Peregrine Probs, Turnpike Hikes & Vote for Your Favorite River

It’s the Tuesday news roundup! Astrobotic's lunar lander is in space, but it’s unclear if it’ll complete its mission. And we’re headed to the NFL playoffs. City Cast’s Megan Harris and Marylee Williams are talking through turnpike fees, a Pennsylvania river contest, some local ties to national stories, and the funniest anecdotes about pet appetites we’ve heard all year.

We want to know the best mocktails you’ve had in Pittsburgh! Call or text us at 412-212-8893 and include your name and neighborhood to be mentioned on the show or in our Hey Pittsburgh newsletter.

Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:

• NASA shared a live stream of Monday’s rocket launch carrying Peregrine. Skip ahead to about 50 minutes to see the launch and how the rocket falls apart as it exits Earth’s atmosphere.
• We dove deep on the podcast into the history of how Pittsburgh helped with America’s space program. 
• Check out Ed Blazina’s reporting on the PA Turnpike, it explains more about these rate hikes. 
• Cast your ballot for Pennsylvania’s River of the Year. Voting ends January 19th. 
• If you like going out on the river, sign up to get Alcosan alerts on sewer overflows!
• Politico interviewed a conservative activist about his efforts to push Harvard’s president to resign.
• The PG is the only outlet we could find that reported Pitt professor George Reid Andrews’ comments on former Harvard president Claudine Gay. Reminder: Some employees there have been on strike for well over a year. 
• Check out more of professor Andrews’ here.
• It’s paywalled, but The Athletic’s Rob Rossi did a great job explaining Ron Burkle and his role for the Penguins.
• Keep up with what’s happening with the Jeffrey Epstein court records. 
• While a Pittsburgh pooch may have eaten a lot of cash, his owners got most of the $4,000 back.

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