Pittsburg, PA
Pittsburgh wildlife center sees uptick in birds showing signs of West Nile virus
As West Nile virus continues to be a concern in the Pittsburgh area, wildlife rehabbers are seeing an uptick in sick birds.
Within the last few weeks, Humane Animal Rescue of Pittsburgh’s Wildlife Rehabilitation Center has been seeing a lot of birds showing signs of West Nile virus, including birds of prey and even a crow.
“The common ones of red-tailed hawks, we got in quite a few of them. A few great horned owls that were symptomatic. We did even get an American kestrel, all very young, seemingly young birds that were coming in,” said Katie Kefalos, director of wildlife rehabilitation for HARP.
Kefalos said young birds don’t have a strong immune system, so it’s hard for them to fight the virus.
“We do see a lot of neurological symptoms, lethargy, they come in really thin. And most of the time, they do have parasites,” she said.
Mosquitos become infected with West Nile when they bite infected birds. West Nile is transmitted through the bite of infected mosquitoes. Kefalos said there’s no treatment for the virus, so they provide full-on supportive care.
“Heat support if they’re really emaciated, fluids, most of the time they’re pretty dehydrated,” she said.
They’re trying their best to help the birds recover so they can fly free again in the wild. She says some kick the virus, but many don’t.
“We have seen quite a few pass from what we are assuming is West Nile virus,” said Kefalos.
So, what can we do to help protect wildlife and humans from the West Nile virus? Use safe mosquito repellents and, most importantly, get rid of standing water.
“It’s really simple, you know, making sure you don’t have any stagnant water just lying around,” she said.
That includes bird baths.
“They are a potential for a breeding site for mosquitoes, and there are a few songbird species that are affected, and they can be transmitters,” she said.
HARP sends the dead birds to the Wildlife Futures Program at the University of Pennsylvania, which conducts testing and research. If you find a sick or dead bird, reach out to HARP’s wildlife center at 412-345-7300 or your local wildlife center for advice.
You can also report dead birds to the Pennsylvania Game Commission at 833-742-4868.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said there’s no evidence that a person can get infected from handling infected birds.
Pittsburg, PA
Overreactions to the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2026 NFL Draft Class: Will Howard’s future, Omar Khan without Mike Tomlin, and more
The Pittsburgh Steelers had a 2026 NFL Draft that was, well, perplexing to put it nicely. There are a lot of ways to skin a cat when it comes to the draft process, and in three to four years, there’s a chance we look back on the class and the prevailing notion was dead wrong.
So today, we are going to name the three biggest overreactions to what the Steelers just did over the course of the weekend. Let’s jump in.
Overreaction No. 1: Max Iheanachor is another Broderick Jones
Look, if we want to reprimand what happened in the first round and the phone-gate debacle, that’s fine. But as Omar Khan said after the draft, the Steelers stuck true to their board and went with their highest rated player once Makai Lemon was poached by the Eagles.
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And yes, Iheanachor is raw. Yes, he didn’t start playing football until very recently and was mostly a soccer player. But the truth is, there might not be a tackle with higher potential and a greater ceiling than Iheanachor.
The feet, the length, the traits, it’s all there. Sure, the Steelers will need to be patient, but this isn’t a player who is fundamentally flawed the way that Jones was. This is a player who you don’t have to fix; you have to build up. So it’s far too soon to write off Iheanachor.
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Overreaction No.2: Mike McCarthy doesn’t like Will Howard
When the rhetoric coming out of Pittsburgh is always about how much the Steelers love Will Howard, and on day two, with their third pick in the draft, the Steelers take another quarterback that many view as a reach, it’s easy to see why some may believe that McCarthy doesn’t like Howard.
The truth is, McCarthy doesn’t know what he likes. He needs to see both Allar and Howard competing in a live environment before making any rash decisions. And when you don’t have an obvious quarterback of the future, taking as many shots as possible makes a lot of sense.
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Overreaction No.3: Omar Khan was carried by Mike Tomlin
If you look at Omar Khan’s draft history since he took over for Kevin Colbert in 2023, you see draft classes littered with talent and starters. And honestly, just about every time it reached Sunday of draft weekend, the consensus view was that Khan and the Steelers nailed the draft.
Well, the only obvious difference in the decision-making process this year was no Mike Tomlin. And under Mike Tomlin, the Steelers were at every big-time Pro Day, the Senior Bowl, and well represented at the NFL Combine. A lot of that changed this year, but it doesn’t mean that Omar Khan wasn’t heavily involved, if not making picks, before.
We’ll see if the media and fans, or Khan and co., are right in 3-4 years.
A woman has died, and three others were injured following a shooting at a bar in Vandergrift, Armstrong County, according to Pennsylvania State Police.
Troopers said they were called shortly after 1:15 a.m. Sunday to Niki’s Quick Six on First Street in Vandergrift for reports of shots fired.
A local police officer who arrived first found one woman dead and multiple people suffering from gunshot wounds, according to a public information report provided by state police.
The woman who died was identified as Jessica Hilliard, 34, of Apollo. Hilliard was pronounced dead at the scene. Another victim, Rebecca Boston, 24, of McIntyre, was found at the scene and was last listed in critical condition.
Two other victims, Hector Saballos, 34, of Vandergrift, and Dominik Dellach, 25, of Vandergrift, left before troopers arrived. Police said both were later listed in stable condition.
The suspect has been identified as David Dunmire, 36, of Vandergrift. Police said he remained at the scene and was taken into custody without incident.
An investigation determined that a physical altercation broke out in the parking lot outside the bar before Dunmire allegedly pulled out a firearm and fired multiple rounds, striking several people.
State police said they consulted with Armstrong County District Attorney Katie Charlton, who approved a criminal homicide charge.
The investigation remains ongoing.
Pittsburg, PA
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