliance.” He also called the latest U.S. tariffs a “miscalculation” and repeated that suspending trade talks with Washington last month was the right decision. “Amidst this global rupture, we must move forward,” ...

Transportation Center in downtown Altoona dedicated in Miller’s honor

Local News September 18, 2026

Around 2016, when Altoona Blair County Development Corp. Executive Director Marty Marasco was ready to retire, he reached out to Steve McKnight, who had formerly worked for ABCD Cop., and suggested he apply for the top job. “What about Pat,” McKnight asked, speaking of Marasco’s ...

Altoona Redevelopment Authority scaling up blight battle

Local News September 18, 2026

At a meeting of the city Redevelopment Authority Friday, the board agreed to sell two blighted homes to developers under renovation agreements, while also receiving reports on nine other renovation projects at various stages of completion involving blighted or financially encumbered structures. Friday’s activity represents the continued “scaling up” of an initiative designed to use measures exclusively available to government to rescue problem properties that would otherwise slide toward demolition, usually by removing obstacles, so the properties become attractive for private ...

Trafficking ring suspect to enter drug program

Local News September 18, 2026

HOLLIDAYSBURG — One of the four individuals taken into custody in June 2025 for trafficking narcotics out of a Fifth Avenue residence was admitted into the disposition in lieu of trial program during Blair County plea court Friday morning. Altoona resident Heather Joy McConahay, 38, is facing three felony counts of possession with intent to deliver, a felony count of criminal conspiracy to commit possession with intent to deliver and two misdemeanor counts each of possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia across two separate but related ...

Shapiro seeks oversight for frontier AI development

Local News September 18, 2026

Gov. Josh Shapiro called for federal and international action to slow down and responsibly govern the development of artificial intelligence during a keynote speech at the AI Horizons Summit in Pittsburgh Thursday. Shapiro noted the concerns raised earlier this month by tech leaders who called for a slowdown in AI development and said the potential harm from rogue AI demands the government take a role in regulating the industry. “We don’t let pharmaceutical companies develop drugs and put them right out in the market. No, they must first go through the (Food and Drug ...