Pittsburgh’s winning some and losing some this week. Local history teacher Marc Fogel is finally back in the United States after being detained in a Russian prison since 2021 for medical cannabis possession. After just one year in business, Salem’s Market — the full-service grocery store in the Hill District — is abruptly closing this weekend. We’re in the final stages of Pittsburgh Regional Transit’s first draft of the bus system redesign. And we’ve got more details about the multi-million plan to revamp Penn Avenue’s new Arts Landing in time for the NFL Draft in 2026. Axios Pittsburgh’s Ryan Deto is here to talk through these stories, plus the latest on the U.S. Steel / Nippon sale saga, Duolingo’s latest marketing stunt, and how threats to National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding are affecting research at Pitt, CMU, and more.
Notes and references from today’s show:
- How Well Do You Know Pittsburgh? Take This Quiz! [City Cast Pittsburgh]
- Marc Fogel released from Russian prison [Axios Pittsburgh]
- Marc Fogel, released by Russia, arrives back in U.S., stops at White House [CBS]
- Salem's Market in Hill District to 'pause' operations next week, restructure [WESA]
- Statement from the URA on the closing of Salem’s Market Centre Avenue location [URA]
- Pittsburgh's bus network is getting a major overhaul [Axios Pittsburgh]
- Find your new proposed bus route here [PRT]
- Pittsburgh Cultural Trust unveils plans for the new ‘Arts Landing’ Downtown [Pittsburgh Magazine]
- Pitt, Carnegie Mellon could lose more than $100 million in NIH funding [KDKA]
- Trump imposes 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum [CNN]
- President Biden blocks US Steel bale to Nippon Steel. What does this mean for Pittsburgh? [Hey Pittsburgh]
- Statement on U.S. steel tariffs by EUROFER [European Steel Association]
- USW opposes Canadian tariffs, welcomes efforts to contain global overcapacity [USW]
- Duolingo reveals owl mascot killed by cybertruck [TribLive]
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