News

Residents want an independent assessment of McDonald Steel property

Local News September 25, 2026

McDONALD — While village residents thanked council for placing a one-year moratorium on data centers, they want officials to next prepare a strategic plan and have an independent environmental assessment done on the former U.S. Steel property to determine what business would best be suited there. Oppidan officials last week conducted a presentation at McDonald High School and showed proposed plans of wanting to locate several data centers on the property off Ohio Avenue. Residents are now asking for an environmental assessment to explore the effects that many data centers would ...

Xi says 2 giant pandas from China will arrive at Atlanta’s zoo in the coming days

National News September 25, 2026

ATLANTA (AP) — Chinese President Xi Jinping said Thursday that two giant pandas from China will arrive at Zoo Atlanta in the coming days, bolstering a loan program that at one time had lapsed as part of tensions between Beijing and Washington. China and the zoo had said in April that Ping Ping, a male, and Fu Shuang, a female, would go to the United States. But Xi’s announcement at the White House, in opening remarks before talks with President Donald Trump, marked the first public confirmation of the timing. Beijing had reclaimed four pandas from Atlanta in 2024, the last of the ...

‘Catman’ to the rescue, as man pulls stuck Long Island pet to safety after long ordeal

National News September 25, 2026

He doesn’t wear a mask or cape, but John DeBacker is a hero to one Long Island family. Wearing his “Catman” T-shirt, DeBacker pulled off the intricate rescue of a frightened and exhausted cat named Lola who had spent about five days trapped, likely upside down for most of that time, behind a wall in her family’s old home in the New York City suburbs. Lola’s ordeal began about two weeks before the rescue, when she ducked under a floorboard while the family was moving out of their second-floor apartment in Franklin Square. That’s when DeBacker and his team were called ...

Corridor project looks to better Belmont Avenue

Local News September 25, 2026

YOUNGSTOWN — The efforts underway to revitalize the Belmont Avenue corridor were on display Wednesday evening during an open house at the Mahoning County Veterans Service Commission. “Youngstown and Liberty Township have been working together to study the Belmont Avenue corridor (from ...

Warren Township tries for more coverage at fire department

Local News September 25, 2026

WARREN TOWNSHIP — While the fire department was able to have 76% coverage at the station in August thanks to help from off-duty response, some residents feel this is not enough to protect the community, Resident Vicky Romack told the township trustees that the fire department did not have any staff coverage on the day her father fell and passed out. She said Newton Falls emergency personnel eventually responded with an ambulance. “There are many elderly people in my neighborhood, and it concerns me when there are times when there is no coverage at our fire department. That is ...

Starbucks to shutter 250 stores this week in 2nd wave of closings

Business September 25, 2026

Starbucks plans to close 250 North American stores later this week. It is the second big round of store closures under Starbucks Chairman and CEO Brian Niccol, who joined the company in 2024. Last September, Starbucks closed 627 stores in North America and Europe. In a letter to employees, Starbucks Chief Operating Officer Mike Grams said the locations targeted either aren’t delivering acceptable financial results or can’t provide the kind of experience that Starbucks wants for customers and employees. The company didn’t say Thursday which coffeehouses will close or how many ...