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In a bizarre incident, 26 barges broke loose in Pittsburgh and drifted uncontrollably down the Ohio River on Friday night. Shortly after the barges broke free, Pittsburgh authorities closed the McKees Rocks Bridge and the West End Bridge “out of an abundance of caution.” Authorities reported that eleven barges were stopped by running into a river bank by Brunot Island, and now tugboats are on the scene pulling the barges out. Nine were found stopped at the Emsworth Lock and Dam. #UPDATE: Footage shows approximately 6-7 barges jammed up against the Emsworth Dam, with more expected on the way. Multiple...

Bradley Gillespie, 50, was convicted of murder and had been in prison since 2016 before he escapedThe body of an inmate who escaped from an Ohio prison nearly five days ago was found floating in the Ohio River on Sunday afternoon. Bradley Gillespie, 50, had been imprisoned since 2016 for murder before he and James Lee, 47, broke out of the Allen Oakwood Correctional Institution in Lima, Ohio, last Tuesday. Lee, who was handed down a prison sentence in 2021 for burglary and safecracking, was captured in Kentucky on Wednesday, following a police pursuit of a stolen car both men...

CINCINNATI — Northern Kentucky is following in the footsteps of Cincinnati as it closes its Ohio River water intakes ahead of possibly contaminated water from the East Palestine train derailment.Northern Kentucky Water District (NKWD) announced Saturday that it is officially shutting off its Ohio River intakes as a "precautionary measure." NKWD previously said on Feb. 10 that they intended to close down the water intakes as a precaution if chemicals from the train derailment continued downstream.

The train derailment and release of toxic chemicals in East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 3 has resulted in at least 3,500 fish dead, according to an estimate from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. Wildlife officers with the Ohio environmental agency found dead fish in Leslie Run, Bull Creek, and a portion of the North Fork of Beaver Creek, the agency told News5 on Monday. As of Feb. 8, some 3,500 minnow, sculpin, darter, and small sucker fish have been killed by the chemical release, the Department of Natural Resources told the outlet. Due to the spill, a water utility...

Researchers from the University of Cincinnati have found evidence of a cosmic cataclysm 1,500 years that may be responsible for the downfall of the Hopewell Culture. The Hopewell Culture was a widely dispersed set of pre-Columbian Native American populations connected by a common network of trade routes from 100 BC to AD 500 in the Middle Woodland period. The researchers found evidence of a cosmic airburst at 11 Hopewell archaeological sites in three states stretching across the Ohio River Valley in the United States, which rained debris down into the Earth’s atmosphere creating a fiery explosion around 1,500 years ago...

The state of Indiana has committed $475 million for what it calls “transformational” road infrastructure projects throughout the state. Gov. Eric Holcomb announced the state would commit $75 million for improvements to 48 miles of U.S. 231, $200 million for a 25-mile extension of State Road 101 and $200 million to the Indiana approach to the Interstate 69 Ohio River Crossing. “Indiana’s location and extensive transportation network make our state one of the most attractive places in the country to do business and create jobs,” Holcomb said in a press release. “These projects will better connect our communities, enhance commerce...

The Metropolis Emergency Management Agency Director, Keith Davis, has asked media to post the following voluntary evacuation order that has been issued for the City of Metropolis:

first of all a huge tornado outbreak is becoming likley mon-weds over a wide area..after that the big story will the flooding already rivers are very high and are in flood,the ground is soaked, both the MS river and OH river and smaller rivers. 8-12 inches of rain is forecast over a very wide area the next few days. with isolated spots picking up more local NWS discussions both public and private suggest an "epic" event. The news media will be focused on the tornado side and with being a holiday weekend most people will not be paying attention This...

A commercial fisherman said he found a shark in the Ohio River. The fisherman found the two-foot bull shark already dead on a boat ramp Thursday morning in Olmsted, Ill. It appeared the shark washed up after flood waters receded. Bull sharks can survive in fresh water and have been known to travel up the Mississippi River from the Gulf of Mexico. "(It's) pretty much the only species that can get that far up river," said Chris , director of husbandry at the Newport Aquarium. But Pierson said it's unlikely that this shark swam all the way to Illinois. "My...